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The End of Everything: How Wars Descend into Annihilation
A New York Times –bestselling historian charts how and why societies from ancient Greece to the modern era chose to utterly destroy their foes, and warns that similar wars of obliteration are possible in our time
War can settle disputes, topple tyrants, and bend the trajectory of civilization—sometimes to the breaking point. From Troy to Hiroshima, moments when war has ended in utter annihilation have reverberated through the centuries, signaling the end of political systems, cultures, and epochs. Though much has changed over the millennia, human nature remains the same. Modern societies are not immune from the horror of a war of extinction.
In The End of Everything , military historian Victor Davis Hanson narrates a series of sieges and sackings that span the age of antiquity to the conquest of the New World to show how societies descend into barbarism and obliteration. In the stories of Thebes, Carthage, Constantinople, and Tenochtitlan, he depicts war’s drama, violence, and folly. Highlighting the naivete that plagued the vanquished and the wrath that justified mass slaughter, Hanson delivers a sobering call to contemporary readers to heed the lessons of obliteration lest we blunder into catastrophe once again.
War can settle disputes, topple tyrants, and bend the trajectory of civilization—sometimes to the breaking point. From Troy to Hiroshima, moments when war has ended in utter annihilation have reverberated through the centuries, signaling the end of political systems, cultures, and epochs. Though much has changed over the millennia, human nature remains the same. Modern societies are not immune from the horror of a war of extinction.
In The End of Everything , military historian Victor Davis Hanson narrates a series of sieges and sackings that span the age of antiquity to the conquest of the New World to show how societies descend into barbarism and obliteration. In the stories of Thebes, Carthage, Constantinople, and Tenochtitlan, he depicts war’s drama, violence, and folly. Highlighting the naivete that plagued the vanquished and the wrath that justified mass slaughter, Hanson delivers a sobering call to contemporary readers to heed the lessons of obliteration lest we blunder into catastrophe once again.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published May 7, 2024
About the author
Victor Davis Hanson
69 books966 followersHanson was educated at the University of California, Santa Cruz (BA, Classics, 1975), the American School of Classical Studies (1978-79) and received his Ph.D. in Classics from Stanford University in 1980. He lives and works with his family on their forty-acre tree and vine farm near Selma, California, where he was born in 1953.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
July 1, 2024
A stupendous work by the always brilliant Victor Davis Hanson. it is an extremely well written, readable and fascinating history of four civilizations that were completed destroyed by their enemies (Thebes, Carthage, Byzantium and the Aztecs), and is both informative and instructive. Hanson is a scholar so it is well documented with notes and sources.
March 11, 2024
In Victor David Hanson's "The End of Everything: How Wars Descend Into Annihilation" (I am working from an ARC graciously provided by the publisher, Basic Books), the noted historian examines the fate of four cities from our cultural past: Classical Thebes, Carthage, Constantinople, and finally Aztec Tenochtitlan. In four fascinating chapters he examines each of these in some detail focusing on the immediate events which precipitated the collapse of the Culture and Civilization which each centered and the cataclysmic nature of their respective ends. His thesis, most clearly revealed in his epilogue, is that there are lessons that we should be aware of in how things came to pass, often through naivety, hubris, and misunderstanding as well as a deliberate and fanciful dependence on real or presumed allies exacerbated by a willful refusal to recognize the power and intent of their enemies (underestimation of both capabilities and intentions). The respective tales are written with the verve and mastery of his research materials characteristic of this distinguished historian, and they. make, collectively, for a sad tale of human folly. There is a lot to learn from Hanson's treatise with immediate applications in our increasingly violent world; there are clear implications for the Ukraine and Israel; and we ignore them at great peril. This book belongs in most collections.
July 24, 2024
This book is a history of how 5 cities and their cultures were wiped out by war. Hansen then makes some observations in the final chapter regarding what we can learn from them. It was nice to have an assortment of historical accounts complied like this, as I would not normally read a detailed account of the fall of Tenochtitlan and the Aztecs.
Want to read
May 10, 2024WSJ review by Robert D. Kaplan: https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/book...
(Paywalled. As always, I'm happy to email a copy to non-subscribers.) :
Excerpt:
"This book is about flourishing civilizations cut down in their prime, often with relatively little warning, with vast geopolitical consequences. ....
In this context, one has to think of the fate of the U.S. and the West, and how—and if—it will come to an end: whether by internal decay or by a sudden cataclysm. Rather than saying it can’t happen to us, for the sake of our own self-defense we should always contemplate that it very well might."
Indeed.
(Paywalled. As always, I'm happy to email a copy to non-subscribers.) :
Excerpt:
"This book is about flourishing civilizations cut down in their prime, often with relatively little warning, with vast geopolitical consequences. ....
In this context, one has to think of the fate of the U.S. and the West, and how—and if—it will come to an end: whether by internal decay or by a sudden cataclysm. Rather than saying it can’t happen to us, for the sake of our own self-defense we should always contemplate that it very well might."
Indeed.
March 23, 2024
True defeat in modern warfare has not been seen. The total defeat of one’s enemy to the point where they cannot regroup or they are deterred to counterattack is a concept from antiquity and the medieval world. One does not need to look too far back to see that this point is correct ( resurgence of the Taliban and ISIS for instance). It takes a classical scholar to point this out and Victor Davis Hanson is the one for this job. Taking his knowledge of the classical world, he has reintroduced to the reader what defeat can look like especially when conflicts are becoming more large scale and old adversaries build themselves up again.
May 28, 2024
An okay work of history, focusing on the annihilatory wars between Macedon and Thebes, Rome and Carthage, the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires, and Spain and the Aztecs. In each section Hanson spends some time (somewhat repetitiously) detailing the historical context for the total destruction of the losers, with a little coda on the subsequent rebuilding or continued use of the conquered city by the conquerors. It's reasonably interesting, if lacking in the sweeping takeaways for contemporary life that the jacket copy promises.
