Strategy: A History By Sir Lawrence Freedman (Paperback, 2015)

Product Description

Selected as a Financial Times Best Book of 2013 In Strategy A History Sir Lawrence Freedman one of the world's leading authorities on war & international politics captures the vast history of strategic thinking in a consistently engaging & insightful account of how strategy came to pervade every aspect of our lives The range of Freedman's narrative is extraordinary moving from the surprisingly advanced strategy practiced in primate groups to the opposing strategies of Achilles & Odysseus in The Iliad the strategic advice of Sun Tzu & Machiavelli the great military innovations of Baron Henri de Jomini & Carl von Clausewitz the grounding of revolutionary strategy in class struggles by Marx the insights into corporate strategy found in Peter Drucker & Alfred Sloan & the contributions of the leading social scientists working on strategy today The core issue at the heart of strategy the author notes is whether it is possible to manipulate & shape our environment rather than simply become the victim of forces beyond one's control Time & again Freedman demonstrates that the inherent unpredictability of this environment-subject to chance events the efforts of opponents the missteps of friends-provides strategy with its challenge & its drama Armies or corporations or nations rarely move from one predictable state of affairs to another but instead feel their way through a series of states each one not quite what was anticipated requiring a reappraisal of the original strategy including its ultimate objective Thus the picture of strategy that emerges in this book is one that is fluid & flexible governed by the starting point not the end point A brilliant overview of the most prominent strategic theories in history from David's use of deception against Goliath to the modern use of game theory in economics this masterful volume sums up a lifetime of reflection on strategy