David Petraeus

This is a very informative and highly engaging book about war. I thought the author did a good job describing and interpreting the wars in which he did not participate...high level and on point. However, when he spent nearly half the 18 hours on his own experiences, there were massive amounts of technical jargon that is not comprehensible by the average reader. He also leans toward Army leaders and concepts; like a headquarters element (bunch o guys in a tent) means something or heavy show more acronym like "men-sticky" can actually produce change. Once the reader wades through all that, there's some inspiration in there. But, the book would be better at two-thirds it's length and it may become a staple of war college reading--but don't expect it to hit the Amazon top ten! show less

A superb account of the evolution of warfare from 1945 onwards. This deals with major conflicts and minor ones, not shying away from criticising Western foreign policy. An interesting and insightful book that provides more background data to anyone interested in the history of war or conflict from the 20th century to today.

I've read almost nothing about military strategy. This book made it relevant, translating recent historical perspective into something usable for informing how we think about the current conflicts. There are also important leadership lessons applicable to other realms. Most notably, great leaders get the big ideas right and then reinforce them throughout the network. They also adapt quickly, using all available resources.