Distilling the ideas of the greatest military theoreticians of history, including Sun Tzu, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Carl von Clausewitz, Antulio J. Echevarria II presents a fascinating account of the "art of the general." Drawing on historical examples, from Hannibal's war against Rome to Napoleon's victory at Austerlitz, from the Allies' campaign to overwhelm Hitler's fortress to the terror attacks of September 11, Echevarria vividly describes the major types of military strategy and their advantages and disadvantages.

Clear and engaging, this book shows that military strategy is essential for understanding major events of the past and becomes even more critical today, in a world increasingly threatened by weapons of mass destruction, terrorist attacks, and new dimensions of conflict such as cyberwar and space.

Prologue Chapter 1: What is Military Strategy? Chapter 2: Annihilation and Dislocation Chapter 3: Attrition and Exhaustion Chapter 4: Deterrence and Coercion Chapter 5: Terror and Terrorism Chapter 6: Decapitation and Targeted Killing Chapter 7: Cyber Power and Military Strategy Epilogue References Further Reading Index

Antulio J. Echevarria , II, Director of Research, U.S. Army War College, US

Antulio J. Echevarria II is the Editor of the US Army War College Quarterly. Prior to that, he was the Director of Research at the US Army War College. He is the author of Clausewitz and Contemporary War, Imagining Future War, and After Clausewitz, and of several articles on military thinking and contemporary war.

"Antulio Echevarria, drawing on his deep knowledge of the field, provides a systematic, succinct, and incisive guide to the main themes of military strategy. Invaluable for both students and practitioners." -Lawrence Freedman, author of Strategy: A History