Smithsonian Journeys Experts

Cathal J. Nolan is Professor of History and Director Emeritus of the International History Institute at Boston University. He was born in Ireland but grew up in Canada. He moved to the United States in 1995. He is a multiple award-winning teacher of  European diplomatic and political history and world military history, and courses on war in literature and film. His Allure of Battle (Oxford 2018), won the Gilder Lehrman Prize (formerly Guggenheim) as “the best book on military history in the English-speaking world, distinguished by its scholarship, contribution to literature, and appeal to both a general and an academic audience.” It is a warning against hubris and war, spanning 1500 years from the end of Rome through the Hundred Years' War, to the French Revolution and Napoleon, down to the great wars of the 20th century. It is widely read among senior military leaders from Washington to CENTCOM, to Australia and the UK. It was recently cited by General Petraeus in a Washington Post article, and has led to invitations to speak to future war planners at the Pentagon and at several professional military colleges. Among his 14 books are histories of medieval and Reformation religious revolutions and conflicts in Germany, France, and Geneva; a deeply critical history of the long reign of Louis XIV, a four volume but single-author encyclopedia of international relations (law, politics, history, economics), and a two volume history of WWII. His most recent book is Mercy: Humanity in War (Oxford, 2023), a sorrowful study of what the poet Wilfred Owen call “the pity of war.” He has done a half dozen online lectures and podcasts on varied historical topics, and appeared as the main subject expert in the PBS NOVA documentary on Dunkirk.