Masters of War: Classical Strategic Thought

ISBN-13: 9780714650913 / Angielski / Twarda / 2000 / 526 str.

Michael I. Handel

Opis

This study is based on a detailed textual analyis of the classical works on war by Clausewitz, Sun Tzu, Mao Tse-tung and, to a lesser extent, by Jomini and Machiavelli. The central conclusion is that the logic of waging war and of strategic thinking is as universal and timeless as human nature itself.

Spis treści

Selected Contents: 1. Strategy: Past Theories, Modern Practice 2. Comparing Sun Tzu and Clausewitz 3. The Definition of War: A Question of the Level of Analysis 4. Clausewitz and Mao Tse-tung on Theory and Practice in War 5. ‘Attacking the Enemy’s Plans’ and the Concept of ‘The Center of Gravity’: Eastern Psychology and Western Mechanics 6.The Primacy of Politics and the Military Commander 7. The Rational Calculus of War: Correlating End and Means 8. Clausewitz on the Role of ‘Moral Forces’ in War 9. The Supreme Act of Judgment: Understanding the ‘Nature of War’ and the ‘Trinitarian Analysis’ 10. The First Element of the Remarkable Trinity: The People in Arms 11. The Ideal and the Real: Victory without Bloodshed and the Search for the Decisive Battle 12. Speed, Numerical Superiority, and Victory 13. The Principle of Continuity and the Culminating Point of Victory: The Contradictory Nature of War 14. Clausewitz on War Termination 15. Deception, Surprise, and Intelligence 16. On Military Leadership 17. Boldness and Calculation 18. Corbett, Clausewitz and Sun Tzu 19. Conclusions: Towards a Unified Theory of War

O autorze

Michael I. Handel