Clausewitz's on War (Books That Changed the World)

Perhaps the most important book on military strategy ever written, Carl von Clausewitz's On War has influenced generations of generals and politicians, has been blamed for the unprecedented death tolls in the First and Second World Wars, and is required reading at military academies to this day. But On War, which was never finished and was published posthumously, is obscure and fundamentally contradictory. What Clausewitz declares in book one, he discounts in book eight. The language is confusing and the relevance not always clear. For a book that has truly changed the world, On War is extremely difficult for the general reader to approach, to reconcile with itself, and to place in context. Hew Strachan, one of the world's foremost military historians, answers these problems in this fascinating book. He explains how and why On War was written, elucidates what Clausewitz meant, and offers insight into the impact it made on conflict and its continued significance in our world today.

One of the worlds foremost military historians explains how and why Carl von Clausewitz came to write the military strategy classic "On War," elucidates what the author meant, and offers insight into the impact it made on conflict as well as its continued significance in the world today. Unabridged. 5 CDs.

Perhaps the most important book on military strategy ever written, Carl von Clausewitz's On War has influenced generations of generals and politicians and is required reading at military academies to this day. Hew Strachan, one of the world's foremost military historians, explains how and why On War was written, elucidates what Clausewitz meant, and offers insight into the impact it made on conflict and its continued significance in our world today.

Hew Strachan is Professor of Modern History at the University of Glasgow, and Life Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He is the author of The Politics of the British Army (OUP, 1997).

Simon Vance is a prolific and popular audiobook narrator and actor with several hundred audiobooks to his credit. An Audie(R) Award-winner, Vance was recently named "The Voice of Choice" by "Booklist" magazine.