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Strategy
- A History
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 32 hrs and 4 mins
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Publisher's summary
In Strategy: A History, Sir Lawrence Freedman, one of the world's leading authorities on war and international politics, captures the vast history of strategic thinking, in a consistently engaging and insightful account of how strategy came to pervade every aspect of our lives. The range of Freedman's narrative is extraordinary, moving from the surprisingly advanced strategy practiced in primate groups, to the opposing strategies of Achilles and Odysseus in The Iliad, the strategic advice of Sun Tzu and Machiavelli, the great military innovations of Baron Henri de Jomini and Carl von Clausewitz, the grounding of revolutionary strategy in class struggles by Marx, the insights into corporate strategy found in Peter Drucker and Alfred Sloan, and the contributions of the leading social scientists working on strategy today. The core issue at the heart of strategy, the author notes, is whether it is possible to manipulate and shape our environment rather than simply become the victim of forces beyond one's control. Time and again, Freedman demonstrates that the inherent unpredictability of this environment - subject to chance events, the efforts of opponents, the missteps of friends - provides strategy with its challenge and its drama. Armies or corporations or nations rarely move from one predictable state of affairs to another, but instead feel their way through a series of states, each one not quite what was anticipated, requiring a reappraisal of the original strategy, including its ultimate objective. Thus the picture of strategy that emerges in this book is one that is fluid and flexible, governed by the starting point, not the end point. A brilliant overview of the most prominent strategic theories in history, from David's use of deception against Goliath, to the modern use of game theory in economics, this masterful volume sums up a lifetime of reflection on strategy.
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- By: Andrei Martyanov
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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This book explores the dramatic difference between the Russian and US approach to warfare, which manifests itself across the whole spectrum of activities from art and the economy to the respective national cultures; illustrates the fact that Russian economic, military, and cultural realities and power are no longer what American "elites" think they are by addressing Russia's new and elevated capacities in the areas of traditional warfare, as well as cyberwarfare and space; and studies several ways in-depth in which the US can simply stumble into conflict with Russia and what must be done to avoid it.
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Mixes Truth with Propoganda
- By Gavin on 02-08-21
By: Andrei Martyanov
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The Paranoid Style in American Politics
- By: Richard Hofstadter, Sean Wilentz - foreward
- Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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This timely reissue of Richard Hofstadter's classic work on the fringe groups that influence American electoral politics offers an invaluable perspective on contemporary domestic affairs. In The Paranoid Style in American Politics, acclaimed historian Richard Hofstadter examines the competing forces in American political discourse and how fringe groups can influence - and derail - the larger agendas of a political party.
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Written in the 50s and 60s...
- By Kindle Customer on 11-06-19
By: Richard Hofstadter, and others
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Breach of Trust
- How Americans Failed Their Soldiers and Their Country
- By: Andrew Bacevich
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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In Breach of Trust, Andrew Bacevich takes stock of the separation between Americans and their military, tracing its origins to the Vietnam era and exploring its pernicious implications: a nation with an abiding appetite for war waged at enormous expense by a standing army demonstrably unable to achieve victory. Among the collateral casualties are values once considered central to democratic practice, including the principle that responsibility for defending the country should rest with its citizens.
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Volunteer Mil+Disengaged Pop = Perpetual War Baby
- By Darwin8u on 10-23-13
By: Andrew Bacevich
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When the Facts Change
- Essays, 1995-2010
- By: Tony Judt
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 14 hrs
- Unabridged
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In When the Facts Change, Tony Judt's widow and fellow historian Jennifer Homans has assembled an essential collection of the most important and influential pieces written in the last 15 years of Judt's life, the years in which he found his voice in the public sphere. Included are seminal essays on the full range of Judt's concerns, including Europe as an idea and in reality, before 1989 and thereafter; Israel, the Holocaust and the Jews; American hyperpower and the world after 9/11.
