****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
A collection of essays published after the 9/11 attacks, Victor Davis Hanson's brilliant "An Autumn of War, What America Learned from September 11 and the War on Terror" is an intelligent and thoughtful blueprint for prosecuting the the present conflict. Hanson's predictions have mostly come true, such as the need for the US to take on not only the Taliban but also Saddam in the wake of the attacks. He offers important warnings throughout to the American people not to let their disgust and horror with terrorism wane as their own casualties begin to accrue.This book contains many essays that shed light on America, the Islamic world, and the nature of warfare, both classical and modern. Hanson presents humorous counter-factual essays with "What If?" and "The Time Machine" in which America's war against terror is compared with its war against Japan in WWII, where pundits and talking heads debate the 'misunderstood' Japanese and debate the moral repercussions of the Doolittle Raid. In "Pillars of Ignorance" and "The Iron Veil", Hanson takes the Islamic world to task for its denial of liberties, and lack of truly free institutions such as a free press, and he writes of how America needs to adopt almost a Cold War approach to the Mid East as a bloc. "It Really Is Your Father's Europe" looks at our European allies and their foot dragging after 9/11 while offering insights on how to deal with them in the future. In "General Sherman, the Western Way of War, and September 11", Hanson considers Sherman's role in history and how the old warrior would view America's present conflict. A similar riff is offered in "A Voice from the Past", a wonderful 'interview' with Thucydides in which the Greek general and historian gives his take on the War on Terror.These are just some of the many insightful and compelling essays in this collection. Each one pulls no punches and demands that Americans wake up to the frightening realities of the 21st century world. Throughout, however, Hanson remains optimistic of America's ability to prevail against an Islamic world that needs us far more than we need it. This is a wonderful and important book.
