The New Art of War

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.

“'The New Art of War arrives just in time to build strategic competence and improve our understanding of war. It is an important book because wisdom about war is essential for preserving peace and making war less inhumane. It is a book to be read, discussed, and reread. The author does not attempt to tell readers what to think; Colonel Weiss helps us learn how to think about the history and future of conflict.' H.R. McMaster, author of Dereliction of Duty and Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World”

'Weiss has masterfully placed the knowledge of an entire library full of war books and articles at his readers' fingertips. The New Art of War is a great reference and at the same time an original contribution that re-grounds our conception of, and language for, war within the bedrock of war's true nature.' Lieutenant General (ret.) David Deptula, Dean of the Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies
'Colonel Weiss seized a perfect opportunity to address the questions confronting the world in this new environment of different challenges from an increasingly confident China, a stealthily involved Russia, and a more hesitant United States. He asks the reader to completely reconsider the all of this through The New Art of War.' Cynthia Watson, Dean of the National War College, National Defense University
'The New Art of War is a monumental achievement! With this unique book, Weiss advances our understanding of war's nature, character, form, and future in new and practical directions. His Unified War Theory and novel principle of 'viscosity' are essential, long overdue updates to existing theory that will inform strategy, empower analysis, and deliver on the author's goal of preventing, shortening, or winning wars. The New Art of War is a must read for every strategist or scholar of man's most destructive impulse.' W. Michael Guillot, Editor of Strategic Studies Quarterly

Geoffrey F. Weiss is an active duty Colonel with over 27 years of service in the United States Air Force. He is a graduate of the US Marine Corps School of Advanced Warfighting and a distinguished graduate of the National War College. A former wing commander with multiple tours in the Middle East, Colonel Weiss is presently serving in the Pentagon on the Joint Staff where he advises the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on global operations and crisis response from the National Military Command Center.

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