Ebook: Masters of War: Classical Strategic Thought

BookCover; Half-Title; Title; Copyright; Contents; List of Maps, Figures, and Tables; Acknowledgements There cannot be a more exciting and creative place for thinking about; Introduction; 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.;This is the first comprehensive study based on a detailed textual analysis of the classical works on war by Clausewitz, Sun Tzu, Mao Tse-tung, and to a lesser extent, Jomini and Machiavelli. Brushing stereotypes aside, the author takes a fresh look at what these strategic thinkers actually said-not what they are widely believed to have said. He finds that despite their apparent differences in terms of time, place, cultural background, and level of material/technological development, all had much more in common than previously supposed. In fact, the central conclusion of this book is that th.