{"title":"Alfredo Bonadeo","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"mark-of-the-beast-book-alfredo-bonadeo-9780813116808","title":"Mark of the Beast","description":"The First World War is a watershed in the intellectual and spiritual history of the modern world. On the one hand, it brought an end to a sense of optimism and decency bred by the prosperity of nineteenth-century Europe. On the other, it brought forth a sense of futility and alienation that has since pervaded European thought. That cataclysmic experience is richly reflected in the work of writers and artists from both sides of the conflict, and this study provides a detailed analysis of two basic themes -- death and degradation -- that mark the literature about the war.\nFrom their accounts most men entered the war lightheartedly, filled with ideals of patriotism and glory, but these generous feelings were soon quelled as the war settled into a stalemate, its operations reduced to simply grinding away the opposing forces. In these operations, Alfredo Bonadeo shows, men became mere aggregations thrown against one another, wasted with no appreciable effects or gains, save carnage itself.\nThis cheapening and disregard for human life and being Bonadeo finds rooted not only in the conditions of war but, significantly, in a contempt for the common man prevailing in European political and intellectual circles. This attitude is revealed most plainly in his analysis of the Italian literature, which hitherto has received little note. Italian leaders saw the war as an opportunity to expiate a sense of national guilt, and here the inconclusive campaigns made their futility all the greater.\nOut of the torn fields of the First World War grew the seeds of a second, greater conflict, but, Professor Bonadeo concludes, the flowering of the seeds was aided by the degradation of man's spirit on those fields. The grim focus of this book, the dead voices it evokes, leads to a new appreciation of the meaning of the Great War.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51147256332561,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51147258364177,"sku":"NIN9780813116808","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0813116805.jpg?v=1751043381"},{"product_id":"martial-valor-from-beowulf-to-vietnam-book-alfredo-bonadeo-9781449009861","title":"Martial Valor from Beowulf to Vietnam","description":"In the popular mind valor is a shining word replete with ethical values; it is associated with daring, strength of body and mind, and generosity; it is the means to realize noble ends and ideals. But literature and history show that valor's purpose is often less than high minded and generous. Under the impact of historical or military circumstances valor has changed its use and purpose, sometimes becoming personal pride, a badge of distinction, a means to reputation. Concern with valor has sparked the fear of cowardice and generated degradation to overcome it; it has also prodded soldiers to kill for killing's sake. Some have repudiated valor. Overwhelmed by the spectacle of death on the battlefield and by the grief it engenders, valor often lost meaning among combatants, especially among those of World Wars I and II. That is one reason why valor has become in modern conflicts a powerful means of survival for combatants, especially in Vietnam: to save their comrades, wounded or in difficulty, many soldiers have performed deeds more heroic than those done against the enemy. On the other hand valor can degenerate into naked killing, as in Vietnam where combatants facing a wily enemy became frustrated and killed with little discrimination, believing that killing and valor are the same thing. Valor assumes true value when men fight for a cause they believe in and regard as beneficial to the nation and the collectivity; then they spontaneously take risk and fight with disregard of their life. Tolstoy's experience on the battlefield and his study of the historical forces prompting men to fight helped him to discover genuine courage. This was the Russians' resolve to repulse the French invasion. It was a powerful cause and they deeply believed in it. Independently from military orders the Russians fought with heroism, liberating the country whose life and soil the French had violated.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52482458878225,"sku":"NLS9781449009861","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53403601928465,"sku":"NIN9781449009861","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781449009861.jpg?v=1759853250"},{"product_id":"martial-valor-from-beowulf-to-vietnam-book-alfredo-bonadeo-9781449009878","title":"Martial Valor from Beowulf to Vietnam","description":"In the popular mind valor is a shining word replete with ethical values; it is associated with daring, strength of body and mind, and generosity; it is the means to realize noble ends and ideals. But literature and history show that valor's purpose is often less than high minded and generous. Under the impact of historical or military circumstances valor has changed its use and purpose, sometimes becoming personal pride, a badge of distinction, a means to reputation. Concern with valor has sparked the fear of cowardice and generated degradation to overcome it; it has also prodded soldiers to kill for killing's sake. Some have repudiated valor. Overwhelmed by the spectacle of death on the battlefield and by the grief it engenders, valor often lost meaning among combatants, especially among those of World Wars I and II. That is one reason why valor has become in modern conflicts a powerful means of survival for combatants, especially in Vietnam: to save their comrades, wounded or in difficulty, many soldiers have performed deeds more heroic than those done against the enemy. On the other hand valor can degenerate into naked killing, as in Vietnam where combatants facing a wily enemy became frustrated and killed with little discrimination, believing that killing and valor are the same thing. Valor assumes true value when men fight for a cause they believe in and regard as beneficial to the nation and the collectivity; then they spontaneously take risk and fight with disregard of their life. Tolstoy's experience on the battlefield and his study of the historical forces prompting men to fight helped him to discover genuine courage. This was the Russians' resolve to repulse the French invasion. It was a powerful cause and they deeply believed in it. Independently from military orders the Russians fought with heroism, liberating the country whose life and soil the French had violated.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52484132765969,"sku":"NLS9781449009878","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52749687030033,"sku":"NIN9781449009878","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781449009878.jpg?v=1759855815"},{"product_id":"martial-valor-book-alfredo-bonadeo-9798894190006","title":"Martial Valor","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53202797625617,"sku":"GOR014805172","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53637042995473,"sku":"NLS9798894190006","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9798894190006.jpg?v=1772644265"},{"product_id":"martial-valor-book-alfredo-bonadeo-9798886400212","title":"Martial Valor","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53637034443025,"sku":"NLS9798886400212","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53664792051985,"sku":"NIN9798886400212","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9798886400212.jpg?v=1781002994"},{"product_id":"no-lessons-learned-book-alfredo-bonadeo-9798886403527","title":"No Lessons Learned","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhile the book rests on the backbone of the Vietnam experience, it aspires to go beyond the confines of that particular war and lead the reader to question an American foreign policy that has, especially since 2001, been militarily driven. The harm done to American and allied soldiers and to the indigent peoples and societies of the countries the U.S. has so thoughtlessly invaded has secured no advantage to the U.S. or any other country. The author delves into the human physical and psychological cost of war and implicitly makes the case for diplomacy over force, restraint, and modesty over hubris. He establishes the importance of cause to the combatant's ability to fight winningly and to remain psychologically sound in battle and afterward. It is especially relevant today because it connects the human and societal consequences of the decisions made in and around that war with the recent squandered ventures in the Middle East.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53639921402129,"sku":"NLS9798886403527","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53664797720849,"sku":"NIN9798886403527","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9798886403527.jpg?v=1781013494"},{"product_id":"no-lessons-learned-book-alfredo-bonadeo-9798886403534","title":"No Lessons Learned","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53640105459985,"sku":"NLS9798886403534","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9798886403534.jpg?v=1781014238"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-au\/collections\/author-books-by-alfredo-bonadeo.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}