Strategy

Hart blows through a number of campaigns, with such cursory detail that you really need to have read about them already. Fortunately, I was at least passingly familiar with most of them, or it would have been much more of a muddle to me.Also, some of Hart's analysis seems to be distorted to match his thesis. For example, he seems alone in saying that McClellan would have been successful if only Lincoln had given him adequate resources. Every other source I've read indicates that McClellan was far too hesitant to use the resources at his disposal. But, because McClellan was using the recommended indirect approach towards Richmond, it seems that Hart needs to find some external reason for his failure.After more than 100 pages, the bottom line is simply: Direct attacks where they're expected=bad; indirect approaches where they aren't expected and where your enemy can't predict your intentions=good.This particular edition suffers badly from horrible typesetting. There are numerous line breaks in the middle of a line, frequent typos, and many grammatical errors. It's like a computer-generated version from a bad scan, or even from a narration, and for which nobody bothered to do any QA. That makes it a very frustrating read.

Liddell Hart offers dramatic example after example of how indirection wins battles. It might be crossing territory that the enemy deems impenetrable. It might be moving faster than they believe possible. It might be feigning strength where there is weakness and weakness where there is strength. In all cases, it is doing what the enemy does not expect. Fulfilling expectations is the best way to lose a battle or a war.The lessons are applicable to business, love, and every other human transaction. So, even if you are not enthralled by military history, this books is, I think, worth reading.

Dont go to war without it..

I understand he is a gifted historian , but this condensed version, is not particularly well packages

Turned me onto a new and vital field of study.

Despite being slanted to support the author's preconceptions, this is a colorful and valuable look at military history. Liddell Hart's jaunt through time is intended to support one basic thesis: in war, the indirect approach prevails over the direct every time. The indirect approach clearly owes its origins to Sun Tzu and is essentially a theory of maneuver, which makes "Strategy" valuable reading for maneuver warfare theorist and professional warrior. Like all of Liddell Hart's work, "Strategy" is as eminently enjoyable as it is unquestionably biased.

Along with Sun Tzu and works by Frederick the Great, probably the greatest manual on the art of war available.

Not at all useful