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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Why do people fight wars?
- Why do people go to war?
- Is it ever right to kill another person?
- Can we solve problems without fighting about them?
This book looks at wars past and present and the reasons behind why people fight. Find out how wars start, and what happens to soldiers and to ordinary people who are caught up in them. Discover more about the history of peacekeeping organisations and the ways in which conflicts may be resolved without violence.
Ali Brownlie is a former humanities teacher who has written numerous books for children. Alex Woolf specialises in 20th century history and political books for children. This book for readers aged 9+ deals with the difficult topic of war and conflict but while there are some useful sections here, the way it deals with some major conflicts is superficial and I think risks being misunderstood by younger readers.
The book has a very broad scope, covering what war is, why they start, how they’re fought (including child soldiers and technology), colonialism, rules of war and international law, the impact of war and alternative ways of conflict resolution. Some of those sections are more effective than others, e.g. the section on child soldiers is particularly well done and likely to resonate with the target readers, as is the section on the impact of war (which takes on board the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine).
In contrast the section on fighting wars and why people fight them is heavily skewered towards an anti-war perspective, implying that people fight because they’re either being forced to or because they’re poor or being manipulated or because they just like fighting and potentially killing. I’m not a pro-war person by any means, but this is a gross over-simplification and ignores that some people join the army, e.g. in the USA because of the educational opportunities promised afterwards, some join out of patriotism, and some (e.g. during World War II or in the case of Ukrainians looking to repel the Russian invasion) join up because they want to stand up against an aggressor or fight against an invading force.
Part of the problem here is that war is a very big topic and this is not a particularly long book (45 pages) so it’s inevitable that it cannot go into depth on the topics it’s exploring. That said the book clearly takes an anti-war perspective and again, I’m no defender of wars but the subject is more complicated and nuanced than that. As a point to note, there are some disturbing images in the book, including the photograph of Phan Thi Kim Phuc screaming from napalm burns.
The book ends with a glossary of some of the terms used and sources of further information, including a list of books to read.
Ultimately, for my criticisms, I don’t think this is a bad book and certainly it would work as a way of introducing a discussion about the subject with a younger reader but be aware that it seems to be taking a particular position in its approach.
The Verdict:
Ali Brownlie is a former humanities teacher who has written numerous books for children. Alex Woolf specialises in 20th century history and political books for children. This book for readers aged 9+ deals with the difficult topic of war and conflict but while there are some useful sections here, the way it deals with some major conflicts is superficial and I think risks being misunderstood by younger readers.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
- Why do people go to war?
- Is it ever right to kill another person?
- Can we solve problems without fighting about them?
This book looks at wars past and present and the reasons behind why people fight. Find out how wars start, and what happens to soldiers and to ordinary people who are caught up in them. Discover more about the history of peacekeeping organisations and the ways in which conflicts may be resolved without violence.
Ali Brownlie is a former humanities teacher who has written numerous books for children. Alex Woolf specialises in 20th century history and political books for children. This book for readers aged 9+ deals with the difficult topic of war and conflict but while there are some useful sections here, the way it deals with some major conflicts is superficial and I think risks being misunderstood by younger readers.
The book has a very broad scope, covering what war is, why they start, how they’re fought (including child soldiers and technology), colonialism, rules of war and international law, the impact of war and alternative ways of conflict resolution. Some of those sections are more effective than others, e.g. the section on child soldiers is particularly well done and likely to resonate with the target readers, as is the section on the impact of war (which takes on board the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine).
In contrast the section on fighting wars and why people fight them is heavily skewered towards an anti-war perspective, implying that people fight because they’re either being forced to or because they’re poor or being manipulated or because they just like fighting and potentially killing. I’m not a pro-war person by any means, but this is a gross over-simplification and ignores that some people join the army, e.g. in the USA because of the educational opportunities promised afterwards, some join out of patriotism, and some (e.g. during World War II or in the case of Ukrainians looking to repel the Russian invasion) join up because they want to stand up against an aggressor or fight against an invading force.
Part of the problem here is that war is a very big topic and this is not a particularly long book (45 pages) so it’s inevitable that it cannot go into depth on the topics it’s exploring. That said the book clearly takes an anti-war perspective and again, I’m no defender of wars but the subject is more complicated and nuanced than that. As a point to note, there are some disturbing images in the book, including the photograph of Phan Thi Kim Phuc screaming from napalm burns.
The book ends with a glossary of some of the terms used and sources of further information, including a list of books to read.
Ultimately, for my criticisms, I don’t think this is a bad book and certainly it would work as a way of introducing a discussion about the subject with a younger reader but be aware that it seems to be taking a particular position in its approach.
The Verdict:
Ali Brownlie is a former humanities teacher who has written numerous books for children. Alex Woolf specialises in 20th century history and political books for children. This book for readers aged 9+ deals with the difficult topic of war and conflict but while there are some useful sections here, the way it deals with some major conflicts is superficial and I think risks being misunderstood by younger readers.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