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Essential
- By Herman Utik on 09-19-16
By: Tony Judt
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The Return of Marco Polo's World
- War, Strategy, and American Interests in the Twenty-First Century
- By: Robert D. Kaplan
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Drawing on decades of firsthand experience as a foreign correspondent and military embed for The Atlantic, as well as encounters with preeminent realist thinkers, Kaplan outlines the timeless principles that should shape America's role in a turbulent world: a respect for the limits of Western-style democracy; a delineation between American interests and American values; an awareness of the psychological toll of warfare; a projection of power via a strong navy; and more.
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Essays on the Region of the Silk Road
- By Jeff Beardsley on 05-19-18
By: Robert D. Kaplan
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The Anatomy of Fascism
- By: Robert O. Paxton
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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What is fascism? By focusing on the concrete, what the fascists did rather than what they said, the esteemed historian Robert O. Paxton answers this question for the first time. From the first violent uniformed bands beating up "enemies of the state", through Mussolini's rise to power, to Germany's fascist radicalization in World War II, Paxton shows clearly why fascists came to power in some countries and not others.
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Great book for getting a clearer idea of fascism
- By Amazon Customer on 11-02-17
By: Robert O. Paxton
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Temptations of Power
- Islamists & Illiberal Democracy in a New Middle East
- By: Shadi Hamid
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1989, Francis Fukuyama famously announced the "end of history." The Berlin Wall had fallen; liberal democracy had won out. But what of illiberal democracy - the idea that popular majorities, working through the democratic process, might reject gender equality, religious freedoms, and other norms that Western democracies take for granted? Nowhere have such considerations become more relevant than in the Middle East, where the uprisings of 2011 swept the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups to power.
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A new perspective
- By Dave114 on 08-06-18
By: Shadi Hamid
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On Anarchism
- By: Noam Chomsky, Nathan Schneider - introduction
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 4 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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On Anarchism provides the reasoning behind Noam Chomsky's fearless lifelong questioning of the legitimacy of entrenched power. In these essays, Chomsky redeems one of the most maligned ideologies, anarchism, and places it at the foundation of his political thinking. Chomsky's anarchism is distinctly optimistic and egalitarian. Moreover, it is a living, evolving tradition that is situated in a historical lineage; Chomsky's anarchism emphasizes the power of collective, rather than individualist, action.
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Hit and Miss
- By Jacob King on 06-18-14
By: Noam Chomsky, and others
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Democracy Incorporated
- Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism
- By: Sheldon S. Wolin
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Sheldon Wolin considers the unthinkable: has America unwittingly morphed into a new and strange kind of political hybrid, one where economic and state powers are conjoined and virtually unbridled? Can the nation check its descent into what the author terms "inverted totalitarianism"? Wolin portrays a country where citizens are politically uninterested and submissive - and where elites are eager to keep them that way.
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Essential listening....
- By M. Levine on 02-25-11
By: Sheldon S. Wolin
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Using examples from a wide variety of conflicts, Lawrence Freedman shows that successful military command depends on the ability not only to use armed forces effectively, but also to understand the political context in which they are operating.
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LF remains dependable for scholarship and presentation quality
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For over 20 years, a select group of Yale undergraduates has been admitted into the year-long "Grand Strategy" seminar team-taught by John Lewis Gaddis and Paul Kennedy. Its purpose: to provide a grounding in strategic decision-making in the face of crisis to prepare future American leaders for important work. Now, John Lewis Gaddis has transposed the experience of that course into a wonderfully succinct, lucid and inspirational book, a view from the commanding heights of statesmanship across the landscape of world history from the ancient Greeks to Lincoln, and beyond.
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Interesting, but fails to offer real lessons.