However, one big thing jumped out to me that undermined the whole experience: during the section on the Punic Wars, Hanson straight-facedly cites the Caledonian leader Calgacus as the source of the famous "they make a desert and call it peace" quote. The thing is, I happen to know a little about that, specifically that the speech attributed to Calgacus is generally agreed by historians to probably be an outright invention of the historian Tacitus (in the way that anybody would question long verbatim quotations in histories of that era written by people who weren't there). Hanson's point would be equally served by discussing the questionable provenance of the quote (that opinion being held by a Roman historian is arguably more consequential than the opinion of one of Rome's supposed foes), but he makes no mention of it. I hate when I happen to find scholarly errors in the parts of history books that I have some familiarity with, because then I have to question the trustworthiness of all of the parts that are new to me.
Thanks to NetGalley and Basic Books for the ARC.
However, one big thing jumped out to me that undermined the whole experience: during the section on the Punic Wars, Hanson straight-facedly cites the Caledonian leader Calgacus as the source of the famous "they make a desert and call it peace" quote. The thing is, I happen to know a little about that, specifically that the speech attributed to Calgacus is generally agreed by historians to probably be an outright invention of the historian Tacitus (in the way that anybody would question long verbatim quotations in histories of that era written by people who weren't there). Hanson's point would be equally served by discussing the questionable provenance of the quote (that opinion being held by a Roman historian is arguably more consequential than the opinion of one of Rome's supposed foes), but he makes no mention of it. I hate when I happen to find scholarly errors in the parts of history books that I have some familiarity with, because then I have to question the trustworthiness of all of the parts that are new to me.
Thanks to NetGalley and Basic Books for the ARC.
June 9, 2024
Dense and insightful. Highly recommend for those wanting to understand how societies end up in defeat. Will make for an interesting book club discussion and a great reference book for anyone’s shelf as an authoritative and detailed source on the subject matter.
I would like to thank Basic Books for providing me with an advance readers copy via access to the galley for free through the NetGalley program.
The Story
The uniqueness is that it focuses on the wartime situation as the factor in ending a civilization, extensive research, in a compilation form which compares:
-Macedon and Thebes
-Rome and Carthage
-Byzantine and Ottoman Empires
-Spain and the Aztecs
The defining factors ending a civilization, along with the limiting factors to recognize the downfall, with notable endeavors to destroy a community, what moral decline looks like, to fain power and wealth, and an evaluation from an individual and collective viewpoint.
The outlook on life, destruction, the conquering, brutality, occupying forces, and the reigning forces that were present within leadership and those imposed upon people, whether stealthily employed, ignored, viewed as a salvageable society, or overtly divided from within.
I liked how the verbiage was explained as sorted by past application and today’s standard of comparison.
Whether principles of democracies and structures of government warring with other democracies and brutality in what would be considered an “advanced society.” Civilized in terms of properness. Of what would be degrading and gruesome, was common and even exalted practice. I loved the way it gave scale to armies and land area. Brought attention to the enumeration of casualties.
A number of details I was less familiar with. I definitely took my time with this one. Looking up more historical events, which led me to interactive maps and watching several documentaries and episodes namely on Kings and Generals YouTube channel, then onto archeological sites, and weaponry. Then finally much time looking at combat and dress uniforms, and the fashion influences of the day, whether as a result of scarcity, abundance, tactic, function, identification, aesthetic appeal, homage, and legacy with subsequent art and cultural nuance reflected in a changing society.
Gleaned a lot from this book in relevance to today.
The Writing
I appreciated the direct quotes used, with the in-paragraph direct references, and the poetry.
The translational efforts and etymology of words was a nice touch.
I was grateful for the diagrams and maps.
Well-organized.
Loved the epilogue.
Lots to garner from in this book. One I would enjoy revisiting.
Looking forward to more from this author, as his work is always a great source for reference material.
Blog post
I would like to thank Basic Books for providing me with an advance readers copy via access to the galley for free through the NetGalley program.
The Story
The uniqueness is that it focuses on the wartime situation as the factor in ending a civilization, extensive research, in a compilation form which compares:
-Macedon and Thebes
-Rome and Carthage
-Byzantine and Ottoman Empires
-Spain and the Aztecs
The defining factors ending a civilization, along with the limiting factors to recognize the downfall, with notable endeavors to destroy a community, what moral decline looks like, to fain power and wealth, and an evaluation from an individual and collective viewpoint.
The outlook on life, destruction, the conquering, brutality, occupying forces, and the reigning forces that were present within leadership and those imposed upon people, whether stealthily employed, ignored, viewed as a salvageable society, or overtly divided from within.
I liked how the verbiage was explained as sorted by past application and today’s standard of comparison.
Whether principles of democracies and structures of government warring with other democracies and brutality in what would be considered an “advanced society.” Civilized in terms of properness. Of what would be degrading and gruesome, was common and even exalted practice. I loved the way it gave scale to armies and land area. Brought attention to the enumeration of casualties.
A number of details I was less familiar with. I definitely took my time with this one. Looking up more historical events, which led me to interactive maps and watching several documentaries and episodes namely on Kings and Generals YouTube channel, then onto archeological sites, and weaponry. Then finally much time looking at combat and dress uniforms, and the fashion influences of the day, whether as a result of scarcity, abundance, tactic, function, identification, aesthetic appeal, homage, and legacy with subsequent art and cultural nuance reflected in a changing society.
Gleaned a lot from this book in relevance to today.
The Writing
I appreciated the direct quotes used, with the in-paragraph direct references, and the poetry.
The translational efforts and etymology of words was a nice touch.
I was grateful for the diagrams and maps.
Well-organized.
Loved the epilogue.
Lots to garner from in this book. One I would enjoy revisiting.
Looking forward to more from this author, as his work is always a great source for reference material.
