About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherCambridge University Press

ISBN-101107047854

ISBN-139781107047853

eBay Product ID (ePID)166399335

Product Key Features

Book TitleDirection of War : Contemporary Strategy in Historical Perspective

Number of Pages338 Pages

LanguageEnglish

TopicMilitary / Strategy, Military / General

Publication Year2013

GenreHistory

AuthorHew Strachan

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height0.8 in

Item Weight22.6 Oz

Item Length9.1 in

Item Width6.1 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN2013-026729

Reviews'Strachan's historical analyses are a valuable addition to the literature on strategy. He invites the reader to think carefully about what we think we know and understand about strategy, and, perhaps more significantly, why we understand and think about strategy the way we do today.' Terry Terriff, University of Calgary, Advance praise: 'Unparalleled in historic depth of argument, a surprising yet seductive view on whether modern war should bend to the demands of politics, or politics to the needs of war.' Jan Willem Honig, King's College London, Advance praise: 'Strachan's historical analyses are a valuable addition to the literature on strategy. He invites the reader to think carefully about what we think we know and understand about strategy, and, perhaps more significantly, why we understand and think about strategy the way we do today.' Terry Terriff, University of Calgary, Advance praise: 'Another masterpiece from the foremost military academic of our generation. If you want to understand strategy, just read this book!' General Sir David Richards, former Chief of Defence Staff, Advance praise: 'A valuable book tracing an esteemed scholar's contributions to contemporary strategic thinking.' Antulio Echevarria, Strategic Studies Institute, United States Army War College, 'Unparalleled in historic depth of argument, a surprising yet seductive view on whether modern war should bend to the demands of politics, or politics to the needs of war.' Jan Willem Honig, King's College London, 'A very thoughtful, enormously stimulating, and hugely thought-provoking examination of the strategies, concepts, and civil-military relationships that have influenced the character of war in the twenty-first century.' General David H. Petraeus, former Commander of United States Central Command and Commanding General of the Multi-National Force - Iraq and the NATO International Security Assistance Force, Afghanistan, Advance praise: 'A very thoughtful, enormously stimulating, and hugely thought-provoking examination of the strategies, concepts, and civil-military relationships that have influenced the character of war in the twenty-first century.' General David H. Petraeus, former Commander, United States Central Command, and Commanding General, Multi-National Force, Iraq and NATO International Security Assistance Force, Afghanistan, 'Another masterpiece from the foremost military academic of our generation. If you want to understand strategy, just read this book!' General Sir David Richards GCB CBE DSO, former Chief of Defence Staff, Advance praise: 'Another masterpiece from the foremost military academic of our generation. If you want to understand strategy, just read this book!' General Sir David Richards GCB CBE DSO, former Chief of Defence Staff, 'A valuable book tracing an esteemed scholar's contributions to contemporary strategic thinking.' Antulio Echevarria, Strategic Studies Institute, United States Army War College, Advance praise: 'A very thoughtful, enormously stimulating, and hugely thought-provoking examination of the strategies, concepts, and civil-military relationships that have influenced the character of war in the twenty-first century.' General David H. Petraeus, former Commander of United States Central Command and Commanding General of the Multi-National Force - Iraq and the NATO International Security Assistance Force, Afghanistan

TitleLeadingThe

Dewey Edition23

Dewey Decimal355.4

Table Of ContentIntroduction; 1. War and strategy at the beginning of the twenty-first century; 2. The meaning of strategy: historical perspectives; 3. The case for Clausewitz: reading 'On War' today; 4. Making strategy work: civil-military relations in Britain and the United States; 5. Strategy and the limitation of war; 6. Europe armies and limited war; 7. The limitations of strategic culture: the case of the British way in warfare; 8. Maritime strategy and national policy; 9. Technology and strategy; 10. War is war: imperial legacies and current conflicts; 11. Strategy and the operational level of war; 12. Strategy and contingency; 13. Strategy: change and continuity.

SynopsisThe West's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been seen as strategic failures resulting from a lack of consistent direction, of effective communication, and of governmental coordination. Leading military historian Sir Hew Strachan argues here that these failures resulted from a fundamental misreading and misapplication of strategy itself., The wars since 9/11, both in Iraq and Afghanistan, have generated frustration and an increasing sense of failure in the West. Much of the blame has been attributed to poor strategy. In both the United States and the United Kingdom, public enquiries and defence think tanks have detected a lack of consistent direction, of effective communication, and of governmental coordination. In this important book, Sir Hew Strachan, one of the world's leading military historians, reveals how these failures resulted from a fundamental misreading and misapplication of strategy itself. He argues that the wars since 2001 have not in reality been as 'new' as has been widely assumed and that we need to adopt a more historical approach to contemporary strategy in order to identify what is really changing in how we wage war. If war is to fulfil the aims of policy, then we need first to understand war.

LC Classification NumberU162 .S725 2013