Echoes of War: A Thousand Years of Military History in Popular CultureUniversity Press of Kentucky, 2021 M10 21 - 296 pages Americans are often accused of not appreciating history, but this charge belies the real popular interest in the past. Historical reenactments draw thousands of spectators; popular histories fill the bestseller lists; PBS, A&E and The History Channel air a dizzying array of documentaries and historical dramas; and Hollywood war movies become blockbusters. Though historians worry that these popular representations sacrifice authenticity for broad appeal, Michael C.C. Adams argues that living history—even if it is an incomplete depiction of the past—plays a vital role in stimulating the historical imagination. In Echoes of War, he examines how one of the most popular fields of history is portrayed, embraced, and shaped by mainstream culture. Adams argues that symbols of war are of intrinsic military significance and help people to articulate ideas and values. We still return to the knight as a symbol of noble striving; the bowman appeals as a rebel against unjust privilege. Though Custer may not have been the Army's most accomplished fighter, he achieved the status of cultural icon. The public memory of the redcoated British regular soldier shaped American attitudes toward governments and gun laws. The 1863 attack on Fort Wagner by the black Fifty-fourth Massachusetts regiment was lost to public view until racial equality became important in the late twentieth century. Echoes of War is a unique look at how a thousand years of military history are remembered in popular culture, through images ranging from the medieval knight to the horror of U.S. involvement in the My Lai massacre. |
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... English longbowmen in action Cromwell dissolves Parliament Culloden reenactment The Battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775 Lexington and Concord folklore version The New Man The beleaguered Alamo garrison Storming Fort Wagner Mourners at ...
... English army usually fought entirely on foot. At the heart of this force were the housecarls or household troops, professional soldiers who rode to battle on ponies but then dismounted to wield terrible two-handed axes capable of ...
... English left the field, the housecarls turning to fight when the Normans pressed too close. Although pockets of Saxon resistance continued for several years, the heart went out of the English. Some said that Harold's death was a sign of ...
... common footmen would prove “hard churls” to beat. Scots pikemen had slaughtered English knights at Bannockburn in 1314. Contrary to the somewhat whimsical and romantic portrait in Braveheart, these were not lightly-clad.
... English militia. A good bowman could launch nine arrows per minute, with a carrying range of about 275 yards. A French chronicler said that English arrows were like hail and obscured the sun; another compared them to snow falling. The ...
Other editions - View all
Echoes of War: A Thousand Years of Military History in Popular Culture Michael C.C. Adams Limited preview - 2014 |
Echoes of War: A Thousand Years of Military History in Popular Culture Michael C. C. Adams No preview available - 2002 |
Echoes of War: A Thousand Years of Military History in Popular Culture Michael C.C. Adams No preview available - 2002 |