- By Zack on 07-04-18
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On War
- By: Carl von Clausewitz
- Narrated by: David Timson, Lucy Scott
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A classic work of military strategy, On War sets forth the theories and tactics of Carl von Clausewitz, a distinguished Prussian general who was notable for his roles in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. The book covers a broad range of topics, including weapons, terrain, troops, and leadership, as well as the importance of defense over offence, the balance of power, and the subordination of war to politics. Praised for its timeless insights, Clausewitz’s treatise is often compared to the work of Machiavelli and Sun Tzu, and remains relevant to military leaders.
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This is not the Howard/Paret edition.
- By Bybarbo on 05-30-22
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Ukraine and the Art of Strategy
- By: Lawrence Freedman
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- Length: 5 hrs and 16 mins
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The Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, subsequent war in Eastern Ukraine, and economic sanctions imposed by the West transformed European politics. The conflict did not escalate to the levels originally feared but nor was either side able to bring it to a definitive conclusion. Ukraine suffered a loss of territory but was not forced into changing its policies away from the Westward course adopted as a result of the EuroMaidan uprising of February 2014. President Putin was left supporting a separatist enclave as Russia's economy suffered significant damage.
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Essential Outline of Ukraine By Master Strategist
- By Theo Horesh on 06-14-22
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The Future of War
- A History
- By: Lawrence Freedman
- Narrated by: Michael Page
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The Future of War - which covers civil wars to as yet unknown nuclear conflicts, proxy wars (real) to the Cold War (not), fashionably small wars to the War to End All Wars (it didn't) - is filled with insight and fascinating nuggets of military history and culture from one of the most brilliant military and strategic historians of his generation.
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A good historical review of the progression of war
- By Ian R. Graham on 06-14-18
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The Art of Strategy
- A Game Theorist's Guide to Success in Business and Life
- By: Barry J. Nalebuff, Avinash K. Dixit
- Narrated by: Matthew Dudley
- Length: 17 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Game theory means rigorous strategic thinking. It’s the art of anticipating your opponent’s next moves, knowing full well that your rival is trying to do the same thing to you. Though parts of game theory involve simple common sense, much is counterintuitive, and it can only be mastered by developing a new way of seeing the world. Using a diverse array of rich case studies - from pop culture, TV, movies, sports, politics, and history - the authors show how nearly every business and personal interaction has a game-theory component to it.
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Completely misleading title
- By Motorjaw on 01-28-15
By: Barry J. Nalebuff, and others
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Command
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- By: Lawrence Freedman
- Narrated by: Richard Burnip
- Length: 24 hrs and 16 mins
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Using examples from a wide variety of conflicts, Lawrence Freedman shows that successful military command depends on the ability not only to use armed forces effectively, but also to understand the political context in which they are operating.
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LF remains dependable for scholarship and presentation quality
- By ronald waters on 01-15-23
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On Grand Strategy
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- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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For over 20 years, a select group of Yale undergraduates has been admitted into the year-long "Grand Strategy" seminar team-taught by John Lewis Gaddis and Paul Kennedy. Its purpose: to provide a grounding in strategic decision-making in the face of crisis to prepare future American leaders for important work. Now, John Lewis Gaddis has transposed the experience of that course into a wonderfully succinct, lucid and inspirational book, a view from the commanding heights of statesmanship across the landscape of world history from the ancient Greeks to Lincoln, and beyond.
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Interesting, but fails to offer real lessons.
- By Zack on 07-04-18
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On War
- By: Carl von Clausewitz
- Narrated by: David Timson, Lucy Scott
- Length: 31 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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A classic work of military strategy, On War sets forth the theories and tactics of Carl von Clausewitz, a distinguished Prussian general who was notable for his roles in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. The book covers a broad range of topics, including weapons, terrain, troops, and leadership, as well as the importance of defense over offence, the balance of power, and the subordination of war to politics. Praised for its timeless insights, Clausewitz’s treatise is often compared to the work of Machiavelli and Sun Tzu, and remains relevant to military leaders.
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-
This is not the Howard/Paret edition.
