Why read The Future of War?

Book cover of The Future of War: A History

Book description

For as long as there have been wars there have been fears about the next war. Where are the new dangers? What is the best defence? How might peace come about? This is the history of how over the last 150 years we have tried - rightly and wrongly -…

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Afghanistan

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Future of War as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Audrey Kurth Cronin

Author

Sir Lawrence Freedman sets the standard for erudite but accessible writing about strategy, and this is another wonderful book. It analyzes how smart people in many historical settings have predicted the future of war, and why their predictions then succeeded or failed. The broader political, economic, or social context was often more important than popular concepts of the day—things like short war, decisive battle, the “RMA,” or revolutionary technology. Freedman also reminds us that influential analyses of war’s future change how that future unfolds. Reading this book helped me see beyond popular predictions, to be more discerning about change and…

From Audrey's list on The best books about the future of technology, innovation, and war.