GREAT MEN TALKING

A review of Julian Thompson’s Call to Arms: Great Military Speeches (2009)

(Rating 2 of 5)

This is a book about great speeches made by famous military leaders written by a general who fought in the Falklands War. This book features speeches by from Alexander the Great to the first Gulf War. Some of these speeches are not really ‘speeches’; most of the sections of this book are just mini-biographies of various military commanders and statesmen. Some articles feature whole speeches while others do not. I found many the articles lacking in certain respects. For example, I do not know how someone could write an article on George Patton with an emphasis on military speeches and never mention his most famous quote: 'No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country!' Nevertheless, there is a lot of great imagery in this work: various pictures and paintings that are very enjoyable. I would recommend this book to anyone with a strong interest in military propaganda.