- By Bybarbo on 05-30-22
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Ukraine and the Art of Strategy
- By: Lawrence Freedman
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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The Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, subsequent war in Eastern Ukraine, and economic sanctions imposed by the West transformed European politics. The conflict did not escalate to the levels originally feared but nor was either side able to bring it to a definitive conclusion. Ukraine suffered a loss of territory but was not forced into changing its policies away from the Westward course adopted as a result of the EuroMaidan uprising of February 2014. President Putin was left supporting a separatist enclave as Russia's economy suffered significant damage.
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Essential Outline of Ukraine By Master Strategist
- By Theo Horesh on 06-14-22
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The Future of War
- A History
- By: Lawrence Freedman
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 12 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Future of War - which covers civil wars to as yet unknown nuclear conflicts, proxy wars (real) to the Cold War (not), fashionably small wars to the War to End All Wars (it didn't) - is filled with insight and fascinating nuggets of military history and culture from one of the most brilliant military and strategic historians of his generation.
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A good historical review of the progression of war
- By Ian R. Graham on 06-14-18
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The Art of Strategy
- A Game Theorist's Guide to Success in Business and Life
- By: Barry J. Nalebuff, Avinash K. Dixit
- Narrated by: Matthew Dudley
- Length: 17 hrs and 2 mins
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Performance
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Game theory means rigorous strategic thinking. It’s the art of anticipating your opponent’s next moves, knowing full well that your rival is trying to do the same thing to you. Though parts of game theory involve simple common sense, much is counterintuitive, and it can only be mastered by developing a new way of seeing the world. Using a diverse array of rich case studies - from pop culture, TV, movies, sports, politics, and history - the authors show how nearly every business and personal interaction has a game-theory component to it.
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Completely misleading title
- By Motorjaw on 01-28-15
By: Barry J. Nalebuff, and others
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On War
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Carl von Clausewitz was a Prussian general and military theorist. On War (also widely known by its German name Vom Kriege) is considered to be Clausewitz’s magnum opus, despite the fact it remained unfinished at the time of his death. Published posthumously between 1832 and 1835 by Clausewitz’s wife, On War delivers a deep insight into various concepts and schools of thought connected to war. Using a vast amount of historical examples, Clausewitz explores the political, philosophical, and ethical implications of war.
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Incomplete...only contains Books I-IV (1-4).
- By Anthony on 06-14-20
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The Complete Strategy Collection
- The Art of War, The Prince, The Book of Five Rings, On War and Arthashastra
- By: Sun Tzu, Niccolo Machiavelli, Miyamoto Musashi, and others
- Narrated by: Michael Bower, Tom Chandler
- Length: 52 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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The Complete Strategy Collection, a compilation of ancient and historical philosophies, will increase your knowledge of strategy, conflict, and adversity throughout the ages, giving you valuable insight into the past while opening a window to the future. Although each of the works can be considered a manual or diagram for war or engaging in physical combat, the life skills embodied in each can be adapted to everyday life in modern society. Listen and learn how you, too, can take advantage of the strategies of war.
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Awesome Collection - Leadership Must
- By Jackie Harwood on 10-31-22
By: Sun Tzu, and others
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On War
- By: Carl von Clausewitz
- Narrated by: Martyn Swain
- Length: 29 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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On War was first published in 1832, at a time when muskets and cavalry were a dominating presence on the battlefield. Yet in the 21st century it remains a much-read and studied treatise on the subject – perhaps the most important European classic of its kind – and this despite the author’s demise before he could finish what was an extended review of the whole subject of military strategy. Why is that?
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On Operations
- Operational Art and Military Disciplines
- By: B. A. Friedman
- Narrated by: Derek Dysart
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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On Operations: Operational Art and Military Disciplines traces the history of the development of military staffs and ideas on the operational level of war and operational art from the Napoleonic Wars to today, viewed through the lens of Prussia/Germany, the Soviet Union, and the United States. B. A. Friedman concludes that the operational level of war should be rejected, but that operational art is an accurate description of the activities of the military staff, an organization developed to provide the brainpower necessary to manage the complexity of modern military operations.
