What We’re Reading: July 2023

Spencer Klavan, How to Save the West. Spencer Klavan, son of the famous writer Andrew Klavan, has produced an important but flawed book regarding the crises of our age. Outlining “the crisis of reality, the crisis of the body, the crisis of meaning, the crisis of religion, and the crisis of the regime” which threaten “civilizational collapse,” Klavan explains how these new problems are not really new at all; they are old, very old. Because many of our contemporary problems were dealt with long ago by the classics, Klavan advocates a return to the ancient wisdom of the Greek philosophers and “belief in God” as the antidote to encroaching relativistic tyranny. While he misses an opportunity to advocate an integral humanism offered through Christian anthropology, How to Save the West is a timely read on the enduring relevance of the classics and what they have to offer in a contemporary world worried about its future.

~ Paul Krause

Douglas Macgregor, Margin of Victory: Five Battles that Changed the Face of Modern Warfare. Now a classic work of military history and strategy, Macregor’s 2016 book is a testament to an exceptional military career and a piercing, unapologetically critical military mind, supported by enviable erudition that goes beyond merely military matters . In light of recent events, Macgregor’s description of the nature of modern warfare and warnings about the dangers of the complacency of victors have been thoroughly vindicated. Clearly written as a warning for an American audience, Macgregor’s book takes upon itself the Herculean task of preventing America from “marching into Hell,” which is the fate the befell all Great Powers before it. What is hell? For Macgregor the answer is as succinct as it is expressive: defeat in war.  

Given his stated mission, it is rather obvious he identifies himself with some of the individuals whose stories he tells in this epic of great battles, blood, gore and dominance on the battlefield. Without fail, whether he is discussing the British War Minister Sir Richard Haldane, the reforming Japanese General Ugaki, the Soviet General Antonov or General Hans von Seeckt, these men were visionaries, taking steps to prepare their nations for the current or next war, as opposed to the last war, which seemed to be the obsession of their respective military establishments. Just like Macgregor himself, most of these men carried the burden of the curse of Cassandra, and in the rare occasions their warnings were taken seriously and their ideas were implemented, good things followed on the battlefield. An example of this were Antonov’s innovative, masterful tactics of deception during Operation Bagration, which guaranteed the destruction of Nazi Germany’s Army Group Centre.

The lesson here is that it is lateral thinking, the ability to adapt, especially when this is present on a large scale within a military establishment, that brings about the margin of victory. Ultimately, Macgregor’s book is a sobering tale which does not have a happy ending. Macgregor is highly skeptical that the United States, despite its pre-eminent military and economic position at present, will be able to adapt and change when confronted by a genuine military threat. For Macgregor, America’s future defeat will be entirely the fault of what he sees as an unthinking, hubristic military and political establishment and its refusal to prepare and adapt, and not the enemy to whom victory will formally belong, whoever that might be. This is so, because as Macgregor puts it, “the enemy is us.” But in his warning there is a call and hope for reform. We would do well to listen to him.

~ Filip Bakardzhiev

T.S. Eliot, The Cocktail Party. Eliot’s play is a magnificent piece of literature that indulges in the spiritual growth of a lost Christian. Before Lavinia Chamberlayne abandons her husband, Edward Chamberlayne acts oblivious at a cocktail party Lavinia throws but never attends. The guests and their confusion with the absence of the host draws Edward to befriend a mysterious physiatrist that randomly appears at their place of residence. The Unnamed Man sits Edward down, explains where his wife might be, and says the only solution is to examine his selfish heart. Their dialogue reveals Eliot’s intentionality of projecting the character development of Edward from a complacent partner to a loving and purposeful husband. Edward says, “Or what in me was loving, I do not know. / And if that is all meaningless, I want to be cured / Of a craving for something I cannot find / And of the shame of never finding it.” Without the Unnamed Man, Edward would have never figuratively and literally found his wife, rekindling their relationship like a Christian rededicating their life to Christ.

~ Sarah Tillard

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