Synopses & Reviews
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 War I--Wolfgang Schivelbusch reveals the complex psychological and cultural responses of vanquished nations to the experience of loss on the battlefield. Drawing on reactions from every level of society, Schivelbusch charts the narratives defeated nations construct and finds remarkable similarities across cultures. Eloquently and vibrantly told,
The Culture of Defeat is a brilliant and provocative tour de force of history.
Review
"Wolfgang Schivelbusch is one of the greatest of all living cultural historians. His histories of
the modern railway, of modern lighting, and of spices are engaging, fascinating, and beautifully told stories of important subjects. His book on the culture of defeat is comparably absorbing, as he probes the complexities of a delicate subject. The author's three case studies are the American South after the Civil War, France, and Germany. Whether he is discussing the legend of the plantation after the defeat of the Confederacy or the modern cult of Joan of Arc after France was defeated, the author has striking things to say about the ways in which all peoples recover from defeat." Reviewed by Heather Morton, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)
Review
"It may seem strange, just after an American military victory, to submit to the brooding brilliance of
The Culture of Defeat. But that sort of irony is one of the book's points. Schivelbusch incorporates a cautionary note....[into this] wide-ranging...compelling account." --
The New York Times"Inspired...Call him nervy, call him eccentric, but, above all, call Schivelbusch the Clausewitz of defeat...Schivelbusch's anticipation of so many current front-page issues is only one of its many delights." --The Philadelphia Inquirer
"A book of detours, eddies, and fascinating asides...A feast of ideas, many of them strikingly appropriate to our own, bellicose times." --San Francisco Chronicle
"Fresh and provocative...A novel and thought-provoking book, one that deserves special attention at this moment." --Houston Chronicle
Synopsis
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 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.
About the Author
Wolfgang Schivelbusch is an independent scholar who lives in New York and Berlin. His books include
The Railway Journey, Disenchanted Night, and
Tastes of Paradise.