Now Available- Bleached Bones and Wicked Serpents: Ancient Warfare in the Book of Mormon

Cross posted from Arsenal of Vencie

 

Morgan Deane, a military historian and former Marine sustains the authenticity of the Book of Mormon as an ancient document and shows how text contains a strong and distinctive voice on military matters that should be taken seriously by modern readers and even policy makers and generals.  Through a Hugh Nibley like command of ancient societies from Mesoamerica, China, and Rome, as well as a grasp of military theory from Clausewitz to Sun-Tzu he expands upon the Jaredite civil war, the face of battle, logistics, ethno-religious conflict, the political dimensions of conflict and insurgency, and strategy.  He specifically valorizes Captain Moroni against a rise in attacks against his character, presents a Nephite and Latter Day Saint just war theory, and shows how The Book of Mormon defends the use pre-emptive war. In a world filled with strife and conflict, Bleached Bones and Wicked Serpents will help the reader understand the context and society in which the Nephites lived…and died, and provide critical tools to evaluate modern military issues ranging from how to understand the threat posed by terrorists to assessing the wisdom of military action. 

About the Author:

Morgan Deane earned degrees in history from Southern Virginia and Norwich University. He served in the Marine Corps as an infantry riflemen, squad leader and intelligence analyst. He is the author of “Forming the Formless: Sun-Tzu and the Military Logic of Ender Wiggins,” and “Offensive Warfare in The Book of Mormon and a Defense of the Bush Doctrine.” He has authored numerous articles for the Encyclopedias of Military Philosophy and Russia at War, and contributed to text books on American and World History. Currently he teaches history at Brigham Young University-Idaho, American Military University, and elsewhere; and he is a PhD student at Kings College London. He and his daughter Lorraine live in Las Vegas, Nevada.