Summary of Erik Durschmied's How Chance and Stupidity Have Changed History

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The world is still recovering from the attack on America on September 11, 2001. The American president rallied his nation’s support with a Let’s get the bastards! He then ordered the invasion of Afghanistan against an unclear enemy.

#2 In the story of Troy, Paris, the prince of Troy, visited by three goddesses who handed him a golden apple, asking him to choose the fairest among them. He chose Helen of Sparta, and brought her to Troy. The Greeks then invaded and laid siege to the city.

#3 The Trojan War was a result of the Greeks’ disregard for the warnings by the philosopher Laocoön. The war was a series of raids, and possibly actions fought by sea. The ten-year siege could not have lasted ten continuous years without harvesting seasonal grain, which armies on both sides would have starved without.

#4 The Hinge Factor at Troy was victory by stratagem. The Greeks learned from the Trojans, Trojan refugees founded Rome, and the Romans conquered Greece, only to adopt its culture.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jun 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822540125

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Insights on Erik Durschmied's How Chance and Stupidity Have Changed History

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 16

Insights from Chapter 17

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The world is still recovering from the attack on America on September 11, 2001. The American president rallied his nation’s support with a Let’s get the bastards! He then ordered the invasion of Afghanistan against an unclear enemy.

#2

In the story of Troy, Paris, the prince of Troy, visited by three goddesses who handed him a golden apple, asking him to choose the fairest among them. He chose Helen of Sparta, and brought her to Troy. The Greeks then invaded and laid siege to the city.

#3

The Trojan War was a result of the Greeks’ disregard for the warnings by the philosopher Laocoön. The war was a series of raids, and possibly actions fought by sea. The ten-year siege could not have lasted ten continuous years without harvesting seasonal grain, which armies on both sides would have starved without.

#4

The Hinge Factor at Troy was victory by stratagem. The Greeks learned from the Trojans, Trojan refugees founded Rome, and the Romans conquered Greece, only to adopt its culture.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

The leader of the Turks, the Sultan Saladin, allowed the messenger sent by the Lady Eschiva, Countess of Tripoli, to pass without hindrance. He knew that the Frankish army would rush to her aid, and then they would be bloodied and crushed by Saladin.

#2

The beginning of the Crusades can be traced back to the defeat of the armies of the Eastern Empire at Manzikert in 1071, by the Seldjuk Turks’ rider hordes which had adopted Islam.

#3

The Frankish Kingdom of Jerusalem was faced by the greatest of all warrior sultans, Saladin, in the 12th century. Saladin was a Turk whose ancestors had migrated from the foot of the Altai Mountains of Central Asia. In the 10th century, they came into contact with Islam.

#4

The Battle of Hattin was the result of a personal insult between King Guy and Saladin. Saladin swore a sacred oath that he would personally behead the villain Reynald. He raised an army without number, and units joined him from Egypt, Mosul, and Maridin.

#5

The Crusader Army set off on 3 July 1187, towards the Sea of Galilee. The king had decided against dragging water carts along with them, which would have taken longer, and thus he believed they would be able to reach their destination in