The Essential Clausewitz: Selections from On War

by Carl von Clausewitz, Joseph I. Greene (Editor)

Succinct edition of the influential work, from its observations on the nature and theory of warfare to its outlines of strategic moral force and military virtues, duration and decision of combat, effects of victory and retreat, tactics of offense and defense, planning, and wartime politics.

144 pages, Paperback

Published August 4, 2003

About the author

Carl Philipp Gottlieb von Clausewitz was a Prussian soldier, military historian and military theorist. He is most famous for his military treatise Vom Kriege, translated into English as On War.

Clausewitz has served in the Rhine campaign (1793–1794), when the Prussian army invaded France during the French revolution and in the Napoleonic Wars from 1806 to 1815.

Clausewitz helped negotiate the Convention of Tauroggen where Russia, Prussia and the United Kingdom formed an coalition that later defeated Napoleon Bonaparte.

Reviews

[Dean Marquis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The complete work should be read first. Other crucial facts were omitted like Rules, Principles and Laws and the Three Dynamics of Strategy.

[Jerimy Stoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

A condensed book that is about 600 pages lighter than the book it is condensed from. Still, the points about The Art of War, and the practical experiences of Clauswitz about fighting a war based on his personal experiences with Napoleon, and others, plus commentaries describing how wars are fought adds great depth of understanding that would be good for any warfighter from the lowest ranks to the very top of the military.