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. |
From inside the book
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... professional historians for not getting into the mix and presenting better alternatives, rather than sighing and turning away. I believe that many lay readers want to be discriminating. Cartoonist Steve Benson suggests one possible ...
... professional soldier in a police role; hence the private militias' image of a New World Order using mercenary troops to threaten our liberties. Americans in the Colonial and Early National periods often had great faith in the amateur ...
... professional historians who participate in public discussions of war. Grouping and analyzing material under major headings, joining themes together, goes some way toward organizing and making collective sense of the mass of military ...
... professional soldiers who rode to battle on ponies but then dismounted to wield terrible two-handed axes capable of cutting through man and horse. Also professional but of lesser status were light troops armed with bows and slings. The ...
... professional light troops could not keep up and were absent now. Harold chose a good defensive position on Senlac Hill, a low ridge dropping off sharply on both ends, forcing an uphill frontal assault, with woods behind to impede ...
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 |