The New Rules of War

Victory in the Age of Durable Disorder

By: Sean McFate

Narrated by: Joe Knezevich

Length: 8 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

"Stunning. Sean McFate is a new Sun Tzu." (Admiral James Stavridis (retired), former Supreme Allied Commander at NATO)

An Economist Book of the Year 2019

An urgent, fascinating exploration of warfare - past, present and future - and what we must do if we want to win today from an 82nd Airborne veteran, former private military contractor, and professor of war studies at the National Defense University.

War is timeless. Some things change - weapons, tactics, technology, leadership, objectives - but our desire to go into battle does not. We are living in the age of Durable Disorder - a period of unrest created by numerous factors: China’s rise, Russia’s resurgence, America’s retreat, global terrorism, international criminal empires, climate change, dwindling natural resources, and bloody civil wars. Sean McFate has been on the front lines of deep state conflicts and has studied and taught the history and practice of war. He’s seen firsthand the horrors of battle and understands the depth and complexity of the current global military situation.

This devastating turmoil has given rise to difficult questions. What is the future of war? How can we survive? If Americans are drawn into major armed conflict, can we win? McFate calls upon the legends of military study Carl von Clausewitz, Sun Tzu, and others, as well as his own experience, and carefully constructs the new rules for the future of military engagement, the ways we can fight and win in an age of entropy: one where corporations, mercenaries, and rogue states have more power and ‘nation states’ have less. With examples from the Roman conquest, World War II, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and others, he tackles the differences between conventional and future war, the danger in believing that technology will save us, the genuine leverage of psychological and ‘shadow’ warfare, and much more. McFate’s new rules distill the essence of war today, describing what it is in the real world, not what we believe or wish it to be.

Some of these principles are ancient, others are new, but all will permanently shape war now and in the future. By following them he argues, we can prevail. But if we do not, terrorists, rogue states, and others who do not fight conventionally will succeed - and rule the world.

©2019 Sean McFate (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

A bit delusional and brainwashed but great book

He provides great information but sometimes he only provides one side of the story. Great book overall.

A must read!

An interesting and important take on modern warfare. Information war, mercenaries, and the Strategic Arts are the paths to continued American primacy as outlined by the author.

I Loved This

Reminiscent of Robert Greene books on strategy and warfare with contemporary and nuanced examples today. Almost a prediction of the future. I will be listening again.

great book, great reader, poor sound editor.

The book itself is great. The reader does a fine job reading it. Whoever edited this thing cuts the first half to full second off of every audio clip and pieced it together. It wouldn't be so bad if hundreds of audio clips didn't make up each chapter. It is annoying trying to guess the first word all of the time and takes away from the enjoyment of the book. Please fix this.

Sage

Mr McFate reminds us there isn't much new under the sun, especially when it comes to warfare. In this controversial book, the importance of juggernaut, modern institutions are questioned and a new theory of future conflict is introduced that sounds oddly similar to those of yesteryear. Just summed up in ten tidy rules. No matter your stance, ultimately the author paints a picture of what COULD be the future of warfare and forces the reader to consider his validity and question modern paradigms. Thought will be achieved.

Revolutionary logic & observations!

This is a brilliant work that needs to be in the hands of citizens, journalists, leaders and politicians. McFate explains why we are trapped in quagmires born out of the collective failure of imagination among US defense leadership. With Chomsky-esque clarity and logic, McFate helps us see the trends and strategies we should have noticed decades ago. CC: potus candidates.

Just as good as his lectures!

I've had the privilege of hearing MCFate lecture at NDU. All aspiring and current military officers, government Contractors and government employees should read this book and consider how you will operate in accordance to these new rules.

really great.

This was an interesting book. I really enjoyed it. well structured as well. thank you

Very Interesting

I was very interested in this book after it was recommended by a US Army Colonel. The book explains its basic premise in the first chapter and expounded further on his "rules" in subsequent chapters. It was a bit disheartening to realize that we may already be in some form of war with China already. Trump's misinformation campaign seems a bit more understandable as well. The book certainly gives you something to think about. Narrator did a good job keeping the relatively dry text interesting.

Informative, Insightful, excellent narration

I didn't lose interest one second. narration was on point. I felt imagery well presented.
an American Foreign Legion? food for thought.
a post-conventional military