War of the Flea: The Classic Study of Guerrilla Warfare [Paperback]

Robert Taber (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1574885553 | ISBN-13: 978-1574885552 | Publication Date: August 31, 2002

“The guerrilla fights the war of the flea, and his military enemy suffers the dog’s disadvantages: too much to defend; too small, ubiquitous, and agile an enemy to come to grips with.” With these words, Robert Taber began a revolution in conventional military thought that has dramatically impacted the way armed conflicts have been fought since the book’s initial publication in 1965. Whether ideological, nationalistic, or religious, all guerrilla insurgencies use similar tactics to advance their cause. War of the Flea's timeless analysis of the guerrilla fighter’s means and methods provides a fundamental resource for any reader seeking to understand this distinct form of warfare and the challenge it continues to present to today’s armed forces in the Philippines, Colombia, and elsewhere.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Taber traveled to Cuba in the late 1950s as a CBS investigative journalist to cover the country’s burgeoning revolutionary movement. He became an eyewitness to history as he marched from the Sierra Maestra to Havana with the ragtag revolutionaries, led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, who forced Batista to flee the country. Taber also wrote M-26: Biography of a Revolution.

Product Details

• Paperback: 214 pages
• Publisher: Potomac Books Inc. (August 31, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574885553
• ISBN-13: 978-1574885552
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #210,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The theory of unconventional conflict, April 5, 2005

By 

Sitabhra Sinha - See all my reviews

This review is from: War of the Flea: The Classic Study of Guerrilla Warfare (Paperback)

I read the first edition of this book which was published in 1965 - so I don't know whether this edition is a revised one. Remember that, at the time the original one was published, the Vietnam War was still on - and Che Guevara was still alive & very much active. So the first edition does not make any reference to either the greatest triumph of guerrilla warfare, defeat of the vastly superior US forces to the peasant army of the Vietcong and North Vietnam; nor its dismal failure in almost all other parts of the world, symbolically represented in Che's death in Bolivia. This was the time when everyone thought that guerrilla warfare was the wave of the future; and there were a number of books on its theory and practice. There was Che's own "Guerrilla Warfare", Regis Debray's "Revolution of the Revolution", Carlos Marighella's manual on urban guerrilla warfare, etc (I remember seeing at least a couple more books which came out during this period). There were also books on counter-insurgency, mostly by ex-US Special Forces experts, most of which confidently predicted that US victory over the guerrillas in Vietnam was just a matter of few months :->
However, what sets Taber's book apart from these other books is the non-partisan approach he took in writing on the subject. He is virtually the only writer in this area who discusses Grivas, one of the rare non-leftist guerrilla fighters, in any length. Many people seem to forget that guerrilla warfare has no essential connection to leftist political movements. It is just a method of warfare available to political movements of all hues (as is evident from a perusal of the manual of insurgency for the Nicaraguan Contras prepared by the CIA). Taber discusses the method rather than the politics, and I think we should give him full marks for a very clear exposition of the theory of unconventional warfare, the necessary conditions for its success, and why it has failed so often. He uses case-studies drawn from as wide a field as Ireland, Vietnam, Greece and Indonesia. He also discusses why counter-insurgency is such an expensive proposition and can never completely succeed by itself - something that is very topical in today's age. All in all, an excellent introduction to a fascinating topic.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reprint of a Classic, February 20, 2007

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: War of the Flea: The Classic Study of Guerrilla Warfare (Paperback)

There have been a lot of books on guerrilla warfare. They typically fall into one of two categories. Those by Americans are written by university or military types who have studed irregular warfare from an academic or counter guerrilla war aspect. (Example, the forward to this book by Bard E. O'Neill of the National War College.) The other class of books are those written by practictionners who are not American such as Che Guevara. This book was written by an American serving with Castro's forces during the revolution in Cuba.

The book was first published in 1965 and became a classic. Long since out of print, the occassional rare copy that became available was quickly purchased at any price. Now Potomac Books has reprinted the original book, with as stated, a new forward.

If you are headed to Iraq buy it, it will give you a better understanding of what's going on. If you're interested in Iraq, buy it before it is gone again. If you're in the media, don't bother, your interest is ratings not reporting.

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding study of guerrilla warfare, November 9, 2006

By 

E. Lamp "Lamplight" (Arnold, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: War of the Flea: The Classic Study of Guerrilla Warfare (Paperback)

As a college professor who has taught the history of unconventional warfare for many years, I cannot rate this book any higher. It is outstanding. While Taber uses examples from the past, it still provides a lucidly clear understanding of guerrilla warfare. I only wish it had been "must" reading for the Bush administration. Maybe we would not be in the predicament we are currently facing in Iraq.