Abstract

The Ideology of War

The article provides information on two books on French dictator Napoleon Bonaparte's life, "The Ghost of Napoleon," by Liddell Hart and "The Hundred Days," by Philip Guedalla. In his little book, Hart develops two main themes. The one is that during the last two centuries the historical importance of military thought and its creators, in contradistinction to military action, have been signally underrated; the other, that during these two centuries, and at many other important moments during the past two thousand years as well, military ideas have changed the course of history. The reviewer does not for a single moment doubt that Guedalla has as much special competence in the field of military history, to which his talents are largely devoted in his charming essay, as Hart has in the immensely broader field of his lectures. But the disrespectful thought occurs that if Guedalla had written part of Hart most of Guedalla's, neither work would have lost too much and both might have gained a great deal.