Blog post
June 18, 2024
Victor Davis Hanson is both a Classical scholar and a military historian. When he ventures into commentary on contemporary political iussues, I sometimes find it difficult to share his opinions, but when writing about the past, he is always insightful and original. This book describes the fall of one Greek city state and three empires, the Carthaginian, Byzantine, and Aztec. And for both an amateur classicist and military history buff, I particularly enjoyed learning not only what happened to the losers, but also why the victors won. One thing struck me is that whilst the winners were thoroughly unattractive - especially in their unquestioned assumption that extirpating or enslaving the defeated is simply the right of a victor - both the Carthaginians and the Aztecs with their human sacrifices make the Roman and Spanish Empires look positively beneficent by comparison. Indeed Hellenism and Roman civilization were arguably great contributions to human history (especially from a Christian viewpoint). And in the case of the Aztecs, the Spanish Inquisition looks positively enlightened in contrast.
July 22, 2024
Horrifying and fascinating by turn. Constantinople was destroyed by a 21 year old (Sultan Mehmed Il) and Thebes an 18 year old (Alexander the Great). Weirdly unsurprising. Kids have so much energy. And Cortes was able to destroy the Aztec empire with a minuscule force because the Aztecs waged war by capturing their foes, not killing them until later. Savoring it, I guess. That they pulled the still beating heart out of the captured is not in dispute. The extent of the subsequent (and also undisputed) cannibalism is. The disagreement is whether the cannibalism was strictly ceremonial or whether it was a reliable and steady protein source for the upper classes in a protein challenged environment. Oh, and when Constantinople fell there was hardly anyone there. The murder and looting part must have been a little bit of a letdown. Carthage was pretty much as you would expect. They were no threat to the Romans. The Romans did it just because they could. Nice guys finish last, murderous jerks are world conquerors. You heard it here first.
June 14, 2024
A fascinating and thoughtful read about some very dark subject matter. Hanson presents an interesting case study and background history into these doomed civilizations and their destroyers. Not overly academic or laborious, this is a quite approachable read and is certainly eye-opening. Highly recommend.
June 18, 2024
Just as the topic, the book itself can sometimes feel repetitive. It focused a bit too much on the military strategy side of things to my liking.
June 13, 2024
An entertaining and obviously well researched book by VDH (of course!). I will say that after having read several of Mr Hanson's book, they tend to lean a bit towards redundancy on occasion but overall great reads. I did notice at least 2 typos in the text which is always kind of a bummer to find!
May 20, 2024
Insightful
Insightful analysis of past devastation that portends what is possible today in the U.S. Prior devastated countries were annihilated while feeling secure.
Insightful analysis of past devastation that portends what is possible today in the U.S. Prior devastated countries were annihilated while feeling secure.
July 17, 2024
An interesting premise on singular sieges that destroyed civilizations where the examples don't quite pay off.
Classics historian Victor Davis Hanson became super popular following the 9/11 attacks as his "Carnage and Culture" - published in January 2001, became a primer for the War on Terror as western societies sought to understand this very "foreign" enemy and ideology.
Hanson's book was a survey of how the western democratic cultural tradition made it more effective at warfighting than non-western anti-democratic/authoritarian societies. Hanson's approach was to present a quick overview of a number of (successful) pivotal battles between western and non-western forces (Greeks vs Persians / Brits vs Zulus / Europeans vs Muslims / etc.). It made for great reading, was instructive, insightful, and highly influential in the philosophical underpinnings of the War on Terror.
Hanson became something of a go-to source for all things "West vs East" in mostly conservative media during the GWOT given his status as a respected historian of classical Greece and the "Western Way of War" (the title of one of his earlier books about infantry battle in classical Greece). While he would still periodically publish increasingly "popular" military histories (usually with a foot still in the classical Greek tradition) -- his bread and butter quickly became reliably conservative political pundit/columnist.
Nothing wrong with that, but Hanson began to branch out to opine on anything and everything under the political sun. Usually via weekly columns or collections of essays with the results being decidedly…mixed (i.e. if you agreed, he was prophetic. If you didn't, meh.).
So here we are in 2024 with "The End of Everything,", a full 7 years after the Hanson's last military history (2017's "The Second World Wars") and 11 years after his last history with a classical Greek component ("The Savior Generals"). "The End of Everything" has an interesting premise covering major sieges that marked the "end" of four civilizations: Thebes (by Alexander), Carthage (by Rome), Constantinople (by the Ottomans), and Tenochtitlan (by Cortes).
It's a great premise where a polis/people/culture are ended in a single instant -- but the examples don't quite pay off. Structurally, with the exception of the siege of Tenochtitlan, Hanson doesn't waste ANY time telling the reader HOW we got to the point of this ultimate civilization-ending siege/battle. He drops us right in to the specifics of which walls were manned and where forces were arrayed. Even for those familiar with the history, some scene-setting context would have been appreciated.
That critique aside, only the siege of Tenochtitlan really seems to fit the premise of a singular event utterly ending/dispersing/destroying a culture/society. While Thebes and Carthage were certainly destroyed (though they eventually came back in some form or fashion) -- their destroyers were not so culturally distinct to really fit the premise that the dominant culture/people ceased to exist. Quite simply, there was not enough cultural daylight between Alexander's Macedonians and Thebans or between the Romans and Carthaginians to support Hanson's premise. It'd be like saying if Los Angeles wiped San Francisco off the map that "San Franciscan" culture was destroyed. While true, there's still too much similarity between the two to really make an interesting point.
Similarly, the Ottoman siege of Constantinople was really the culmination of a centuries long decline of the Byzantine empire and while the fall of Constantinople meant the fall of the city as center of the Byzantine Empire, the people and its cultural traditions still endured.
Only the fall of Aztec Tenochtitlan at the hands of Cortes' conquistadors really fits Hanson's premise given the suddenness of the introduction of Spanish arms to the area and taking of the city, the centrality of the city to Aztec culture, and the wholly different cultures of the Spanish and Aztecs.
Overall, "The End of Everything" has a great premise that doesn't quite deliver.
