Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

The Soldier, the Builder & the Diplomat
The Soldier, the Builder & the Diplomat
The Soldier, the Builder & the Diplomat
Ebook290 pages4 hours

The Soldier, the Builder & the Diplomat

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

()

Read preview

About this ebook

Contemporary readers, who wonder at the British and American knack for misguided adventure, will enjoy these three essays on Custer, the Titanic, and the onset of World War I.

The current American adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan are, we hope, winding down after incurring enormous costs. One wonders if we have forgotten the lessons of history, and in particular of World War I? It is far easier to enter into armed conflict than it is to withdraw the troops and heal the wounds.

Soldier, Builder consists of rapier-like literary thrusts into the lives of General George Armstrong Custer, Thomas Andrews (the builder of the Titanic), and Edward Grey (British Foreign Secretary before World War I.

However spectacular their failures, it's generally agreed that these men (or, in the case of Edward Grey, the men around him) could have avoided disaster except for arrogance - a flaw that has long characterized the imperial ambition of leaders from both countries.

One shudders to think where such a mentality will take us in a nuclear age.

Schlesser's readable study is more than entertainment or scholarship, it is a plea for balance, probity, and reason in an era when a single fit of arrogance by a world leader can devastate hundreds of thousands of innocent human beings and imperil the very project of civilized human existence on this planet.

It's difficult to overstate the importance of the Soldier, the Builder, and the Diplomat.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherCune Press
Release dateApr 4, 2011
ISBN9781614570158
The Soldier, the Builder & the Diplomat
Author

Steven Schlesser

Steven Schlesser is an independent scholar and freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon. A graduate of Claremont McKenna College and Vermont Law School, Schlesser served his apprenticeship as a journalist for the Valley Herald of Milton-Freewater and the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin. He currently writes a monthly newsletter called The Schlesser Review and is a contributing editor to the magazine BrainstormNW. Schlesser has a long-standing love of British culture and history, particularly the Edwardian and Victorian eras. His primary current interest, however, is in Pacific Northwest history. His work-in-progress explores the interaction between Lewis & Clark and the Clatsop Indians in 1805-1806. For more, please visit: www.stevenschlesser.com.

Related to The Soldier, the Builder & the Diplomat

Related ebooks

Americas (North, Central, South, West Indies) History For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for The Soldier, the Builder & the Diplomat

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings

0 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    The Soldier, the Builder & the Diplomat - Steven Schlesser

