Deeply, historically researched non-fiction about the unintended consequences of efforts to make war more humane. I encourage people to read this powerfully persuasive book. ( )

Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War
by Samuel Moyn

This is a very thorough book and it is deep, dense, and well thought out. It takes the reader back in time to discuss the meaning of war, what is humane during war, humanity in general at that time according to the leading philosophers and leaders. It goes through various time periods leading slowly up to now.

The very shocking depravity is on full display of war, slavery, and what some leaders felt humane treatment should or shouldn't be. I had to read this in bits and pieces because it's rich in information and the lack of humanity. I just couldn't take the constant horror knowing the truth of it all. I did learn a lot.

Despite the horrors, people need to read this. Where is America going? Do we want to continue this path?
I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this heart wrenching book! ( )

Dense Yet Enlightening. This is a book about the history of the philosophical and legal thoughts and justifications for transitioning from the brutal and bloody wars of the 19th century (when the history it covers begins) through to the "more humane" but now seemingly endless wars as currently waged, particularly by the United States of America. As in, this treatise begins with examinations of Tolstoy and Von Clauswitz during the Napoleonic Wars and ends with the Biden Presidency's early days of the continuation of the drone wars of its two predecessors. Along the way, we find the imperfections and even outright hypocrisies of a world - and, in the 21st century in particular, in particular a singular nation on the ascendancy, the United States - as it struggles with how best to wage and, hopefully, end war. Moyn shows the transition from a mindset of peace to a mindset of more palatable (re: "less" horrific / "more" humane) perma-war. But as to the description's final point that this book argues that this might not be a good thing at all... yes, that point is raised, and even, at times, central. But the text here seems to get more in depth on the history of documenting the change rather than focusing in on the philosophical and even legal arguments as to why that particular change is an overall bad thing. Ultimately this is one of those esoteric tomes that those with a particular interest in wars and how and why they are waged might read, if they are "wonks" in this area, but probably won't have the mass appeal that it arguably warrants. The central premise is a conversation that *needs* to be had in America and the world, but this book is more designed for the think tank/ academic crowd than the mass appeal that could spark such conversations. Still, it is truly well documented and written with a high degree of detail, and for this it is very much recommended. ( )