The first documented, systematic study of guerrilla warfare, Mao Tse-tung's 1937 text remains the definitive guide to orchestrating revolution in developing countries. Based on Mao's own experiences in fighting Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists and his interpretations of the classic strategies of Sun-tzu, On Guerrilla Warfare outlines the tactics that have proven effective around the world, from Vietnamese jungles to Middle Eastern deserts. Prescient...

Distilled from the Yale University seminar, "Studies in Grand Strategy," a master class in strategic thinking surveys statecraft from the ancient Greeks through FDR and beyond as vital historical lessons for future world leaders. "John Lewis Gaddis, the distinguished historian of the Cold War, has for almost two decades co-taught grand strategy at Yale University with his colleagues Charles Hill and Paul Kennedy. Now, in [this book], Gaddis reflects...

Expanded from an article that created a stir in foreign policy circles, this book shows why five central arguments promoting nuclear weapons are, in essence, myths.

Profiles of 16 decisive struggles from ancient and modern times. Gripping accounts range from Alexander the Great's overthrow of the Persian empire in the 4th century BC to World War II's Battle of Midway. Pratt depicts the circumstances leading up to the decisive clashes, the personalities involved, and the historically important aftermath. 27 maps.

What makes the Civil War so fascinating is that it presents an endless number of "what if" scenarios-moments when the outcome of the war (and therefore world history) hinged on a single small mistake or omission. In this book, Civil War historian Edward Bonekemper highlights the ten biggest Civil War blunders, focusing in on intimate moments of military indecision and inaction involving great generals like Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, and William...

Antoine-Henri Jomini was the most celebrated writer on the Napoleonic art of war. Jomini was present at the majority of the most important battles of the Napoleonic Wars. His writing, therefore, is the most authoritative on the subject. In this fully illustrated version of 'The Art of War', he advises: 'The art of war, as generally considered, consists of five purely military branches,-viz.: Strategy, Grand Tactics, Logistics, Engineering, and Tactics....

The classic account of how British intelligence penetrated and practically operated Nazi Germany's spy network within the British Isles With great imagination, care, and precise coordination, the British were able to identify Nazi agents, induce many to defect, and supply completely false information to Germany about bombings, battles, and even the D-Day invasion. Told by the man who masterminded the entire, unbelievable four-and-a-half-year scheme,...

In attempting to analyze the role of luck in war, a rather narrow definition of luck is necessary. The conventional dictionary definitions of luck are a force that brings good fortune or adversity and the events or circumstances that operate for or against an individual. Those definitions are so broad that they would appear to cover many, perhaps most, events in war. There is in literature an old expression, deus ex machina, a translation into Latin...

“Insurgent, Raiders and Bandits” explores the history of irregular warfare over the past 250 years through the lives and campaigns of the greatest masters of this mode of conflict. The book not only tells their stories but shapes an alternate history of the world as seen through the eyes of those who made up for their small numbers with clever, unorthodox methods that often brought them victory. Their lesson for military affairs in our time must...

Stranded deep in enemy territory, the Spartan general Clearchus and the other Greek senior officers were subsequently killed or captured by treachery on the part of the Persian satrap Tissaphernes. Xenophon, one of three remaining leaders elected by the soldiers, played an instrumental role in encouraging the Greek army of 10,000 to march north across foodless deserts and snow-filled mountain passes towards the Black Sea and the comparative security...