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Colin S. Gray

Fighting Talk: Forty Maxims on War, Peace, and Strategy Paperback – August 1, 2009

by Colin S. Gray (Author)

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Colin Gray presents an inventive treatise on the nature of strategy, war, and peace, organized around forty maxims. This collection of mini essays will forearm politicians, soldiers, and the attentive general public against many―probably most― fallacies that abound in contemporary debates about war, peace, and security. While one can never guarantee strategic success, which depends on policy, military prowess, and the quality of the dialogue between the two, a strategic education led by the judgments in these maxims increases the chances that one’s errors will be small rather than catastrophic.

The maxims are grouped according to five clusters. “War and Peace” tackles the larger issues of strategic history that drive the demand for the services of strategic thought and practice. “Strategy” presses further, into the realm of strategic behavior, and serves as a bridge between the political focus of part one and the military concerns that follow. “Military Power and Warfare” turns to the pragmatic business of military performance: operations, tactics, and logistics. Part four, “Security and Insecurity,” examines why strategy is important, including a discussion of the nature, dynamic character, and functioning of world politics. Finally, “History and the Future” is meant to help strategists better understand the processes of historical change.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[Gray] has sustained and enhanced a reputation as the English-speaking world's leading strategic thinker. Gray's work has always eschewed abstraction for empiricism. His theoretical studies never fall prey to wishful thinking or mirror-imaging. His strategic analyses incorporate strong historical elements. Fighting Talk, though unpretentious in structure, represents the distillation of a career's worth of study and reflection in these contexts."—Journal of Military History

(Journal of Military History 2009-08-14)

"Attributing his inspiration for this work to the seminal military thinker Carl von Clausewitz, Gray has come up with forty maxims of military strategy that he believes cover most of the intellectually essential elements for the education of a strategist and presents them accompanied by short explanatory essays. They are grouped into sections on war and peace, strategy, military power and warfare, security and insecurity, and history and the future."—Reference & Research Book News

(Reference & Research Book News 2009-08-04)

About the Author

Colin S. Gray is a professor of international politics and strategic studies and the director of the Centre for Strategic Studies, University of Reading, England. He is the author of twenty-three books, including National Security Dilemmas: Challenges and Opportunities (Potomac Books, Inc., 2008) , and several dozen government reports. He lives in Wokingham, United Kingdom.

Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Potomac Books (August 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1597973076
ISBN-13: 978-1597973076
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Customer Reviews: 13 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #115,724 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #261 in Military Strategy History (Books)
- #3170 in Engineering (Books)

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13 customer reviews

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K. O. Singer

Policy is one thing but strategic understanding is too often forgotton

August 13, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is on General James Mattis (now SecDef) reading list of 30 books that leaders need to read. To quote the author, this book is founded on two propositions. First there is a body of maxims on war, peace and strategy, which are both true and important.. Secondly these truths frequently are forgotten, or misunderstood, often with dire consequences-which explains the t turmoil in this country for the past nineteen years. One would hope that more people in Washington will read these books

4 people found this helpful

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WCB

Important idea.

March 16, 2019

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

In any kind of current or potential fight using the right concepts and words with your enemies, your friends and yourself is tremendously important. This book is like a PhD dissertation it is very dry, abstract and uninteresting, in my opinion.

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jensen parr

Anthony liked it too

May 7, 2019

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Included Marine Corp the baddest warriors

One person found this helpful

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Melissa J

Great full-round insight on strategy

September 28, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Great read! Offered a different take on strategy through Maxims which were perfect to pick up and put down to contemplate the ideas and concepts discussed in the essays. Made the Maxims relatable and relevant to the present.

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David Southworth

An Excellent Overview

April 8, 2010

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The noted strategic historian Colin Gray, author of a number of books on military strategy, has produced a quick and excellent read on what he believes are the most important aspects to consider when thinking about military or national security strategy. Among the standouts for me: remember that these are humans making decisions; knowledge of history is important; peace and war are intimately linked.

This is a valuable book. I highly recommend it.

3 people found this helpful

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Fish

Good addition to the reading list

December 20, 2019

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Great read on an important school of thought, in a very approachable format!

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GW Mc Donald Jr

Worthwhile reed

September 15, 2019

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Well done, as described and delivered on time

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Blake Newton

Difficult language

February 4, 2020

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The content is very well thought out, but the language used made the content very difficult to follow. Content is presented in a very un-straightforward manner.

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