Where Have All the Soldiers Gone?: The Transformation of Modern Europe

by James J. Sheehan and Con Sellers

Book Overview

In this lively and ambitious book, James Sheehan charts what is perhaps the most radical shift in Europe's history: its transformation from war-torn battlefield to peaceful, prosperous society. For centuries, war was Europe's defining narrative, affecting every aspect of political, social, and cultural life. But afterWorldWar II, Europe began to reimagine statehood, rejecting ballooning defense budgets in favor of material well-being, social stability,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0547086334
• ISBN13: 9780547086330
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Fresh look at the Old World

This is a well-written, balanced and penetrating summary of the last 100 years of European history -- and its implications for the future. The creation of what Professor Sheehan calls the "Civilian State" accurately describes why EU members are so unprepared and disinclined to defend themselves from the real threat of international terrorism and potential militaristic regimes from other parts of the world. His analysis of how Europe's view of terrorism differs from the US is spot on. Attributing France's collapse in WWII to social and cultural malaise in addition to military incompetence was especially chilling. 21st Century America is as soft, self-indulgent and divided as France was in the 1940s, and the spirit of enjoyment prevails over the spirit of sacrifice here as it did there. This does not bode well for our ability to confront and defeat any deadly and determined enemies. My only quibble with the book was the author's contention that appeasement, in itself, is not a bad thing. While it is true that diplomats must often appease their opponents, it is a dangerously failed policy when dealing with militaristic, totalitarian dictatorships ranging from Assyria in 750 BC to Nazi Germany in 1938.

Read this to understand our modern world.

An outstanding book. It's fascinating to compare it with another outstanding book: Andrew Bacevich's "The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War." Just as Sheehan shows how the nations of Europe transformed themselves from militarized to civilian states, Bacevich chronicled America's passage in the other direction over the same period of time. The interaction between the two merits more attention. Clearly America's dominant military position facilitated the demilitarization of Europe. Now the conventional view in America is that our superpower status is still needed to police the world and we view European countries as freeloaders lacking in appropriate gratitude for our largess. Since it is clear that our military dominance is of little direct benefit to us, that our attempts to control the world through military dominance are increasingly futile, and that the cost of this dominance is not maintainable in the long run, the question is what the effect would be of a similar demilitarisation of the U.S. How could it be accomplished? What would be the effect on international stability? Professor Sheehan does not address these questions but he provides an alternate view to Bacevich's that prepares the groundwork for an important discussion.

Europe's journeys through war and peace

James J. Sheehan's excellent new book, "Where Have All the Soldiers Gone?" is a concise history and commentary of the European struggle through war in the twentieth century, and one with more than a fair amount of insight and depth. In the span of one hundred years or so, Europe, in the author's eyes, went from a multi-state area of the world, boastful of its national armies, to a more loosely connected confederation of countries eager to avoid war and content with their own common good will and happiness. The transition has been remarkable and Sheehan explains it nicely. The book expands early on with regard to the idea of "pacifism", a relatively modern term and one in use throughout the century. But the two world wars, around which the book is based, changed the trajectory of thinking, as it changed the history of each European country. Sheehan makes some startling revelations. Among them he says that when the First World War ended in November, 1918, Germans thought they were winning. How different it was twenty-seven years later, as the Second World War had no real fixed date of finality. The mini-wars and revolutions, so common inbetween the two, and the rise of Hitler, Lenin, Mussolini and others are important to follow, as the author points out many of these leaders could not have come to power without war behind them. As Europe focused on its future in the 1950s and 1960s it needed a new identity and it has found one, sort of. Whereas "the European Union is the largest economic bloc in the world" and is concerned about global security, it is less interested in defense as a percentage of each nation's budget than is the United States. Indeed, America figures little in the book until the last chapters as Europe not only struggled for collective identity but debated how close it should be to the United States. "Where Have All the Soldiers Gone?" succeeds on every front. James J. Sheehan has put together a masterful work, easily readable and utterly impressionable. I highly recommend this book.

Where Have All The Soldiers Gone?

I'm in a rather strange position here, Prof. James J. Sheehan writes a very sound and compelling argurment regarding post WWII Europe and it turning to political, military and economic unification. The reasons he sights are sound: the blood spilled over 30 years (1915 to 1945)...the loss of treasury...corrupted politics...and an exhusted people, who have had enough. He uses good writing and sound argurments to make his case and support his conclusion that we are at the dawn of a new contiental Europe. The problem is I disagree and fall back on modern European history from ther 11th. Century on and on the main character not part of this transformation namely Russia. This is though not the place to debate Prof. Sheehan, he has put out a good read on this topic and I would high recommed it to all who have a political, economic or military interest in todays Europe.

A wise and brilliant book

This excellent study is a model of broad learning, seasoned judgment, and deft prose that gracefully brings together both a survey of the destructive conflicts that plagued the last century in Europe and an analysis of the forces that today might prevent another war from arising. Sheehan is an eminently clear-headed and experienced scholar who has the rare gift of being able to recreate on his pages the human drama that can lead to human disaster. His portraits of both nations and leaders are concise, pointed, and memorable. On every page the reader will find writing that is arresting and wise.