Art of War

NiccoloMachiavelli'sArtofWarisoneoftheworld'sgreatclassicsofmilitaryandpoliticaltheory.PraisedbythefinestmilitarymindsinhistoryandsaidtohaveinfluencednolesserlightsthanFredericktheGreatandNapoleon,ArtofWarisessentialreadingforanyonewantingtounderstandthehistoryandtheoryofwarintheWest.ChristopherLynch'sfluidtranslation,faithfultotheoriginalbutrenderedinmodern,idomaticEnglish,helpsreadersappreciateanewMachiavelli'sbrilliantandofteneerilyprescienttreatmentsoftherelationshipsbetweenwarandpolitics,civiliansandthemilitary,andtechnologyandtactics.Clearlylayingoutthefundamentalsofmilitaryorganizationandstrategy,Machiavellimarshalsaveritablearmyofprecepts,prescriptions,andexamplesaboutsuchtopicsashowtomotivatesoldiersanddemoralizetheenemy,howtoavoidambushes,andhowtogainthetacticalandstrategicadvantageincountlesscircumstances.TohelpreadersbetterappreciateArtofWar,Lynchprovidesaninsightfulintroductionandasubstantialinterpretiveessaydiscussingthemilitary,political,andphilosophicalaspectsofthework,inadditiontomaps,anindexofnames,andaglossary.Combininganabundanceofrelevantscholarshipwiththemostflawlesstranslationtodate,thisvolumewillsurelybethestandardforyearstocome.