Classics historian Victor Davis Hanson became super popular following the 9/11 attacks as his "Carnage and Culture" - published in January 2001, became a primer for the War on Terror as western societies sought to understand this very "foreign" enemy and ideology.
Hanson's book was a survey of how the western democratic cultural tradition made it more effective at warfighting than non-western anti-democratic/authoritarian societies. Hanson's approach was to present a quick overview of a number of (successful) pivotal battles between western and non-western forces (Greeks vs Persians / Brits vs Zulus / Europeans vs Muslims / etc.). It made for great reading, was instructive, insightful, and highly influential in the philosophical underpinnings of the War on Terror.
Hanson became something of a go-to source for all things "West vs East" in mostly conservative media during the GWOT given his status as a respected historian of classical Greece and the "Western Way of War" (the title of one of his earlier books about infantry battle in classical Greece). While he would still periodically publish increasingly "popular" military histories (usually with a foot still in the classical Greek tradition) -- his bread and butter quickly became reliably conservative political pundit/columnist.
Nothing wrong with that, but Hanson began to branch out to opine on anything and everything under the political sun. Usually via weekly columns or collections of essays with the results being decidedly…mixed (i.e. if you agreed, he was prophetic. If you didn't, meh.).
So here we are in 2024 with "The End of Everything,", a full 7 years after the Hanson's last military history (2017's "The Second World Wars") and 11 years after his last history with a classical Greek component ("The Savior Generals"). "The End of Everything" has an interesting premise covering major sieges that marked the "end" of four civilizations: Thebes (by Alexander), Carthage (by Rome), Constantinople (by the Ottomans), and Tenochtitlan (by Cortes).
It's a great premise where a polis/people/culture are ended in a single instant -- but the examples don't quite pay off. Structurally, with the exception of the siege of Tenochtitlan, Hanson doesn't waste ANY time telling the reader HOW we got to the point of this ultimate civilization-ending siege/battle. He drops us right in to the specifics of which walls were manned and where forces were arrayed. Even for those familiar with the history, some scene-setting context would have been appreciated.
That critique aside, only the siege of Tenochtitlan really seems to fit the premise of a singular event utterly ending/dispersing/destroying a culture/society. While Thebes and Carthage were certainly destroyed (though they eventually came back in some form or fashion) -- their destroyers were not so culturally distinct to really fit the premise that the dominant culture/people ceased to exist. Quite simply, there was not enough cultural daylight between Alexander's Macedonians and Thebans or between the Romans and Carthaginians to support Hanson's premise. It'd be like saying if Los Angeles wiped San Francisco off the map that "San Franciscan" culture was destroyed. While true, there's still too much similarity between the two to really make an interesting point.
Similarly, the Ottoman siege of Constantinople was really the culmination of a centuries long decline of the Byzantine empire and while the fall of Constantinople meant the fall of the city as center of the Byzantine Empire, the people and its cultural traditions still endured.
Only the fall of Aztec Tenochtitlan at the hands of Cortes' conquistadors really fits Hanson's premise given the suddenness of the introduction of Spanish arms to the area and taking of the city, the centrality of the city to Aztec culture, and the wholly different cultures of the Spanish and Aztecs.
Overall, "The End of Everything" has a great premise that doesn't quite deliver.
July 12, 2024
Victor Davis Hanson's "The End of Everything" isn't your average war chronicle. It's a descent into the abyss, a terrifying exploration of how wars can spiral into the complete annihilation of civilizations. Hanson, a military historian with a knack for gripping narrative, uses four chilling case studies: the sacking of Troy, the razing of Carthage, the fall of Constantinople, and the Aztec conquest of Tenochtitlan. Each chapter is a masterclass in tension, building from the initial hubris of the doomed cultures to the horrifying brutality of their demise. Hanson exposes the arrogance that blinds societies to the true cost of war. He warns against the intoxicating allure of vengeance, showing how the victors, consumed by rage, become as barbaric as the vanquished. The prose is both elegant and unflinching, refusing to shy away from the gruesome realities of these conflicts. But "The End of Everything" isn't merely a morbid spectacle. It's a stark warning for our own time. Hanson argues that human nature, despite the veneer of progress, remains susceptible to the same primal urges that drove these ancient wars. He urges readers to confront the potential for modern warfare to escalate into unthinkable devastation. This book is not for the faint of heart. It's a brutal wake-up call, a reminder that the path to annihilation is paved with good intentions and historical amnesia. Yet, within the darkness, Hanson offers a sliver of hope. By understanding the past's devastating mistakes, we might just avoid repeating them in our own future. Be prepare to be shaken to your core.
June 18, 2024
Educational and entertaining if you are a history buff or want to understand the whys and wherefores of the collapse and annihilation of some societies. Annihilation is the key word here as this treatise deals with the complete utter destruction and elimination of societies via warfare. Thebes, Carthage, Constantinople, and the Aztec Tenochtitlan (Mexico City). All of these stories are by nature and fact violent, but Hanson does not detail the violence to detraction - he just makes sure you understand that it took place (still takes place).
I always enjoyed history classes but it is not nearly a passion. I picked this up because it is written by Victor Davis Hanson - whose intelligence and opinions I highly value. I was not disappointed. These are not dry textbook readings, but telling of the stories.
The purpose here is to better understand the common traits and failings of these societies that led to their departure from the planet - and in the epilogue a discussion on the fact that it is entirely possible all of this history can be repeated today.
I would give this five stars but for one thing, and that is some of the vocabulary is really obscure, seldom used words. Thanks to Kindle dictionary for helping out. While rightly very scholarly and accurate, I think more common language would touch a larger audience. As much my own failing I am sure.
In the end I reached my goal of learning a lot more than I knew before I read it...thanks Victor.
I always enjoyed history classes but it is not nearly a passion. I picked this up because it is written by Victor Davis Hanson - whose intelligence and opinions I highly value. I was not disappointed. These are not dry textbook readings, but telling of the stories.
