The Future of War

A History

Nonfiction, History, Military, Strategy, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, International, International Relations
Cover of the book The Future of War by Lawrence Freedman, PublicAffairs
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Lawrence Freedman ISBN: 9781610393065
Publisher: PublicAffairs Publication: October 10, 2017
Imprint: PublicAffairs Language: English
Author: Lawrence Freedman
ISBN: 9781610393065
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Publication: October 10, 2017
Imprint: PublicAffairs
Language: English

An award-winning military historian, professor, and political adviser delivers the definitive story of warfare in all its guises and applications, showing what has driven and continues to drive this uniquely human form of political violence.

Questions about the future of war are a regular feature of political debate, strategic analysis, and popular fiction. Where should we look for new dangers? What cunning plans might an aggressor have in mind? What are the best forms of defense? How might peace be preserved or conflict resolved?

From the French rout at Sedan in 1870 to the relentless contemporary insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan, Lawrence Freedman, a world-renowned military thinker, reveals how most claims from the military futurists are wrong. But they remain influential nonetheless.

Freedman shows how those who have imagined future war have often had an idealized notion of it as confined, brief, and decisive, and have regularly taken insufficient account of the possibility of long wars-hence the stubborn persistence of the idea of a knockout blow, whether through a dashing land offensive, nuclear first strike, or cyberattack. He also notes the lack of attention paid to civil wars until the West began to intervene in them during the 1990s, and how the boundaries between peace and war, between the military, the civilian, and the criminal are becoming increasingly blurred.

Freedman's account of a century and a half of warfare and the (often misconceived) thinking that precedes war is a challenge to hawks and doves alike, and puts current strategic thinking into a bracing historical perspective.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

An award-winning military historian, professor, and political adviser delivers the definitive story of warfare in all its guises and applications, showing what has driven and continues to drive this uniquely human form of political violence.

Questions about the future of war are a regular feature of political debate, strategic analysis, and popular fiction. Where should we look for new dangers? What cunning plans might an aggressor have in mind? What are the best forms of defense? How might peace be preserved or conflict resolved?

From the French rout at Sedan in 1870 to the relentless contemporary insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan, Lawrence Freedman, a world-renowned military thinker, reveals how most claims from the military futurists are wrong. But they remain influential nonetheless.

Freedman shows how those who have imagined future war have often had an idealized notion of it as confined, brief, and decisive, and have regularly taken insufficient account of the possibility of long wars-hence the stubborn persistence of the idea of a knockout blow, whether through a dashing land offensive, nuclear first strike, or cyberattack. He also notes the lack of attention paid to civil wars until the West began to intervene in them during the 1990s, and how the boundaries between peace and war, between the military, the civilian, and the criminal are becoming increasingly blurred.

Freedman's account of a century and a half of warfare and the (often misconceived) thinking that precedes war is a challenge to hawks and doves alike, and puts current strategic thinking into a bracing historical perspective.

More books from PublicAffairs

Cover of the book The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century by Lawrence Freedman
Cover of the book Dreaming War by Lawrence Freedman
Cover of the book The Biology of Desire by Lawrence Freedman
Cover of the book The Lure of Long Distances by Lawrence Freedman
Cover of the book Games without Rules by Lawrence Freedman
Cover of the book Our Separate Ways by Lawrence Freedman
Cover of the book A Crowd of One by Lawrence Freedman
Cover of the book The Doors by Lawrence Freedman
Cover of the book Our Supreme Task by Lawrence Freedman
Cover of the book The Jewish American Paradox by Lawrence Freedman
Cover of the book The Agitator by Lawrence Freedman
Cover of the book Tell Me How This Ends by Lawrence Freedman
Cover of the book The First and Final Nightmare of Sonia Reich by Lawrence Freedman
Cover of the book Talk on the Wild Side by Lawrence Freedman
Cover of the book The Summer of Beer and Whiskey by Lawrence Freedman
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy