There has been a great deal of speculation recently concerning the likely impact of the 'Information Age' on warfare. In this vein, much of the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) literature subscribes to the idea that the Information Age will witness a transformation in the very nature of war. In this book, David Lonsdale puts that notion to the test. Using a range of contexts, the book sets out to look at whether the classical Clausewitzian theory of the nature of war will retain its validity in this new age. The analysis covers the character of the future battlespace, the function of command, and the much-hyped concept of Strategic Information Warfare. Finally, the book broadens its perspective to examine the nature of 'Information Power' and its implications for geopolitics. Through an assessment of both historical and contemporary case studies (including the events following September 11 and the recent war in Iraq), the author concludes that although the future will see many changes to the conduct of warfare, the nature of war, as given theoretical form by Clausewitz, will remain essentially unchanged.
A fully revised and updated new edition of this leading introduction to the theory and conduct of warfare in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The book combines analysis of key concepts, theory and military doctrine with reference to relevant examples from history, and integrates the land, sea and air environments.
This book offers a strategic analysis of one of the most outstanding military careers in history, identifying the most pertinent strategic lessons from the campaigns of Alexander the Great. David Lonsdale argues that since the core principles of strategy are eternal, the study and analysis of historical examples have value to the modern theorist and practitioner. Furthermore, as strategy is so complex and challenging, the remarkable career of Alexander provides the ideal opportunity to understand best practice in strategy, as he achieved outstanding and continuous success across the spectrum of warfare, in a variety of circumstances and environments. This book presents the thirteen most pertinent lessons that can be learned from his campaigns, dividing them into three categories: grand strategy, military operations, and use of force. Each of these categories provides lessons pertinent to the modern strategic environment. Ultimately, however, the book argues that the dominant factor in his success was Alexander himself, and that it was his own characteristics as a strategist that allowed him to overcome the complexities of strategy and achieve his expansive goals.
What is the role of spiritual experience in poetry? What are the marks of a religious imagination? How close can the secular and the religious be brought together? How do poetic imagination and religious beliefs interact? Exploring such questions through the concept of the religious imagination, this book integrates interdisciplinary research in the area of poetry on the one hand, and theology, philosophy and Christian spirituality on the other. Established theologians, philosophers, literary critics and creative writers explain, by way of contemporary and historical examples, the primary role of the religious imagination in the writing as well as in the reading of poetry.
Living a spiritual life is a matter of making choices. In our everyday circumstances as well as at crucial turning points, the choices we make shape our lives. "Discernment offers us a practical way of living", says David Lonsdale. "Discernment in everyday life is a matter of regular reflection on daily events within a framework of prayer". He provides a clear explanation of the steps involved in the process of discernment as first outlined by St. Ignatius of Loyola. Through real-life stories and examples, Lonsdale carefully shows us how to sift through a variety of circumstances and options, as well as our feelings and thoughts about them. He explains how placing all this within a framework of prayer and consciousness of God gradually makes us aware of the harmonies and disharmonies between the mystery of Christ and out-own lives. This awareness then guides us in the choices we make.
There have been many remarkable women who served British Intelligence during the Second World War. One whose dubious claim to have worked for them is a fascinating tale involving three marriages – the first, to a spurious White Russian prince; the second to a playboy-turned-criminal involved in a major jewellery robbery in the heart of London’s Mayfair in the late 1930s. After the war she became romantically involved with a well-known British Fascist, but finally married another notorious criminal whom she had met earlier during the war. The descriptions variously ascribed to her ranged from ‘remarkable’ and ‘quite ravishing’ to ‘...a woman whose loose living would make her an object of shame on any farm-yard’. Until now, very little has been recorded about Stella Lonsdale’s life. She doesn’t even merit a mention in the two official histories of MI5, even though she managed to tie them up in knots for years. This book will explore the role this strange woman may or may not have played in working for British Intelligence, the French Deuxième Bureau, or the Abwehr – German military intelligence – during the Second World War, using her MI5 files as a primary source.
This textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to modern strategy, covering the context, theory, and practice of military strategy in all its different forms. Covering all the main issues in the field, the book explores the major themes through a combination of classical and modern strategic theory, history, and current practice. It is split into three main sections: The first provides the context for contemporary strategy and includes discussions of the human, technological, intelligence, ethical, and grand strategic dimensions. The second part explores the theory and practice of strategy in different geographical domains, including land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. The final part engages with three of the most challenging forms of strategy in the contemporary era: nuclear weapons, terrorism, and insurgency. This second edition brings the book up to date by including discussions of the rise and fall of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS); the emergence of robotics and artificial intelligence; major events in space and cyberspace; and the growing profile of nuclear weapons. Each chapter presents the reader with a succinct summary of the topic, provides a challenging analysis of current issues, and finishes with key points, questions for discussion, and further reading. This book will be essential reading for upper-level students of strategic studies, war studies, military history, and international security.
Work concentrates on the key new provisions of the reforms, and tries to show, usually by reference to Lord Woolf's Interim and Final reports, the thinking behind them.
The transcript from this historic trial, long thought destroyed or hidden, unearths a piece of the British colonial archive at a critical point in the Mau Mau Rebellion. Its discovery and landmark publication unsettles an already contentious Kenyan history and its reverberations in the postcolonial present. Perhaps no figure embodied the ambiguities, colonial fears, and collective imaginations of Kenya’s decolonization era more than Dedan Kimathi, the self-proclaimed field marshal of the rebel forces that took to the forests to fight colonial rule in the 1950s. Kimathi personified many of the contradictions that the Mau Mau Rebellion represented: rebel statesman, literate peasant, modern traditionalist. His capture and trial in 1956, and subsequent execution, for many marked the end of the rebellion and turned Kimathi into a patriotic martyr. Here, the entire trial transcript is available for the first time. This critical edition also includes provocative contributions from leading Mau Mau scholars reflecting on the meaning of the rich documents offered here and the figure of Kimathi in a much wider field of historical and contemporary concerns. These include the nature of colonial justice; the moral arguments over rebellion, nationalism, and the end of empire; and the complexities of memory and memorialization in contemporary Kenya. Contributors: David Anderson, Simon Gikandi, Nicholas Githuku, Lotte Hughes, and John Lonsdale. Introductory note by Willy Mutunga.
It was the winter of 1947 when C. David Priest, then five years old, first hears his aunt Rosalee tell the vivid and frightening story of the Whippanini man, a strange presence that only comes out when darkness falls. Terrified and curious all at the same time, it is later that same night after David falls asleep that he sees the Whippanini man for the first time, forever transforming his innocent life. As the spectral presence haunts David in his sleep, his aunt relays more stories that cause him to begin to question everything in his lifeand all who have passed away before him, including a cousin reported to have looked just like David. But at night, nothing can stop Whippanini from invading Davids dreams, at least temporarily, and seemingly warning him of tragic events about to occur. As the years pass and Whippanini disappears, David wonders if the presence was just a figment of his childhood imagination. Little does he know that the Whippanini man is about to make his presence known again. The Whippanini Man shares one mans struggle with a fearful manifestation as he walks back into his past and he hopes to find his true self.
Alexander the Great was the most successful general of the classical era, perhaps in all of human history. His career was an unbroken run of successes from his first campaign as a cavalry commander at the age of sixteen until his death at the age of thirty-three. By the end of his life he controlled an empire that stretched from the Balkans to northern India, where he was worshipped as a god. David Lonsdale, who has studied Alexander's military techniques for more than ten years, explores in detail how Alexander developed and adapted the war machine created by his father, Philip, and shows how Alexander supplemented Greek infantry tactics with the innovative use of the specialist and elite units. Above all, he explains how Alexander perfected the cavalry charge as a battle-winning maneuver, based on relentless discipline and heroic leadership. Essential reading for those interested in the history of warfare, Alexander the Great, Killer of Men reflects the latest understanding of Alexander's strategy and fighting techniques. It describes a moment in time when the Macedonian army was the most important institution on earth and its young, terrifying commander was the fixed point around which the history of the world revolved.
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