Battling to the End bookcover

Battling to the End

Conversations with Benoit Chantre
4.9/5.0
21,000+ Reviews
Bookshop.org has the highest-rated customer service of any bookstore in the world

Description

Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831), the Prussian military theoretician who wrote On War, is known above all for his famous dictum: "War is the continuation of politics by other means." In René Girard's view, however, the strategist's treatise offers up a more disturbing truth to the reader willing to extrapolate from its most daring observations: with modern warfare comes the insanity of tit-for-tat escalation, which political institutions have lost their ability to contain. Having witnessed the Napoleonic Wars firsthand, Girard argues, Clausewitz intuited that unbridled "reciprocal action" could eventually lead foes to total mutual annihilation. Haunted by the Franco-German conflict that was to ravage Europe, in Girard's account Clausewitz is a prescient witness to the terrifying acceleration of history. Battling to the End issues a warning about the apocalyptic threats hanging over our planet and delivers an authoritative lesson on the mimetic laws of violence.

Product Details

PublisherMichigan State University Press
Publish DateDecember 01, 2009
Pages237
LanguageEnglish
TypeBook iconPaperback / softback
EAN/UPC9780870138775
Dimensions8.9 X 6.0 X 0.9 inches | 0.9 pounds

About the Author

René Girard is a member of the French Academy and Emeritus Professor at Stanford University. His books have been translated and acclaimed worldwide. He received the Modern Language Association's Award for Lifetime Scholarly Achievement in 2008.

Earn by promoting books

Earn money by sharing your favorite books through our Affiliate program.sign up to affiliate program link
Become an affiliate