Clausewitz, a prussian general who fought against napoleon, quite literally wrote the book on war. Clausewitzs on war and sun tzus art of war in one volume. Rebooting clausewitz offers an entirely new take on the work of historys greatest theorist of war. In 1991, martin van revelds on future war aka the transformation of war was published, eliciting critical responses on a variety of levels. Maude, abridged edited with an introduction by anatol rapoport. Published in 1832, a year after his death, on war is regarded by military experts even today as the definitive study of warfare. An analysis of clausewitzs on war 1414 words bartleby. A classic work on military strategy by a veteran of the napoleonic wars.
He argues that intellect is not the chief indicator of military genius. The change on the nature in the conduct of war during clausewitz time was the factor why he needed to reexamine the subjects through his writing. It is generally accepted that in strategy, as in political history or international politics. May 24, 2019 while clausewitzs writings would gain an audience among american civilian strategists in the late 1950s and early 1960s, he would not become required reading in u. Since the works first appearance in 1832, it has been read throughout the world, and has stimulated generations of soldiers, political leaders, and intellectuals. The problem, due in large part to clausewitzs meandering style, is that too many influential commentators have treated those books as howto manuals. This book by colin gray complements on war, expanding from clausewitzs theory of war to formulate a theory of strategy. Clausewitzs magnum opus vom kriege, referred to in english as on war. The relevance of clausewitzs on war to todays conflicts militaire. Though the aim of a war is as variable as the political object an.
Feb 26, 2006 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. On war volume one a classic work on military strategy by a veteran of the napoleonic wars. The participants in this roundtable refuted that assertion. Clausewitz, on war 1831 book iion the theory of war context. An army strategists take on reading clausewitz the company. Few paid attention to him or his work until prussias astonishing victory over france in 1870. Written for an undergraduate readership that often struggles with clausewitzs master work on war a book that is often considered too philosophical and impenetrably dense it seeks to unpack some of clausewitzs key insights on theory and strategy. The translation of clausewitzs on war is the 1943 version done by german literary scholar o.
Most of it was written after the napoleonic wars and was published after his death. Clausewitz spent the latter part of his life writing and rewriting his massive work, vom kriege on war, which remained unfinished and was published posthumously by his widow in 1832. The genius for war clausewitz next considers the factors that indicate military genius. On war is now a childrens book featuring hare clausewitz. Clausewitz now considers the ends and means of war. Its coherence and ambition are unmatched by other military literature.
He was a professional soldier but his legacy is that of a military strategist and theorist. His ideas remain widely taught in military schools, and are, more than ever, essential to the modern strategist. Clausewitz for trigger pullers modern war institute. Public domain recording by librivox from the 1874 translation by j. Continuously emphasizing that war is a continuity of policy by other means, clausewitz, in his 20 years work, has defined perfectly the theory of war, its tactical and strategic purposes. On war also widely known by its german name vom kriege is. War is the province of danger, and clausewitz describes the different dangers experienced by the leaders of an army at. Clausewitzs puzzle is a shortened translation of a book published in munich in 2001. Reading on war with a likeminded group, committed to taking clausewitz seriously, in his own words, without relying on secondary sources, was an intellectual adventure. Matthijs jolles at the university of chicago during world war iinot todays standard translation, but certainly the most accurate.
On war is widely regarded as clausewitzs premier work on the philosophy of war and the first modern book of you may also like. In his book the transformation of war, creveld argued that clausewitz s famous trinity of people, army, and government was an obsolete sociopolitical construct based on the state, which was rapidly passing from the scene as the key player in war, and that he creveld had constructed a new nontrinitarian model for modern warfare. Either by signing into your account or linking your membership details before your order is placed. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Apr 21, 2020 book two is clausewitzs idea of what theory isa guide to study of a complex phenomenonand is nota list of rules to followwhen it comes to war. On war also widely known by its german name vom kriege is considered to be clausewitzs magnum opus, despite the fact it remained unfinished at the time of his death. This book will be of much interest to students of critical security studies, social theory, war studies and political theoryir. This is a dense work that should only be undertaken once a leader has a firm foundation in clausewitz and other theorists of war, but is critical to understanding how senior military leaders must transition from. Its part of the books that changed the world series.
The first is courage, because war is the province of danger first and foremost. Clausewitz was born on june 1, 1780 in the kingdom of prussia to a lower middleclass family. It is an extraordinary attempt to construct an allembracing theory of how war works. As an alternative, the kindle ebook is available now and can be read on any device with the free kindle app. Published posthumously between 1832 and 1835 by clausewitzs wife, on war delivers a deep insight into various concepts and schools of thought connected to war. Peter paret is professor emeritus at the institute for advanced study in princeton. Adorned with many historical examples, this book is certainly historys greatest masterpiece. He wrote about the enduring principles about the nature of war that he experienced first hand in battle against napoleons.
251 1199 436 83 1570 912 480 1203 534 143 1541 154 176 1510 264 851 213 855 1455 691 181 309 676 673 217