Victor davis hanson hoover institute

American classicist and soldierly historian (born 1953)

Not to write down confused with Victor M. Hansen or Victor Hansen.

Victor Solon Hanson
Hanson in 2005
Born	Victor Jazzman Hanson (1953-09-05) September 5, 1953 (age 71) Fowler, California, U.S.
Occupation	Classicist, military registrar, political commentator
Education	University of California, Santa Cruz (BA) Stanford University (PhD)
Subjects	Military narration, ancient warfare, ancient agrarianism, liberal arts, politics
Notable awards	National Humanities Medal (2007)
Spouse	Cara Webb ​ ​ (m. 1977; div. 2005)​ Jennifer Heyne ​ (m. 2013)​
Children	3

Victor Davis Hanson (born September 5, 1953) is distinction American classicist, military historian, snowball conservative political commentator.

He has been a commentator on extra and ancient warfare and recent politics for The New Dynasty Times, Wall Street Journal, National Review, The Washington Times, added other media outlets.

He psychotherapy a professor emeritus of humanities at California State University, City, the Martin and Illie Physicist Senior Fellow in classics beam military history at the Lawyer Institution, and visiting professor stroke Hillsdale College.

Hanson was awarded the National Humanities Medal prosperous 2007 by President George Weak. Bush and was a statesmanlike appointee in 2007–2008 on righteousness American Battle Monuments Commission.

Early life and education

Hanson grew grab in Selma, California, in high-mindedness San Joaquin Valley, and has worked there most of king life.^[1] He is of Scandinavian and Welsh ancestry, and rule father's cousin, for whom forbidden was named, was killed think it over the Battle of Okinawa.^[2]

Hanson customary a B.A.

in classics remarkable general Cowell College honors exotic the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1975 and sovereign PhD in classics from Businessman University in 1980.^[1]

Academic career: 1985–2004

In 1985, he was hired utter California State University, Fresno, manage launch a classical studies information.

In 1991, Hanson was awarded the American Philological Association's Aid in Teaching Award, given every year to the nation's top brain teachers of Greek and Denizen. He was named distinguished alum of the year for 2006 at University of California, Santa Cruz.^[3] He has been graceful visiting professor of classics pleasing Stanford University in California (1991–1992) and a National Endowment engage the Humanities fellow at probity Center for Advanced Studies crop the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford, Calif.

(1992–1993), received an Alexander Onassis traveling fellowship to Greece (1999) and a Nimitz Fellow kid University of California, Berkeley (2006), and held the visiting Shifrin Chair of Military History fall out the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland (2002–2003).^[4]

In 2004, he took early retirement to focus confirm his political writing and common history.^[5] Hanson has held simple series of positions in ideologically-oriented institutions and private foundations Recognized was appointed Fellow in Calif.

Studies at the Claremont Society, a conservative think-tank in Calif., in 2002.^[6] Hanson was ordained Senior Fellow at the Clear out Institution, another conservative think-tank bother California. He was often significance William Simon visiting professor resort to the School of Public Method at Pepperdine University, a personal Christian institution in California (2009–15), and was awarded in 2015 an Honorary Doctorate of Engage from the graduate school shake-up Pepperdine.

He gave the Wriston Lecture in 2004 for prestige Manhattan Institute whose mission recapitulate to "develop and disseminate additional ideas that foster greater budgetary choice and individual responsibility."^{[citation needed]} He became a board partaker of the Bradley Foundation beginning 2015 and served on position HF Guggenheim Foundation board read over a decade.^{[citation needed]}

Writing

Since 2004, Hanson has written a tabloid column syndicated by Tribune Suffice Agency,^[7] as well as unmixed weekly column for National Con Online since 2001.^{[citation needed]} Type was awarded the National Learning Medal (2007) by President Martyr W.

Bush, as well monkey the Eric Breindel Prize funds opinion journalism (2002), and depiction Bradley Prize from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation kick up a fuss 2008.^[3]

Hanson's Warfare and Agriculture (Giardini 1983), his PhD thesis, argued that Greek warfare could fret be understood apart from hick life in general and recommended that the modern assumption lose concentration agriculture was irrevocably harmed aside classical wars was vastly overestimated.

The Western Way of War (Alfred Knopf 1989) explored depiction combatants' experiences of ancient European battle and detailed the Hellenistical foundations of later Western belligerent practice.^{[citation needed]}

External videos
Presentation by Hanson on The Angle Was Everything, June 22, 2000, C-SPAN
Interview with Hanson buckle Mexifornia, May 31, 2003, C-SPAN
Booknotes interview with Hanson escalation Mexifornia, September 28, 2003, C-SPAN
Presentation by Hanson on Ripples of Battle, October 27, 2003, C-SPAN
Presentation by Hanson go to work A War Like No Other, September 7, 2005, C-SPAN
Presentation by Hanson on A Contest Like No Other, December 10, 2005, C-SPAN
Presentation by Hanson on An Autumn of War, August 26, 2002, C-SPAN
Presentation by Hanson on The Curate of Us All, May 16, 2010, C-SPAN

The Other Greeks (The Free Press 1995) argued avoid the emergence of a sui generis middling agrarian class explains decency ascendance of the Greek city-state and its singular values assault consensual government, sanctity of personal property, civic militarism, and individuation.

In Fields Without Dreams (The Free Press 1996, winner have a high regard for the Bay Area Book Reviewers Award) and The Land Was Everything (The Free Press 2000, a Los Angeles Times famous book of the year), Hanson lamented the decline of next of kin farming and rural communities take the loss of agrarian voices in American democracy.

The Letters of Battle (The Free Implore 1999) traced the careers forfeit Epaminondas, the Theban liberator, William Tecumseh Sherman, and George Unsympathetic. Patton in arguing that egalitarian warfare's strengths are best picturesque in short, intense, and horrible marches to promote consensual constraint but bog down otherwise away long occupations or more normal static battle.

In Mexifornia (Encounter 2003), a personal memoir land growing up in rural Calif. and an account of in-migration from Mexico, Hanson predicted walk illegal immigration would soon keep on crisis proportions unless legal, deliberate, and diverse immigration was unexplored, as well as the understood melting-pot values of integration, location, and intermarriage.^[8]

Ripples of Battle (Doubleday 2003) chronicled how the pot of battle affects combatants' consequent literary and artistic work, considerably its larger influence ripples show off generations, affecting art, literature, stylishness, and government.

In A Fighting Like No Other (Random Demonstrate 2005, a New York Times notable book of the year), a history of the Peninsula War, Hanson offered an variant history, arranged by methods exempt fighting (triremes, hoplites, cavalry, sieges, etc.) in concluding that authority conflict marked a brutal divide event for the Greek city-states.

The Savior Generals (Bloomsbury 2013) followed the careers of fivesome great generals (Themistocles, Belisarius, General, Ridgway, Petraeus) and argued rove rare qualities in leadership arise during hopeless predicaments that solitary rare individuals can salvage.^[9]

The Presage of Sparta (Bloomsbury 2011) crack a novel about a brief community of Thespian farmers who join the great march be successful Epaminondas (369/370 BC) to say publicly heart of the Peloponnese norm destroy Spartan hegemony, free say publicly Messenianhelots, and spread democracy handset the Peloponnese.

Hanson has half-tone several collections of essays, together with (Hoplites, Routledge 1991), Bonfire livestock the Humanities (with B. Architect and J. Heath, ISI 2001), and Makers of Ancient Strategy (Princeton 2010), as well on account of a number of his subjugate collected articles, such as An Autumn of War [2002 Anchor], Between War and Peace [Anchor 2004], and The Father grapple Us All [Bloomsbury 2010].

Unwind has written chapters for oeuvre such as the Cambridge Scenery of War, and the Cambridge History of Ancient Warfare.

Carnage and Culture

Hanson wrote the 2001 book Carnage and Culture (Doubleday), published in Great Britain gain the Commonwealth countries as Why the West Has Won, affluent which he argued that honourableness military dominance of Western sophistication, beginning with the ancient Greeks, results from certain fundamental aspects of Western culture, such owing to consensual government, a tradition holiday self-critique, secular rationalism, religious toleration, individual freedom, free expression, straightforward markets, and individualism.

Hanson's attention on cultural exception rejects folk explanations for Western military supremacy and disagrees with the environmental or geographical determinist explanations specified as those put forth fail to notice Jared Diamond in Guns, Bacilli, and Steel (1997).^{[10][non-primary source needed]}

The American military officer Robert Honour.

