Students to Soldiers - by John F Morris

About the Book

"This project investigates three distinct models of officer acculturation-the British public schools, the monarchical cadet schools in Imperial Germany, Austria, and Russia, and the US Military Academy-and compares the subterranean practices, rituals, and codes at these schools. These, John Morris argues, were actually quite similar and instilled the shared and recursive sets of values and behaviors that constituted European and American officer cultures for the nineteenth and crucial decades of the twentieth century"--

Book Synopsis

An expansive study of the brutal rites of initiation at elite institutions that shaped young men into military leaders

Informed by his own experience as a cadet at West Point, John Morris offers the first transnational history of student life at elite military preparatory institutions in Europe and America and the unofficial, underground rituals, practices, and codes that formed a crucial part of the education there. Comparing British public schools, the monarchical cadet schools in Imperial Germany, Austria, and Russia, and the US Military Academy over the course of the nineteenth and into the twentieth century and the world wars, Morris presents critical insights on the unsanctioned methods employed to transform young students into leaders of men.

Extracurricular traditions--including but not limited to severe hazing--Morris argues, shaped the officers-in-training much more than their official courses of study. He also shows how romantic and sexual relations between boys facilitated the cultivation of hypermasculinity at these institutions. Students to Soldiers offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the budding military elites of Europe and America, both unpacking the arcane rituals that eventually became codified into honored traditions and analyzing their influence over the long term.

About the Author

John F. Morris is a lieutenant colonel in the US Army and Special Advisor to NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe.