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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... officers being able to hear the confessions of their sisters. This changed after Hastings. William divided England into knights' feus, each capable of sustaining a knight in his defensive castle, along with his retinue. By this method ...
... officers, to be overtaken and butchered as they tried to wade back up the hill in their heavy armor—the first broken link of treason and betrayal. Seeing Norfolk's men break, the Stanleys moved to join Henry—the second breach of faith ...
... , into which the sons of the most aristocratic houses sought entrance. All British officers were expected to ride and play saddle games—polo, fox hunting, and pig-sticking with spears in India—the expense of which kept the.
... officer's prospects. Witness the public attention given George Armstrong Custer and his legendary Seventh. Robert E. Lee, John Pershing, and George C. Patton are other examples of officers associated with the cavalry. By World War I, a ...
... officer. Although knighthood in some senses encouraged conflict, the chivalric code functioned, and still can, to curb some of war's more vicious and barbaric aspects. The accent on personal values also suggests the importance of ...
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 |