Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 5,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
War! What Is It Good For? summary
Ian Morris
Conflict and the Progress of Civilization from Primates to Robots
4 (16 ratings)
15 mins
8 key ideas
Audio & text
What is War! What Is It Good For? about?
War! What Is It Good For? takes a look at the history of conflict and comes to a startling conclusion: while wars are horrible for those who endure them, postbellum societies enjoy the positive consequences of war, namely peace, prosperity and organization.
About the Author
Ian Morris is a British historian, archaeologist and Stanford professor who has written a number of critically acclaimed books, such as Why the West Rules – For Now and The Measure of Civilization.
Table of Contents
War! What Is It Good For?
summarized in 8 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 8
War brings new technological innovations.
Death. Destruction. Desperation. These are among the things that war brings us. How then could anyone consider war to be anything other than pure hell?
It’s easy to look at the bad at the expense of the good. For example, while war has brought incalculable misery to millions of people, it is also deeply connected with innovation.
Indeed, military needs are directly responsible for some of humanity’s most important innovations.
One way to win the upper hand in a war is by gaining a technological advantage. Throughout history, military technological advancements have equated to the end of war, to victory, and to continued innovation, based on the technology first created for wartime purposes.
Practical things, like bronze and iron, are the results of military research. Iron, for example, was invented very early in human history, and in 1200 B.C. technology made it possible to produce iron in larger quantities.
Its mass production and wide distribution resulted not from civilian application, but because it was a better material for weapons and armor than bronze.
What’s more, many basic inventions and ideas underwent further development as a result of war. These ideas, originally developed for other purposes, were propagated and expanded upon as a result of their wartime application.
Gunpowder, for example, was invented by Chinese alchemists and first used only for small fireworks. It was when the military picked it up that new and better recipes were developed.
Competition among warring nations spins off constantly evolving technologies.
For example, when large ships were employed to transport valuable goods, rival nations and pirates developed smaller, quicker ships to rob the traders. This in turn led to the creation of even larger and better armed trading ships, which led to even faster rival ships, and so on.
While technologies made with noble intentions find ignoble applications in war, the opposite holds true as well.
Want to see all full key ideas from War! What Is It Good For??
Key ideas in War! What Is It Good For?
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
Best quote from War! What Is It Good For?
Incorporation into a bigger society, gradually...makes conquered and conquerors alike safer and richer.
—Ian Morris
Who should read War! What Is It Good For?
- Anyone interested in the history of war and great empires
- Anyone interested in politics and conflict management
- Pacifists and war hawks
Categories with War! What Is It Good For?
Books like War! What Is It Good For?
What our members say
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
Start growing with Blinkist now
25 Million
Downloads on all platforms
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
91%
Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
*Based on survey data from Blinkist customers