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On War |  |
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On War | |
On War is one of the most important books ever written on the subject of war. Clausewitz, a Prussian officer who fought against the French during the Napoleonic Wars, sought to understand and analyze the phenomenon of war so that future leaders could conduct and win conflicts more effectively.
He studied the human and social factors that affect outcomes, as well as the tactical and technological ones. He understood that war was a weapon of government, and that political purpose, chance, and enmity combine to shape its dynamics. On War continues to be read by military strategists,
politicians, and others for its timeless insights.
This abridged edition by Beatrice Heuser, using the acclaimed translation by Michael Howard and Peter Paret, selects the central books in which Clausewitz's views on the nature and theory of war are developed. Heuser's introduction explains the originality of Clausewitz's ideas, his education and
background, and summarizes his key theories, while explanatory notes provide further information on the historical examples Clausewitz cites.
网友对On War的评论
印刷、翻译都很不错，就是比想象中轻便和小谢。总体来说很好，可惜背面有一条小小的折痕，但也比较难发现。值得一购。
遗憾，内容是节选，本来想买回来作为藏书用，结果太小了，便携本只能偶尔翻翻
印刷精美，质量很好。值得收藏。
这个版本的装订还不错。
Book arrived today and is clearly just a computer text file printed and bound by a self-publishing house. The header is even printed as "On war.txt". No attempt has been made to do any formatting or copy editing. The book is printed in that ugly, difficult to read font which comes as a default on most basic text editors. Needless to say the page formatting and spacing is atrocious. Actually, I can't think of a way this sorry excuse for a "publication" was not made as cheaply and carelessly as possible. Amazon should be ashamed to have produced this and can expect a complaint. This is product is a shameful ripoff and I want my money back.
This particular edition benefits from the great scholarship and well written introductory (and explanatory!) essays of Peter Paret, Bernard Brodie, and Michael Howard. On War is required reading for mid-grade US military officers and a common reference and discussion point for operational and strategic analysis. This is the essential book, and this translation makes it lucid and comprehensible.
von Clausewitz wrestles with many discreet topics of interest to students and practitioners of military affairs. In doing so, however, he approaches war in a very special way: he seeks to understand and describe the fundamental nature of war. This is timeless. Significant portions of the book could be read as a study of the relationship of war to societies and to the human condition.
The greatest value-add point of the book is that, in contrast to the offerings of many other writers, Clausewitz asserts that there are no checklists or programs to guarantee success in war. Instead, the student of warfare, and the General in command, both must study history, study human nature, and apply critical thinking to develop good judgement concerning the conduct of war. For a society and military establishment that tend always to train for, and to fight, the last war rather than the next one, this is big wisdom.
The downside, and one reason On War was not initially as popular as works by competitors who experienced the same Napoleonic revolution in warfare, is that von Clausewitz still requires military leaders to think. The true nature of war is complex, contextual, and chaotic. Among those who demand clear answers and black-and-white rules, who want a book to tell them the what to do rather than push them to develop wisdom concerning war, von Clausewitz's message is not generally well received.
Those other works, however, have fallen progressively out of favor except as excerpts for students in military colleges to contrast against On War. This is largely because their authors tried to write programs to victory. As history has moved on, so has their relevance. For example, what constituted hot, leading edge commentary on how many muskets to deploy with your pikemen in 1815 is, today, well...
The weakness of On War, aside from it being unfinished and far short of what von Clausewitz and his wife would have produced had sickness not claimed him early, is that it is bound up in the context of European land war. This impacts areas such as his nascent discussion of limited war and causes him substantially to skip the maritime dimension. Julian Corbett's Principals of Maritime Strategy bridges this gap admirably and, in my opinion, should be read next after On War.
Overall, On War is what you think it is: the foundation of much modern military thinking and essential to any sophisticated understanding of war in the international security environment.
Warfare is a complex matter, going from the daily routine of the soldier up to the highest reaches of government. Its influence permeates entire societies and has always been a factor shaping the destiny of nations. Not being a military man, I nonetheless found it fascinating and enlightening how Clausewitz tried to cut through the complexity and penetrate to the heart of the matter.
His central point is that war is an instrument of policy. As a result, there is no purely military problem. The commander needs to understand the political goals and act accordingly. When the process fails it's because the policy itself was bad, not because of politicians interfering in "purely military matters".
It can get a bit humorous when Clausewitz talks about armchair generals. He dismisses them as useless pedants, deriding them for coming up with an excess of useless rules and concocting impractical schemes. Clausewitz points out that there is a lot of "friction" in war, when issuing orders and moving men around, that non-soldiers seldom appreciate. More to the point, he emphasizes the role of the commander's judgment in dealing with the specifics of a situation.
I can wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone interested in military matters. With that said, don't dive into it blindly. Clausewitz draws heavily on examples from the campaigns of Frederick the Great and Napoleon. Familiarize yourself with the Seven Years' War and the Napoleonic Wars before picking this up. A brief overview of the wars between the Grand Alliance and Louis XIV wouldn't hurt either.
Avoid unless you are extremely cheap, and even that is no excuse. I wanted the Everyman version and this was listed as a paperback edition of that edition. It is not. The Everyman edition is apparently only in hardcover. This, as other reviewers state, is a word document that someone printed using a very old word processor and had professionally bound. Amazon needs to remove this from the options of the Everyman edition.
As for Clausewitz, great theorist and five stars. Pay for a real version.
The book I got only has Book I-IV. It's supposed to be through to Book VIII, where is the second half?? Also the table of contents shows Book IV ending on page 308...however this entire book only has 161 pages. So something is off here. The table of contents does not match the rest of the book and it seems I was shorted half of the book.
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