War, Politics and Power

Essentially, this book contains the German military theorist and tacticians best writings. Clauswitz, the Prussian Sun Tzu, effectively brought the concept of total war into acceptability. Gone our the days Antonie Henri Jomini's chilvarious code of conduct and honor- Civilians will not only be subject to attack - they'll bear the brunt of the battle in an age of total war. Several points are made- which are crucial to surmising Clausewitzian theory- 1) "War is the continuation of state policy by other means;" 2) "All war is based on the art of deception;" 3) "No one starts war... without first being clear in his mind what he intends to achieve by the war and how he intends to conduct it;" 4) War is "an act of force to compel our enemy to do our will." 5) "If the enemy is thrown off balance, he must not be given time to recover. Blow after blow must be struck in the same direction: the victor, in other words, must strike with all his strength... by daring to win all, will one really defeat the enemy." To me this work is valuable in its historical context- and as an ardent student of military history.I got this from the Conservative Book Club, which is tied to the Regnery publishing house. Apparently, one of the reasons that this book is pushed by the conservative publishing house Regnery- isn't because conservatives are thought of as warmongerers, but because the this book is so widely disseminated in the Communist Bloc nations. Understanding the strategic theory that so profoundly influences them should wake us up.