War: How Conflict Shaped Us by Margaret MacMillan

Remembering those who died in combat, whether they be soldiers or civilians, is the work of the living on Memorial Day. In MacMillan's book on war, which is one of the New York Times top five works of non-fiction from 2020, the author questions the wisdom of doing that, and posits that we might be better at avoiding war if we didn't remember so much. On the other hand, she also professes that war is both ingrained in our DNA and inextricably linked to human progress. It is complicated. I have to say that while I commited to reading some highly rated non-fiction this year, I was not wildly enthusiastic about reading this, and thought this would be a good way to spend the holiday. I was surprised to find that this is an enjoyable and somewhat superficial trek through many aspects of war: its origins in the struggle for resources or for power or simply for what philosopher Thomas Hobbes called “trifles,” its portrayal in popular culture (especially cinema), and the tactics and technology now transforming the way wars are fought. The book is light on political theory but rich in factual detail; entirely devoid of polemic, yet full of sober analysis. War and Peace, The Iliad, and Henry the Fifth are quoted as often as historians and political theorists are. Humans are described as they are, not as they ought to be. There are difficult parts of this book to both read and think about. The history of raising and training warriors, the challenge and ultimate failure of warriors to keep civilians out of the fight, that those in the path of war are treated the worst, the economic and the psychological costs of war are all dealved into. The book covers a mammoth amount of ground in a short number of pages, and it stands as a great general reference, a rich starting point for lively discussion and further study, as well as an introduction to the subject of war for those, like I, who have never thought much about it.