By: B. A. Friedman
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Competitive Strategy
- Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors
- By: Michael E. Porter
- Narrated by: Scott R. Pollak
- Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Now nearing its 60th printing in English and translated into 19 languages, Michael E. Porter's Competitive Strategy has transformed the theory, practice, and teaching of business strategy throughout the world. Electrifying in its simplicity - like all great breakthroughs - Porter’s analysis of industries captures the complexity of industry competition in five underlying forces.
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Great Book
- By JohanAE on 12-02-19
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Good Strategy/Bad Strategy
- The Difference and Why It Matters
- By: Richard Rumelt
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Developing and implementing a strategy is the central task of a leader. A good strategy is a specific and coherent response to - and approach for - overcoming the obstacles to progress. A good strategy works by harnessing and applying power where it will have the greatest effect. Yet, Rumelt shows that there has been a growing and unfortunate tendency to equate Mom-and-apple-pie values, fluffy packages of buzzwords, motivational slogans, and financial goals with “strategy”.
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Good but thin
- By G. London on 01-04-20
By: Richard Rumelt
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Strategy
- The Indirect Approach
- By: B.H. Liddell Hart
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Liddell Hart stressed movement, flexibility, surprise. He saw that in most military campaigns dislocation of the enemy's psychological and physical balance is prelude to victory. This dislocation results from a strategic indirect approach. Reflect for a moment on the results of direct confrontation (trench war in World War I) versus indirect dislocation (Blitzkreig in World II). Liddell Hart is also tonic for business and political planning: Just change the vocabulary and his concepts fit.
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Wrong Edition
- By Anonymous User on 02-20-20
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The Strategy of Conflict
- By: Thomas C. Schelling
- Narrated by: Brian Holsopple
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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A series of closely interrelated essays on game theory, this book deals with an area in which progress has been least satisfactory - the situations where there is a common interest as well as conflict between adversaries: negotiations, war and threats of war, criminal deterrence, extortion, tacit bargaining. It proposes enlightening similarities between, for instance, maneuvering in limited war and in a traffic jam; deterring the Russians and one's own children; the modern strategy of terror and the ancient institution of hostages.
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wow, brand new perspective...
- By Mike on 07-01-18
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Clausewitz
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Michael Howard
- Narrated by: Corrie James
- Length: 3 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Karl von Clausewitz is considered by many to have been one of the greatest writers on war. His study On War was described by the American strategic thinker Bernard Brodie as "not simply the greatest, but the only great book about war". It is hard to disagree. Even though he wrote his only major work at a time when the range of firearms was 50 yards, much of what he had to say remains relevant today. Michael Howard explains Clausewitz's ideas in terms both of his experiences as a professional soldier in the Napoleonic Wars, and of the intellectual background of his time.
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Superb Analysis
- By L. S. Milani on 02-03-24
By: Michael Howard
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Military Strategy
- A Global History
- By: Jeremy Black
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Strategy has existed as long as there has been organized conflict. In this new account, Jeremy Black explores the ever-changing relationship between purpose, force, implementation, and effectiveness in military strategy and its dramatic impact on the development of the global power system. Taking a "total" view of strategy, Black looks at leading powers - notably the United States, China, Britain, and Russia - in the wider context of their competition and their domestic and international strengths.
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Bad leadership, not a stab in the back!
- By Tom on 12-12-20
By: Jeremy Black
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Infantry Attacks
- By: Erwin Rommel
- Narrated by: Todd Belcher
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Infantry Attacks is a classic text in the field of military strategy. Written by German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, it was first published in 1937 as a journal-esque chronicle of the author's experiences in World War I, and the lessons he learned there. In it, he provides detailed accounts of a variety of military strategies that rely on speed, deception, and deep penetration into enemy territory to intimidate and surprise opposing forces.
