A book I had difficulty engaging with, no enjoyment here. ( )

(Alistair) It is always difficult to review a classic of its field, and the more so when this is far from one's initial reading of the text, and as such one may incorporate elements from other readings and thoughts external to the specific book in question.

Alas, this particular edition possesses glaring flaws which overcome that particular problem. This Penguin Classics edition of On War is abridged, which I knew, but regrettably it is fairly poorly abridged. More to the point, it is burdened with an introduction, commentary and notes dating from its original publication in 1968, and this in particular is redolent with the tropisms of the Crazy Years: an attack from the then-current peacenik Left on Clausewitizian and designated "neo-Clausewitzian" philosophies, and indeed on the political philosophy of war in general.

It is unfortunate in the modern day that this naive dogma must contend with a current reality for which Clausewitizian thought provides much greater explanatory power; it is and would have been even at the time of publication unfortunate that it must sit next to the work of the man himself, which even in abridged form - and, so I am told, in a bad translation - reflects much clearer thinking.

So, essentially: Clausewitz himself is excellent, but don't buy this version. For myself, I'm looking for a better full-text translation.
( http://weblog.siliconcerebrate.com/ce... ) ( )

Dense and difficult read, but worth it. ( )