A History of Strategy: From Sun Tzu to William S. Lind

I read this a few months back and enjoyed it tremendously. I had never read about military history or strategy before, but this well written introduction opened an intellectual door for me. I find myself reading far more about history in general because of this book. Can't recommend enough for anyone with even a passing interest in military strategy and history.

A History of Strategy by Martin Van Creveld was a book suggested by Van Creveld’s publisher, editor and friend Vox Day on his Dark Streams. He said that this book serves as great introduction to both military history and military strategy. He was certainly right about that one. I had been suggested by many friends to read his work regarding human equality, and the Israeli military as well. Seeing that the man is commonly seen as the leading figure in military history today, I figured I needed to start somewhere. So I chose to start here.The book is a short and sweet introduction to the history of military strategy. Each chapter is about 15 pages long and is devoted to a different era in war. One for the antiquity and the middle ages, one for the interwar period, one for the early modern era etc. When reading this it becomes evident that Creveld can write both on the popular level for mass audiences and with the technicality and precision needed to be a great scholar. The chapters go by fast, and so does the book.When reading through the historiography of military strategy what is most interesting to me are the changes in what was considered the most important element in winning a war. In early societies, maintaining virtue and discipline was considered the key to victory. Later Maneuver and/or the rapid deployment of force was seen as the key to victory. Until finally in the modern era technology was seen as the key to victory. Creveld is sceptical of technology being the be all and end all of modern strategy. Instead he focuses upon actual modern philosophies which are defined not simply upon technology weather they be total, nuclear, or unconventional based. He even talks about his own theory of non trinitarian warfare at the end.The shortness and easiness to read are both the strength and weakness of the book. You are getting a very shallow conception of the historiography and philosophies involved, but it nonetheless proves to be interesting and engaging. The book best serves as a springboard to suggest further reading materials for the reader to pick after they have finished reading. That being said I look forward to reading more of Van Creveld’s works in the future.

For a person who has zero background in anything related to military or strategy, I found this book to be inspiring and insightful. The strategic philosophy and practical guidance of history's most significant figures is ripe with worldview enhancement, and I have to say that I think I am a more (more than before) well-rounded person for having read this book.When Jesus says to be "cunning as serpents and innocent as dove." Christians exaggerate innocence part to a fault (like Desdemona in OTHELLO), but the "cunning as serpents" part (Iago) is something this book helps give a better understanding of. A HISTORY OF STRATEGY isn't Machiavellian, but the thoughts of the subject strategists is tactically enlightening, tempered with experience, and, well, a lesson in cunning for the doves of innocence.

Well written and readable book but it really should be titled "HistorieS of Strategy" as it is more of an overview of essential writings on Military strategy and not a discourse on strategic thought itself. That being said, I'm glad I bought it and read it because now I know where to focus my continued studies with more efficiency as I can go directly to the most important works.

A very good summary of the contributions to military strategy over the centuries. Well written and brought to my attention a few writers I didn't know enough about before. My only quibble would be that I'd have liked to see much more detail about their strategic contributions in addition to the historical contexts and summary information, but this works as a good overview.

This short book (140pgs, including notes) covers a great deal of ground. The eight chapters cover the highlights of each time period, and it is rather startling that such a major human endeavor can be adequately summarized in such a slim volume. However, Mr. van Creveld focuses his survey on the giants of the field, with a bit of attention to lesser known men who nudged strategic thought in one direction or another.What I found startling was the lack of truly independent and innovative thought in this field. For example, Western thought in the Middle Ages was mostly a regurgitation of selected classical thinkers. Another point of interest was the cultural contrast between Chinese military thought and Clausweitz. For air and naval strategy, there appear to be only a few key texts.For a beginner or someone who wishes for a brief overview, this is an excellent introduction. I expect that I'll be exploring the notes for the key strategic texts that are still new to me

It's surprisingly short for as much as it covers. The writing is tight and to the point. I've dabbled a little in this field, van Creveld's outstanding skill and deep knowledge is readily apparent to even a layman such as myself. This book acts more a gateway into the world of strategy than anything else. If you want to learn about military history and strategy, this book covers who and what you need to read, and why.Martin van Creveld's writing is clear, he doesn't overwhelm the reader with the specialized jargon of his field, but rather gently uses the proper language for his craft at the right times, quite often after preparing the reader to understand the context of the unfamiliar terminology.If you have any interest in this subject, it's a must have book.

This is a succinct book with a good, hard binding. Excellent addition to The Art of War for those who aren’t quite ready to tackle Clausewitz just yet.

Good read

Il libro, molto breve, ha però il pregio di fare una panoramica su tutto il pensiero strategico dagli albori ad oggi. Altro suo punto di forza è di elencare, in un unico testo, i nomi dei principali autori di strategia della storia umana. Insomma un ottima base per ampliare lo studio della materia in maniera organica.

Van Creveld...........Lucid and logical. as always

There's not a lot to say about this book. It's a fast, easy read that gives you an excellent narrative overview of the development of strategy, from the most ancient and famous texts, through to the treatises of the 19th century, and into the modern day. If you're interested in strategy and warfare in any period, or if you're interested in wargames from the single engagement through to grand strategy, this is absolutely a must-read, just for the simple insights you can get from it. The moment I realized the implications to strategic warfare of the relative supply needs of a Roman legion to 19th century infantry was pretty awesome.And it's that kind of insight you'll get here, if you pay attention. Interested in strategy? Read this.

You could regard this as either a short book or a very long survey article. In either case, one of its main benefits is that it summarizes primary sources for you, so you can either learn from the summaries, or decide which you want to read for yourself. The scope is described in the beginning as confined by the "very limited space available" and therefore does not cover many contributions, particularly from "the vast number who have done so since 1945". I am grateful to it for directing my attention to the work of Julian Corbett (which is now in the public domain) on British Naval strategies, including the use of the Navy to land troops on the continent, and generally make trouble there, when fighting a continental power. I think the most obvious gaps in this book are a lack of coverage of Situational Awareness (or of Boyd's OODA loop) and of counter-insurgency theory.Freedman's "Strategy: a History" is more wide-ranging and more comprehensive - I am particularly impressed by what it says about the importance of building and maintaining coalitions - but also larger and more expensive.