The Strategy Makers: Thoughts on War and Society from Machiavelli to Clausewitz

Description

Today's military strategists and tacticians may be familiar with the writings and teachings of Carl von Clausewitz, but The Strategy Makers: Thoughts on War and Society, 1650-1850 reintroduces readers to the lives and writings of those whose contributions to the study of war and society are just as important. Beginning in the 16th century with Bernardino de Mendóza of Spain, this milestone work examines the writings of 16 of the greatest—and largely unacknowledged—military minds of the modern era, concluding in 19th-century Prussia with Rühle von Lilienstern, Clausewitz's contemporary. In probing the ideas of these men, the author shows how thoughts about military technology, tactics, and strategy changed during the course of these three centuries. What results is a comprehensive and fascinating lesson in how early-modern military experts thought about the relationship between war and society. Their thinking influenced the waging of war during their own age and has continued to shape the conduct of war down to the present day.