Why read Arms and Influence?

Book cover of Arms and Influence: With a New Preface and Afterword

Book description

Traditionally, Americans have viewed war as an alternative to diplomacy, and military strategy as the science of victory. Today, however, in our world of nuclear weapons, military power is not so much exercised as threatened. It is, Mr. Schelling says, bargaining power, and the exploitation of this power, for good…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Arms and Influence as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Martin Van Creveld

Author

In the whole of military history, no year was more important than 1945. Why? Because it introduced nuclear weapons to the world and the world to nuclear weapons. Both before and after Hiroshima new weapons have always affected the way war is waged; whereas nuclear ones, by threatening to turn even the “victor” into a radioactive desert, have cast doubt on the purpose for which may be waged and even whether it can be waged at all.

As the current war in Ukraine has shown once again, provided both sides have a credible second-strike capability using nuclear weapons to win…

From Martin's list on on war, full stop.