The Shaping of Grand Strategy: Policy, Diplomacy, and War

I was attracted to this volume by the quality of the scholars and the topics listed in the table of contents. It does not disappoint. An introductory and concluding essay sandwich seven case studies of grand strategy in action. The editors' common contention is that our prevailing definitions and comprehension of grand strategy are strained and, when subjected to rigorous analysis, are found insufficient. The seven case studies in this book support that contention even as the authors agree that the definition and usage need not be completely defenestrated. It is history, culture, and military theory rolled into one. Strategy cannot be considered out of its contexts. The chapters on Bismarck (Jones) and Truman (Gray) are especially refreshing. Although I suspect that this book would appeal to a narrow audience, it is written in an accessible they may appeal to a handful of non-scholars and defense professionals. Recommended with those reservations.

Note: This is a limited review because I purchased this book specifically for the interwar and WW II period, and do not comment here on the remainder of the book.This ensemble book consists of essays by six eminent historians well familiar with their subject matter. My interest at this time is limited to the run up to WW II. The chapter entitled "British Grand Strategy, 1933-1942" by Dr Williamson Murray is simply brilliant.Dr Murray has a rock-solid grasp of what grand strategy is, and the events, issues and British political leadership behaviors of the late interwar period. Equally important, he writes clear and cogent prose--a gift not many university professors can claim.I particularly recommend reading this chapter to gain a quick and clear understanding of the brutal consequences of an ideological worldview that is unable to process obvious facts. The dangers of spinning world events to meet your worldview are manifest, and history provides examples aplenty.Clearly essays of this length cannot possibly cover every aspect of grand strategy during the periods covered. Nonetheless, this book--at least the British Grand Strategy chapter--provides a useful and insightful overview with enough detail to satisfy. If you want to dive deeper, footnotes and references provide a wealth of resources for expanded study.Dr Murray is professor emeritus of history at Ohio State University and has served as the Harold Johnson Professor of Military History at the US Army War College in Carlyle, PA. I have no connection to Dr Murray whatsoever, except as a reader and student of his writing.I'm less impressed with the chapter on early WW II American grand strategy development, but I'm sure many will find it useful. Skimming the other chapters suggests their quality and clarity is similar to Dr Murray's chapter, but I have not studied them and cannot comment with assurance.

It's well written and informative. The excessive footnotes can bog you down. However, it's great source material if you really want to dig in to the various historical aspects.

A lot of bitish vision about strategy.It resembles a lot of history. The extrapolation of the knowledge and its application depends upon you.

The editors chose a set of events throughout history to show us how grand strategies are defined and executed. The variety of cases depict motivations, styles of leadership and final outcomes to the results of implementing a grand strategy, showing that it can lead to great redefinitions of the world order or just to feed ambitions of greatness and personal glory.

Promising introduction, but subsequent chapters are mostly one dimension and do not connect with the themes set out in the introduction closely. Chapters, when read as individual essays, lack main arguments, and they serve only as a description of a series of historical events. The grand strategy the authors are speaking of, is taken from the sole view of historians, which can be useful in itself, yet the reader is left to wonder what makes a good or bad grand strategy themselves, and so far the authors have not given any answers.It could be a good history text about high Euro-American politics in the 19th-20th century, but it is lacking as a study about grand strategy.

Livro muito interessante a todos que estudam Estratégia, a Grande Estratégia ou Planejamento Estratégico. As análisis dos casos históricos são muito bem feitas.