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Carl von Clausewitz’s On War
A Biography (A Book that Shook the World)
Hew Strachan
In engaging and vivid detail, Hew Strachan reveals the story behind the most important treatise on war ever written, and uncovers an often misunderstood book.
On War by Carl von Clausewitz was first published in Germany after the Napoleonic Wars. One of the most significant treatises on military strategy ever written, it is still prescribed at various military academies today. Its description of ‘absolute war’ and its insistence on the centrality of battle to war have been blamed for the level of destructioninvolved in both the First and Second World Wars.
Hew Strachan’s accessible book challenges the popular misconceptions that surround On War. He dispels the notion that for Clausewitz policy necessarily shapes war, asserting instead that war has its own dynamic and that its reciprocal effects can themselves shape policy. Strachan returns to the very heart of On War to recover the arguments at its core; in the process challenging the received wisdom about this cornerstone of military strategy.
‘Atlantic Books has achieved a publishing coup with its ‘Books that Shook the World’ series, having had the brilliant idea of a series of short biographies of great books, then securing the best people to write them... This series is a big success.’ A. C. Grayling, The Times
About the author
Hew Strachan is Chichele Professor of the History of War at the University of Oxford, and a Fellow of All Souls College. He has published widely on war: his most recent works include The First World War: Volume 1: To Arms published in 2001 to widespread critical acclaim and The First World War: A New Illustrated History, which was published in 2003.
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Paperback
Published June 2008
256 pages
ISBN: 978 1 84354 392 3
RRP: £8.99