The purpose here is to better understand the common traits and failings of these societies that led to their departure from the planet - and in the epilogue a discussion on the fact that it is entirely possible all of this history can be repeated today.
I would give this five stars but for one thing, and that is some of the vocabulary is really obscure, seldom used words. Thanks to Kindle dictionary for helping out. While rightly very scholarly and accurate, I think more common language would touch a larger audience. As much my own failing I am sure.
In the end I reached my goal of learning a lot more than I knew before I read it...thanks Victor.
June 17, 2024
Scary
If four great civilizations can be wiped out after thinking they were impregnable, what will happen to us? Great book by the author as usual.
If four great civilizations can be wiped out after thinking they were impregnable, what will happen to us? Great book by the author as usual.
June 6, 2024
THE END OF EVERYTHING
How War Descend into Annihilation
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON
Review by Author Roy Murry
VDH's book, The End of Everything, is a captivating journey through Ancient History. It brings to life the significant conflicts that led to the downfall of civilizations like Carthage, the Aztecs, and others.
Interwoven in his stories are human decisions based on their culture's norms during world development. By referring to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, he infers that the destruction of current cultures is nearing a breaking point.
Having taken Ancient History as a course in college, I find these detailed narratives somewhat overwhelming for the reader looking for entertainment. However, this extensive read is for history buffs or college students who want to learn how humans behave during war.
How War Descend into Annihilation
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON
Review by Author Roy Murry
VDH's book, The End of Everything, is a captivating journey through Ancient History. It brings to life the significant conflicts that led to the downfall of civilizations like Carthage, the Aztecs, and others.
Interwoven in his stories are human decisions based on their culture's norms during world development. By referring to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, he infers that the destruction of current cultures is nearing a breaking point.
Having taken Ancient History as a course in college, I find these detailed narratives somewhat overwhelming for the reader looking for entertainment. However, this extensive read is for history buffs or college students who want to learn how humans behave during war.
June 13, 2024
I’ve been a fan of VDH’s writing, but this book is special. Interesting history, but scary in the current world.
June 8, 2024
My fifth history by the great Victor Davis Hanson. This one reviewsfour times in histroy where a civilization completely ends after a conflict: Thebes, Carthage, Constaninople and Tonotichilan. The similarities are not obvious, but after he lays out the story, the hubris of the destroyed society seems to be a common thread. Recommend to all military history nerds
June 6, 2024
What a history lesson! This is a must read for everyone, and the last chapter is the scariest!
June 1, 2024
The End of Everything
This was an interesting and thought provoking read. The similarities to current situations should encourage us to learn from history and not repeat mistakes.
This was an interesting and thought provoking read. The similarities to current situations should encourage us to learn from history and not repeat mistakes.
May 30, 2024
The End of Everything — How Wars Descend into Annihilation
by Victor David Hanson, ©2004, 343 pages
A short Book Report by Ron Housley (5.30.2024)
Victor Davis Hanson challenges us to reconsider our long held belief that the future of our culture in assured, at least in our own lifetimes. Most thoughts of losing our cherished liberties and way of life are blithely waved off with a dismissive “It can’t happen here.”
Hanson presents us with four case studies of past civilizations, where each ended quickly in spite of the “It can’t happen here” assumptions firmly in place at the time each was ended. “The fate of the Thebans, Carthaginians, Byzantines, and Aztecs reminds us that what ‘cannot possibly happen’ can indeed on occasion occur.” (p. 287)
MORAL PHILOSOPHY
I was surprised but pleased that Hanson at least hinted at the moral philosophic issues plaguing each of the major civilizations as they abruptly came to an end. I am accustomed to reading accounts of great events as if they took place in a moral vacuum, even though most of them took place specifically because of the moral positions adopted by the historical actors.
Hanson tells us that there was a certain “moral retrogression” (p. 3) in each of these four civilizations, which might even be used as a predictor of a future cultural extinctions. When we look at these four historical annihilations in search for insights about current evolving history, the cash value to us might very well be in uncovering what moral premises are at play.
CARTHAGE
There have been cultures and civilizations laid to waste by brutal armies, but only a few (I guess) where the cultures were utterly annihilated. One of these was Carthage in 146BC.
The possible geopolitical machinations contributing to the Third Punic War, where Carthage was decimated, included the usual opportunity to rape, pillage and loot. But there were pretexts which, on various levels, were offered up as justifications: such as the fear that Carthage might colonize North Africa creating a new threat to Rome, a threat to Roman security merely by Carthage’s continued existence. (Eliminating Carthage removed Rome’s need to preserve deterrence, which cost it dearly in the centuries ahead.)
My own take on the sacking of Carthage is that it was mostly “empire building,” much in the same vein as Russia’s sacking of Ukraine today. (But at this point in time, it is not possible to project whether the outcome in Ukraine will involve a permanent cultural obliteration, but annihilation cannot be ruled out.)
But by no standard of justice can I see where the 146BC savage obliteration of Carthage was anything other than pure immoral horror, executed in the name of expanding or securing empire status. It was an era before “individual rights” had been discovered, so it feels anachronistic to judge them by 18th century standards. Nonetheless, it had the trappings of a moral travesty.
SAME WAR DIFFERENT TIME
Hanson goes through the siege of Thebes in ancient Greece, the siege of Carthage in 146BC, the siege of Constantinople in 1453, and the annihilation of the Aztecs less than a hundred years later. In each case he tells us that similar ideas were at play: over-confidence and hubris of the defenders; underestimation of the attacking force; display of compassion and concession toward the attackers —signaling a lack of deterrence.
In the present day, we can add to this list: entire generation brought up on primitive, medieval antisemitism; students not only poorly trained but arrogant; a generation supportive of pro-terrorist causes, i.e., supportive not of the defenders but of the attackers. Both then and now the seeds for losing a culture are scattered widely.
LESSONS DRAWN
I have previously been attracted by other Victor Davis Hanson books, one proclaiming that only when an aggressor enemy is utterly crushed on his own homeland is there any hope of a “lasting peace.”
