Masters of war

by Michael I. Handel

Masters of War is the first comprehensive study based on a detailed textual analysis of the classical works on war by Clausewitz and Sun Tzu, and to a lesser extent, by Jomini and Machiavelli. Brushing stereotypes aside, the author takes a fresh look at what these strategic thinkers actually said - not what they are widely believed to have said. He finds that despite their apparent differences in terms of time, place, cultural background, and level of material/technological development, all had much more in common than previously supposed. In fact, the central conclusion of this book is that the logic of waging war and of strategic thinking is as universal and timeless as human nature itself.