Strategy: A History
Selected as a Financial Times Best Book of 2013
In Strategy: A History, Sir Lawrence Freedman, one of the world's leading authorities on war and international politics, captures the vast history of strategic thinking, in a consistently engaging and insightful account of how strategy came to pervade every aspect of our lives.
The range of Freedman's narrative is extraordinary, moving from the surprisingly advanced strategy practiced in primate groups, to the opposing strategies of Achilles and Odysseus in The Iliad, the strategic advice of Sun Tzu and Machiavelli, the great military innovations of Baron Henri de Jomini and Carl von Clausewitz, the grounding of revolutionary strategy in class struggles by Marx, the insights into corporate strategy found in Peter Drucker and Alfred Sloan, and the contributions of the leading social scientists working on strategy today. The core issue at the heart of strategy, the author notes, is whether it is possible to manipulate and shape our environment rather than simply become the victim of forces beyond one's control. Time and again, Freedman demonstrates that the inherent unpredictability of this environment-subject to chance events, the efforts of opponents, the missteps of friends-provides strategy with its challenge and its drama. Armies or corporations or nations rarely move from one predictable state of affairs to another, but instead feel their way through a series of states, each one not quite what was anticipated, requiring a reappraisal of the original strategy, including its ultimate objective. Thus the picture of strategy that emerges in this book is one that is fluid and flexible, governed by the starting point, not the end point.
A brilliant overview of the most prominent strategic theories in history, from David's use of deception against Goliath, to the modern use of game theory in economics, this masterful volume sums up a lifetime of reflection on strategy.
Review
“Magisterial… wide-ranging erudition and densely packed argument.” —The Economist
“This is a book of startling scope, erudition and, more than anything, wisdom.” —Financial Times
“Comprehensive, vigorous survey of strategy and its evolution…A lucid text that raises questions while answering others–of great value to planners, whether of an advertising campaign or a military one.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Sir Lawrence Freedman’s 750-page magnum opus, Strategy: A History, is encyclopedic, although not alphabetical, a pleasure to dip into here and there…There are grand strategies set forth in several of the greater works covered by Freedman, but Strategy: A History holds the reader to the strategic level, a subset of grand strategy.” —New Criterion
“Strategy: A History is easily the most ambitious book that I have read in many years… With a book of this scope anybody can find something to disagree with but nobody can come away from this book without feeling enriched and intellectually challenged. It will live on as a classic. ” –Mark Stout, War on the Rocks
“Strategy: A History, is an ambitious and sprawling book by a British military historian who has written widely, and very well, about nuclear and cold war strategy, the Falklands War, and contemporary military affairs, among other subjects… With admirable candor, Freedman tells us that he received the contract for this book in (gulp!) 1994, and that he made a ‘number of false starts’ with the manuscript. Considering the daunting scope of the subject, this is entirely understandable. Considering the wisdom and analytical brilliance he brings to bear on that subject, it’s been well worth the wait.” —The Daily Beast
“Tour de force… Unusually thoughtful and clearly written, Freedman’s dense tome is a serious academic study in political theory, but it has crossover potential and will attract readers interested in military planning, strategic systems, and the nature of power.” —Publishers Weekly starred review
“A vast exploration of strategy… full of surprises, and marked by unsurpassed erudition. It also is witty and reminds us that he in the world who knows most about strategy may be the one who is the most unimpressed with it.”–National Review
“An erudite, encyclopedic study that will surely become a standard reference in the discipline.” —strategy + business
“A fascinating review of the tools available to all of us to create agile, informed and interesting decisions.” –Sheridan Jobbins, the World Economic Forum blog
“Lawrence Freedman shows here why he is justly renowned as one of the world’s leading thinkers about strategy, which he defines as the central art of getting more out of a situation than the starting balance of power would suggest.” –Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Harvard University and author of The Future of Power
“A marvelous grand tour of the meaning, implications, and consequences of strategic thinking through the ages and in multiple contexts. Freedman is a master of the subject and unsurpassed in his ability to unravel the twists and turns of strategic complexities and paradoxes.” –Robert Jervis, Adlai E. Stevenson Professor of International Politics, Columbia University
“This is a wonderful book–a comprehensive yet deeply considered summation of the very nature of strategy by the premier social scientist of the subject. Strategy: A History is lucid and dispassionate, sometimes rueful, often ironic, always informative.” –Philip Bobbitt, author of The Shield ofAchilles: War, Peace and the Course of History
“This substantial, comprehensive, hermeneutic work examines the various dimensions and history of “strategy,” which Freedman defines as “the art of creating power”…this very ambitious exploration provides readers with a useful introduction to the field of strategic studies.” —CHOICE