The Future of War by Sir Lawrence Freedman

The Future of War by Sir Lawrence Freedman

A new approach to ideas about war, from 'one of Britain's foremost military thinkers' (Observer)

In 1912 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a short story about a war fought from underwater submersibles that included the sinking of passenger ships. It was dismissed by the British admirals of the day, not on the basis of technical feasibility, but because sinking civilian ships was not something that any civilised nation would do. The reality of war often contradicts expectations, less because of some fantastic technical or engineering dimension, but more because of some human, political, or moral threshold that we had never imagined would be crossed.

As Lawrence Freedman shows, ideas about the causes of war and strategies for its conduct have rich and varied histories which shape predictions about the future. Freedman shows how looking at how the future of war was conceived about in the past (and why this was more often than not wrong) can put into perspective current thinking about future conflicts. The Future of War - which takes us from preparations for the world wars, through the nuclear age and the civil wars which became the focus for debate after the end of the Cold War, to present preoccupations with hybrid and cyber warfare - is filled with fascinating insights from one of the most brilliant military and strategic historians of his generation.

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... the one thing that Sir Lawrence is sure of is that predictions of future war rarely get it right. 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 *
By its nature, this is an inconclusive, non-judgmental work, but 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 *

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.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781846147494
ISBN 10	1846147492
Title	The Future of War
Author	Sir Lawrence Freedman
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Penguin Books Ltd
Year published	2017-10-05
Number of pages	400
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.