The Culture of Defeat

The Culture of Defeat
Author :
Publisher : Metropolitan Books
Total Pages : 416
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781466851177
ISBN-13 : 1466851171
Rating : 4/5 (171 Downloads)

Book Synopsis The Culture of Defeat by : Wolfgang Schivelbusch

Download or read book The Culture of Defeat written by Wolfgang Schivelbusch and published by Metropolitan Books. This book was released on 2013-08-13 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating look at history's losers-the myths they create to cope with defeat and the steps they take never to be vanquished again History may be written by the victors, Wolfgang Schivelbusch argues in his brilliant and provocative new book, but the losers often have the final word. Focusing on three seminal cases of modern warfare-the South after the Civil War, France in the wake of the Franco-Prussian War, and Germany following World War I-Schivelbusch reveals the complex psychological and cultural reactions of vanquished nations to the experience of military defeat. Drawing on responses from every level of society, Schivelbusch shows how conquered societies question the foundations of their identities and strive to emulate the victors: the South to become a "better North," the French to militarize their schools on the Prussian model, the Germans to adopt all things American. He charts the losers' paradoxical equation of military failure with cultural superiority as they generate myths to glorify their pasts and explain their losses: the nostalgic "plantation legend" after the fall of the Confederacy; the cult of Joan of Arc in vanquished France; the fiction of the stab in the back by "foreign" elements in postwar Germany. From cathartic epidemics of "dance madness" to the revolutions that so often follow battlefield humiliation, Schivelbusch finds remarkable similarities across cultures. Eloquently and vibrantly told, The Culture of Defeat is a tour de force that opens new territory for historical inquiry.


The Culture of Defeat Related Books

The Culture of Defeat
Language: en
Pages: 416
Authors: Wolfgang Schivelbusch
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2013-08-13 - Publisher: Metropolitan Books

GET EBOOK

A fascinating look at history's losers-the myths they create to cope with defeat and the steps they take never to be vanquished again History may be written by
Culture of Defeat: On National Trauma, Mourning, and Recovery
Language: en
Pages:
Authors: Wolfgang Schivelbusch
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2004-04-01 - Publisher: Turtleback Books

GET EBOOK

Focusing on three seminal cases of military defeat--the South after the Civil War, France in the wake of the Franco-Prussian War, and Germany following World Wa
The Spectre of Defeat in Post-War British and US Literature
Language: en
Pages: 255
Authors: David Owen
Categories: Literary Criticism
Type: BOOK - Published: 2021-01-22 - Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

GET EBOOK

It is a commonplace belief that history is written by the victorious. However, less recognised but equally common is the idea that the defeated also write histo
Symbols of Defeat in the Construction of National Identity
Language: en
Pages:
Authors: Steven Mock
Categories: Political Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2011-12-29 - Publisher: Cambridge University Press

GET EBOOK

If nationalism is the assertion of legitimacy for a nation and its effectiveness as a political entity, why do many nations emphasize images of their own defeat
The Culture of War
Language: en
Pages: 248
Authors: Colin Foss
Categories: Literary Criticism
Type: BOOK - Published: 2020-10-20 - Publisher: Liverpool University Press

GET EBOOK

During the Siege of Paris, literature was big business. A study of cultural production and consumption, The Culture of War examines how Parisians fuelled the in