On War

This book is a good edition of the military treatise, "On War." As von Clausewitz himself noted, his treatise was written to not to advance a new military system, but to establish the basic concepts of war, and, according to von Clausewitz, its most important activity battle. His purpose was to supply the raw material for developing military theories and systems. To establish these concepts von Clausewitz draws on his on military experience and historical examples. In doing so he...
More Description

This book is a good edition of the military treatise, "On War." As von Clausewitz himself noted, his treatise was written to not to advance a new military system, but to establish the basic concepts of war, and, according to von Clausewitz, its most important activity battle. His purpose was to supply the raw material for developing military theories and systems. To establish these concepts von Clausewitz draws on his on military experience and historical examples. In doing so he proves he is indeed a keen observer and very careful thinker. Although these days he is more quoted than actually read, his treatise contains many insights that are as relevant to 21st Century warfare as they were to the Napoleonic era from which they were derived. For example, von Clausewitz presents a short but excellent discussion of battlefield intelligence. He clearly understands that intelligence does not represent absolute truth or accuracy, but only approximations and probabilities. And then there is his famous concept of "Friction", which he uses as rubric for all those unexpected and often incalculable factors which can delay, disrupt, or even destroy even the most carefully crafted military operation. One wishes that he had devoted more than a shot section to this remarkable concept. Perhaps the greatest error that von Clausewitz made in producing this work was creating so many quotable aphorisms in his text. This has led to wholesale quoting out of context of his work which often has resulted in profound misunderstandings of what he is really saying by folks who have read the quotes, but not his actual writings. This is a shame because von Clausewitz is really a worthwhile read who has a lot of still relevant concepts on war and battle.