Freedman's account of a century and a half of warfare and the (often misconceived) thinking that precedes war is a challenge to hawks and doves alike, and puts current strategic thinking into a bracing historical perspective.
Sir Lawrence Freedman is Emeritus Professor of War Studies at King's College London. He was the official historian of the Falklands Campaign, and a member of the official inquiry into Britain and the 2003 Iraq War ('the Chilcot Inquiry'). He has written extensively on nuclear strategy and the Cold War, and comments regularly on contemporary security issues. His book, Strategy, was a Financial Times and Economist book of the year; A Choice of Enemies- America Confronts the Middle East won the 2009 Lionel Gelber Prize and Duke of Westminster Medal for Military Literature.
What is most impressive about the book is the author's erudition
and the lightness with which he wears it
*Literary Review*
Arguably Britain's leading academic strategist examines how ideas
about how future wars could be fought have shaped the reality, with
usually baleful results. ... His message to policymakers is to
beware those who tout "the ease and speed with which victory can be
achieved while underestimating the resourcefulness of adversaries".
Anybody who thinks otherwise should read this book
*Economist*
It reflects the author's immense knowledge and wisdom. It should
feed our humility, because it reminds us of mankind's unlimited
capacity for folly; and also of the need to sustain defences
against all manner of threats, because the only certainty is that
the next peril to confront us will be the one we least expect
*The Times*
![]() |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
![]() |