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The best book about World War 1
- By Robert D. Blunt on 03-31-23
By: Erwin Rommel
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The Grand Strategy of Classical Sparta
- The Persian Challenge
- By: Paul A. Rahe
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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More than 2,500 years ago, a confederation of small Greek city-states defeated the invading armies of Persia, the most powerful empire in the world. In this meticulously researched study, historian Paul Rahe argues that Sparta was responsible for the initial establishment of the Hellenic defensive coalition and was, in fact, the most essential player in its ultimate victory.
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Excellent Investigation Undermined by Bad Editing
- By Richard on 02-12-16
By: Paul A. Rahe
What listeners say about Strategy
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- Logical Paradox
- 07-20-14
Comprehensive 'Tour de Force' on Strategy
If you're looking for a typical book on strategy, that will recount famous exemplars from military history or the business world and perhaps even distill them into "lessons" that are really no more than subjective and axiomatic mantras, aphorisms, and maxims... then this isn't the book for you. Try the 48 Laws of Power, the 33 Strategies of War, or any number of other books, many of them thoughtful in their own rights, if that's what you are in the mood for.
This book? Well, I can sum is up as a broad and sweeping analysis of the question: what is strategy? What do we really mean when we use words like "strategic"? Is strategy the same thing as planning or preparation? What is it that enables human beings to be strategic animals, both psychologically and neurologically? This book is the most fundamental exploration of strategy I've ever encountered.
Oh, there will be much discussion of military history, the business world, science, philosophy, and even religion, searching for the origins of strategic thought and conceptions of strategy as an idea. But this is all back drop providing material and context to fuel the wider history (and historiography) of strategy.
Ultimately, the author comes to the conclusion and primary thesis that strategy is fundamentally not science, nor art, but some flexible realm between... consisting not of hard formulas, prescriptions, or even theories, but of the idea of many possible futures and outcomes and variables, and a method of identifying key narratives of events as they unfold and selecting from various available scripts to tilt the probabilistic chain of events in one's favor. It is an idea that respects the art of strategy, without resorting to postmodern solipsism, and which acknowledges the importance of planning and hard data, without overemphasizing quantitative analysis or resorting to pseudo-scientific theories.
In the book's journey, you'll start with emergency of early homo-sapiens and the unique potential for abstract thought and imagination that defines our human capacity for strategy. You'll look through ancient warfare and mythology and religion for the emergence of the idea of achieving ends using rational means that rely upon the employment of guile and wit, as well as that notion's antithesis. You'll cover military history, the study and theory of modern military "science", as well as the practice of military art. You'll look closely at numerous historical conflicts, from Napoleon and the rise of key thinkers like Jomini and Clausewitz, through to Vietnam, Iraq, and 9/11, with countless thinkers in between. You'll cover social and military revolutions, the establishment of social science, sociology, and many philosophical currents and paradigms therein. You'll even cover neuroscience and behavioral psychology, not only what they tell us for devising strategies that must by their nature influence others, but what they tell us of how people strategize, and how people actually think and behave. You'll discuss economics and rational actor theory, just as you'll look closely at game theory and complex systems theory and their applications and implications for the strategic arts and sciences. From Odysseus and Sun Tzu, to Jon Von Neuman and Mearsheimer. It's a big book and a long journey, but richly rewarding!
This is a breathtaking work, hugely ambitious and rigorous in its methods. I'll admit there were a few parts, mostly those delving into Christian theology, where I thought the author was stretching quite far to find relevance, and where I was less interested and entertained, but I appreciate the author's attention to all dimensions and angles.
Quite frankly, if you have an interest in strategy: what it really is, what it really means, it's practice, it's practitioners, its theory and its history... you will find no better resource than this book. For fans and students of strategic studies, whether military history or business, this book will open your eyes to a much wider picture and a much broader understanding of what it is you're studying. It will challenge your common sense, all of the "lessons" you've ever learned, and your conceptions of strategy in the purest and most basic sense. This is destined to be the definitive analytical work on the subject for the foreseeable future!
