What do you think?
Rate this book
Pelican Why War?
Why War? (Pelican Books) ABISBOOK Pelican.
400 pages, Paperback
Published June 19, 2025
6 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Richard Overy
151 books356 followersRichard James Overy is a British historian who has published extensively on the history of World War II and the Third Reich.
Educated at Caius College, Cambridge and awarded a research fellowship at Churchill College, Professor Overy taught history at Cambridge from 1972 to 1979, as a fellow of Queens' College and from 1976 as a university assistant lecturer. In 1980 he moved to King's College London, where he became professor of modern history in 1994. He was appointed to a professorship at the University of Exeter in 2004.
His work on World War II has been praised as "highly effective in the ruthless dispelling of myths" (A. J. P. Taylor), "original and important" (New York Review of Books) and "at the cutting edge" (Times Literary Supplement.)[
Educated at Caius College, Cambridge and awarded a research fellowship at Churchill College, Professor Overy taught history at Cambridge from 1972 to 1979, as a fellow of Queens' College and from 1976 as a university assistant lecturer. In 1980 he moved to King's College London, where he became professor of modern history in 1994. He was appointed to a professorship at the University of Exeter in 2004.
His work on World War II has been praised as "highly effective in the ruthless dispelling of myths" (A. J. P. Taylor), "original and important" (New York Review of Books) and "at the cutting edge" (Times Literary Supplement.)[
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 23, 2025
War, what is good for? Well despite it being good for nothing, it seems humanity has a natural propensity. Why War? is a book that tries to grapple with the subject of why humans fight wars in a war which is as factual as possible. Richard Overy is rather successful in explaining the causes of why humanity is uniquely violent throughout its history. Why War? tracks the different aspects of humanity as a way to attempt to explain what makes humans so likely to fight in conflict.
The book is put into two parts namely the human factors themselves in Part 1 and the material factors in Part 2. Explaining the biological causes of war is perhaps the most controversial and rather disturbing reason why humans fight wars. These include the evolutionary reasons of human nature being violent to Nazi and Fascist ideology, that emphasised a violent projection of human existence. This of course underlines some of the explanations but not all.
Then there are the social and psychological explanations. For example, toys made for boys are particularly military orientated, projecting martial prowess from a young age. Why War? emphasises deep cultural roots within different countries such as America that lead it to war. Unlike more Leftist critiques that emphasise that the USA is imperialistic, this book suggests that human cultures have always emphasised war and conflict. Indeed, the grim statistic stated is that only 4 percent of societies on earth have been peaceful. Whether it be the Aztecs, Mayans, African tribes, Polynesians, Chinese or Europeans, every culture has been aggressively militaristic. The psychology of humans gears them towards war.
The material causes of war are no less exhaustive. The book considers resources, belief, power and security to be the main material factors, alongside surprisingly ecology as causes for war. Resources lead the desire and need for accumulation of wealth. So goes the Marxist explanation of war that war is created by the ruling class to gain resource accumulation and economic contradictions. The book refutes this claim with evidence and seeks to offer other explanations of resources used in war.
Religion is a clear cause of war and Richard Overy doesn't hold back on accusing Christianity and Islam of starting wars. Unlike the Christian apologists that claim only 4 percent of war is caused by religion, Why War looks at the many wars where religion whilst not being a direct factor, was definitely a part of the background of war. These include the English Civil War which is a good example of a war where religion was indirectly responsible of its causes
Security and power are intertwined with the need for power being the cause of war, whilst security or the lack of security being the cause of war as well. Border disputes since 1815 have been part of over 60 percent of wars. The book seems to suggest that a Defensive Realist position that seeks to use defensive alliances and a defensive military posture maybe the best at stopping war, although the book argued that arms build ups themselves cause war because it leads to fear between two rival factions.
This is a sober book. The subject is dark and it doesn't offer a particularly optimistic view of humanity. Leftists who protest for peace ought to read this book before going on their peace marches again as they must understand the natural state of humans. Why War? whilst being a depressing book to read offers a significant insight into the violent state of humanity. A must read for those interested in politics.
As in the computer game Fallout New Vegas "because war, war never changes".
The book is put into two parts namely the human factors themselves in Part 1 and the material factors in Part 2. Explaining the biological causes of war is perhaps the most controversial and rather disturbing reason why humans fight wars. These include the evolutionary reasons of human nature being violent to Nazi and Fascist ideology, that emphasised a violent projection of human existence. This of course underlines some of the explanations but not all.
Then there are the social and psychological explanations. For example, toys made for boys are particularly military orientated, projecting martial prowess from a young age. Why War? emphasises deep cultural roots within different countries such as America that lead it to war. Unlike more Leftist critiques that emphasise that the USA is imperialistic, this book suggests that human cultures have always emphasised war and conflict. Indeed, the grim statistic stated is that only 4 percent of societies on earth have been peaceful. Whether it be the Aztecs, Mayans, African tribes, Polynesians, Chinese or Europeans, every culture has been aggressively militaristic. The psychology of humans gears them towards war.
The material causes of war are no less exhaustive. The book considers resources, belief, power and security to be the main material factors, alongside surprisingly ecology as causes for war. Resources lead the desire and need for accumulation of wealth. So goes the Marxist explanation of war that war is created by the ruling class to gain resource accumulation and economic contradictions. The book refutes this claim with evidence and seeks to offer other explanations of resources used in war.
Religion is a clear cause of war and Richard Overy doesn't hold back on accusing Christianity and Islam of starting wars. Unlike the Christian apologists that claim only 4 percent of war is caused by religion, Why War looks at the many wars where religion whilst not being a direct factor, was definitely a part of the background of war. These include the English Civil War which is a good example of a war where religion was indirectly responsible of its causes
Security and power are intertwined with the need for power being the cause of war, whilst security or the lack of security being the cause of war as well. Border disputes since 1815 have been part of over 60 percent of wars. The book seems to suggest that a Defensive Realist position that seeks to use defensive alliances and a defensive military posture maybe the best at stopping war, although the book argued that arms build ups themselves cause war because it leads to fear between two rival factions.
This is a sober book. The subject is dark and it doesn't offer a particularly optimistic view of humanity. Leftists who protest for peace ought to read this book before going on their peace marches again as they must understand the natural state of humans. Why War? whilst being a depressing book to read offers a significant insight into the violent state of humanity. A must read for those interested in politics.
As in the computer game Fallout New Vegas "because war, war never changes".
Displaying 1 of 1 review