Ancient and Medieval Warfare - it's all in the details

There are few people who don't appreciate a good bargain.  I found Arthur Banks' Atlas of Ancient and Medieval Warfare in a local used bookstore and resisted the urge to buy it, thinking I might be able to get it cheaper.  The original price was $25.00 when it was published in 1982.  The store was asking $17.50.  For a used copy in similar condition at Amazon, you'd have to pay about the same amount.  But of course I checked eBay too.  And there it was ... except for no dust jacket, the same book in excellent condition, for $1.99 (MTS Books in Greensburg, PA).

I call that a bargain!

What made me want this book?  It is chock full of black-and-white detailed maps of Europe, the Near East, India, China, Japan, and Korea, covering battles from 1231 B.C. to 1542.  The maps show movements of armies, locations of fortresses, and important geographic features.  There are explanations of the reasons behind the battles and the strategies of the opposing forces.  There are lists of dynasties and commanders.  There are dates and numbers and tactics.  There are people and places and events I've never heard of before.  I can't think of another book I've ever seen that was so information-dense.  It is a very interesting volume of military history.

Banned!

The American Library Association's annual Banned Books Week is coming up September 25 to October 2.  Of 50 some-odd banned books listed in the September 2010 issue of AARP Bulletin, I found that I've read a respectable 17.

I don't know if this is listed on a "banned books" list anywhere, but I've also read Chairman Mao's "Little Red Book."  Formally known as Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung (rating: 6/10), I borrowed this from a fellow student when I was finishing my senior year of high school in 1973.  It was a deliberately rebellious act, given that the nation was still dealing with the tragedy of the Vietnam War (though that would soon come to an end).  We lived near an Air Force base, and I knew a boy at school whose father was a pilot who had been shot down over Vietnam.  Another boy had a father who was a POW.  I did not disrespect the patriotism and commitment of those in the armed services, but I was definitely of the mind we should not be fighting in Vietnam.

I'm so grateful that we live in a country where we can read whatever we want and form our own opinions, even unpopular opinions.

From Musashi to Ochiai

In order to make room for new books, I frequently sift through my old books and see if I can get rid of any (usually by selling them at Half Price Books).  Considering whether I should get rid of Hidy Ochiai's translation of and commentary on Miyamoto Musashi's Book of Five Rings, my thoughts traveled in several directions.

First, A Book of Five Rings.  I read this quite some time ago and liked it very much.  Using warfare as a metaphor for competition in business resonated with me at the time.  But 28 years later, with 28+ years of business experience under my belt, I'm no longer interested in that metaphor.  And though I respect Sensei Ochiai, I didn't gain much from his annotation.

Second, training in washin-ryu karate with Sensei Ochiai.  It has been a long time.  Though I progressed to purple belt (yon-kyu, one belt below brown and black), I would have trouble remembering any but the simplest of katas now.  But Sensei Ochiai was someone we all respected greatly.  It was not only for his skill, or his association with some of the biggest names in martial arts (such as Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris).  It was how he carried himself, and his demonstration of what training and self-discipline can accomplish.  I remember how nervous I was the first time he tested me for a belt!  And even more so, what it was like to practice sparring with him.

Sensei wrote two books that I will definitely keep in my library, as they are important reminders of that period of my life.  They include The Essence of Self-Defense and Hidy Ochiai's Living Karate.  But I'm going to give up his annotation of Musashi's classic.

Nathan Bedford Forrest, Confederate Cavalry Leader

My great-great-grandfather, Andrew Jackson Lacy, was a lieutenant in the Eighth Tennessee Cavalry (CSA), part of the brigade commanded by General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Lt. Lacy disappeared during the war and I have been trying to piece together every known fact that might help us learn his fate. Naturally, books about Forrest describe many engagements that my ancestor participated in, and they might be able to provide new clues.

I picked up a used copy of Robert S. Chambers' The God of War: When I Rode with N. B. Forrest/The Letters of Henry Wylie, knowing that it was fiction, but thinking I might learn something new, or a different way to think about what my ancestor went through.  I've decided against reading it, however. This "historical interpretation", as the author refers to it, consists of letters written by an imaginary soldier serving under Forrest to his family, describing what he was experiencing. But in skimming the book I realized the soldier writing these letters was not in a position to know many of the details he was sharing with his family. It was as if the letter writer had access to the same books on Forrest as Chambers did when researching his book.

Non-fiction books about Forrest and the battles in which his forces fought include:

Davison, Eddy W. and Daniel Foxx. Nathan Bedford Forrest: In Search of the Enigma.
Henry, Robert Selph. First With the Most Forrest.
Hurst, Jack. Nathan Bedford Forrest: A Biography.
Jordan, Thomas and J. P. Pryor. The Campaigns of Lieutenant General N. B. Forrest and of Forrest's Cavalry.
Lytle, Andrew Nelson. Bedford Forrest and His Critter Company.
Wills, Brian Steel. A Battle from the Start: The Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest.
Wyeth, John Allan. That Devil Forrest.

The Knights Templar

The Knights Templar: Discovering the Myth and Reality of a Legendary Brotherhood, by Susie Hodge, is a well-illustrated overview of the origins of the Templars, the Crusades, the success of the Templars, and their eventual destruction - not by the hands of the Muslims but by the French crown and the Papacy. One detail of their story that I was not aware of is the belief that the Templars may have reached Nova Scotia in 1398, well before Columbus. I was also not aware that the Shroud of Turin has been linked to the Templars. The claim that the Templar fortress known as Krac des Chevaliers, in Syria, "is considered the greatest fortress in the world," certainly tempts me to put visiting the fortress on my "bucket list."

The Crusaders: Warriors of God, by Georges Tate, is also well-illustrated but provides more background regarding the Crusades. I remember when I finished reading this having a better understanding of "how the bloody 200-year confrontation between two worlds [Christian and Muslim] resulted in a mutual hostility and lack of understanding that persists to this day."

Of course many many novels have been written about the Templars and their secrets. Last April I read Raymond Khoury's The Last Templar and enjoyed it as an intriguing piece of escapist fiction. On the other hand, when my 9th-grade English teacher, Miss Spell, assigned Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe for me to read, I struggled through it somehow. I couldn't have told you, as Susie Hodge says in The Knights Templar, that Ivanhoe "reinforced the idea that the Templars were arrogant and overbearing and the possessors of esoteric anti-Christian secrets."

Finally, an excellent movie that deals with the Crusades and the Knights Templar is "Kingdom of Heaven." If you like movies directed by Ridley Scott ("Gladiator", "Robin Hood"), you'll like this one.

The Civil War Diary of William R. Dyer

The Civil War Diary of William R. Dyer: A Member of Forrest's Escort, is a transcription of the terse diary entries made by a member of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest's escort. The transcription is in two parts: an exact transcription and a slightly edited transcription.

It is unfortunate that Dyer generally wrote a sentence or two on any given day. There is some detail, but not much. Consequently, what he wrote will be of primary interest to scholars following Forrest's movements, but there is likely nothing of major interest.
I would've liked the transcriber to have provided context and descriptions. And only the edited transcription was needed in this book; having both versions really served no purpose I can see.
Also see Michael R. Bradley's Nathan Bedford Forrest's Escort and Staff.