The Direction of War: Contemporary Strategy in Historical Perspective Kindle Edition

by Hew Strachan (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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ISBN-13: 978-1107047853

ISBN-10: 1107047854

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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.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"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

"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

"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

"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

"A valuable book tracing an esteemed scholar's contributions to contemporary strategic thinking."
Antulio Echevarria, Strategic Studies Institute, United States Army War College

"… extremely well written …"
Jerry Lenaburg, New York Journal of Books

"[Strachan's] insistence on Clausewitzian exactitude produces a uniquely incisive assessment of key moments in America's twenty-first-century wars that may be particularly valuable to American leadership as it leaves them behind."
Foreign Policy's 'The Best Defense' blog

"… offers much good sense."
Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Book Description

A major contribution to our understanding of contemporary warfare and strategy by one of the world's leading military historians. --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00GA22YFQ
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cambridge University Press (December 5, 2013)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 5, 2013
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 683 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Up to 4 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 337 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #813,301 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #141 in Military Life & Institutions History
- #217 in Afghan War History
- #235 in Iraq War History (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
58 ratings

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Hew Strachan

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Customer reviews

5 star		65%
4 star		14%
3 star		12%
2 star		5%
1 star		3%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Kiwi Cove

A Must for contemporary military and civilian leaders in national security

Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2016

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This is a very very useful work for members of the contemporary national security strategy community. While Hew's reputation as a historian is very high, it is his thoughtful and insightful comments that he makes in the latter chapters that lay out some of the critical challenges facing contemporary military and civilian leaders.

4 people found this helpful

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Kevin Stallard

I think we need to get to know who our ...

Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2016

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I think we need to get to know who our new leaders are going to be. This is one of the books on "Mad Dog"'s reading list. So far it has been very compelling and interesting. Having lived during the Colin Powell years and Bush years as a young impressionable youth to now see what was really going on and the thought behind it.

2 people found this helpful

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Dr. Milo Jones

I highly recommend it to anyone who aspires to make strategy in ...

Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2014

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Thoughtful, balanced, nuanced and sophisticated, this book raises important methodological questions about strategy, history and policy. Though about military strategy, I highly recommend it to anyone who aspires to make strategy in any sphere, and to anyone who wants to understand war and conflict .

3 people found this helpful

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Terry Tucker

Astoundingly Good

Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2014

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This is a must have book. It is, beyond a doubt, the best book I have read on military strategy. The author is clear, provides case examples, and more importantly makes this "readable."
I retired with 24 years on active duty and spent 15 more working in PMC's working in austere and conflict environments. THIS book is long overdue.

5 people found this helpful

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NCPrime

Great work on the recent history of strategic studies and strategy in practice.

Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2014

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While not perfect, certainly one of the best works on strategy I've read recently and possibly the best work on post-1945 strategic history I've read in a while. Two main flaws or issues of contention: Strachan's critique of civil-military relations is at times lucid, but at other times appears to come slightly off the rails. Second, the books origin as a (much altered and added too) collection of articles shows through in the many areas which it doubles back on itself covering ground previously well trodden, at times this is done to build on previously mentioned ideas, at other times it seems overly repetitive. On the whole it is an excellent assessment and critique of the recent history of Strategic Studies as a field, as a historian I find many of his disciplinary critiques of the history/IR balance quite convincing, but I suppose I'm biased.

18 people found this helpful

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The F7 Pawn

Good Essays, Some Overlap

Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2014

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I like Strachan, but I have to agree with the other reviewers. The essays can become repetitive, highly theoretical, and somewhat inconsistent. Still, he writes well on important topics, particularly the taxonomy of strategy, policy, and operational art. Recommended.

4 people found this helpful

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guillermo Campos

Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2015

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Strachan offers a surprising and profound analysis of the direction of contemporary warfare. Highly recommended for scholars and military professionals. I enjoyed it.

2 people found this helpful

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Joe Z

Interesting

Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2014

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Can't say I agree with the author's analysis, but it is interesting to read something that is not laced with political correctness. This seems an honest assessment of how things are. I recommend it.

5 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

andrew

Worth the read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 30, 2019

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A very perceptive, interesting and informative study by a very knowledgeable author, this book is worth reading for those interested in this topic, with (in my case) some sections to be re-read for clarity of understanding.
However, my impression was some of the content appeared laboured and overworked, although compensated for by especially the chapters towards the end of the book.

Temujin

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 30, 2016

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very good

NJB

Very clear

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 1, 2019

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Series of lectures on the subject. Interesting variety.

D. Parkin

You need a strategy to read this, but it is highly rewarding if it's your bag.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 25, 2014

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I am still immersed in this work, but it is not one that can be hurried. I suspect that I will only get to a fuller understanding of his thrust after a second or third reading.The semantics of language and their relevance to the ongoing direction of war in the 21st century as employed by the major powers is a theme that cuts through the book like writing through a stick of rock. Strachan looks at the ongoing relevance of Clausewitz, and at how the term strategy has been used and misused, leading to problems in the ongoing conflicts that have plagued our century. An argument is posited that politicians have muddied the waters somewhat, with the military colluding in this by failing to adequately defend their corner. To make successful war, there has to be a clear strategy in place - something that Germans never had in place in the second world war, and something that the Americans are currently struggling with (the "War on terror", aka "the long war"). Strachan argues that short wars tend to be successful, while protracted conflicts favour the defenders.
So, you are pondering whether to buy this book. It is weighty and thought provoking, based around a series of lectures delivered by Strachan. The weightiness is also physical - it is pleasingly printed on good quality heavy paper, and equally pleasingly I have yet to spot a typo! It is a book with key observations onto the modern world, and as such inevitably feeds into current events. As somebody deeply interested in history I would heartily endorse this book. It is undoubtedly an impressive piece of work on an important area of human activity. It makes you think, and that in itself is a good thing.
So why the 4 star review, and not the full five? Maybe I am marking it unduly harshly, but it is perhaps overly dense, requiring frequent re-reading of passages before moving on. It does feel an important, even seminal work for all that, and the ideas probably deserve a wider readership than it will probably reach. I for one am glad that I have bought it.

5 people found this helpful

Sudhir P.

Civ Mil Relations Demystified

Reviewed in India on August 3, 2017

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An outstanding read for national leadership, strategic and security professionals. A detailed historical study leading upto a very relevant analysis of civil military relations for the modern day.

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Sir Lawrence Freedman
595
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Carl von Clausewitz
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The Direction of War: Contemporary Strategy in Historical Perspective Kindle Edition

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