On War

By: Carl von Clausewitz

Narrated by: Nadia May

Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

A Prussian soldier and writer, von Clausewitz is said to have distilled Napoleon into theory. Perhaps best known among his numerous pronouncements is that war is a continuation of politics by other means. His theories and observations included in this work have been heeded by military strategists for nearly 200 years. Most have considered this to be the "Bible" of military strategy and tactics.

This abridged version of Clausewitz's magnum opus follows the text of the New and Revised Edition (edition by F.N. Maude in 1908) of Col. J.J. Graham's translation. Of the original three volumes, this version includes all of Volume I (except for the last chapter on night fighting) and six of the nine chapters of Book Eight of Volume III (The Plan of War). The editor's objective was to select those portions which most closely relate to our own time.

©1990 Blackstone Audiobooks (P)1990 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"What makes On War so timely is that, unlike most military strategists and theoreticians, Clausewitz did not advocate war or recommend specific courses of action, but merely thought to describe war's character and dynamics." (Harper's Magazine)

Better than reading it!

so if you are listening to On War it is probably not because you are doing this for fun..it is probably for school. So given that we all know this is mandatory pain....the audio version is much better to work with than falling asleep reading it in book form.

I wish the audio book was broken up in Books and chapters the way it is in hard copy, but other than that I was able to follow and keep up with my class readings.

Bad Audio

I listen in the car, and as much as I like this tome, the terrible audio makes me regret this purchase.

Bad Translation

It was like listening to theories with King James prose narrated by my grandmother. Looking for better translation.

audio quality is the worst I have found on audible

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

content is faithful, but the quality of the recording is sub-par. the notes given in the preface were well written and helped give context.

How could the performance have been better?

quality of recording

Bad Audio

The book is good but the audio quality is very bad. Buy a different version with better audio quality.

Not the whole book, just cherry picked sections.

I bought this thinking it was the actual book, but the author only discusses certain sections of the original. So disappointed.

Bad Audio Quality

I believe the audio was re-mastered from the early 90's, the narrator is british and the quality is not quite good, it takes a while to get use to but If you are determined to hear and understand you will. I guess clauswitz would call it friction

Bad quality of recording and hard voice to listen to.

I disliked the sound quality and tone of authors voice. I have only listened to an hour but keep finding myself tuning out due to being annoyed with narrators voice. Out of the 30+ plus books on audible this is the first time. Do not buy this book on audible.

On War

Carl von Clausewitz is some what difficult to understand. It is military theory and is not light reading. You might find humor in the audio version of this text, but on a more serious note it did allow for me to pass my class on the History of Warfare. If you are looking for other Military Theory, I enjoyed Sun-Tzu's "Art of War" much more.

Difficult to remember

I downloaded this book because it was referenced in another book I listened to and ended up LOVING (The 33 strategies of war). Unfortunately, nothing is sinking in while listening to this book, and I think it’s because of the narrator. Her British accent makes it difficult for me to pay attention. I think I’ll purchase the book and read it myself.

She has a wonderful voice, I just don’t think it worked for ME with this type of book. I can’t say the same for others.