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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.

Print length

208 pages
Language

English
Publisher

POTOMAC BOOKS
Publication date

August 1, 2009
Dimensions

6 x 0.48 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1597973076
ISBN-13

978-1597973076
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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 Published On: 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 Published On: 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.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ POTOMAC BOOKS (August 1, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1597973076
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1597973076
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.5 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.48 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #878,623 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,176 in Military Strategy History (Books)
- #25,514 in Engineering (Books)

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48 ratings

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5 star		69%
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3 star		11%
2 star		3%
1 star		6%

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S. M. McMillion

Heady Stuff

Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2020

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Tough sledding. I really like that his maxims come in 3-page capsules. Gray is an excellent writer and I suspect some of my dissatisfaction with his work may be the function of my cognitive shortcomings. He lays out 40 maxims, leaning heavily on Clausewitz but I really liked the references to Thucydides ("fear, honor, and interest"). As a retired Army officer, I struggled with some of the topics but found the writing interesting and thought-provoking. I certainly found much to agree with (geography matters, there's more to war than warfare for example). This isn't for the novice.

2 people found this helpful

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K. O. Singer

Policy is one thing but strategic understanding is too often forgotton

Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2017

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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

6 people found this helpful

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WCB

Important idea.

Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2019

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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.

One person found this helpful

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David Southworth

An Excellent Overview

Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2010

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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.

4 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Great full-round insight on strategy

Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2017

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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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Fish

Good addition to the reading list

Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2019

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

Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2019

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Well done, as described and delivered on time

Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2020

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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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Save the Planet. Stop Climate Change!

not bad, but not too great either

Reviewed in Germany on June 23, 2016

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In writing this book, the author strove for compiling 40 timeless essential general truths about war, peace and strategy and explaining their significance. In this he succeded, but to me most of his maxims are almost trivial and most of the accompanying essays are at best of limited practical value.
Nevertheless, the book demonstrates why strategy (defined as the effective use of force or the threat of force for the achievement of political goals) is so difficult and provides an interesting window on a leading strategist's world view.

Joshua

I enjoyed this book

Reviewed in Canada on November 8, 2020

Verified Purchase

I very much enjoyed the way the author presented the material in the form of 40 maxims. It is a book about some of the wisdom and adages learned and taught in military history.

Designer

平和と戦争の関係を考えさせられる本です。

Reviewed in Japan on November 14, 2009

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そもそもは軍事戦略からの格言集ですが、普段にも使える点がちらほらあります。
正規軍は打ちのめして勝利することが目的だけれども、ゲリラ側はそれを長期間邪魔をして相手がギブアップすることを目的にして戦っているという、そもそもの目的が違うから軍隊は不利だと言う事は、小規模ビジネスでも応用できると思いましたし、占領した相手の立場を思いやってその後の統治を行わなければならないといったことや、テクノロジーが進化して無人飛行機で敵地を攻撃しても勝利できず、最終的には人間が出向いて初めて勝利できると言ったことも応用可能だと思いました。
戦争は政治の最後の手段の一つだと言うことも改めてなるほどと思いました。

One person found this helpful

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