This deluxe hardback edition of The Art of War is bound in luxurious silk and presented in a decorative slipcase, making the perfect collectible.

Written around the 6th century BC, The Art of War is one of the oldest and most influential books on military strategy. It teaches you how, when battle commences, to think on your feet and catch your enemy off guard. Its penetrating theories are a must read for the modern day military enthusiast, business person and historian alike.

This beautiful hardback gift edition features a foil-stamped cover design and a stunning range of full-color Chinese illustrations to lift and complement the text. It also includes a fascinating postscript on how the ideas of Sun Tzu have been put to use in business, sport and other areas of life.

The perfect gift for anyone interested in ancient Chinese wisdom.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Arcturus Silkbound Classics series brings together deluxe gift editions of literary classics, presented with luxurious silk binding, striking embossed cover designs and full-color illustrations.

The essential resource on military and political strategy and the making of the modern world

The New Makers of Modern Strategy is the next generation of the definitive work on strategy and the key figures who have shaped the theory and practice of war and statecraft throughout the centuries. Featuring entirely new entries by a who's who of world-class scholars, this new edition provides global, comparative perspectives on strategic thought from antiquity to today, surveying both classical and current themes of strategy while devoting greater attention to the Cold War and post-9/11 eras. The contributors evaluate the timeless requirements of effective strategy while tracing the revolutionary changes that challenge the makers of strategy in the contemporary world. Amid intensifying global disorder, the study of strategy and its history has never been more relevant. The New Makers of Modern Strategy draws vital lessons from history's most influential strategists, from Thucydides and Sun Zi to Clausewitz, Napoleon, Churchill, Mao, Ben-Gurion, Andrew Marshall, Xi Jinping, and Qassem Soleimani.

With contributions by Dmitry Adamsky, John Bew, Tami Davis Biddle, Hal Brands, Antulio J. Echevarria II, Elizabeth Economy, Charles Edel, Eric S. Edelman, Andrew Ehrhardt, Lawrence Freedman, John Lewis Gaddis, Francis J. Gavin, Christopher J. Griffin, Ahmed S. Hashim, Eric Helleiner, Wayne Wei-siang Hsieh, Seth G. Jones, Robert Kagan, Jonathan Kirshner, Matthew Kroenig, James Lacey, Guy Laron, Michael V. Leggiere, Margaret MacMillan, Tanvi Madan, Thomas G. Mahnken, Carter Malkasian, Daniel Marston, John H. Maurer, Walter Russell Mead, Michael Cotey Morgan, Mark Moyar, Williamson Murray, S.C.M. Paine, Sergey Radchenko, Iskander Rehman, Thomas Rid, Joshua Rovner, Priya Satia, Kori Schake, Matt J. Schumann, Brendan Simms, Jason K. Stearns, Hew Strachan, Sue Mi Terry, and Toshi Yoshihara.

The Art of War, the world's oldest treatise on warfare, has been studied by leaders for centuries.

Dated to about fifth century BCE, The Art of War is considered the oldest treatise on war in the world. Attributed to Sun Tzu of the Zhou dynasty, the book is composed of thirteen chapters, each addressing a particular aspect of warfare, such as planning offenses, military combat, and the employment of spies. Influential in Eastern civilization for millennia and in Western culture since its first translation in the eighteenth century, the teachings of this book have been applied to scenarios as varied as office politics, the Vietnam War, and American football. Featuring gilded edges and a heat-burnished cover, this edition of The Art of War is a stylish addition to your bookshelf.

...a useful addition to the literature of the changing character of war. Its scoping and focus, and its application of the identified disruptors to current challenges offer immediate insights for today's commanders and defence policymakers. -- The Wavell Room

The nature of war is constant change. We live in an era of exponential technological acceleration which is transforming how wars are waged. Today, the battlespace is transparent; multi-domain sensors can see anything, and long-range precision fire can target everything that is observed. Autonomous weapons can be unleashed into the battlespace and attack any target from above, hitting the weakest point of tanks and armored vehicles. The velocity of war is hyper-fast.

Battle shock is the operational, informational, and organizational paralysis induced by the rapid convergence of key disrupters in the battlespace. It occurs when the tempo of operations is so fast, and the means so overwhelming, that the enemy cannot think, decide, or act in time. Hit with too many attacks in multiple domains, all occurring simultaneously, the enemy is paralyzed. In short, the keys to decisive victory in war is to generate battle shock.

Imagine a peer fight against Communist China, a new war in Europe against a resurgent Russia, or a conflict against Iran in the Middle East. How can our forces survive an enemy-first strike in these circumstances? Can we adapt to the ever-accelerating tempo of war?

Will our forces be able to mask from enemy sensors? How will leaders execute command and control in a degraded communications environment? Will our command posts survive? Will our commanders see and understand what is happening in order to plan, decide, and act in real time? This book addresses these tough questions and more.

