They tried to sift out the best from the mass of existing manuscripts, and to guide the reading of the people; they made lists of “best books,” the “four heroic poets,” the “nine historians,” the “ten lyric poets” the “ten orators,” etc. Every time I open Will Durant’s The Life of Greece, a smile yanks at the corners of my lips.

The special forces operator told me the children in Afghanistan need him more than his own kids. My gut reaction: Tell him he’s off his rocker. His kids need him, too. But then he explained that the kids in Afghanistan needed someone to fight for them. His wife was strong and could do that for their children in the United States, but he wanted to go fight for other children around the world—the ones who didn’t have someone. He liked it and he was good at it.

When asked why he battled, Audie Murphy replied, “They were killing my friends.” Throughout history, as seen in fiction and non-fiction writing, the reasons for fighting are often much simpler than the wars being fought. Country, family, friends, self-preservation are often the reasons. The following are excerpts from different books and papers, on why different people/groups have fought through the years.

He sensed Mary didn’t like him. Something about the way she moved. Her actions were paired with loud, passive-aggressive noises. She didn’t bang the ice tray in the sink to loosen ice cubes for her drink. A cool Cola wasn’t on her mind. And then she came out with it and told her husband’s guest, Kurt Vonnegut:

“What can you do with a general when he stops being a general?” —White Christmas The refrain from the White Christmas song, “What Can You Do With A General” has been running random laps through my mind for the past few decades.

“Halloween in Korea: bobbing for shrapnel. —Hawkeye Pierce, M*A*S*H television series There’s a scene in the novel M*A*S*H, when a Congressman’s son is wounded. The father does what it takes to find the best chest-cutter in Korea—enter Dr. John “Trapper John” F.X. McIntyre. The pilot sent to pick up the doc finds him on a makeshift golf course with his partner in crime Hawkeye. A few funny back-and-forth lines fly between the pilot and the two docs, and then the three hop in the chopper, golf clubs in tow.

One of these things is not like the others: Crackpot. Problem Child. Great Fighting Leader. Or is it? What does a leader look like? Eisenhower called Patton a “crackpot” and a “problem child” and a “great fighting leader in pursuit and exploitation.” (See letter below from General Eisenhower to General Marshall.) “Old Blood and Guts” Patton was like many of history’s great warriors. He came with flaws—and those working with him had to decide if they could accept him, warts and all. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s response after being asked about Patton during a press conference: I think probably that…