Words of War: From Antiquity to Modern Times. - Review - book review

Aerospace Power Journal, Spring, 2001 by Jeffrey C. Alfier

Words of War: From Antiquity to Modern Times by Gerald Weland. Heillgate Press (http://psiresearch.com/hellgate.htm), P.O. Box 3727, Central Point, Oregon 97502, 1999, 168 pages, $13.95 (paperback).

Unfortunately, despite the alluring title, this is not a work to be taken seriously. First, Weland offers no attempt at a thesis and does not even state the purpose of his book. Whatever his intent, what results is a collection of anecdotal historical sketches and chimerical observations, clumsily seamed together in superficial summations. This reviewer was continually puzzled by the author's fondness for unscintillating and commonplace quotations, a feature surpassed only by his storytelling vernacular, obscured by cliche.

As a professed historian, Weland exhibits an inexcusable absence of mind. For instance, he incorrectly asserts that George Pickett "rendered mediocre service in the war against Mexico" (p. 85). The truth is that Pickett was cited for gallantry and was breveted twice in fighting in Mexico. As for quotations, he seems to think that Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's only worthy citation was his biblical allusion to "crossing over the river." With just a little research, Weland would have found Jackson's most memorable quote, often falsely attributed to George Patton: "Never take counsel of your fears." Alternatively, Weland could have included Jackson's aphorism "War is the sum of all evils." Furthermore, rather than repeating William Tecumseh Sherman's inaccurately recorded words "War is hell" (p. 87), Weland could have brought a fresh reiteration of Sherman's lesser-known wisdom, such as "War is at best barbarism." Meanwhile, with regard to Robert E. Lee's last words, Weland would leave us with a feeble epigram: " Strike the tent." It would have been better to cite Lee's reply to some of his soldiers who wanted to continue the war after Appomattox: "Abandon your animosities.... Make your sons Americans."

Weland does provide some long-needed discussion of incidents perhaps treated lightly in American history, such as wars of the Middle Ages or America's war with the Sioux. His praise of Native American warriors is a long-overdue welcome, as is his excoriation of the US government for depredations in the western territories. But, sad to say, whatever good may come from this sketchy book can be more thoroughly gained from any junior-high-school history textbook. Even if describing the contexts for notable quotes is Weland's intent, readers would be better served by James Charlton's The Military Quotation Book or William J. Bennett's Our Sacred Honor: Words of Advice from the Founders in Stories, Letters, Poems, and Speeches. From a scholastic standpoint, such a cursory treatment is not worthy of any professional reader's time.