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War of the Flea: The Classic Study of Guerrilla Warfare Paperback – August 1, 2002

by Robert Taber (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 555 ratings
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“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.  

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  1. Print length
    214 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    POTOMAC BOOKS
  4. Publication date
    August 1, 2002
  5. Dimensions
    5.94 x 0.53 x 9.16 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1574885553
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1574885552
  8. See all details
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4.7 out of 5 stars
555 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book an easy and interesting read with well-researched details on guerrilla warfare. They describe it as a classic study of modern guerilla tactics that provides insights into major insurgencies and commonalities. Readers also mention it's a great companion to John Lee Anderson's Guerillas.

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ReadabilityGuerrilla warfare
32 customers mention "Readability"29 positive3 negative

Customers find the book informative and worth reading. They say it contains details and thoughts not found in today's history books. The book is an important study from an academic perspective, considering all aspects and providing conclusions.

"...This is definitely worth reading, and is an important study from an earlier time. Buy." Read more

"...This thoughts set out in this book are important readings for those who seem to want to force an insurgency in this country...." Read more

"It’s not what I was expecting in terms of content but it’s still worthwhile" Read more

"...Taber obviously spent a grand portion of time considering every aspect, and it even includes conclusions drawn from interviews with first-person..." Read more

29 customers mention "Guerrilla warfare"29 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides insightful analysis of guerrilla warfare tactics and major insurgencies. They describe it as a classic study that provides useful information on revolutionary tactics and strategies. While some readers feel the book needs to be updated, they consider it an important study from an earlier time. The book provides good insight into the political and idealogical aspects of guerrilla warfare.

"This book offers keen insights into guerrilla warfare, using examples from history that include "the Flea's" successes and failures...." Read more

"A must have addition to the library of patriots, preppers, military strategists and history buffs...." Read more

"...Analysis of successful revolutions and revolutionary tactics (useful)..." Read more

"Although this book is supposed to be a classic study of guerrilla warefare is sorely needs to be updated with modern tactics...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Stewie
    5.0 out of 5 stars An Important Study From An Earlier Time
    Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    This book offers keen insights into guerrilla warfare, using examples from history that include "the Flea's" successes and failures. I would give 4 & 3/4 stars if possible, only because this work is from an earlier age that of course does not include more up to date examples. This is definitely worth reading, and is an important study from an earlier time. Buy.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Crispus Attucks
    5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for patriots.
    Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    A must have addition to the library of patriots, preppers, military strategists and history buffs. The inspiring takeaway was that a motivated, unified group of patriots, with excellent leadership, can overcome a much larger, better equipped, occupying force, when the freedom and independence of their homeland is threatened.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Rockwell
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good book
    Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2024
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    Very few errors or typos.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Peter von Groote IV
    5.0 out of 5 stars Dated, but still useful
    Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    It's important to note the original book was published in 1965. The author witnessed the Cuban Revolution first hand. He covers a lot of what are now well trodden paths concerning the successful revolutions in China and Cuba, but he also covers the revolutions in Ireland and Cyprus, which see much less discussion in modern counterinsurgency studies. Most importantly, he discusses where insurgencies failed and why. That, more than anything else, keeps War of the Flea relevant more than 50 years after it was written.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Daniel J. Strang
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good study, but not relevant for all types of resistance
    Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    I think the author takes into account leftist revolutionary action specifically, than all other types as well. Important points of success take into account the bleeding heart liberals of the world, which wouldn't be a factor at all in a hard right movement.

    Just my observation. Read it and share what you think.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Stephen R. Devoy
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Work on Guerrilla Warfare
    Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2007
    Verified Purchase
    Seeking to learn more about guerrilla warfare, I read Che's Guerrilla Warfare and Mao's On Guerrilla Warfare, yet I felt somewhat unsatisfied with each of those works and purchased Taber's War of the Flea hoping for better. Taber's work far outshines the works of Che and Mao. Taber has the advantage of not having a legend to defend and draws from both works, as well as The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Taber focuses not only on the Marxist inspired revolutions of recent times, but also on the revolutions of national liberation in Palestine, Cypress, and Ireland. Through all of these, he demonstrates how the application of the philosophy behind Guerrilla warfare presents the organized state or foreign colonist with only the prospect of political and/or military defeat.

