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Ben Powers

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Stoicism as a Warrior Philosophy: Insights on the Morality of Military Service

by William C. Spears

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Ben Powers said: " "Stoicism as a Warrior Philosophy" is a new contribution to the Stoic literature that explains the philosophy’s major tenets and offers practical advice for how military professionals can apply them to address the challenges of the modern operationa "Stoicism as a Warrior Philosophy" is a new contribution to the Stoic literature that explains the philosophy’s major tenets and offers practical advice for how military professionals can apply them to address the challenges of the modern operational environment. William C. Spears, a serving naval officer, has a hard-won understanding of the moral conundrums that confront service members, and he effectively applies the words of Stoicism’s ancient practitioners to show how to make morally grounded choices. Spears’ efforts go deeper than much of the popular culture Stoicism that is currently popular on social media. He invites readers to examine the responsibilities of leadership through the lenses of wisdom, justice, courage, and temperance.

Spears claims that Stoicism is a complete ethical system that military members can use as a compass to navigate ambiguous situations. He delves into notions of obedience, unlawful orders, and physical & moral courage. He makes ancient ideas accessible to a contemporary audience and speaks with the authority of a professional officer. Spears addresses the idea that an officer must maintain their own sense of morality despite being part of an established chain of command and be prepared to use violence without becoming corrupted by it. Spears highlights that each of us is responsible for being just, despite operating in an unjust world. He does not pull punches or obfuscate his points in philosophical language. Spears has obviously immersed himself in Stoic literature, and that preparation, combined with his CV, provides him with an air of authority that will resonate with a military readership.

Spears avoids a review of Stoic philosophy as it has evolved over the centuries, which may be seen as a limitation by more knowledgeable readers who understand Stoicism's evolution and its influence on modern theories of conflict and international law. He focuses on using the philosophy as an ethical framework for contemporary military personnel. In this, he succeeds remarkably well. Stoicism as a Warrior Philosophy belongs on the bookshelf next to Stockdale’s "Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot". ...more "

Nov 18, 2025 04:30PM · see review

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War Without Mercy: Liberty or Death in the American Revolution

by Mark Edward Lender (Goodreads Author)

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Ben Powers said: " In War Without Mercy: Liberty or Death in the American Revolution, historians Mark Edward Lender and James Kirby Martin confront America’s national mythology that the American Revolution was a war of ideas, somehow less brutal and more humane than ot In War Without Mercy: Liberty or Death in the American Revolution, historians Mark Edward Lender and James Kirby Martin confront America’s national mythology that the American Revolution was a war of ideas, somehow less brutal and more humane than other conflicts in our nation’s history. As the United States celebrates the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, discussions of the war’s legacy are appearing in the public discourse. The traditional narrative that the revolution was a war based on Enlightenment ideals, however imperfectly implemented, is reflected in the anticipated documentary TV series “The American Revolution”, directed by Ken Burns. The director emphasizes that America’s founding fathers transformed the inhabitants of the American colonies from “subjects” to “citizens”. Lender and Martin challenge this interpretation and argue that the conflict was marked by pervasive and increasingly unrestrained violence, and that the struggle for liberty was a struggle for survival throughout many of the war’s theaters.

Lender and Martin organize their argument using the same format from the 2023 anthology Theaters of the American Revolution, to which both authors contributed. The book’s chapters are organized by theater, discussing the reality of the war using examples from the middle colonies such as New Jersey; the western frontier, the wilds of New York; Arnold’s raid on New London Connecticut, and from the Southern Campaign. This methodology allows Lender and Martin to demonstrate that the conflict allowed neighbors to settle old scores through reprisals, featured widespread destruction of property, and saw violence directed against civilians in all theaters. Such activity was not consigned to the dark corners of the frontier or partisan actions in backcountry clashes but was pervasive throughout the war and in all locations.

The authors provide more than catalog of horrors sprinkled throughout the American colonies. They go to great lengths to establish and use an analytical framework, providing the reader with their rationale for the use of terms such as “existential warfare” and “civilized warfare”. They illustrate the 18th century standards for a just conflict, codified by Enlightenment ideals, and then document how, over time, these ideals fell by the wayside as the war became a conflict for survival across all theaters. Lender and Martin illustrate (and repeatedly refer to) Patrick Henry’s famous slogan, “Liberty or Death” was not mere rhetoric for those caught up in the conflict. Combatants (Patriot and Loyalist both) fought for their vision of Liberty, convinced that defeat meant the loss of all they held to be important in life, and therefore were willing to fight to the death to prevail. This sense that defeat meant the loss of a way of life paved the way for a conflict of survival.

The authors make excellent use of primary sources to illustrate their argument. The fact that they could find a broad commonality of experiences throughout all regions of the conflict gives credence to their thesis. In addition to allowing the conflict’s participants to speak for themselves, they do an excellent job of synthesizing the various personal narratives into a coherent argument, supported by their interpretations of the philosophies of existential warfare and civilized warfare.

War Without Mercy provides readers with much to think about. While the notion that the American Revolution was a darker, more brutal conflict than commonly understood is not entirely unheard of, Lender and Martin have done a tremendous job illustrating just how pervasive existential conflict was throughout the war. Readers looking for a more traditional, patriotic narrative that celebrates the birth of the republic may be discomfited by the material presented in the book, which is arguably the reason why the authors wrote it in the first place. This is a powerful work that blends academic rigor with accessible writing more commonly found in popular histories. War Without Mercy provides a necessary revisionist perspective that reminds 21st century Americans that the War for Independence was first and foremost a war, both violent and miserable.

Lender and Martin effectively challenge the narrative that the American Revolution was fought as a “civilized war”, based in Enlightenment ideals. They use the words of actual participants to illustrate the brutal character of the conflict, highlighting instances of terror, massacre and revenge to reveal it was a war for survival. For both serious students of the American Revolution and more general readers, War Without Mercy is powerful revisionist history that helps to question long-held assumptions and a timely reminder of the cost of Liberty. ...more "

Nov 13, 2025 08:18AM · see review