The Book of War: Sun-tzu The Art of Warfare & Karl von Clausewitz On War (Modern Library War) [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

If you had to name the two most fundamental works on the nature of war Clausewitz and Sun Tzu would immediately come to mind. Thucydides' history of the Peloponnesian War would perhaps be the only other text nipping on the heels of the two included in here. Providing both in one book is a great idea. The superb editing of the texts and the inclusion of a cogent introduction by Ralph Peters makes this a truly valuable collection to anyone who wishes to understand war and the strategies that guide how it is fought.

Both Sun Tzu's and Clausewitz's texts are presented "unabridged" (in as much as Sun Tzu's work, actually a collection of writers over a good period of time, can be), and with some additional chapters that explains the context of the times in which both were written. This makes this book one of the "purest" examples a reader can obtain of both these influential texts. All of this copious thought from two very different civilizations and very disparate times is neatly prefaced by an insightful introduction by Ralph Peters entitled the "Seeker and the Sage" that is also recreated in his book "Beyond Terror." Whereas Sun Tzu is relatively simple to read (although its simplicity of writing belies its sophistication of thought and it cannot practically be processed as quickly as it can be read) Clausewitz is almost impossible to read, especially in its unabridged form, without some explanation first. Clausewitz's "On War" was never finished, indeed war can never be understood by the finite mental powers of any single individual. It is instead more along the lines of a long kept notebook of a "seeker" who never stopped trying to explore and understand his subject, with some preparation into eventual book form before his premature death. Clausewitz did not solely reside in the halls of theory and academia either, but was a field and staff officer deeply steeped in Prussian military tradition who fought Napoleon personally, both for the Prussians and the Russians, and who also suffered a two year incarceration by French forces. With the bitter taste of experience his work is directed towards soldiers who had seen war, the only people he felt stood any chance of even beginning to grasp its nature. His writing is in the thick, difficult to navigate manner of his time (definitely not fun reading) but it is also surprisingly passionate and vividly poetic. Although a heavy slog to read he is not leaden.

While Sun Tzu is the easier read, Clausewitz's thought will be the most readily accessible to a westerner. It is written in a very explanatory and exploratory manner, of someone trying to progress linearly through the nature of war. His "conclusions" (if an unfinished work can have any) are unrelenting: War is the imposition of your will upon another by means of force; war boils ineluctably down to the destruction of the enemy's forces, his means to resist; there is a trinity between the government, people, and military forces of a nation-state, and if you break that trinity you will break your opponent's ability to fight; War is the realm of friction, fog, and chance, there is no riskier endeavor in human history and none more subject to the unplanned for and unforeseeable intervention of fate. Clausewitz examines his subject in excruciating breadth and detail, which has falsely lead some to cast his entire work as outdated when only large, but by far not the most significant, portions of it are anachronistic to the form on Napoleonic warfare in 19th century continental Europe, such as sections on the use of Cavalry and on forest or mountain fighting. It would be a grave mistake to ignore his wider lessons on war, or to ignore his especially brilliant sections on the nature of leadership in warfare and the interaction between his trinity of government, people, and military forces.

Whereas Clausewitz has a heavy emphasis on the use of Strategy to plan engagements to destroy your enemy's forces, Sun Tzu has an alternative focus which at first blush seems rather contradictory, the use of strategy to destroy your enemy's plan, preferably without fighting. But this comes down to the same breaking of your enemy's trinity that Clausewitz touches upon. Nor is it pacific as some have claimed, but, as Ralph Peters points out, an Eastern inversion of "war is politics by other means" to "politics is war by other means." Sun Tzu, Peter's Sage to Clausewitz Seeker, is in reality a collection of wisdom from multiple sources over a long period of time. These gems of thought are not explained like Clausewitz but simply stated, giving them the element of easy acceptance but difficult comprehension. Given their compendium nature they also frequently contradict on a superficial level, because the context of how each was derived and when each is best applied is left out. But Sun Tzu is a work of brilliance equal to, and possibly superior, to Clausewitz. Possibly superior if for no other reason than it, through the influence of such recent military strategist as Col. John Boyd, has likely had more influence on the recent design and execution of US military operations than Clausewitz.

The major differences between the content of Clausewitz and Sun Tzu in the end are not disagreements on the nature of war. Whereas Sun Tzu attempts to emphasize the ability to break your enemy's trinity with avoiding an engagement of forces (a realization of Clausewitz's friction and chance inherent in conflict and that the commitment of forces inevitably reduces power and strategic flexibility) Clausewitz despairs of these possibilities and thus gives them short shrift. For in the paradoxical logical of Strategy, if your side feels it can best impose its will by avoiding armed conflict your opponent should realize this and decide his best chance of imposing his will is by forcing it.

A highly recommended book.

As Caleb Carr points out in his series introduction, the study of war is the study of half of human history and nature, and is thus important. This is a great collection and a great introduction to that. These two books form a comprehensive study of the philosophy of war, mainly because they are so opposite in nature yet both generally correct. And, surprisingly, Sun-Tzu's maxims on a subject of the most horrendous violence are often quite beautiful. Extra points for the full, not abridged, version of Clausewitz, especially since he never finished the book. An excellent introduction by Ralph Peters.

This is a great book, and has Sun Tzu's "Art of War" and Karl Von Clausewitz's "On War" both are great books, and if you love war you will love this and see how a lot of battles where won and lost.