"ALL CAPS IN DEFENSE OF LIBERTY IS NO VICE."

Friday, March 28, 2008

THE NATIONAL WORLD WAR I MUSEUM


My home school group and I visited and had a tour through Kansas City's National World War I Museum yesterday. It is the only World War I museum in the Western Hemisphere and it is here in KC.

I think World War I is the War that most of us know the least about. Our tour guide was a sweet, older man whose own father had fought in World War I.

We were amazed at the sacrifices the soldiers made during the war and the countless lives that were lost as the commanders figured out the correct strategy to win the war. It put today's loss of life in context. History always has a way of doing that. Which, IMHO, is why liberals should do a lot more studying of history.

As always it inspired me to do even more research and studying on World War I. If any of you have read any good books and/or have any good recommendations, please let me know.

Previously on this topic:
My Review of Flyboys

2 comments:

Terry Baker said...

John Keegan's history of the first world war is the best single edition on the subject I've read. His explanation begins in the grave yards and memorials left behind, many located on or near the battle fields where those buried fought.

Keegan's history of the second world war picks up where the first ends and makes a convincing case for considering both as one 30 years war.

Mystery Meat said...

Keegan is very good. Niall Ferguson's "The Pity of War" is also excellent. Hew Strachan's "The First World War" is great. All these books have a slightly different perspective and thus compliment each other.

Reading about the carnage and destruction of WWI, it is easier to understand the pacificism and appeasement of the inter-war years. Take Roger Martin du Gard, French author and winner of the 1937 Nobel Prize for Literature: "Anything rather than war! Anything!...Even Fascism in France: Nothing, no trial, no servitude can be compared to war!" (He loved his exclamation points.)