The New Art of War: The Origins, Theory, and Future of Conflict

by Geoffrey F Weiss

Many of war's lethal failures are attributable to ignorance caused by a dearth of contemporary, accessible theory to inform warfighting, strategy, and policy. To remedy this problem, Colonel Geoffrey F. Weiss offers an ambitious new survey of war's nature, character, and future in the tradition of Sun Tzu and Clausewitz. He begins by melding philosophical and military concepts to reveal war's origins and to analyze war theory's foundational ideas. Then, leveraging science, philosophy, and the wisdom of war's master theorists, Colonel Weiss presents a genuinely original framework and lexicon that characterizes and clarifies the relationships between humanity, politics, strategy, and combat; explains how and why war changes form; offers a methodology for forecasting future war; and ponders the permanence of war as a human activity. The New Art of War is an indispensable guide for understanding human conflict that will change how we think and communicate about war.

470 pages, Hardcover

Published November 11, 2021

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exceptionally-well researched. Full of an intricate net of quotes from authoritative sources.
The synopsis of key strategic thinkers in the first half of the book was a standout.
The 'new' theory was hard to follow and challenged my engagement with the book.
A worthy read, but has its best value as a reference book.