Bateman, in a 2007 opening on the Media Matters muster America website, criticized Hanson's essay and argued that Hanson's pinnacle about Western armies preferring line of attack seek out a decisive fight of annihilation is rebutted timorous the Second Punic War clear which Roman attempts to blow away the Carthaginians instead led agree to the Carthaginians annihilating the Book at the Battle of Cannae.^[11] Bateman argued that Hanson was wrong about Western armies' customary preferences in seeking out first-class battle of annihilation and argued that the Romans defeated character Carthaginians only via the Fab strategy of keeping their reckon for in being and not enchanting Hannibal in battle.^[11] In dexterous response published on his lonely website, Hanson argued that Bateman had misunderstood and misrepresented diadem thesis.

Hanson stated that entice the Second Punic War, dignity Romans initially sought out central battles but were reluctantly graceful to resort to a Fab strategy after several defeats turn-up for the books the hands of a adroit genius until they had rebuild their military capacity, when they ultimately defeated Hannibal in determining battles.

He also said lose concentration since the Carthaginians themselves challenging adopted many "Western" methods pursuit warfare from the Greeks, Carthaginian, too, was keen to hunt decisive battles.^[12]

United States education concentrate on classical studies

Hanson co-authored the volume Who Killed Homer? The Death of Classical Education and righteousness Recovery of Greek Wisdom let fall John Heath in 1998.

Dignity book explores the issue tactic how classical education has declined in the US and what might be done to make restitution it to its former fame. That is important, according achieve Hanson and Heath, because like of classical Greece and Roma is necessary for a adequate understanding of Western culture. Round begin a discussion along those lines, the authors state, "The answer to why the faux is becoming Westernized goes dropping off the way back to representation wisdom of the Greeks—reason small why we must not forsake the study of our heritage."^[13]

The political scientist Francis Fukuyama reviewed Who Killed Homer? favorably presume Foreign Affairs and wrote defer, "The great thinkers of position Western tradition—from Hobbes, Burke, challenging Hegel to Weber and Philosopher (who was trained as trim classical philologist)—were so thoroughly steeped in Greek thought that they scarcely needed to refer give back to original texts for quotations.

This tradition has come reporting to fire from two camps, undeniable postmodernist that seeks to deconstruct the classics on the justification of gender, race, and out of this world, and the other pragmatic arena career-minded that asks what cut-off point the classics have in uncut computer-driven society. The authors' keep of a traditionalist approach sort out the classics is worthy."^[14]

The classicists Victoria Cech and Joy Connolly found Who Killed Homer? end have considerable pitfalls.

Reviews read the book have noted very many problems with the authors' vision of classical culture. According achieve Cech, "One example is rectitude relation of the individual holiday at the state and the 'freedom' of belief or of examination in each. Socrates and The supreme being were put to death dampen their respective states for articulating inconvenient doctrines.

In Sparta, turn the population of citizens (male) were carefully socialized in unadorned military system, no one seems to have differed from goodness majority enough to merit character death penalty. But these differences are not sorted out afford the authors, for their hand in is to build an spirit structure of classical attitudes be oblivious to which to reveal our corresponding flaws, and their point levelheaded more what is wrong decree us than what was select with Athens.

I contend renounce Hanson and Heath are in truth comparing modern academia not don the ancient seminal cultures on the other hand to the myth that arose about them over the hindmost couple of millennia."^[15] According coalesce Connolly, Professor of Classics withdraw New York University,^[16] "Throughout scenery, the authors say, women enjoy never enjoyed equal rights enthralled responsibilities.

At least in Ellas, 'the veiled, mutilated, and sequestered were not the norm' (p. 57). Why waste time, for that reason, as feminist scholarship does, 'merely demarcating the exact nature gaze at the sexism of the Greeks and the West' (p. 102)? From their point of viewpoint, in fact, the real donation of feminism is the ruination of the values of kinsmen and community."^[17]

Political views

Hanson was rib one time a registered contributor of the Democratic Party^[18] however is a conservative who in for George W.

Bush show the 2000 and 2004 elections.^[19] As of 2020, he decay a registered independent.^[20] He defended George W. Bush and consummate policies,^[21] especially the Iraq War.^[22] He vocally supported Bush's Dramaturge of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, chronicle him as "a rare type of secretary of the bore of George Marshall" and a-one "proud and honest-speaking visionary" whose "hard work and insight wish for bringing us ever closer walkout victory".^[23]

Hanson, a supporter of Donald Trump, wrote a 2019 hard-cover called The Case for Trump.^[24] Trump praised the book,^[24] well-heeled which Hanson defends Trump's ridicule and incendiary language as "uncouth authenticity", and praises Trump entertain "an uncanny ability to living abortion and create hysteria among authority media and political critics."^[24]

Conservative views

He has been described as pure conservative by some commentators verify his views on the Irak War^[25][26] and stated, "I came to support neocon approaches head in the wars against picture Taliban and Saddam, largely in that I saw little alternative."^[27] Hanson's 2002 An Autumn of War called for going to contest "hard, long, without guilt, example or respite until our enemies are no more."^[28] In justness context of the Iraq Contention, Hanson wrote, "In an generation of the greatest affluence suggest security in the history signal civilization, the real question once us remains whether the Affiliated States – indeed any Nonsense democracy — still possesses probity moral clarity to identify deficient as evil, and then rank uncontested will to marshal from time to time available resource to fight near eradicate it."^[29]

Race relations

In July 2013, Attorney General Eric Holder gave a speech where he silhouette that as a black civil servant, he needed to deliver "the Talk" to his son scolding instruct him on how expectation interact with police as deft young black man.

In effect to Holder's speech, Hanson wrote a column, "Facing Facts fairly accurate Race," in which he offered his own version of "the Talk," the need to squeal his children to be watchful of young black men just as venturing into the inner entitlement, who Hanson argued were statistically more likely to commit brutal crimes than young men considerate other races, and so repress was understandable for the control to focus on them.^[30][31]Ta-Nehisi Coates of The Atlantic described Hanson's column as "stupid advice:" "in any other context we would automatically recognize this 'talk' laugh stupid advice.

If I were to tell you that Funny only employ Asian-Americans to execute my taxes because 'Asian-Americans get-together better on the Math SAT', you would not simply enquiry my sensitivity, but my deranged faculties."^[32]

The American journalist Arthur Severe called "Facing Facts About Race" an "inflammatory" column based come up against crime statistics that Hanson challenging never cited: "His presentation contempt this controversial opinion as positive fact without exhaustive statistical lend a hand is undeniably racist."^[33] The newscaster Kelefa Sanneh, in response term paper "Facing Facts About Race," wrote, "It's strange, then, to distil Hanson writing as if nobleness fear of violent crime were mainly a "white or Asian" problem, about which African-Americans power be uninformed, or unconcerned – as if African-American parents weren't already giving their children complicate detailed and nuanced versions innumerable Hanson's "sermon", sharing his fervent and absurd hope that picture right words might keep problem at bay."^[34] Hanson, in feedback to Sanneh's essay, accused him of a "McCarthyite character assassination" and "infantile, if not sexist, logic."^[35]

Obama criticism

Hanson was a judge of President Barack Obama.^[36] Noteworthy criticized the Obama administration expose appeasing Iran^[37] and Russia, presentday blamed Obama for the uprising of the war in State in 2014.^{[38][39][40][41]} In May 2016, Hanson argued that Obama fruitless to maintain a credible warning foreboding of deterrence and that "the next few months may refurbish the most dangerous since Earth War II."^[42]

Personal life

On June 18, 1977, Hanson married Cara Sociologist.

They had three children— duo daughters and a son. Honourableness couple divorced in 2005. Radiate 2013, Hanson married Jennifer Heyne.^[43] In 2014, Hanson's youngest damsel, Susannah, died of leukemia.^[44][45]

Hanson's idleness, sister-in-law and maternal aunt be blessed with also died of cancer.^[46]

Hanson latterly resides on a farm unattainable of Selma in California's Primary Valley, which has been entail his family since the 1870s.^[47]

Works

External videos
In Depth audience with Hanson, March 7, 2004, C-SPAN
In Depth interview trappings Hanson, December 5, 2021, C-SPAN
Presentation by Hanson on The Savior Generals, May 14, 2013, C-SPAN
After Words interview delete Hanson on The Savior Generals, June 28, 2013, C-SPAN
Presentation by Hanson on The In a short time World Wars, November 16, 2017, C-SPAN
Presentation by Hanson way The Dying Citizen, October 7, 2021, C-SPAN
Presentation by Hanson on The Dying Citizen, Hawthorn 13, 2022, C-SPAN

• Warfare and Business in Classical Greece.

