The Lessons of Terror: A History of Warfare Against Civilians: Why It has Always Failed and Why It Will Fail Again

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Although terrorism seems a relatively modern phenomenon, novelist and military historian Caleb Carr illustrates that it has been a constant of military history. In ancient times, warring armies raped and slaughtered civilians and gratuitously destroyed homes and cities; in the Middle Ages, evangelical Muslims and Christian crusaders spread their faiths by the sword; and in the early modern era, such celebrated kings as Louis XIV victimized noncombatants for political purposes.

During the Civil War Americans first engaged in "Total war," the most egregious of the many euphemisms for the tactics of terror. The forces of the South tried to systematize this horrifying practice; but it fell to a Union general, William Tecumseh Sherman, to achieve that dubious goal. Carr recounts Sherman's declaration of war on every man, woman, and child in the South -- a policy that brought long-term unrest tot he American South by giving birth to the Ku Klux Klan.

Carr's exploration of terror reveals its consistently self-defeating nature. Far from prompting submission, Carr argues, terrorism stiffens enemy resolve: for this reason above all, terrorism has never achieved -- not will it ever achieve -- long-term success, however physically destructive and psychologically debilitating it may become. With commanding authority and the storyteller's gift for which he is renowned, Caleb Carr provides a critical historical context for understanding terrorist acts today, arguing that terrorism will be eradicated only when it is perceived as a tactic that brings nothing save defeat to its agents.

What Customers Say About The Lessons of Terror: A History of Warfare Against Civilians: Why It has Always Failed and Why It Will Fail Again:

Of course the nuclear bombing of Japan seems to contradict Carr's premise. The reader's voice was annoying and I couldn't wait for the book to be over.As far as the book goes, I don't think it was that great. We would call that latter war crimes but the 'war on terror' is of a definitely different sort of war. Yes, creating malice in people will usually cause them to be malicious. But not the only and probably not the most dominant. So in his view, what happened on 9/11 is not so strange in the history of warfare. And yes, civilians are killed often - I guess this is what Carr calls terrorism.

We are war with Al Qaeda and terrorism is offten a major facet of war. I was not utterly convinced that 9/11 is of the same flavor of terrorism as troops overstepping boundaries during wartime. I listened to the audiobook version of this book and it was painful. It would seem to me that bombing is more to destroy an enemies resources that what 9/11 was - destroy American symbols and innocents.Even more doubtful is Carr's contention that his widely defined terrorism ALWAYS backfires on those who use it. When it seems not to, he say for example Rome succeeded so well 'in spite of' it's terrorist tactics not because of. Terror is one way that can happen. It seems truer than Carr's categorical statements.Written in 2002, there is no comment on the Iraq War. Is the lesson here that a large enough act of terrorism can actually lead to success for the terrorizers.

OK, you do learn some history of how warfare has been conducted over the past 2000 years. We killed a lot of civilians which directly contributed to us winning the war against Japan. Like most things, terrorism is a term that is a spectrum of tactics and not a one size fits all definition. One must also consider motivations: is the motivation of saturation bombing the same as 9/11. And Japan has not sought revenge since as far as I know of. And did I hear him call the Byzantine Empire, the Holy Roman Empire.Skip this one.

This book is elequent and occasionally hits a nerve. But basically it's message is simply: Terrorism (or war against civilians to achieve a political effect) is a self-destructive method of warfare, because the reaction to terror is more often than not outrage rather than capitulation.Carr goes beyond this to suggest that there are no exceptions to this rule, when some obvious exceptions come to mind (eg., Hiroshima, the extermination of the American Indians, and the frequent mass killings of any inconvenient population by various nations throughout history). So even the central message of the book is muddied by inconsistencies.And beyond that message, this book has little to offer, and is badly flawed by its single-mindedness, its rush to judgement about complex events, its deliberate ignorance of obvious counter arguments, and a tendency to patronize the audience by asserting that events be interpretted his way, even when more familiar interpretations are more convincing.On the plus side, I see no political bias or propaganda. Whatever biases the author has, they appear to be personal.

Despite some unfair negative press, this book is yet another example of Carr's masterful writing style and unparalleled ability to create strong, lasting images. Carr is, as always, the man to seek in such matters. His prose is clear and direct, yet always intellectually sound.

Knowing this going in, I was able to immerse myself and enjoy from beginning to end.After September 11, it is important to have a reasonable, intelligent response that avoids sensationalism and fear-mongering. expects his audience to bring more than a working knowledge of the subjects at hand. Some readers expecting historical fiction might not appreciate Carr's subject matter, but it is important to remember that military history is Carr's field of expertise.

This is far from the simplistic rants one comes to expect in this area; Carr always takes his book in the right direction and (thankfully). Carr's approach (and use of history) not only describes the ultimate futility of terrorist actions, but attempts something few people in the media dare to do -- provide context and comparative understanding. Our plight might seem unique and unprecedented to those in the full arrogance of their Americanism, but Carr rightfully dashes such nonsense, demonstrating that terror, far from a "Middle East problem," is (and has been) world-wide in scope, taking various shapes and employing wide-ranging tactics.Above all, however, Carr is simply a wonderful writer.

He is a challenging, provocative author, always avoiding self-righteousness and easy targets.Buy -- and read -- with confidence. I only wish he gave us more non-fiction for his love (and knowledge) of the subjet is quite apparent.