War and Power, 9780241744031
Hardcover
Rethink power: War isn’t about weapons, it’s about economies.
Pre-Order

War and Power

who wins wars — and why

$68.79

  • Hardcover

    368 pages

  • Release Date

    27 September 2025

Check Delivery Options

Summary

The Full Spectrum of Power: Rethinking War in the Modern Era

A bold, revisionist study that challenges modern misconceptions about the creation of power and the operations of war, from a Professor of Strategic Studies.

War and power are two of the most widely discussed issues in all of human history, and yet they are, time and again, misunderstood - often disastrously so.

While we might think the outcome of war is determined by so-called ‘Great Powers’ who dominate t…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9780241744031
ISBN-10:0241744032
Author:Phillips Payson O'Brien
Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd
Imprint:Viking
Format:Hardcover
Number of Pages:368
Release Date:27 September 2025
Weight:750g
Dimensions:240mm x 156mm x 40mm
What They're Saying

Critics Review

Phillips O’Brien is the rare historian who has something trenchant to say to students of contemporary warfare. As he points out in this important book, the character of war evolves, but some of the underlying truths, particularly from the second World War, are still very much with us. – Eliot Cohen, Professor Emeritus at Johns Hopkins SAISPhillips O’Brien is one of the keenest observers of modern strategy, and his new book takes a deep historical look at the evolution of warfare and its implications for conflicts like the ongoing one in Ukraine. – Francis Fukuyama, author of The End of History and the Last Man

About The Author

Phillips Payson O'Brien

Phillips Payson O’Brien is Professor of Strategic Studies at St Andrews. He is the author of How the War Was Won- Air-Sea Power and Allied Victory in World War II and The Second Most Powerful Man in the World- The Life of Admiral William D. Leahy, Roosevelt’s Chief of Staff. He has written for The Atlantic, The Spectator and Foreign Affairs, and has a combined following of over 200k on Twitter and Substack. This is his first trade book.

Returns

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.

Frequently Bought Together