In other books, VDH has had the knack of painting the 30 thousand foot view of a geopolitical situation, in order to give us enhanced perspective on an event or historical period. I didn’t sense quite the same degree of enthusiastic writing as he told the stories of these 4 annihilated cultures. This work didn’t seem as razor sharp as “The Soul of Battle” or “The Second World Wars.”
But I did register his warning that the occupants of those four annihilated cultures did not appreciate the capabilities of the enemy outside its walls. In today’s geopolitical context, it’s not so much the ancient hubris of invincibility that worries, so much as today’s culture of altruism where the rulers inside the walls are driven by their self-imposed mandate to not oppress an attacker who might have only one atomic weapon. And like the ancient defenders of those four civilizations, our current defenders tend to misrepresent the intent of today’s crop of barbarians at the gate.
THE END OF US TODAY
My own personal doomsday scenario might be a single nuclear detonation high in the atmosphere which disables satellite communications, including GPS, and which causes an EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) to disable the national electric grid for months or years.
Victor Hanson showed us in four historical cases how the existing culture was over-confident and did not take basic preventive steps to insure its own self-defense.
If a dozen fanatics with box cutters could decimate lower Manhattan, I can’t imagine what a rogue regime with just one atomic bomb could do in bringing down an entire nation. The take-home lesson of Hanson’s narrative is that we must resist the hubris of “It can’t happen here.”
by Victor David Hanson, ©2004, 343 pages
A short Book Report by Ron Housley (5.30.2024)
Victor Davis Hanson challenges us to reconsider our long held belief that the future of our culture in assured, at least in our own lifetimes. Most thoughts of losing our cherished liberties and way of life are blithely waved off with a dismissive “It can’t happen here.”
Hanson presents us with four case studies of past civilizations, where each ended quickly in spite of the “It can’t happen here” assumptions firmly in place at the time each was ended. “The fate of the Thebans, Carthaginians, Byzantines, and Aztecs reminds us that what ‘cannot possibly happen’ can indeed on occasion occur.” (p. 287)
MORAL PHILOSOPHY
I was surprised but pleased that Hanson at least hinted at the moral philosophic issues plaguing each of the major civilizations as they abruptly came to an end. I am accustomed to reading accounts of great events as if they took place in a moral vacuum, even though most of them took place specifically because of the moral positions adopted by the historical actors.
Hanson tells us that there was a certain “moral retrogression” (p. 3) in each of these four civilizations, which might even be used as a predictor of a future cultural extinctions. When we look at these four historical annihilations in search for insights about current evolving history, the cash value to us might very well be in uncovering what moral premises are at play.
CARTHAGE
There have been cultures and civilizations laid to waste by brutal armies, but only a few (I guess) where the cultures were utterly annihilated. One of these was Carthage in 146BC.
The possible geopolitical machinations contributing to the Third Punic War, where Carthage was decimated, included the usual opportunity to rape, pillage and loot. But there were pretexts which, on various levels, were offered up as justifications: such as the fear that Carthage might colonize North Africa creating a new threat to Rome, a threat to Roman security merely by Carthage’s continued existence. (Eliminating Carthage removed Rome’s need to preserve deterrence, which cost it dearly in the centuries ahead.)
My own take on the sacking of Carthage is that it was mostly “empire building,” much in the same vein as Russia’s sacking of Ukraine today. (But at this point in time, it is not possible to project whether the outcome in Ukraine will involve a permanent cultural obliteration, but annihilation cannot be ruled out.)
But by no standard of justice can I see where the 146BC savage obliteration of Carthage was anything other than pure immoral horror, executed in the name of expanding or securing empire status. It was an era before “individual rights” had been discovered, so it feels anachronistic to judge them by 18th century standards. Nonetheless, it had the trappings of a moral travesty.
SAME WAR DIFFERENT TIME
Hanson goes through the siege of Thebes in ancient Greece, the siege of Carthage in 146BC, the siege of Constantinople in 1453, and the annihilation of the Aztecs less than a hundred years later. In each case he tells us that similar ideas were at play: over-confidence and hubris of the defenders; underestimation of the attacking force; display of compassion and concession toward the attackers —signaling a lack of deterrence.
In the present day, we can add to this list: entire generation brought up on primitive, medieval antisemitism; students not only poorly trained but arrogant; a generation supportive of pro-terrorist causes, i.e., supportive not of the defenders but of the attackers. Both then and now the seeds for losing a culture are scattered widely.
LESSONS DRAWN
I have previously been attracted by other Victor Davis Hanson books, one proclaiming that only when an aggressor enemy is utterly crushed on his own homeland is there any hope of a “lasting peace.”
In other books, VDH has had the knack of painting the 30 thousand foot view of a geopolitical situation, in order to give us enhanced perspective on an event or historical period. I didn’t sense quite the same degree of enthusiastic writing as he told the stories of these 4 annihilated cultures. This work didn’t seem as razor sharp as “The Soul of Battle” or “The Second World Wars.”
But I did register his warning that the occupants of those four annihilated cultures did not appreciate the capabilities of the enemy outside its walls. In today’s geopolitical context, it’s not so much the ancient hubris of invincibility that worries, so much as today’s culture of altruism where the rulers inside the walls are driven by their self-imposed mandate to not oppress an attacker who might have only one atomic weapon. And like the ancient defenders of those four civilizations, our current defenders tend to misrepresent the intent of today’s crop of barbarians at the gate.
THE END OF US TODAY
My own personal doomsday scenario might be a single nuclear detonation high in the atmosphere which disables satellite communications, including GPS, and which causes an EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) to disable the national electric grid for months or years.
Victor Hanson showed us in four historical cases how the existing culture was over-confident and did not take basic preventive steps to insure its own self-defense.
If a dozen fanatics with box cutters could decimate lower Manhattan, I can’t imagine what a rogue regime with just one atomic bomb could do in bringing down an entire nation. The take-home lesson of Hanson’s narrative is that we must resist the hubris of “It can’t happen here.”
