Military Strategy: Principles, Practices, and Historical Perspectives

John M. Collins has distilled the wisdom of history’s great military minds to tutor readers on the necessary intellectual skills to win not only battles but also wars. He illuminates practices that worked well or poorly in the past, together with reasons why. He discusses national security interests, strategic building blocks, military strategies across the conflict spectrum, methods for developing talent and strategic acumen, and recent case studies that put principles into practice. Collins never tells readers what to think, but in Military Strategy he provides them with the intellectual tools to think for themselves. Written in a clear, straightforward style, this book will appeal to officers, policy-makers, students, and the public.

John M. Collins is a retired U.S. Army colonel and a distinguished visiting research fellow at the National Defense University. Collins culminated his military career as the director of military strategy studies and then as chief of the Strategic Research Group at the National War College. He was subsequently the senior specialist in national defense at the Congressional Research Service for twenty-four years. Collins has written twelve books and numerous monographs, including Strategy: Principles, Practices, and Historical Perspectives. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia.