Review by Choice Review
Most people believe that to harm unarmed children or abandon one's inalienable rights to life and liberty is seriously wrong. Yet soldiers are expected to do so. They are required to do what they are told, regardless of what they are told. Soldiers are condemned when they torture prisoners or harm children--even when the military system leads them to do so. The military claims to defend equal democratic rights, yet treats soldiers like slaves. Challans (School of Advanced Military Studies) offers an excellent book that takes readers into the thicket of such problems. He focuses on the education of soldiers, and argues that they deserve greater moral autonomy. Using Kant, Dewey, and Rawls, Challans argues for a new set of moral rules to guide soldiers. He offers a new kind of moral education to instill those rules. Challans is a retired Army colonel with a PhD in philosophy who taught at West Point and other military colleges. Consequently, he provides a unique, informed perspective. This is an important book that needs to be read and taken seriously. If it is, it could be as revolutionary as its subtitle suggests. Summing Up: Essential. All levels. R. Werner Hamilton College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
