Customer Reviews

Roots of Strategy: Book 2

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

These kinds of books are always such a trade-off. It's great to see a book (or in this case an entire series) that combines several classics for an particular field of study. In this case we are talking about military theory. Clausewitz and Jomini are two of the all-time greats, and here we have both of them squeezed between a single pair of covers! It seems any armchair general's wet dream. Until one actually goes looking between those covers and realizes the tradeoff.

The problem with these sorts of anthologies is the same as buying a computer off the shelf of Circuit City: it looks like you're getting a bargain, but the individual components are sometimes of lesser quality. In this case, simply flipping to Jomini's "Art of War" gives the first sign of a problem. There the reader will stare disappointedly at the words "a condensed version". CONDENSED? Of course, for the same reason it's 12 midgets that squeeze inside that tiny car at the circus and not 12 body builders. Now, I haven't read through the whole thing yet, nor do I have the time to do a side-by-side comparison to tell you the specific discrepancies; but, I can tell you that one thing immediately stood out: THE LACK OF ANY DIAGRAMS OR ILLUSTRATIONS WHATSOEVER! My other copy (Mendell and Craighill, "The Art of War", Special Edition, El Paso Norte 2005) contains a plethora of figures referenced by Jomini in his text to demonstrate his concepts and his explanations.

This is a huge loss, as Jomini uses these battle-line diagrams and other pictures to great effect, particularly for visually-minded persons or those new to the study of the military arts. On the bright side, there is a 40+ page introduction that discusses the significance of Jomini's treatise, as well as a good deal of background, contextualization, and biographical information. Nice, but I'd trade it in an instant to just have all the figures. I have no idea what else is missing or altered, but it renders me suspicious and completely lacking confidence in the integrity of this version.

What about Clausewitz? This happens to be the SAME version of Clausewitz that I already own (mine is published by Dover). The figures ARE included... which makes little sense really (why not include Jomini's then?). This one is seemingly an unaltered version of Hans W. Gatzke's translation and edit.

Here lies the problem with these sorts of books, these sorts of classics (Sun Tzu, Clausewitz, Jomini, Napoleon, Etc) always have numerous translations, versions, and editions out. One never knows which to buy or use, and one almost always wants to have the definitive version if possible. Roots of Strategy is good value and a good reference, but I can't give Book 2 more than 3 stars due to the chopping up of Jomini's work. Go get these books individually, you'll be happier. Pick out your specific translations and editions with care, so that you get what you want. But for those who don't particularly care, or only want a general strategic or military reference set, this series will do fine.

For those who care, I recommend the Special Edition series by El Paso Norte publishing company, or (if you can afford it) the Every Man's Library series.

This volume contains three of the most influential military classics written in the nineteenth century: du Picq's "Battle Studies"--An established authority on the effect of moral force on battle; Clausewitz's "Principles of War"--Few books have had so great an effect on the destiny and welfare of the world; and Jomini's "Art of War"--Teaches Napoleonic doctrine, which has exerted a strong influence on the development of modern military thought.

Accompanying the texts are the introductions that appeared with them when they were published in separate editions over a quarter of a century ago. The student of modern warfare will find especially valuable Brig. Gen. J.D. Hittles's introduction to Jomini's "Art of War," which compares and contrasts Jomini's writings with those in Clausewitz's "Principles of War."

The highest recommendation. Five stars.

I got exactly what I ordered and it got here faster than expected.
Sure it has some highlighting and a few scratches but in the grand scheme of things who cares? Its for READING not looking pretty. I knew that when I bought it.
5/5, 100%.