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The Children’s Illustrated Clausewitz, Volume 1
Volume I of The Children's Illustrated Clausewitz is an interpretation of the first three books of seminal Prussian strategist Carl von Clausewitz's "On War", which cover the nature of war, the theory of war, and strategy, respectively. Author Caitlin Fitz Gerald expresses Clausewitz’s ideas through language accessible to a bright ten-year-old, reinforced by evocative ink-and-watercolour illustrations on every page. The Children's Illustrated Clausewitz is a case-bound (hardcover) volume printed in full colour on high-quality gloss art paper, Smythe-sewn for durability. The Standard Edition book features a paper-wrapped hardcover in Prussian blue, finished in a silky matte laminate and debossed with gold foil details.
136 pages, Hardcover
Published January 11, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 15, 2021
As I dimly recall from early in the Kickstart campaign, author FitzGerald said something like "I am frankly a little alarmed by how many people are contacting me along the lines of 'I teach at {Distinguished Military Staff College/Diplomacy Program}, and I'm looking forward to this book so I can assign readings that my students will actually do.'" Yikes!
As you might expect from the title, The Children's Illustrated Clausewitz is an illustrated summary of On War. FitzGerald compresses the chapters down to a few pages while retaining their essence. Her thoughts on Clausewitz's demarcation of law, theory, doctrine, and practice are worthwhile even for small pacifists. Learning to tolerate ambiguity and the contradictory constraints of the real world while still striving for general truths and excellent are key parts of growing up. And you don't have to be continuing policy by "other means" to be reminded that divided efforts are frequently wasted efforts, and that the surest path to success is to identify the key center of gravity and commit everything to it.
Unfortunately, there are so choices which I don't much care for. The book is structured as a lesson between Hare Clausewitz and his woodland friends, with their dialogue denoted in colored block letters. The woodland friends supposedly have distinct personalities and points of view, but that doesn't come through. The artwork is also... not as good as I wanted. Children's books don't have a high bar for aesthetics, but the less said about the pictures, the better. Which is a shame, because Kyle Ferrin (artist on fuzzy-woodlands-creatures-in-brutal-asymmetric-warfare boardgame Root could have done something incredible with concept.
But hey, I backed the kickstarter and I enjoyed the book.
As you might expect from the title, The Children's Illustrated Clausewitz is an illustrated summary of On War. FitzGerald compresses the chapters down to a few pages while retaining their essence. Her thoughts on Clausewitz's demarcation of law, theory, doctrine, and practice are worthwhile even for small pacifists. Learning to tolerate ambiguity and the contradictory constraints of the real world while still striving for general truths and excellent are key parts of growing up. And you don't have to be continuing policy by "other means" to be reminded that divided efforts are frequently wasted efforts, and that the surest path to success is to identify the key center of gravity and commit everything to it.
Unfortunately, there are so choices which I don't much care for. The book is structured as a lesson between Hare Clausewitz and his woodland friends, with their dialogue denoted in colored block letters. The woodland friends supposedly have distinct personalities and points of view, but that doesn't come through. The artwork is also... not as good as I wanted. Children's books don't have a high bar for aesthetics, but the less said about the pictures, the better. Which is a shame, because Kyle Ferrin (artist on fuzzy-woodlands-creatures-in-brutal-asymmetric-warfare boardgame Root could have done something incredible with concept.
But hey, I backed the kickstarter and I enjoyed the book.
April 4, 2022
A quirky idea - making a youth introduction to Clausewitz's imposing treatise "On War" - very well executed.
Done as essentially a transcript of "Hare Clausewitz" holding a series of classes for a selection of young forest creatures, each possessing their own personality and drawing style. The author uses this to expand the concepts in the first part of "On War." Each pupil's questions keeps the lesson moving along without becoming a lecture. It's not a light read, but it is a lot easier to pick up the concepts than from a standard translation of the work.
It was a Kickstarter, so I don't know when they will finish the second printing, but Helios House Books has a pre-order page. I believe it's a worthwhile investment.
Done as essentially a transcript of "Hare Clausewitz" holding a series of classes for a selection of young forest creatures, each possessing their own personality and drawing style. The author uses this to expand the concepts in the first part of "On War." Each pupil's questions keeps the lesson moving along without becoming a lecture. It's not a light read, but it is a lot easier to pick up the concepts than from a standard translation of the work.
It was a Kickstarter, so I don't know when they will finish the second printing, but Helios House Books has a pre-order page. I believe it's a worthwhile investment.
October 19, 2021
Beautiful work that was years in the making, all in a really stunning, well-produced package. Recommended for your favorite nerd (and their kids).
October 5, 2021
Educational and entertaining for all ages, with a great balance of engaging text and beautiful illustrations. The quality of the printing and binding make this ideal to pass down to the next generation.
January 8, 2023
Clausewitz can be a dense read. Fitzgerald converted the venerable Prussian theorist to schoolyard teacher "Hare Clausewitz" and a menagerie of animal students, making it far more accessible. The chapters are digestible, beautifully and charmingly illustrated, and the conversational format is great for reading out loud.
November 15, 2021
This is a great book that I think should be circulated widely. I kick-started this project and it is pretty close to my expectations. All citizens of a country should understand the stakes and basis of war even if we hope to never be involved in one.
November 1, 2021
The concept is adorable. The simplified summaries of Clausewitz's work are generally well done, and there's certainly a need for compelling, short notes like this. The quality of the product in terms of binding, packaging, paper, etc, is very high. The art is *not always great.* Sometimes low quality (in a water color style that is maybe intended to look intentionally unpolished but often comes across as just amateur), only sometimes fully relevant to the topic at hand. One gets the distinct impression in some places that the author hurriedly piled in random pieces from their sketchbook to meet the need of illustrating a hundred odd pages. I say this fully aware that some choices are artful analogies to the topics at hand- others appear fully off-topic. Even the on-topic art of "Hare" Clausewitz and his woodland pupils ranges from okay to mediocre (with occasional exceptions to the better- some sections are quite polished). I'd love to see a new version with an update to the art so it is all as polished as the best sections.
August 2, 2022
I ordered this book on kickstarter because I thought the whole concept was hilarious and cute--and it is. What surprised me is that the simplified text is actually really informative, I wish I had it on hand when I was studying CvC at staff college because it would have been super useful. On War may be the seminal book on strategy but it is not great reading. This version is much better.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews