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    Hubris: The Tragedy of War in the Twentieth Century
    Hubris: The Tragedy of War in the Twentieth Century
    Hubris: The Tragedy of War in the Twentieth Century
    Audiobook12 hours

    Hubris: The Tragedy of War in the Twentieth Century

    Written by Alistair Horne

    Narrated by James Adams

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    About this audiobook

    “EMINENTLY PROVOCATIVE AND READABLE.”—THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

    Sir Alistair Horne has been a close observer of war and history for more than fifty years and in this wise and masterly work, he revisits six battles of the past century and examines the strategies, leadership, preparation, and geopolitical goals of aggressors and defenders to reveal the one trait that links them all: hubris.

    In Greek tragedy, hubris is excessive human pride that challenges the gods and ultimately leads to total destruction of the offender. From the 1905 Battle of Tsushima in the Russo-Japanese War, to Hitler's 1941 bid to capture Moscow, to MacArthur's disastrous advance in Korea, to the French downfall at Dien Bien Phu, Horne shows how each of these battles was won or lost due to excessive hubris on one side or the other. In a sweeping narrative written with his trademark erudition and wit, Horne provides a meticulously detailed analysis of the ground maneuvers employed by the opposing armies in each battle. He also explores the strategic and psychological mindset of the military leaders involved to demonstrate how devastating combinations of human ambition and arrogance led to overreach. Making clear the danger of hubris in warfare, his insights hold resonant lessons for civilian and military leaders navigating today's complex global landscape.

    A dramatic, colorful, stylishly-written history, Hubris is a much-needed reflection on war from a master of his field.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateNov 17, 2015
    ISBN9780062420831
    Author

    Alistair Horne

    Sir Alistair Horne was born in London in 1925, and has spent much of his life abroad, including periods at schools in the United States and Switzerland. He served with the R.C.A.F. in Canada in 1943 and ended his war service with the rank of Captain in the Coldstream Guards attached to MI5 in the Middle East. He then went up to Jesus College, Cambridge, where he read English Literature and played international ice-hockey. After leaving Cambridge, Alistair Horne concentrated on writing: he spent three years in Germany as correspondent for the Daily Telegraph and speaks fluent French and German. His books include Back into Power; Small Earthquake in Chile; The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916 ; and The Seven Ages of Paris. A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954–62 won both the Yorkshire Post Book of the Year Prize and the Wolfson History Award in 1978, and he is the official biographer of Harold Macmillan. In 1970, he founded a research Fellowship for young historians at St Antony’s College, Oxford. In 1992 he was awarded the CBE; in 1993 he received the French Légion d’Honneur for his work on French history and a Litt.D. from Cambridge University.

