**A philosophical and spiritual defense of the premodern world, of the
tragic view, of physical courage, and of masculinity and self-sacrifice
in an age when those ancient virtues are too often caricatured and
dismissed.
**--Victor Davis Hanson
Award-winning author Michael Walsh celebrates the masculine attributes
of heroism that forged American civilization and Western culture by
exploring historical battles in which soldiers chose death over dishonor
in Last Stands: Why Men Fight When All Is Lost.
In our contemporary era, men are increasingly denied their heritage as
warriors. A survival instinct that's part of the human condition, the
drive to wage war is natural. Without war, the United States would not
exist. The technology that has eased manual labor, extended lifespans,
and become an integral part of our lives and culture has often evolved
from wartime scientific advancements. War is necessary to defend the
social and political principles that define the virtues and freedoms of
America and other Western nations. We should not be ashamed of the
heroes who sacrificed their lives to build a better world. We should be
honoring them.
The son of a Korean War veteran of the Inchon landing and the battle of
the Chosin Reservoir with the U.S. Marine Corps, Michael Walsh knows all
about heroism, valor, and the call of duty that requires men to fight
for something greater than themselves to protect their families, fellow
countrymen, and most of all their fellow soldiers. In Last Stands,
Walsh reveals the causes and outcomes of more than a dozen battles in
which a small fighting force refused to surrender to a far larger force,
often dying to the last man.
From the Spartans' defiance at Thermopylae and Roland's epic defense of
Charlemagne's rear guard at Ronceveaux Pass, through Santa Anna's siege
of the Alamo defended by Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie to the skirmish at
Little Big Horn between Crazy Horse's Sioux nation and George Armstrong
Custer's Seventh Calvary, to the Soviets' titanic struggle against the
German Wehrmacht at Stalingrad, and more, Walsh reminds us all of the
debt we owe to heroes willing to risk their lives against overwhelming
odds--and how these sacrifices and battles are not only a part of
military history but our common civilizational heritage.