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- Benjamin
- 11-19-14
Academic Writing, Probably Better in Text
If you take nothing else from this review, understand this: this book is a history of theory. They are clear about this in the description, but it bears repetition, thus: A. History. Of. Theory. So the narrative goes from one strategic philosopher to another and as often as not discusses how the philosophy touched the world at large.
This book does not show how strategy is relevant to you. It also makes a weak case as to how the development of strategic theory was relevant to the history of the world. It is as if the artifact of strategy only barely touches the larger world. The author cannot be accused of overselling the relevance of his subject. Unfortunately, that makes it pretty hard to get interested.
There are two major items in this book's favor. One, that it keeps a refined focus on strategy and artfully keeps from being drawn down to the level of tactics, which would be an easily understandable digression. And two, the book has a good vision for the analysis the strategies of political movements, though sadly, it is there where it looses thematic focus.
In the end, I couldn't finish this book. It is an academic text unsuited to audiobook format. It also is written with that academic tendency of never using a fifteen word sentence where a fifty word sentence will do.
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- Gary
- 04-16-15
Life is not chess, there are no correct moves
The author quotes John von Neumann (a developer of game theory among many other things) in the beginning of the book to the effect that the Game of Chess doesn't require a strategy because there is an exact mathematically correct move for every situation but for most other areas a correct strategy is not determinable. This book covers all those different areas in an encyclopedic fashion.
The book is a long read, but who among us can't devote thirty hours or more to such an interesting topic. The book is thematically arranged by area (war, politics, social sciences, business, and so on). He'll talk about the different strategies and almost always shows that they work until they don't.
The book illustrates how dangerous it is to just have intuition with a good narrative when developing a strategy while ignoring the empirical and reality. Reality is complex. Most of the time narratives will only get you so far.
Overall a long read, but worth it. There is a central narrative in the book, but sometimes the author didn't understand how to tie his stories together coherently.
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- Dianne
- 08-12-15
How strategy evolved through historic failures.
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Definitely I would, the book doesn't just explore successful strategies, but concentrates on the failures, how they failed, and how they evolved. Freedman successfully sidesteps the "survivorship bias" by making how strategies fail a prominent feature of the book. Anyone who employs strategic thinking in their lives, work or otherwise, would benefit immensely from learning the history of what has already been tried, for better or worse, throughout recorded history.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Strategy?
The detailed account of the "wedge" strategy employed by proponents of the "Intelligent Design" movement to systematically undermine what they called "materialistic science", in order to remake science in an image consonant with their religious beliefs. I've read about intelligent design before, and I'm familiar with them, but gained a new perspective through the lens of political strategy, instead of debates & the debunking of pseudoscience.
What about Michael Butler Murray’s performance did you like?
His tone and range of inflection was good, keeping the long listen from turning into a sedative. I did notice him mispronouncing a number of the longer, more jargon type words, so don't always trust his pronunciation.
What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?
My favorite, perhaps most valued insight from this book (among many), was insight into how so many strategies have failed, following a common pattern of rigidity, bullheaded blindness to changes in the environment or refusing to revise a core principle, position or philosophy. From marxism to failed political campaigns and business strategies, this failure is so obvious once illuminated, yet remains common even today.
Any additional comments?
The use of recent advancements in cognitive neuroscience and psychology being applied to all fields of strategy, along with the values of the scientific method, was insightful, and very exciting.
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- Kindle Customer
- 04-25-15
Let's say you REALLY wanna learn strategy...
It's 39 hours and you'll need to take notes. No kidding, best book on the subject I've ever read. Ok.
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- aqua
- 01-03-20
not sharp
Bought this after listening to 33 Strategies of War, and found this far less entertaining or informative. The chapters are verbose, the writing lacking in sharpness or wit, and it gets weirdly religious when it's really a stretch to call the god-stories strategy-related.
