The Future of War: A History

(Paperback)

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A new approach to ideas about war, from 'Britain's leading academic strategist' (Economist) Where should we look for new dangers What cunning plans might an aggressor have in mind What are the best forms of defence 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, one of the UK's foremost military thinkers, reveals how those who have imagined future war have often had an idealised notion of it as confined, brief and decisive - hence the stubborn persistence of the idea of a knockout blow, whether through a dashing land offensive or nuclear first strike or cyberattacks. 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

Reviews

What is most impressive about the book is the author's erudition and the lightness with which he wears it -- Christopher Coker * Literary Review *
Arguably Britain's leading academic strategist examines how ideas about how future wars could be fought have shaped the reality, with usually baleful results. ... His message to policymakers is to beware those who tout "the ease and speed with which victory can be achieved while underestimating the resourcefulness of adversaries". Anybody who thinks otherwise should read this book * Economist *
It reflects the author's immense knowledge and wisdom. It should feed our humility, because it reminds us of mankind's unlimited capacity for folly; and also of the need to sustain defences against all manner of threats, because the only certainty is that the next peril to confront us will be the one we least expect -- Max Hastings * The Times *

Author Bio

Sir Lawrence Freedman is Emeritus Professor of War Studies at King's College London. He was the official historian of the Falklands Campaign, and a member of the official inquiry into Britain and the 2003 Iraq War ('the Chilcot Inquiry'). He has written extensively on nuclear strategy and the Cold War, and comments regularly on contemporary security issues. His book, Strategy, was a Financial Times and Economist book of the year; A Choice of Enemies- America Confronts the Middle East won the 2009 Lionel Gelber Prize and Duke of Westminster Medal for Military Literature.