    The lessons in Taber's work are as true today as they have been throughout time. They are lessons that Americans should learn. One cannot win a war against guerrillas. One can either pull out, reach a negotiated defeat, or expend one's precious time, resources and the lives of the young in a hopeless struggle descending into inevitable defeat.
    11 people found this helpful
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  • Christian Rossi
    5.0 out of 5 stars Well thought-out, lives on
    Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    I have read references to this work for some time, and finally pulled the trigger on purchasing it. It has surpassed expectations consistently. Taber obviously spent a grand portion of time considering every aspect, and it even includes conclusions drawn from interviews with first-person sources. Recommend.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • DevilDawg 75
    5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read if you want to understand insurgent warfare.
    Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    This book presents a better understanding of the Viet Nam war than any text I have read. This thoughts set out in this book are important readings for those who seem to want to force an insurgency in this country. Civil war is not in any way romantic nor glorious. This book is instructional for those who want to head off such a disaster. While it is fiction, Grisham's new book "Sooley" does a pretty good job of setting out just how low society can become when everyone lets their prejudices lead to a " War of the Fleas."
    12 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Mauricio
    5.0 out of 5 stars Exelente libro sobre guerrilla
    Reviewed in Mexico on January 6, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Estudia varios momentos etapas de movimientos de guerrillas y luchas organizadas en el mundo.
    Report
  • Tiephaine
    5.0 out of 5 stars Clairement LA référence sur le sujet des rébellions/résistances armées!
    Reviewed in France on March 1, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Clairement, cet ouvrage est à la fois un classique et un incontournable pour quiconque s'intéresse aux "conflits asymétriques" et aux "guerres révolutionnaires".

    Même s'il date de 1965, ce War of the Flea (traduit "Guerre de la Puce" en 1969 chez Juliard) est parfaitement pertinent de nos jours. Si son contexte de rédaction est celui de la "guerre froide" et des guerres de décolonisation, Robert Taber sait capter l'essence des conflits qu'il évoque pour en tirer une analyse synthétique riche et particulièrement intéressante. Les conclusions qu'il en tire, ainsi que les extrapolations auxquelles il se livre sur leur base, se sont révélées être les bonnes: l'avenir lui a donné raison.

    Au long des 11 chapitres quyi constituent ce livre, Taber aborde la guerre civile chinoise et la révolution maoiste, le conflit décolonial en Indochine et en Algérie, la révolution cubaine, la révolte irlandaise des années 1920, le soulèvement chypriote contre l'occupation anglaise, la rébellion malaise, l'insurrection philippine, et évoque d'autres mouvements. Il analyse leurs forces, leurs succès, mais aussi leurs limites et leurs échecs, comme lorsqu'il explique parfaitement pourquoi la révolution communiste en Grèce a échoué après guerre. Si Taber n'évoque pas les diverses tentatives révolutionnaires de l'immédiate après-première guerre mondiale en Allemagne, qui aurait pu être extrêmement intéressant à confronter à ses théories, il n'en reste pas moins que ce travail est très complet pour son époque et montre les divers cas de figure des mouvements de résistance/rébellion/révolution qui ont marqué leur temps au cours du 20e siècle (jusqu'en 1965, donc: la guerre au Vietnam commençait à peine).

    Le chapitre 10 est une sorte de résumé des grands principes auxquels les mouvements de guérilla doivent se soumettre si ils veulent réussir, et quels sont les écueils qu'ils doivent éviter. En somme, c'est un résumé des enseignements que l'on peut tirer des divers exemples abordés dans ce livre. Le chapitre 11 est une extrapolation et un plaidoyer pour les Etats-Unis de s'occuper de l'Amérique du Sud plutôt que de l'Asie, et là dessus, clairement les années 1970 et 1980 ont démontré à quel point il a été entendu.