June 25, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed Victor Davis Hanson’s The End of Everything: How Wars Descend into Annihilation.
It gave me a thumbnail description of parts of history I had read about in the past but most of which I had not penetrated in detail: classical Thebes, which saw the Macedonians eliminate the independent Greek city-state; Carthage, with the Romans obliterating the city at the end of the Third Punic War; Constantinople, with Mahmet II finally destroying a much depleted Byzantine culture; and, finally, Aztec Tenochtitlan, where Cortez, with less than 1,000 conquistadors, obliterated the Aztec civilization and its warriors numbering (and death of) over 100,000.
In four fascinating chapters, he examines each of these in some detail. His thesis is that there are lessons of which we should be aware of how things came to pass, usually through naiveté, hubris and misunderstanding, as well as a deliberate dependence on real or presumed allies exacerbated by a willful refusal to recognize the power and intent of their enemies. They underestimated both the capabilities and the intent of their enemies.
I found the story of the motivation of Romans to obliterate the Carthaginians as eerily similar to what is motivating some Israelis now to obliterate Palestine and Hamas and which motivated America and the Allies to obliterate German cities and Japanese cities in World War II. As Hanson writes, “Generations of Romans were convinced, rightly or wrongly, that the resources of their Carthaginian enemy were timeless and endless. So there could be no such thing as a sufficiently diminished and quiescent Carthage.” They had to go.
Similarly, while Cortez did not start out with the conviction that he has to wipe out the entire culture of the people (Aztecs) he was righting, he came to the realization that, in order to rebuild what became Mexico City, he had to obliterate the Aztecs. He was led to this importantly because of the diametrically opposed culture of the Aztecs, highlighted by their incredible practice of human sacrifice and cannibalism.
Similarly, I don’t believe the Ottomans intended to destroy all of the citizens of Constantinople but the conflict developed with such intensity that that became the result. I’ll return to this point later.
Hansen draws the excellent point that the accusation of war guilt and harsh reparations accompanied by feeble enforcement as occurred at the end of World War I can ensure another war with an insulted but newly resurgent enemy. In contrast, Hanson writes, “Quiet magnanimity backed by unyielding force and confidence in enforcing it does bode for a settlement, as occurred after World War II, and can guarantee lasting peace.”
This lesson is applied to Romans’ lack of strong enforcement of holding back a resurging Carthage after the Second Punic War. So, the Third Punic War arose. Now, Rome was in a state of mind that there will not be any more wars. We will obliterate Carthage and the civilization which supports it. This is the attitude of Israelis toward Hamas. It was the intention of the U.S. as we tackled Al Qaeda. The problem is that these movements cannot be totally obliterated.
A very interesting insight I gained in Cortez’s success is the degree to which he was able to draft into his army tens of thousands of fierce neighboring warriors who were opposed to the Aztecs. The Aztecs had treated them cruelly. I believe the Nazis’ treatment of the people in the countries in which they invaded accounts for not only their failure of the citizens to join the Nazi cause, but to the strength of the resistance which developed.
I’m also struck by how a combination of religion and greed motivated Cortez, just as it motivated so many other movements during the course of history. As Cortez himself wrote: “The principal reason for our coming to these parts (of the world) is to glorify and preach the faith of Jesus Christ, even though at the same time it brings us honor and profit, which infrequently come in the same package.”
One of the most memorable insights I took from the book is how the intent and effort to destroy rather than merely defeat a trapped enemy ensures unprecedented savagery and, as Hanson writes, “The zeal necessary to resist overwhelming odds (by those being attacked) eventually ensures a level of counter-violence that seals the fate of the defeated. Surely this is what accounts for and drove the blitz bombing of civilian populations by the Allies in both Japan and Germany during World War II. It is driving the motivation and actions of the Israelis as they pummel Gaza and its citizens with bombs. Hanson recites the learning during the course of World War II by General Lemay that there was no recourse but to blanket-bombing to win the war.
Looking back, Hanson notes that, “Once the victors are unleashed—and they always are—their commanders post-facto expressed regret over their nihilistic cruelty, without any sense that they would do anything differently in the future.” This, of course, is what happened following the use of the atomic bomb. Retrospective debate as to whether it should have been used. Retrospective debate today about blanket-bombing and, yet in hindsight, would one have done anything differently at the time? Almost certainly not. The forces and pressure of the situation led to this outcome almost inevitably.
May 5, 2024
"The End of Everything," really made me think about how scary wars can get. Hanson is a smart guy who knows a lot about old battles and wars, and in this book, he talks about why wars often end very badly. He looks at many different wars from the past and shows how they all kind of end the same way—with lots of destruction and sadness.
The book is easy to read, even though it talks about some heavy stuff. Hanson explains things clearly, and it feels like he's right there talking to you, not just listing facts. He uses stories from history to show how things can go from bad to worse if people aren't careful.
What I liked most about the book is how it makes you see connections between past wars and what’s happening in the world today. It feels like Hanson is sitting down with you and saying, "Look, we need to pay attention to these old stories to avoid making the same mistakes."
Reading this book was a bit like getting a tough lesson on how important it is to work for peace. Hanson does a good job of reminding us that wars have a cost and that we should try hard to solve problems before they get out of control.
If you're interested in history or want to understand more about how big fights can end up really bad, this book is a good choice. It's a serious topic, but Hanson makes it interesting and a bit easier to understand.
The book is easy to read, even though it talks about some heavy stuff. Hanson explains things clearly, and it feels like he's right there talking to you, not just listing facts. He uses stories from history to show how things can go from bad to worse if people aren't careful.
What I liked most about the book is how it makes you see connections between past wars and what’s happening in the world today. It feels like Hanson is sitting down with you and saying, "Look, we need to pay attention to these old stories to avoid making the same mistakes."
