War and Power

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 ManPhillips O’Brien is always fantastic. Heterodox. He’s pretty scathing, even about Biden administration policy … A really interesting book * Paul Krugman, Distinguished Professor of Economics *Excellent … timely and sobering … a powerful read, and meticulously researched. O’Brien throughout the book deftly debunks the notion of the rational ‘grand strategy’ and received notions of the ‘art’ of warfare – Tom Clonan * The Irish Times *As wars rage across the world, Phillips O’Brien offers powerful insights into the past, present, and future of war and power. This book is vital reading for anyone grappling with America’s uncertain place in today’s global order. – Alexander Vindman * New York Times–bestselling author of The Folly of Realism *

Phillips Payson O’Brien is Professor of Strategic Studies at St Andrews. He is the author of The Strategists, How the War Was Won, and The Second Most Powerful Man in the World. He has written for The Atlantic, The Spectator, and Foreign Affairs, and has a combined following of more than 300k on X and Substack.

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