The Code of the Warrior
Exploring Warrior Values Past and Present
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- $40.99
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- $40.99
Publisher Description
Warrior cultures throughout history have developed unique codes that restrict their behavior and set them apart from the rest of society. But what possible reason could a warrior have for accepting such restraints? Why should those whose profession can force them into hellish kill-or-be-killed conditions care about such lofty concepts as honor, courage, nobility, duty, and sacrifice? And why should it matter so much to the warriors themselves that they be something more than mere murderers? The Code of the Warrior tackles these timely issues and takes the reader on a tour of warrior cultures and their values, from the ancient Greeks and Romans to the 'barbaric' Vikings and Celts, from legendary chivalric knights to Native American tribesmen, from Chinese warrior monks pursuing enlightenment to Japanese samurai practicing death. Drawing these rich traditions up to the present, the author quests for a code for the warriors of today, as they do battle in asymmetric conflicts against unconventional forces and the scourge of global terrorism.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This dense, absorbing and valuable book studies the ethics governing warriors throughout history. French, a professor of philosophy and ethics at the U. S. Naval Academy, believes that the warrior needs an ethical framework not only to be an effective fighter but to remain a human being and even to save his or her soul. With amazingly smooth writing for an academic study, she surveys the warrior ethic of various cultures as revealed in histories and, especially, their literatures, from the Iliad of ancient Greece to the codes of conduct of the Japanese Samurai. Hector, the Trojan hero, emerges as one of the ideal warriors portrayed in literature; his opponent Achilles comes off less well. The Roman legions were caught between hedonism and stoicism, but their matchless esprit de corps survived. And both the Shaolin monks, by inventing kung-fu, and the Plains Indians, by adapting to the horse, sought honor and effectiveness alike with grim determination. Guest essayist Felicia Ackerman points out that the Knights of the Round Table often avoided dishonor but not always stupidity, and of course the cult of vengeance among the Vikings and the Japanese practice of maintaining honor by seppukutook a bloody toll. Clearly written, with impressive erudition, balance and wit, this book will be agreeable reading for warriors, warriors in training or anyone interested in their welfare, although it demands a moderate to high degree of cultural literacy.