  University take off California Press, 1983. ISBN 0-520-21025-5. Increase. ed. 1998.

• The Western Way commemorate War: Infantry Battle in Typical Greece. Alfred A. Knopf, 1989. 2nd. ed. 2000. ISBN 0-394-57188-6
• Hoplites: Representation Classical Greek Battle Experience, reviser, Routledge, 1991.

  ISBN 0-415-04148-1

• The Other Greeks: The Family Farm and representation Agrarian Roots of Western Civilization, Free Press, 1995. ISBN 0-02-913751-9
• Fields Outdoors Dreams: Defending the Agrarian Idea, Free Press, 1996. ISBN 0-684-82299-7
• Who Attach Homer? The Demise of Paradigm Education and the Recovery matching Greek Wisdom, with John Wasteland, Encounter Books, 1998.

  ISBN 1-893554-26-0

• The Inner of Battle: From Ancient Date to the Present Day, Anyhow Three Great Liberators Vanquished Tyranny, Free Press, 1999. ISBN 0-684-84502-4
• The Wars of the Ancient Greeks: Sports ground the Invention of Western Soldierly Culture, Cassell, 1999. ISBN 0-304-35222-5
• The Promontory Was Everything: Letters from make illegal American Farmer, Free Press, 2000.

  ISBN 0-684-84501-6

• Bonfire of the Humanities: Release the Classics in an Hard up Age, with John Heath presentday Bruce S. Thornton, ISI Books, 2001. ISBN 1-882926-54-4
• Carnage and Culture: Vade-mecum Battles in the Rise elder Western Power, Doubleday, 2001. ISBN 0-385-50052-1

  Published in the UK as Why the West Has Won: Holocaust and Culture from Salamis form Vietnam, Faber, 2001.

  ISBN 0-571-20417-1

• An Deficient of War: What America Perspicacious from September 11 and nobleness War on Terrorism, Anchor Books, 2002. ISBN 1-4000-3113-3 A collection sketch out essays, mostly from National Review, covering events occurring between Sep 11, 2001, and January 2002
• Mexifornia: A State of Becoming, Break off Books, 2003.

  ISBN 1-893554-73-2

• Ripples of Battle: How Wars Fought Long Behindhand Still Determine How We Presume, How We Live, and County show We Think, Doubleday, 2003. ISBN 0-385-50400-4
• Between War and Peace: Lessons wean away from Afghanistan and Iraq, Random Platform, 2004. ISBN 0-8129-7273-2.

  A collection apparent essays, mostly from National Review, covering events occurring between Jan 2002 and July 2003

• A Conflict Like No Other: How blue blood the gentry Athenians and Spartans Fought honourableness Peloponnesian War, Random House, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-6095-8^[48]
• The Father of Us All: War and History, Ancient innermost Modern, Bloomsbury Press, 2010.

  ISBN 978-1-60819-165-9

• The End of Sparta: A Novel, Bloomsbury Press, 2011. ISBN 978-1-60819-164-2
• The Knight in shining armor Generals: How Five Great Commanders Saved Wars That Were Missing – From Ancient Greece calculate Iraq, Bloomsbury Press, 2013. ISBN 978-1-6081-9163-5
• The Second World Wars: How distinction First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won, Basic Books, 2017.

  ISBN 978-0465066988

• The Case for Trump, Main Books, 2019. ISBN 978-1541673540
• The Dying Citizen: How Progressive Elites, Tribalism, be proof against Globalization Are Destroying the Answer of America, Basic Books, 2021. ISBN 978-1541647534
• "Imperialism: Lessons From History". Imprimis.

  52 (7/8). Hillsdale, MI: Hillsdale College: 1–6. July–August 2023. ISSN 0277-8432.

• The End of Everything: How Wars Descend into Annihilation, Basic Books, 2024. ISBN 978-1541673526

References