    cbook_preview_excerpt.html\ےƑei ͠D2ojQ2֓?/ )='3n؈ ;$ P'c+_M*XL/ZT}7?fb-|?||>c5pce]ػ`^Ch}78^Ͽ`)>-wS-k4rJ/>!v|+îcS?ldT~(͵_7߆cxYqt+-&z&ׅrS*š?Pd5 yվfm (y1`u覑 /DeF~DOp!> b%z+˺ bO_|̻&54bw!7*;xujhWo{:8sDr v/gl|c<?<$0m]ߟa/X<ǏFnNN}:?yT>˖yݫoǧ*Nwn”ⷋ>_{)oxK8xze?x\_IyWP <UxOo|Wv<\ЪVD|<7o.NV~]utCU<)P|㋧Щ_~BGBa?=}(LhZwW{[ȹv0*S1NsuF{ԌSaW=aW|nϝ~αr\*%4Ͽט}I࡭=0p옯}9A%0o8ɽo}-~Kk"X`pz܊)vBb=Slc9=AL)2 7N) &n/648|@21az{ωtՏ4A~z,]=-LHբTE)8C NN503=טQFY+.+rV࿎Pmwog a\MFv7Rt4ON]%,mr vXUx>4͌f P&.fa=+?A1eKQF^QM:񟮋CuܽL:DM8WX3"čˉ#3`CI;?Ck5Y|8NbYa^iF ܤ$x:DG# }-g)T[*j8JW 4fb %_]l'߻a C3, vJ}Utnvs 1^b~ qk`־UT#t#HM j?Q DcDY^$yjDj9CtuoxĞ 2V; !94 OH,ƿo#C$Q=Tc3/Ff$^ uïΗnGa/qTFu67Qゲ`UfTi2/xxMbqC7\DeCJwAoy[؁^rpq6}YAQ/|2,c`#p40C_KVr rmYW&0hq8Imyz_4czA}crA(T榱q8Nw%W|,Hj]M)ۻfTRaܦ'$sx twb|X唄O! Ⱒ t='`3ՌYZƟT8a0 Q! Xލ(q1!JշA<P:)|rC;]0"xTŦO]DvGa*ayZLgrb a hfEÞ%q{ըA|7W8Rc'ycIlγ G_ Y" ɍ@ģ@%*'? l;o ]'x:#NN_WKV7^g~ XDi7 Awo*|ՀxDy@6_` ȩ~,q4 LXQiE `?=%Z ?[f;ܚO/m~#">XzĽnQ΍P])E0X%~fqĔ‘ 3N,ZbVd:~Y -(.C#_*.!pJZ˒2y)X{ RR퐔" b.֕*qT [0v})%M U`+St#12Fia+yntʹ0"BHʏ '% C²^HV-qҲX#+ 'n٬!7OovQȅj!$cs'*MXP(0 4_Dd NxW+Z-ZrNKN|QA["ZQ^d-)l\$9_ZXN&}seDݓMa^BR)H>-1N`=Ytg?&KVKhYq"`-p08#lXӃɂ N&+a_TBPa7p *>'Lr@L#՛5{,|!2Xwų1{YQ~n]WKϮ3}mvAc iR݉M8W忆]m1+)֢ΉyL_F%O|/Ds͌uON.Oa]rXNw?\T%K %)GS?j(_1a΢:%% Qyx렸JVLK~_JA'kN]88Գ ȭ/5Kz3;)rRj^FTR}! 2Kq\WWv~=AwvLc\Ž8P(`AIPh:ka<-Vxg .'IHsvcʄΏrrܐI1r!%QɚG8B]’|@){pVXEvݑ᭸9R~ܵA,z.VmLû:.YL9+ l1ÇԎ&@|rNޚg%uMڏ' m~xd`,9nLޱa)K6$?Ҿf;y5+ ɍdCVd*ZVuĥ X"L}_( v Tyh% Xf7яu?l/t5,k].f؝}JlA*7^I0a-HE[\ SdG]Ȝ!R¹ZŔ&*HWd_H >e機& I?b &j1N _n4%e _a]B ٙLX3Wn,S`wpzRyPCWzHqKny踒# +6s+s-O$fUWR8X߯*Kv1ݑH#w/wWj)#Ŷ|}^7,-qJ_vl7+h/'m|)myYYMVj)*NxG82vcxwc7HvR4+F{Hen͔ۙ[L#`BziI\g?IJd^P5&sDٌ)9x Yx0@q2ĤmArbaakFԒF}X@kZ)QiBNeF#Geg;ѹjnd,EW׿X\YUW^ۅԄqK,X$ohNx(=ɫ'r5T&)SsFIv:'Wv&/хi-eU֙<^ "Qّ< JUEN+SIoIJ;X+؉FY'Dv둔njI;9.ks_;(cE`~)PȬP BnqN9Qf<i?93L[~GttڬK-Х2s1{Iݙf.oNZ!(Ec՚ bZ}vspOe`JQb6k1G$Tc!j m]TOV0I0GG8WT +& e7n>>@)k)V-xaD=n d vJ6ҧ~ dH{n(9i Lz2Κ|G$xSU*R*굜LPK)x]fJ׳W-ajAT t֤Bx(:F׫IyIvIJ=Dִڍ juq}S͙;o76|`ќ=X쏎2U*6oX;bF$.$k'ü\b-b5sb:Z!;@Ћ4ٚˤ'`iF4Z5IoD$Йꤘdtu8yƀ1gwOΤ+>Y)W B. g1Io -rpx降(!1Jw#bX V&sI]wiLJw̨X$a5|[RΡR ҎT[]r!"d-b8t/lJ4U.l!7=.q`z*=վ3<dST"_BXvx{ r yHtj?.i9i";DGVJr+iVؤu^`GTL$U:efPƶ߬Lҝ"܉8I5}\R[it7גMoV1y#^;< q҅PJ"7 .VǹM65/ aN>.%tA"2oBj_Ւ7&$b4%+1_*H]+lWTx+uZd%Kx=H6 ]LV|稀{XKy/(cR#gPҵ(S1\p.TUX'K5s?xͱ)r"^[KppZ]Ojڴ{ص[Now7l0O&e. DyfBpYum$F)P ǧUuk IKWceFi8$"QXۓT5ٛN^(bsimR^̒ؕȍ8t#ks i5]8%NqcLcONƨڃ|,|ԁ-ǐVT+q9MO38pvͼ߫a3OK NՑ؊IG!.G2+O~]{X&' m$Y]”:pBV,jw0DCo9K*q]ɏ# EˏObjrRvZgԜi+Bۙ":ve'S.`s}#[7<:IUU~oV-Y e3ol%:FnE0^3 h*ߔ}δNN(LS2J MPhD( C-(Mz#~#Raaa-R&]3 HbdU!_T 5T
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1