Reading this book was a bit like getting a tough lesson on how important it is to work for peace. Hanson does a good job of reminding us that wars have a cost and that we should try hard to solve problems before they get out of control.
If you're interested in history or want to understand more about how big fights can end up really bad, this book is a good choice. It's a serious topic, but Hanson makes it interesting and a bit easier to understand.
June 8, 2024
I love history so I should have really dug this book. I didn’t. Mostly becuz the writing was dull. The author is NO Robert Caro.
For Thebes, I was missing a piece of the city’s history, and a quick wiki search gave me what I needed to know to understand better the Greeks relationship with Alexander…
“In 338 BC Thebes along with many other Greek city-states were defeated and forced into the ever expanding empire of Alexander the Great.”
The author does mention the below rumor, but wiki explains clearer
“But in 335 BC, just three years later Thebes acted upon a rumor that Alexander the Great had been killed in battle and quickly led other city-states like Athens and Sparta in rebellion to the Macedonian Empire.”
Ahh, I now understand better why Alexander was so angry with them. Why couldn’t the author explain this?
I know about the Third Punic War, and didn’t learn anything and was bored, especially with how many times the author needed to mention sacrificing children. Was it 5 times?
And decided I’m interested in the remaining 2 battles, but better to read up on wiki, than this book. DNF.
July 5, 2024
Victor Davis Hanson is the most enlightened writer of our age, perhaps of any age because he has the advantage of having read all who came before himself! He is able to present to us the summation of histories, how they compare with each other, and what lessons we might take from assessing the causes and consequences of all that history of human fumbling over the past millennia.
In this most exceptional volume, he relates the catastrophic destructions of four earlier prime capital cities by conquering armies (Thebes by Alexander the Great, Carthage by the Roman Empire, Constantinople by the Ottomans, and the Aztec Empire in Mexico by the Spanish Hernan Cortez). Each is a fascinating—and horrifying—story. And each makes his point, carefully articulated in the final thirty-page chapter, “How the Unimaginable Becomes the Inevitable.”
He does not write that it must become inevitable. He only means to alert the complacent. Unfortunately, there are so many complacent amongst us, that I read it as a very scary warning. The military conquerors of earlier centuries did not own nuclear weapons.
In this most exceptional volume, he relates the catastrophic destructions of four earlier prime capital cities by conquering armies (Thebes by Alexander the Great, Carthage by the Roman Empire, Constantinople by the Ottomans, and the Aztec Empire in Mexico by the Spanish Hernan Cortez). Each is a fascinating—and horrifying—story. And each makes his point, carefully articulated in the final thirty-page chapter, “How the Unimaginable Becomes the Inevitable.”
He does not write that it must become inevitable. He only means to alert the complacent. Unfortunately, there are so many complacent amongst us, that I read it as a very scary warning. The military conquerors of earlier centuries did not own nuclear weapons.
June 22, 2024
This is an excellent book. Well written, great observations by the author about each particular case study (Thebes, Cartage, Constantinople and Aztec). For me this was more a lesson in history than anything else. I had heard of most of these conflicts in one form or another. So learning about what happened from an expert in wars, was very helpful.
The complete inhalation of a society is rare, and the reasons for such destruction by the victors can be many. But the theme that weaves through all is the continued survival of the vanquished could not be tolerated. In the case of Thebes, the need to ensure Greek support of Macedonian conquest in Persia. For Carthage, two prior wars had not resolved their differences coupled with the rise of Rome and Carthage being the only threat in the west. For Constantinople, the Ottoman death blow to the Byzantines. For the Aztecs, Cortez’s destain for human sacrifice.
The author then applied these concepts to current the current day global order. Russia-Ukraine, China-Taiwan, Israel-Hamas, etc….
The complete inhalation of a society is rare, and the reasons for such destruction by the victors can be many. But the theme that weaves through all is the continued survival of the vanquished could not be tolerated. In the case of Thebes, the need to ensure Greek support of Macedonian conquest in Persia. For Carthage, two prior wars had not resolved their differences coupled with the rise of Rome and Carthage being the only threat in the west. For Constantinople, the Ottoman death blow to the Byzantines. For the Aztecs, Cortez’s destain for human sacrifice.
The author then applied these concepts to current the current day global order. Russia-Ukraine, China-Taiwan, Israel-Hamas, etc….
July 18, 2024
The End of Everything is an examination of how ancient civilizations came to a violent end. Hanson begins with the city state of Thebes that came to a disastrous end at the hands of Alexander the Great. The second civilization to meet a violent end was Carthage which waged two Punic wars against the Roman empire. Rome wanted to end Carthage because it was a rival on the Mediterranean. Next Hanson examines the collapse of the Byzantine empire and the sack of Constantinople by Mehemet II. The Ottomans brought an end to Orthodox Christianity in Turkey. Finally, Hanson explains how Cortez and his conquistadors destroyed the Aztec empire and sacked Tenochtitlan. Finally, Hanson argues that human nature has not changed in over a two-thousand-year period and North Korea, Iran, Russia, Turkey and China threaten their neighbors with nuclear weapons. Although Thebes, Carthage, Byzantine and the Aztec empires ended in annihilation, the world is a dangerous place and the past may be repeated again.
July 24, 2024
I am in awe of Victor Davis Hanson. I've read a fair amount of history, and I'm willing to risk the opinion that VDH is the best military historian and analyst in the field. Incredible researcher, incisive thinker, lucid writer and a man of wide interests in times and subjects. On the face of it, the title of this book might make it sound boring, if not gloomy, but it's not so. VDH examines four cases, in vastly different times, to demonstrate how once great civilizations can fall into decay, and through misguided hubris and hope, resist their final attackers so fiercely and blindly that they pay the ultimate cost of annihilation. He teases out the commonalities of their situations, and notes the parallels in our more recent history. Perhaps sometimes it's a bit repetitive, but to me it was fascinating, and a little repetition was helpful, at least to this reader whose memory just may be a bit less reliable than it was a few years ago. :-)
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