The Book of War: Includes the Art of War by Sun Tzu & on War by Karl Von Clausewitz

If you had to name the two most fundamental works on the nature of war Clausewitz and Sun Tzu would immediately come to mind. Thucydides' history of the Peloponnesian War would perhaps be the only other text nipping on the heels of the two included in here. Providing both in one book is a great idea. The superb editing of the texts and the inclusion of a cogent introduction by Ralph Peters makes this a truly valuable collection to anyone who wishes to understand war and the strategies that guide how it is fought. Both Sun Tzu's and Clausewitz's texts are presented "unabridged" (in as much as Sun Tzu's work, actually a collection of writers over a good period of time, can be), and with some additional chapters that explains the context of the times in which both were written. This makes this book one of the "purest" examples a reader can obtain of both these influential texts. All of this copious thought from two very different civilizations and very disparate times is neatly prefaced by an insightful introduction by Ralph Peters entitled the "Seeker and the Sage" that is also recreated in his book "Beyond Terror." Whereas Sun Tzu is relatively simple to read (although its simplicity of writing belies its sophistication of thought and it cannot practically be processed as quickly as it can be read) Clausewitz is almost impossible to read, especially in its unabridged form, without some explanation first. Clausewitz's "On War" was never finished, indeed war can never be understood by the finite mental powers of any single individual. It is instead more along the lines of a long kept notebook of a "seeker" who never stopped trying to explore and understand his subject, with some preparation into eventual book form before his premature death. Clausewitz did not solely reside in the halls of theory and academia either, but was a field and staff officer deeply steeped in Prussian military tradition who fought Napoleon personally, both for the Prussians and the Russians, and who also suffered a two year incarceration by French forces. With the bitter taste of experience his work is directed towards soldiers who had seen war, the only people he felt stood any chance of even beginning to grasp its nature. His writing is in the thick, difficult to navigate manner of his time (definitely not fun reading) but it is also surprisingly passionate and vividly poetic. Although a heavy slog to read he is not leaden. While Sun Tzu is the easier read, Clausewitz's thought will be the most readily accessible to a westerner. It is written in a very explanatory and exploratory manner, of someone trying to progress linearly through the nature of war. His "conclusions" (if an unfinished work can have any) are unrelenting: War is the imposition of your will upon another by means of force; war boils ineluctably down to the destruction of the enemy's forces, his means to resist; there is a trinity between the government, people, and military forces of a nat

I have the Regnery edition- "War, Politics, and Power" and I've read Sun Tzu. So I offer my review on his writings and recommend this book. These books were widely disseminated in Red China, Nazi Germany, and the Soviet Union. Essentially, this book contains the best writings of the German military theorist as well as the Chinese military theoriest Sun Tzu. Clauswitz, the Prussian Sun Tzu, effectively brought the concept of total war into acceptability. Gone our the days Antonie Henri Jomini's chilvarious code of conduct and honor- Civilians will not only be subject to attack - they'll bear the brunt of the battle in an age of total war. Several points are made- which are crucial to surmising Clausewitzian theory- 1) "War is the continuation of state policy by other means;" 2) "All war is based on the art of deception;" 3) "No one starts war... without first being clear in his mind what he intends to achieve by the war and how he intends to conduct it;" 4) War is "an act of force to compel our enemy to do our will." 5) "If the enemy is thrown off balance, he must not be given time to recover. Blow after blow must be struck in the same direction: the victor, in other words, must strike with all his strength... by daring to win all, will one really defeat the enemy."This is an excellent combination- The concept of total war is a sound foundation for any student of military history. Piecing Tzu and Clausewitz in one complete compendium of total war military theory makes for an excellent volume of military theory.

As Caleb Carr points out in his series introduction, the study of war is the study of half of human history and nature, and is thus important. This is a great collection and a great introduction to that. These two books form a comprehensive study of the philosophy of war, mainly because they are so opposite in nature yet both generally correct. And, surprisingly, Sun-Tzu's maxims on a subject of the most horrendous violence are often quite beautiful. Extra points for the full, not abridged, version of Clausewitz, especially since he never finished the book. An excellent introduction by Ralph Peters.

This book is for the total war maniac. If you are interested in the subject this book is for you. It is defintly worth your money. It explains a lot about his thoughts ideas and other things. It did get a bit tedious though......