Originally printed in very limited numbers in 1995, this book is a companion piece to The Bear Went Over the Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics in Afghanistan. This unabridged quality reprint will provide tremendous insight for historians, journalists and anyone deployed in Afghanistan. Contains accounts of numerous actions fought by the Afghan resistance. Each account is told by the Afghan commander who participated in the action described. These commanders in the vast majority, were civilians who took up arms against the Soviets and developed the skills necessary to command guerrilla units. Most of these accounts are supported by a full page map, that show the topography, the locations of the attackers and defenders, movements, fields of fire etc. In addition is an invaluable guide to anyone wishing to understand modern guerrilla warfare, whether conducting one or fighting against guerrillas in the field. In addition this study provides invaluable insights in how to train and support guerrillas in the field. Each operation is commented on to highlight the elements that caused the operation/action to succeed or fail. In the event of failure what should have been done to have prevented such failure, or in the case of success what could have been done to have improved on that success.

This very practical manual contains Che's clearest, most committed analysis of guerrilla warfare, the basis of the struggle of a people to redeem itself. He shows how a small band of revolutionaries, ill-equipped but flexible, inventive, and mobile, can use the massive strength of its opponents to overthrow a corrupt regime in armed struggle. Strategy, tactics, sabotage, propaganda, and intelligence are all discussed in detail; and Che also examines the possibilities of action in the suburbs and cities themselves.

Contents;

General principle of guerrilla warfare -- The guerrilla band -- Organization of the guerrilla front -- Appendices: 1. Organization in secret of the first guerrilla band -- 2. Defense of power that has been won -- Epilogue. Analysis of the Cuban situation, its present and its future.

Stunning. Sean McFate is a new Sun Tzu. -Admiral James Stavridis (retired), former Supreme Allied Commander at NATO

An Economist Book of the Year 2019

Some of the principles of warfare are ancient, others are new, but all described in The New Rules of War will permanently shape war now and in the future. By following them Sean McFate argues, we can prevail. But if we do not, terrorists, rogue states, and others who do not fight conventionally will succeed--and rule the world.

The New Rules of War is an urgent, fascinating exploration of war--past, present and future--and what we must do if we want to win today from an 82nd Airborne veteran, former private military contractor, and professor of war studies at the National Defense University.

War is timeless. Some things change--weapons, tactics, technology, leadership, objectives--but our desire to go into battle does not. We are living in the age of Durable Disorder--a period of unrest created by numerous factors: China's rise, Russia's resurgence, America's retreat, global terrorism, international criminal empires, climate change, dwindling natural resources, and bloody civil wars. Sean McFate has been on the front lines of deep state conflicts and has studied and taught the history and practice of war. He's seen firsthand the horrors of battle and understands the depth and complexity of the current global military situation.

This devastating turmoil has given rise to difficult questions. What is the future of war? How can we survive? If Americans are drawn into major armed conflict, can we win? McFate calls upon the legends of military study Carl von Clausewitz, Sun Tzu, and others, as well as his own experience, and carefully constructs the new rules for the future of military engagement, the ways we can fight and win in an age of entropy: one where corporations, mercenaries, and rogue states have more power and 'nation states' have less. With examples from the Roman conquest, World War II, Vietnam, Afghanistan and others, he tackles the differences between conventional and future war, the danger in believing that technology will save us, the genuine leverage of psychological and 'shadow' warfare, and much more. McFate's new rules distill the essence of war today, describing what it is in the real world, not what we believe or wish it to be.

Unabridged value reproduction of the most critical and thought provoking first four books of On War by Carl von Clausewitz, translated by J.J. Graham, and including footnotes. These books give the theory and goals of war that can be applied to conquering meeting rooms and empires.

This volume of On War includes topics of the Nature, Theory, and Strategy of War and Combat.

These of Clausewitz's four books in one volume allow the reader to review and contemplate Clausewitz's teachings as it applies to their life.

No student of influence should be without this historic philosophy book on leadership. This Value Classic Reprint provides a slim volume with full text at an affordable price.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE INTRODUCTION OF THE AUTHOR 3
BRIEF MEMOIR OF GENERAL CLAUSEWITZ 3
BOOK I. ON THE NATURE OF WAR 6
BOOK II. ON THE THEORY OF WAR 38
BOOK III. OF STRATEGY IN GENERAL 70
BOOK IV. THE COMBAT 98

In 1937, Mao was in retreat after ten years of battling the Nationalist troops of Chiang Kai-shek. During this period, he wrote a succinct pamphlet that remains one of the most influential documents on warfare to this date. This treatise, the first systematic analysis of guerilla warfare, established Mao as the architect of a new method of warfare.

