Books on Military Theory and Concepts

Defence Logistics: Enabling and Sustaining Successful Military Operations. The effective management of logistics and supply chain operations within the defence sector is vitally important. This book, which includes contributions from a number of different academics from a variety of disciplines, looks at those theories which are established and their practical utility and in doing so, seeks to provide insights into the current state of the discipline. The book focuses on key areas of logistics and supply chain management such as sustainability, resilience, inventory management, the use of information technology and crisis response. It also provides a chapter on the past development of defence logistics in order to provide a historical context. It should appeal to a wide range of students (both undergraduate and postgraduate), academics and professionals involved with logistics and supply chain management

Emerging Strategies in Defense Acquisitions and Military Procurement . The pace of reform within the defence acquisition sector, especially since the end of the Cold War, has outstripped our theoretical understanding of the nature of the dynamics, complexities and relationships within the sector. This should be of great concern, especially as it weakens knowledge development in an era where those entrusted with acquiring defence capability are increasingly dependent upon suppliers and consultants to help generate national military capability but the lack of institutional knowledge puts at risk the ability of those in defence acquisition to maximise their commercial effectiveness and therefore maximise the value for the taxpayers' money they spend. This book seeks to contribute to the closing of that theory-practice divide in presenting recent scholarly research and theories on defence acquisition. Contributors come from a number of different academic fields including international relations, technology transfer, economics, materials management, and defense procurement. While the emphasis is on the UK and Europe, the book also contains perspectives from the US and Australia. Chapter topics include tradeoffs between innovation and risks of defense sector acquisition, collaborative defense procurement, the use of critical raw materials in defense acquisition, and business ethics in acquisition. A conceptual framework is presented for defense acquisition management based on service dominant logic theory. The book is intended for students, researchers and academics not only within topics linked to defence acquisition but wider the social sciences too, as well as professionals in the armed forces and defense industry

The Art of War: Restored Edition, Baron Antoine Henri de Jomini. Jomini's Art of War was one of the most important works of military theory to come out of the Napoleonic Wars, and for many years dominated military thinking on both sides of the Atlantic. This edition uses the standard translation of 1862, but with the addition of Jomini's introduction which includes some fascinating insights into his rivalry with Clausewitz. No longer an essential book for every budding military commander, the Art of War is still invaluable for anyone with a serious interest in the Napoleonic Wars. [see more]

Intelligence and Statecraft: The Use and Limits of Intelligence in International Society, Peter Jackson and Jennifer Siegel. A book for the serious student of the theory of intelligence, the book is very up to date and looks at the results of the Hutton enquiry and the Post 9/11 US enquires. It seeks to put intelligence gathering and its use in International Relations into a historical context and claims that in many ways the methods used to gather intelligence and the use it is put to have changed little since Roman times.

Intelligence in War: Knowledge of the Enemy from Napoleon to Al-Qaeda, John Keegan. A detailed and wide ranging look at the role of intelligence in warfare covering a big historical period from Napoleon to the present day. It offers many interesting insights but is slightly weaker on post World War two aspects. A recommended read by one of the worlds leading military historians. [see more]

On War , Carl von Clausewitz, The classic text on strategy a must for any serious student of warfare

Understanding War: Essays on Clausewitz and the History of Military Power , Peter Paret, An excellent series of studies into the great thinkers of modern strategy. Not light reading but for the serious student of military science an excellent overview

Sun Tzu : The New Translation (The Art of War), Short but packed with wisdom which can still be applied today , a key text on tactics and strategy