    Globalement, c'est un livre excellent. Ses principes, bien que tirés de conflits engendrés par des factions communistes, peuvent s'appliquer à d'autres conflits, notamment liés à l'islamisme en Afrique ou au Moyen-Orient. Ce n'est pas la nature idéologique de l'opposition "révolutionnaire" (ou en tout cas contestataire) qui compte, mais bien le fait qu'il s'agisse d'une force d'opposition armée et asymétrique.
    Surtout, Taber fait bien la différence entre le terrorisme et la guérilla, en basant le critère de distinction sur la nature de la cible visée: s'il s'agit de civils, c'est du terrorisme, s'il s'agit d'officiels ou de symboles du gouvernement, c'est une guérilla. Et ça change tout dans une lutte avant tout politique: là où la guérilla doit se concilier impérativement le soutien populaire pour survivre et ne peut donc pas se permettre de frapper des civils innocents, le terrorisme apparaît comme une violence sociopathique qui ne peut que dresser l'ensemble d'une société contre ceux qui y recourent. Voilà qui prolonge pas mal de réflexions sur les "attaques sous faux drapeau"... et interroge sur les manipulations de masse par la violence.

    Un livre excellent, qui ne se lit pas d'une traite mais doit au contraire être lu au calme en prenant son temps pour en tirer tous les enseignements. Dommage qu'il ne soit plus traduit en français, et que son influence sur les états-majors contemporains soit inexistante. Il y a beaucoup, beaucoup à redécouvrir ici, et il y a très probablement de quoi questionner sérieusement Gallula et ses continuateurs.
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  • Tonya Brown
    5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect
    Reviewed in Canada on April 25, 2021
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    Perfect
    Report
  • Pipino il breve
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent treatise
    Reviewed in Italy on March 3, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Guerrilla war examined by way of philosophy, history, logic, revolutionary praxis, tactics and strategy.
    A must read for anyone into military history or certain political interests.
    Report
  • scipio42
    4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent starting point to learn about insurgencies
    Reviewed in Germany on March 15, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    In „War of the Flea“ journalist Robert Taber describes a number of insurgencies and revolutionary movements developing with much insight and analytical thought an understanding of the motives, means and objectives of such movements and the environments they strive in.

    Written in 1965 at the beginning of the American phase of the Vietnam War Robert Taber wanted to provide a better understanding of insurgencies and revolutionary movements. He did not try to formulate a scientific theory or a framework for analysis but described different insurgencies, their means and theoretical bases. Covering the teachings of Mao and the revolution in China, Che Guevara’s foco theory and the revolution in Cuba as well as Ho chi Minh’s writings and the First Indochina War, Taber was able to make some good predictions on the course of the Vietnam War. Taber did not only focus on large scale armed struggles but included the struggle in Northern Ireland as an example of the use of terrorist tactics into his work. By studying how the Huk rebellion in the Philippines, the Cyprus Emergency and the Greek Civil War were fought, he also looked at failures of insurgencies and tried to discern why they were unsuccessful. Taber also tried to adapt his findings and the teachings of Sun Tsu’s Art of War to the volatile areas of Latin America, where guerrilla warfare and especially urban guerrilla warfare appeared to be thriving.

    In general Taber provides some very good insights into a diverse set of insurgency movements and their political as well as violent aspects. This is both informative and well written, but does only provide an overview often lacking detailed analysis. As a set of examples this is very useful to start into the topic, but it lacks structuring and organization to compare and contrast the different conflicts and tactics used. While some of Taber’s thoughts concerning Vietnam and Latin America have of course been overtaken by actual developments, his description of communist insurgency movements in the 20th century is still an interesting and relevant read, as principles described still apply to insurgencies today.

    This is an excellent starting point for the uninformed reader to learn about insurgencies and gain an understanding into their variety, ideological bases and means of operation.
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