The Military Enlightenment - by Christy L Pichichero (Paperback)

About the Book

The Military Enlightenment brings to light a radically new narrative both on the Enlightenment and the French armed forces from Louis XIV to Napoleon. Christy Pichichero makes a striking discovery: the Geneva Conventions, post-traumatic stress disorder, the military "band of brothers," and soldierly heroism all found their antecedents in the...

Book Synopsis

The Military Enlightenment brings to light a radically new narrative both on the Enlightenment and the French armed forces from Louis XIV to Napoleon. Christy Pichichero makes a striking discovery: the Geneva Conventions, post-traumatic stress disorder, the military "band of brothers," and soldierly heroism all found their antecedents in the eighteenth-century French armed forces.

Readers of The Military Enlightenment will be startled to learn of the many ways in which French military officers, administrators, and medical personnel advanced ideas of human and political rights, military psychology, and social justice.

Review Quotes

The Military Enlightenment is a valuable addition to the historiography of the Enlightenment. Pichichero builds on previous works... that argue, similarly, for locating military theory and philosophy within the Enlightenment.... In casting such a wide net, Pichichero effectively proves her thesis, and her work is highly recommended.

-- "HISTORY: Reviews of New Books"

Christy Pichichero's work significantly changes our understanding of the French Enlightenment's relationship with war.

-- "H-Soz-u-Kult redaktion"

In a sweeping narrative, underpinned by broad and deep primary sources... Pichichero traces the fervent debates in French society about how best to wage war during the eighteenth century. She more than succeeds in her goal, illustrating in five well-structured chapters how important military thought was to the French Enlightenment writ large.

-- "The NYMAS Review"

Military historians will benefit from Pichichero's detailed and original analysis of the development of eighteenth-century military culture. Scholars of the Enlightenment will find here vital new perspective on the real-world impact of Enlightenment thought through the medium of the army.

-- "The Historian"

Pichichero is to be complimented for her industry and her subtle insightful analysis. She has produced a nuanced work of military, intellectual and cultural history.

-- "The English Historical Review"

Pichichero traces the fervent debates in French society about how best to wage war during the eighteenth century. The Military Enlightenment is a tour de force and deserves a broad readership.

-- "H-War"

Pichichero's fascinating book surveys efforts to create a more rational, humane system of military discipline, to articulate rules of war to protect wounded soldiers and noncombatants, and to regenerate French society through the promotion of the virtues of heroism and patriotism through all strata of society.

-- "Choice"

Provide[s] fascinating new perspectives on the cultural history of war in the early modern period.

-- "The American Historical Review"

Superbly researched, energetically argued, and extremely well written account.... One ends by admiring the quality and breadth of Pichichero's research, which has triumphantly placed the conduct of war squarely within the domain of the Enlightenment, and indeed turned 'military enlightenment' from an oxymoron into a truism.

-- "French Studies"

The author invites a fine reflection on the search for humanism at war and on the excesses of military justifications based on supposed humanism in recent conflicts.

-- "French History"

About the Author

Christy Pichichero is Assistant Professor of French at George Mason University.