On Guerrilla Warfare is Mao's case for the extensive use of an irregular form of warfare in which small groups of combatants use mobile military tactics in the forms of ambushes and raids to combat a larger and less mobile formal army. Mao wrote the book in 1937 to convince Chinese political and military leaders that guerilla style-tactics were necessary for the Chinese to use in the Second Sino-Japanese War. The book has since become a classic and should be of interest to anyone who wants to learn about guerilla warfare and how it is effectively conducted, and anyone interested in warfare, terrorism, and revolution in general.

The most prestigious and influential book on strategy and dealing with conflict, beautifully translated for clear, accessible reading.

In the words of Sun Tzu, To win without fighting is best. This timeless Chinese classic captures the essence of military strategy used in ancient East Asia, with lessons on how to handle conflict confidently, efficiently, and successfully. The techniques and instructions discussed in The Art of War apply to competition and conflict on every level, from the interpersonal to the international. Its aim is invincibility, victory without battle, and unassailable strength through an understanding of the physics, politics, and psychology of conflict.

Thomas Cleary's translation is a breakthrough achievement that has been a gold standard among translations for three decades, offering the complete text in eminently readable prose with short commentaries by other ancient Chinese strategists and philosophers interwoven throughout.

Distilling the ideas of the greatest military theoreticians of history, including Sun Tzu, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Carl von Clausewitz, this clear and engaging Very Short Introduction presents a fascinating account of the art of the general. Antulio J. Echevarria II highlights the dynamic relationship between the main elements of strategy: purpose, method, and means. Drawing on historical examples, he discusses the major types of military strategy and how emerging technologies are affecting them.

This second edition has been updated throughout, and now includes an extended chapter on cyberwarfare which shows how the use of social media platforms to influence opinions on political views and manipulate populations to act in certain ways has evolved from an art to a science.

Throughout history cities have been at the center of warfare, from sieges to street-fighting, from peace-keeping to coups de mains. Sun Tzu admonished his readers of The Art of War that the lowest realization of warfare was to attack a fortified city. Indeed, although strategists have advised against it across the millennia, armies and generals have been forced nonetheless to attack and defend cities, and victory has required that they do it well. In Concrete Hell Louis DiMarco has provided a masterful study of the brutal realities of urban warfare, of what it means to seize and hold a city literally block by block. Such a study could not be more timely. We live in an increasingly urbanizing world, a military unprepared for urban operations is unprepared for tomorrow. Di Marco masterfully studies the successes and failures of past battles in order to provide lessons for today's tacticians.

Written in China more than 2,500 years ago, Sun Tzu's classic The Art of War is the first known study of the planning and conduct of military operations. These terse, aphoristic essays are unsurpassed in comprehensiveness and depth of understanding, examining not only battlefield maneuvers, but also relevant economic, political, and psychological factors. Indeed, the precepts outlined by Sun Tzu can be applied outside the realm of military theory. It is read avidly by Japanese businessmen and in fact was touted in the movie Wall Street as the corporate raider's bible.

In Guerrilla Warfare, Ernesto Che Guevara presents a profound analysis of the revolutionary tactics necessary for conducting successful insurgencies in semi-urban and rural settings. With a blend of theoretical discourse and practical guidance, Guevara's work is rooted in Marxist-Leninist ideology, emphasizing the importance of popular support and the role of the guerrilla fighter as a catalyst for social change. Employing a direct, instructional style, the text serves as both a manifesto for revolutionary action and a field manual, drawing from Guevara's own experiences in Cuba and the broader context of post-colonial struggles in Latin America. Ernesto Che Guevara, an Argentine revolutionary and key figure in the Cuban Revolution, distilled his ideological fervor and practical insights into this seminal text during a period of resurgent revolutionary movements in the 20th century. His experiences as a commander and his interactions with various revolutionary factions deeply informed his perspective, as he sought to articulate a universal blueprint for guerrilla warfare that transcended national boundaries. Guerrilla Warfare is essential reading for anyone interested in revolutionary theory, military strategy, or Latin American studies. Guevara's eloquent articulation of his vision provides both inspiration and a pragmatic road map for activists and scholars alike, challenging readers to consider the dynamics of power, resistance, and human agency.

The third edition of Geoffery Blainey's highly acclaimed study on the causes of war has been expanded and updated to include a complete discussion of World War II and the road towards nuclear war.

Analyzing all international wars since 1700, Causes of War solves the riddle of why some wars are long and some are short and demonstrates how the outbreak of peace offers insight into the outbreak of war.

Proving that war and peace are alternating phases of a relationship between rival nations, this widely quoted work offers a crucial, new understanding of international armed conflict.

The development of Auftragstaktik was the foundation stone of Prussia's, and later Germany's, astounding battlefield performances. Universally praised in military circles, Auftragstaktik remains both poorly understood and badly practised. This uniquely German leadership philosophy lies shrouded in a fog of mystery and misinterpretation.

