"With elegance, insight, and wit, Steele Brand has composed a compelling inquiry into citizenship, service, soldiering, and republicanism. In the process, he offers a refreshing new interpretation of Republican Rome and reintroduces to our modern era the singular character that so captivated America's founding generation: the farmer-citizen-soldier." William Inboden, Clements Center for National Security, University of Texas at Austin
"A lively appreciation of the efficacy of citizen-soldiers both on and off the battlefield. Steele Brand offers a scholarly and empathetic appraisal of why Roman Republican legionaries were such lethal fighters but also of why these mostly agrarian foot soldiers became reflections of the enduring values of consensual governments for the next two millennia." Victor Davis Hanson, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, author of Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power
"This book is a gemeasy to read, entertaining, and most important, instructive." Paul A. Rahe, Hillsdale College, author of The Spartan Regime: Its Character, Origins, and Grand Strategy
"A truly unique and compelling fusion of ancient and modern history. Brand's military experience and his deep knowledge of both American and classical Roman and Greek history informs the material throughout this book, allowing him to present his vision as few others could do. Highly recommended!" Eric H. Cline, George Washington University, author of The Trojan War: A Very Short Introduction
"One of the best recent surveys of the idea of the citizen-soldier and its influence on the American republic. Brand writes with the professional's knowledge of primary and secondary sources, but in an accessible style replete with sharp-eyed analyses and page-turning descriptions of ancient Roman warfare. Part political philosophy and part military history, Killing for the Republic is a comprehensive, reader-friendly introduction to some of the most salient issues in understanding not just Rome's history but our own, and the relevance of both to our times." Bruce S. Thornton, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, author of Democracy's Dangers and Discontents: The Tyranny of the Majority from the Greeks to Obama