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    Reviews for Hubris

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    • 4/5
      Hubris here is not a discrete battle or event. It’s all the events — sometimes years in the making — that create the hubris. Confined to the 20th Century.
    • 4/5
      Hubris – The Tragedy of War in the Twentieth CenturySir Alistair Horne, renowned historian, author, teacher and mentor, has published Hubris his view of the twentieth century through six battles that changed the course of the twentieth century and help to define the world in which we live. While some may complain that he has selected only 6 battles in what was a very bloody twentieth century, I am sure Sir Alistair would remind people that the 20th century had plenty of wars in every decade, and if he were to attempt to write about them all, rather than a readable book we would get an unreadable encyclopaedia. Yes, his choices are subjective, but then so is any choice of subject historians choose to write on, but with his chosen battles there is objectivity. As professor Niall Ferguson has already stated about this book is that ‘Hubris is his title and his leitmotif – more precisely, the overconfidence that so often leads to military disaster. All six battles in this book highlight this, the hubris of the leadership is what led them to disaster, and Hitler’s attempt to capture Moscow in 1941 encapsulates this.What we get is a sensible and sobering read about battles in the first fifty years of the twentieth century, and what we get is a sharp insight, observation and comment from Horne. He explains why he chose these six battles and the first fifty years, as he considers them the bloodiest of the century. If he were to continue longer then the book would no longer be readable as it currently is. This book is designed as well as those with an academic interest in the wars of the twentieth century, but the general reader, those that which to gain some insight of historical battles. So what we get is a detailed analysis of the manoeuvres of the combatant armies in each battle, the strategies used and the leadership. He also explains the geopolitical goals of the aggressors and those being attacked. What comes through is that in each of these battles there was a devastating combination of ambition and arrogance that led to the overreach. In other words, the hubris that brought their plans crashing to the ground.This an interesting book, especially for the general reader who wants to understand more about how, why and how some of the biggest battles came about, and how the victors were often those that had been attacked. This is one of the most readable accounts on a subject that is not often considered, the hubris of the leadership.
    • 4/5
      Horne examines the role of "Hubris", personally and nationally played in making the 20th Century, the bloodiest ever. He connects some obscure dots: Tsushima , Nomonhan, with some more obvious ones, Midway, Dien Bien Phu and The Yalu River make his case. His major actors, Czar Nicholas, Admiral Togo, Hitler, Stalin and General MacArthur in his scenario are better known and abetted by a less visible but deeply involved supporting cast like Richard Sorge and Colonel Tsuji. English imperialism, French military ineptitude, coupled with early German and Japanese victories light the biggest fires; quenched ultimately by Russian blood and American productivity. Interesting premise well stated and succinctly but suitably documented..
    • 4/5
      Fascinating and with the touch of a master storyteller's hand, if there's one history I will recommend this Christmas season, it will be Alistair Horne's Hubris: the Tragedy of War in the Twentieth Century. Interesting and accessible, Horne's approach is a narrative that doesn't merely tell a story, but also examines hubris in the tides of battle. It is well researched, cites relevant sources and histories, and is persuasive, not to mention thoroughly engaging to read.

      Beginning with the Russo-Japanese War of 1905 and ending with the last battle of the First Indochina War (the second being our Vietnam War), Dien Bien Phu, all of the battles that Horne examines fall roughly in the first half of the twentieth century, and with the exception of the Battle of the Straights of Tsushima, the final of the Russo-Japanese War, are all closely grouped around a period extending from 1939 to 1954. I'm sure there are plenty of histories that include each of the battles, but it was fascinating to view them through the lens of a nation or leader acting on hubris and taking his force beyond their capabilities.

      In Tsushima, we see the last battle between battleships, the last time a battleship was sunk by force of cannons. With its fleet in the Pacific scattered by the Japanese, Russia sent its Baltic Fleet around the Horn of Africa, across the Indian Ocean, and north to bolster defenses on the Korean peninsula. With building drama and suspense, Horne tells the story of the opposing admirals, each with dramatically different personalities and management styles. Here are the vivid colors of a final engagement equal in decisiveness to the English and French meeting at Trafalgar under Lord Nelson.

      Japan and Russia are also the opposing forces in Horne's second battle, over thirty years later at Nomonhan inside of Mongolia. It is Gregory Zhukov's first major step on the world stage, and it will bring him to Stalin's attention as Zhukov first executes the maneuvers that he will later use against the Germans during Operation Barbarossa during the invasion of Russia.

      It is during this invasion that we see Stalin stand in shocked silence at the news that Germans have invaded the Fatherland, despite repeated warnings not only from military leaders but from spies abroad. In what will become the largest battle in history and a turning point in the war, Hitler will extend himself too far to attempt to capture Moscow and, like Napoleon before him, be defeated by poor planning and the Russian winter.

      The fourth engagement is the Battle of Midway, early in the United States' involvement in World War II, and interestingly, it is the third that involves the Japanese.

      Last is a combination of General McArthur in Korea and the French in Indochina (Vietnam). I've recently read The Generals, by Thomas Ricks, which overlaps the Korea war therein, but this was the first account I've read about Dien Bien Phu.

      In each battle, Horne does more than just lay out the battle lines and order of battle. He steps back and sketches out relevant previous history leading up to it, providing context and color to the personalities behind the facts, dates, and troop movements. I found the writing absolutely fascinating, and I would definitely consider reading other books by Horne.