On Strategists and Strategy

Overview

A distinctive collection of essays capturing Lawrence Freedman's insightful analysis across war, strategy, and foreign policy and providing a unique view of the key thinkers that shaped history.

One of the world's foremost scholars of warfare, both historical and contemporary, Lawrence Freedman has also played an important role in policymaking, serving as an official historian of both the Falklands War and on the UK inquiry into the 2003 Iraq War. Since the publication of his best-selling Strategy in 2013, Freedman has continued to explore many of the themes he raised in the book while commenting on ongoing conflicts.

Content and Themes

On Strategists and Strategy combines the best of Freedman's many essays from the past ten years on warfare and foreign policy, alongside more personal pieces on the scholars who influenced him and his own life trajectory. The range of his interests is demonstrated in this lively and engaging collection of essays. They cover a wide range of topics, including Vladimir Putin's strategic fanaticism; arguments on why we don't take tactics seriously enough and why stale is used incorrectly as a metaphor for deadlock in war; considerations of the dilemmas of nuclear deterrence; and what Covid tells us about crisis management.

Personal and Historical Context

The material on his own life is richly contextual, attuned to the broader historical trends and social forces in 1960s and 1970s Britain that shaped his experiences.

Significance

This volume not only provides a broad-ranging sampling of Freedman's most representative work, but also offers a unique window into a half century of world history.