The Burning of the World: A Memoir of 1914 (Béla Zombory-Moldován)

From another time, but with lessons for our own, the experience of a young Hungarian in war. And of why Americans should reject any future attempt to conscript us.Show more

The written version of this review can be found here: https://theworthyhouse.com/2024/01/18/the-burning-of-the-world-a-memoir-of-1914-bela-zombory-moldovan/

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"For more than 150 years, Americans have been mostly spared the cost of war. Yes, at times, some have felt the cost in the lives of their sons, though today our ruling classes know nothing even of that. But our wars are fought elsewhere, not in America. Thus, we can’t really conceive of a war for our national survival—except, abstractly, one involving a rain of warheads from the sky. Neither do Americans grasp, because they have never experienced it, how war can sweep over a nation unexpectedly, changing everything in an instant. This memoir is a salutary reminder of forgotten truths—and gives us reason to reflect on whether Americans should be willing to fight for “America” at all." . . .