{"title":"Books by Sir Lawrence Freedman","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780190229238","title":"Strategy","description":"Selected as a Financial Times Best Book of 2013\n\nIn Strategy: A History, Sir Lawrence Freedman, one of the world's leading authorities on war and international politics, captures the vast history of strategic thinking, in a consistently engaging and insightful account of how strategy came to pervade every aspect of our lives. \n\nThe range of Freedman's narrative is extraordinary, moving from the surprisingly advanced strategy practiced in primate groups, to the opposing strategies of Achilles and Odysseus in The Iliad, the strategic advice of Sun Tzu and Machiavelli, the great military innovations of Baron Henri de Jomini and Carl von Clausewitz, the grounding of revolutionary strategy in class struggles by Marx, the insights into corporate strategy found in Peter Drucker and Alfred Sloan, and the contributions of the leading social scientists working on strategy today. The core issue at the heart of strategy, the author notes, is whether it is possible to manipulate and shape our environment rather than simply become the victim of forces beyond one's control. Time and again, Freedman demonstrates that the inherent unpredictability of this environment-subject to chance events, the efforts of opponents, the missteps of friends-provides strategy with its challenge and its drama. Armies or corporations or nations rarely move from one predictable state of affairs to another, but instead feel their way through a series of states, each one not quite what was anticipated, requiring a reappraisal of the original strategy, including its ultimate objective. Thus the picture of strategy that emerges in this book is one that is fluid and flexible, governed by the starting point, not the end point. \n\nA brilliant overview of the most prominent strategic theories in history, from David's use of deception against Goliath, to the modern use of game theory in economics, this masterful volume sums up a lifetime of reflection on strategy.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43201502609586,"sku":"9780190229238","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780190229238_3d74dbc7-9f71-4461-abf4-17fce55f7038.jpg?v=1786015738"},{"product_id":"9780141993515","title":"Command","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA timely history of the interplay between politics and military operations, '\u003ci\u003eCommand \u003c\/i\u003eis the history of our time' (\u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMilitary command has been reconstructed and revolutionized since the Second World War by nuclear warfare, small-scale guerrilla land operations and cyber interference. Freedman takes a global perspective, systematically investigating its practice and politics since 1945 through a wide range of conflicts from the French Colonial Wars, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bangladesh Liberation War to North Vietnam's Easter Offensive of 1972, the Falklands War, the Iraq War and Russia's wars in Chechnya and Ukraine. By highlighting the political nature of strategy, Freedman shows that military decision-making cannot be separated from civilian priorities and that commanders must now have the sensibility to navigate politics as well as warfare.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56225282687349,"sku":"9780141993515","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780141993515_22132786-a1b7-4f5f-b046-52a3e1b420fb.jpg?v=1786011365"},{"product_id":"9781761343056","title":"Modern Warfare: A Lowy Institute Paper: Penguin Special","description":"\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback \/ softback","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56302885142901,"sku":"9781761343056","price":6.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781761343056_ef99af7f-67bf-490e-9c35-0b15e8d3a47b.jpg?v=1786024476"},{"product_id":"future-of-war","title":"The Future of War","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor as long as there have been wars there have been fears about the next  war. Where are the new dangers? What is the best defence? How might  peace come about? This is the history of how over the last 150 years we  have tried - rightly and wrongly - to predict war's future. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Britain's leading academic strategist ... read this book' \u003ci\u003eEconomist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Insightful and opinionated ... expertly covers centuries of evolving mayhem' Gary J. Bass, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A  bonfire of predictions ... Freedman's purpose in this wise book is to  discern patterns in the way we have thought about war's future' Shashank  Joshi, \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'It reflects the author's immense  knowledge and wisdom. It should feed our humility, because it reminds  us of mankind's unlimited capacity for folly' Max Hastings, \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466707935605,"sku":"9780141975603","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780141975603.jpg?v=1785654768"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-sir-lawrence-freedman.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}