Colonel Oliviero clears away that fog. He succinctly explains the early intellectual and structural growth of this leadership philosophy from before the French Revolution to the eve of the First World War, with a glimpse at the interwar period. He thereby provides the necessary background and understanding, without which Auftragstaktik cannot be fully understood.

This rare 10th anniversary edition (published in 2007) contains a new introduction by expert Soviet historian David M. Glantz. In addition all maps and graphics have been enhanced from the 1996 edition. When the Soviet Union decided to invade Afghanistan, they evaluated their chances for success upon their experiences in East Germany, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Unfortunately for their soldiers, as well as the people of Afghanistan, they ignored not only the experiences of the British in the same region, but also their own experience with the Basmachi resistance fighters in Central Asia from 1918-1933. Consequently, in Afghanistan the Soviet army found its tactics inadequate to meet the challenges posed by the difficult terrain and the highly motivated mujahideen freedom fighters. To capture the lessons their tactical leaders learned in Afghanistan and to explain the change in tactics that followed, the Frunze Military Academy compiled this book for their command and general staff combat arms officers. The lessons are valuable not just for Russian officers, but for the tactical training of platoon, company and battalion leaders of any nation likely to engage in conflicts involving civil war, guerrilla forces and rough terrain. This is a book dealing with the starkest features of the unforgiving landscape of tactical combat: casualties and death, adaptation, and survival. (From the original foreword by Hans Binnendijk, 1996)

Featuring the Chinese text on the left and the English translation on the right, this beautiful edition of Sun Tzu's classic text makes a unique gift or collector's item.

Written in the sixth century BCE, Sun Tzu's The Art of War is still widely read and consulted today for its timeless, piercing insights into strategy and tactics. Napoleon, Mao Zedong, General Vo Nguyen Giap, and General Douglas MacArthur all claimed to have drawn inspiration from it. Beyond the world of war, business and management gurus have also applied Sun Tzu's ideas to office politics and corporate strategy.

This elegantly designed edition of The Art of War contains the full 13 chapters on such topics as laying plans, attacking by stratagem, weaponry, terrain, and the use of spies. Sun Tzu addresses different campaign situations, marching, energy, and how to exploit your enemy's weaknesses.

This edition is an essential addition to any library, whether you're fascinated by the philosophy of warfare, Chinese history, or even twenty-first-century business.

John Keegan's groundbreaking portrayal of the common soldier in the heat of battle -- a masterpiece that explores the physical and mental aspects of warfare

The Face of Battle is military history from the battlefield: a look at the direct experience of individuals at the point of maximum danger. Without the myth-making elements of rhetoric and xenophobia, and breaking away from the stylized format of battle descriptions, John Keegan has written what is probably the definitive model for military historians. And in his scrupulous reassessment of three battles representative of three different time periods, he manages to convey what the experience of combat meant for the participants, whether they were facing the arrow cloud at the battle of Agincourt, the musket balls at Waterloo, or the steel rain of the Somme.

The Face of Battle is a companion volume to John Keegan's classic study of the individual soldier, The Mask of Command together they form a masterpiece of military and human history.

A new industrial revolution has begun. Like mechanization or electricity before it, artificial intelligence will touch every aspect of our lives--and cause profound disruptions in the balance of global power, especially among the AI superpowers: China, the United States, and Europe. Autonomous weapons expert Paul Scharre takes readers inside the fierce competition to develop and implement this game-changing technology and dominate the future.

Four Battlegrounds argues that four key elements define this struggle: data, computing power, talent, and institutions. Data is a vital resource like coal or oil, but it must be collected and refined. Advanced computer chips are the essence of computing power--control over chip supply chains grants leverage over rivals. Talent is about people: which country attracts the best researchers and most advanced technology companies? The fourth battlefield is maybe the most critical: the ultimate global leader in AI will have institutions that effectively incorporate AI into their economy, society, and especially their military.

Scharre's account surges with futuristic technology. He explores the ways AI systems are already discovering new strategies via millions of war-game simulations, developing combat tactics better than any human, tracking billions of people using biometrics, and subtly controlling information with secret algorithms. He visits China's National Team of leading AI companies to show the chilling synergy between China's government, private sector, and surveillance state. He interviews Pentagon leadership and tours U.S. Defense Department offices in Silicon Valley, revealing deep tensions between the military and tech giants who control data, chips, and talent. Yet he concludes that those tensions, inherent to our democratic system, create resilience and resistance to autocracy in the face of overwhelmingly powerful technology.

Engaging and direct, Four Battlegrounds offers a vivid picture of how AI is transforming warfare, global security, and the future of human freedom--and what it will take for democracies to remain at the forefront of the world order.