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Gwynne Dyer

Author of War

13 Works 1,165 Members 27 Reviews 6 Favorited

About the Author

Gwynne Dyer was employed as a Senior Lecturer in Middle Eastern and Military Studies at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.

Includes the name: Gwynne Dyer

Image credit: Courtesy of Serpent's Tail Press

Works by Gwynne Dyer

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Very important stuff here. Dyer does an amazing job of untangling the snarl of middle east terrorism and politics, and of putting it all into perspective. So relevant that I had to read it again so I could solidify some of the facts in my head. Read it!
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BBrookes | 1 other review | Dec 9, 2023 |
I just posted a review of Dyer's Climate Wars, but I referred to this one as well, as a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED book, so I thought I'd post at least a rating -- I read it decades ago, so have not quotes or notes, but ... still. READ IT.
 
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ptittle | 5 other reviews | Apr 22, 2023 |
I remember being very impressed with Gyer's War, so I read this is the same high expectation and was not disappointed, BUT ...

I must say he misses an obvious point, especially evident when he says “There are almost seven billion of us, and it is almost impossible to imagine a way that we can stop the growth before there are eight and a half billion” (p.268) — because it’s very possible to imagine a way: men just have to stop ejaculating into women’s vaginas.

Just think: the devastating climate changes that have already begun to happen (i.e., the beginning of the now-inevitable end of life as we know it) could’ve been avoided if we’d kept our greenhouse gases to under 350 ppm — which would have been so easy if we’d kept our population to a certain level.

So it begs the question: why is not ejaculating into women’s vaginas so unimaginable for men?

(And as it happens, I read this just yesterday -- YES!
https://secularhumanism.org/2020/06/why-climate-change-is-an-irrelevance-economi...
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ptittle | 5 other reviews | Apr 22, 2023 |
The Shortest History of War by Gwynne Dyer offers both an excellent overview of that history as well as working definitions of what qualifies as war and the elements that go into making for war.

The early history is what many readers will recognize as warfare while the more modern (but not contemporary) history is that same concept on a larger and ever more destructive scale. It is in the recent history of war where Dyer excels. This is also where the various aspects of why and how we decide on war become paramount. Like any rational being he hopes and wants to find ways to minimize (and ideally eliminate) war, yet he also knows from experience (reserve officer, lecturer of war studies, etc) that war will not easily, if ever, be eliminated.

While some show their need to compensate for their shortcomings (figurative and literal, no doubt) by mistakenly claiming entire chapters are nothing but subjective "fluff," don't let their limited reading comprehension abilities sway you. Analysis is not purely subjective, particularly when supported by statistics and multiple research studies. Dyer certainly offers some opinions, but most of what he offers is analysis based on facts (dirty word to some).

For those who want a short history of warfare as well as an up-to-date assessment of where we are now in relation to potentially devastating warfare, this is an excellent place to start. In fact, if you mainly just want that basic framework, this is all you will need. There are good notes at the end that both provide the sources for all the "subjective" analysis and offer direction for further research.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
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pomo58 | 1 other review | Jun 23, 2022 |

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Works
13
Members
1,165
Popularity
#22,062
Rating
3.9
Reviews
27
ISBNs
80
Languages
5
Favorited
6

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