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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence
If you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win numerous
battles without a single loss. - Sun Tzu, The Art of War Written in
the 6th century BC, Sun Tzu's The Art of War is still used as a
book of military strategy today. Napoleon, Mae Zedong and Douglas
MacArthur all claimed to have drawn inspiration from it. And beyond
the world of war, modern-era business and management gurus have
also applied Sun Tzu's ideas to politics and corporate strategy.
This illustrated dual-language edition not only presents the
original Chinese characters with James Trapp's translation on the
facing page, it also tests Sun Tzu's ideas against history. Each of
the 13 chapters includes a new commentary giving examples of how
Sun Tzu's wisdom has been borne out on the world's battlefields.
When, for example, has information provided by spies changed the
course of a battle? How has history shown Sun Tzu's ideas on the
importance of terrain in conflict to be true? And where can we best
find examples of strategic warfare being waged? From the ancient
world to the 20th century, the battles featured will be illustrated
with colour battle maps, paintings and artworks. Of immense
influence to leaders across millennia, The Art of War Illustrated
is a classic text richly deserving this illustrated and expanded
dual-language edition.
This innovative collection offers one of the first analyses of
criminologies of the military from an interdisciplinary
perspective. While some criminologists have examined the military
in relation to the area of war crimes, this collection considers a
range of other important but less explored aspects such as private
military actors, insurgents, paramilitary groups and the role of
military forces in tackling transnational crime. Drawing upon
insights from criminology, this book's editors also consider the
ways the military institution harbours criminal activity within its
ranks and deals with prisoners of war. The contributions, by
leading experts in the field, have a broad reach and take a truly
global approach to the subject.
Now It Can Be Told comprises of Philip Gibbs recollections
regarding the First World War, in which he served as an officially
commissioned war reporter. Titled in reference to the relieving of
censorship laws following the conclusion of World War One in 1918,
this book is noticeably different from the censored or dumbed-down
accounts published under Gibbs' byline in popular newspapers as the
conflict wore on. In this book, the full scale of the horror
wrought in Europe is told unflinchingly with the aim of showing the
depravity of conflict and the destruction that results. Early in
the war, Gibbs' frank and accurate accounts of the carnage of
modern warfare unnerved the British government, who were concerned
his accounts would demoralize citizens and turn them against the
war effort. Gibbs was ordered home; on refusing to cease reporting,
he was arrested and forcibly brought back to Britain.
This important book analyzes nuclear weapon and energy policies in
Asia, a region at risk for high-stakes military competition,
conflict, and terrorism. The contributors explore the trajectory of
debates over nuclear energy, security, and nonproliferation in key
countries-China, India, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, Taiwan,
Vietnam, and other states in the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN). Arguing against conventional wisdom, the
contributors make a convincing case that domestic variables are far
more powerful than external factors in shaping nuclear decision
making. The book explores what drives debates and how decisions are
framed, the interplay between domestic dynamics and geopolitical
calculations in the discourse, where the center of gravity of
debates lies in each country, and what this means for regional
cooperation or competition and U.S. nuclear energy and
nonproliferation policy in Asia.
The commander, or chief of staff, of the Israel Defense Forces
(IDF) is a prominent public figure in Israel. His decisions,
advice, and persona exert direct influence on force design and
military strategy, and indirectly impact social, economic, and
foreign affairs. This first-ever in-depth comparative study on the
role and performance of the IDF chiefs of staff throughout modern
Israel's history offers lessons for practitioners and students of
strategy, military history, and leadership everywhere.
'The Art of War' is as relevant to today's warriors in business,
politics, and everyday life as it once was to the warlords of
ancient China. It is one of the most useful books ever written on
leading with wisdom, an essential tool for modern corporate
warriors battling to gain the advantage in the boardroom, and for
anyone struggling to gain the upper hand in confrontations and
competitions.
A classic of military thought that merits a place alongside the
works of Clausewitz and Sun Tzu, Battle Studies was first published
in Paris ten years after the death of its author, French army
officer Charles Ardant du Picq (1821–1870). Updated to provide a
more complete and accurate biographical and historical framework
for understanding its meaning and import, this edition—deftly
translated, introduced, and annotated by noted military historian
Roger Spiller—offers a new generation of readers the benefit of
Ardant du Picq’s unique insight into the nature of warfare.
Nothing, Ardant du Picq asserts, can be prescribed wisely in an
army “without an exact understanding of its ultimate instrument,
man, and his morale at the defining instant of combat.”
Accordingly, Battle Studies, the first systematic exploration of
human behavior in the extremities of combat, focuses squarely on
the tactical realm its author knew so well. Eschewing grand
military theories and strategies, Ardant du Picq draws on his
real-world experience, especially during the Crimean War and the
Siege of Sebastopol where he was captured, to examine what
motivates a soldier to fight, what creates cohesion or disorder,
what gives a commander tactical control, and what makes reason give
way to instinct: in short, “the essence of the science of
combat.”
The Uses of the Bible in Crusader Sources sets out to understand
the ideology and spirituality of crusading by exploring the
biblical imagery and exegetical interpretations which formed its
philosophical basis. Medieval authors frequently drew upon
scripture when seeking to justify, praise, or censure the deeds of
crusading warriors on many frontiers. After all, as the fundamental
written manifestation of God's will for mankind, the Bible was the
ultimate authority for contemporary writers when advancing their
ideas and framing their world view. This volume explores a broad
spectrum of biblically-derived themes surrounding crusading and, by
doing so, seeks to better comprehend a thought world in which
lethal violence could be deemed justifiable according to Christian
theology. Contributors are: Jessalynn Bird, Adam M. Bishop, John D.
Cotts, Sini Kangas, Thomas Lecaque, T. J. H. McCarthy, Nicholas
Morton, Torben Kjersgaard Nielsen, Luigi Russo, Uri Shachar, Iris
Shagrir, Kristin Skottki, Katherine Allen Smith, Thomas W. Smith,
Carol Sweetenham, Miriam Rita Tessera, Jan Vandeburie, Julian J. T.
Yolles, and Lydia Marie Walker.
Known as the "savior of the Union" during the Civil War, General
Grant went on to serve as the 18th president of the United States
from 1869-1877. This first volume of his memoirs was completed just
days prior to his death from throat cancer in 1885.
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