The Code of the Warrior

Exploring Warrior Values Past and Present

This revised and expanded second edition of The Code of the Warrior—a book George R. Lucas has described as "groundbreaking" and "now part of the Military Ethics canon"—takes the reader on a tour of warrior cultures and their values, from the ancient Greeks and Romans to the “barbaric” Vikings and Celts, from chivalric knights to Native American tribesmen, from Chinese warrior monks pursuing enlightenment to Japanese samurai practicing death. This new edition enhances these discussions with analyses of modern-day warriors and examines the ethical dimensions of emerging military technology such as drones, cyber warfare, and bio-enhanced troops. A new chapter also addresses the Islamic warrior code, both in its historic and modern implementations. Drawing these historical traditions up to the present, this book seeks a code for the warriors of today, as they do battle in asymmetric conflicts both remotely and face-to-face against the scourge of global terrorism. This book offers a comprehensive survey of historic and modern warrior cultures for students of military history, philosophy, and ethics.