I had high hopes. I regret this purchase.
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- Hilton
- 03-23-15
A very full chronology
What made the experience of listening to Strategy the most enjoyable?
On the one hand, Strategy is simply packed with uncommon information about historical thinkers who tried to grapple with how to achieve goals for large organizations in a richly complex world. Major caveat: it is only a worthwhile history at all after the year 1800. I was interested in the topic, and I was interested in the evolution of it all throughout. As I went, I judged that I had ample historical background (I am a history teacher and I read/listen to new works in history, anthropology, and political science on a daily basis) to contextualize the thinkers, wars, etc., but most of the actual content was new to me, which was pleasant. I returned a fairly unusual judgement that I will learn more by listening to this book again: I will strike on and sink in more insights, comparisons, criticisms, etc. if I read it again now that the groundwork for comprehending the new information itself is laid. Four or five times I was very excited for an epiphany like an important puzzle piece I had never known was missing, like a line of thought I underlying a historical decision or process I had thought I understood but now understood on other levels.For the above virtues, Strategy very much satisfies my qualification for a history worth reading. I will almost certainly listen to it again, notwithstanding the below criticisms I feel obliged to make. I am an easy grader and typically give books 5 stars if they get as far as I've described without a major issue.On the other hand, it only just gets its fourth Story and Overall stars by virtue of those insights I mention. It is difficult to say if the author is adding to his presentation of his sources or if he is just stringing one anecdote after another. Certainly his bibliography must be absolutely immense and esoteric, so I make some allowance. But I say I continually wondered if he would ever bring any of his information to anything like a point. I am not one to complain of One Damn Thing After Another for the benefit of my own enjoyments, but I know I can't recommend it as highly as I otherwise would because it certainly could wear on others. The book really is more of a set of chronologies, like a set of long relays passing on a torch of momentary overconfidence to each thinker's anecdote in turn.In fairness, some discussion of the lookout from the present state of play does take place in the very last hour of the book. Perhaps very aptly, the author draws a conclusion (to very roughly paraphrase) that the history of strategy shows drawing conclusion from histories has proven systematically problematic. Though if Strategy is supposed to reflect this, an expert must have had a better way to make the point and I am sure from his own discussions that our expert, the author, knows that one must come to recognize (preferrably with the help of the professional who has compiled it, in this case) what is unique and salient throughout a mass of complex information and conditions.I might still have waved and said the two balance out except for the first part of the book. I am not aware anyone involved in the publication warns about this, but the book's coverage before and after 1800 is badly imbalanced. I really think the author should have left the premodern literature out almost entirely and simply advertised he was writing a history of strategy since 1800. After 1800, the history is rigorous, thorough, and deserving of those merits I have attributed it. Before 1800 (not counting the prehistory, which was academically worthwhile to me, at least), we're reading a long essay on Force vs. Guile in selected premodern classics. To be fair with my earlier criticisms, this part of the book has a clear thesis. However, I do not know of an audience that will benefit from underlining strategic rudiments like this for the Odyssey and Paradise Lost (never mind any successions of major innovations martial or organizational endeavors in the actual historical sources of ancient, medieval, and early modern times under names other than "strategy") and also be ready to delve into the real work later. Again, had the book been advertised to cover from 1800, the addition of such chapters might have been a bonus; but if anyone else reads the synopsis as a broader history, it oversells.
Who was your favorite character and why?
This question is not appropriate.
Would you listen to another book narrated by Michael Butler Murray?
My decision to purchase a book would not be influenced by Michael Butler Murray's participation either way. I did not take the impression that his narration added or took anything from the text.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I listened to it without pausing to listen to any other books. Certainly it was long enough I had no idea of listening to it in one sitting.
Any additional comments?
The reader may suspect and like to know, Strategy covers Western Europe+Russia and then the United States about exclusively. It sets down that it will so limit itself early in the text and does not sell itself as a world history, so fair enough. Sun-tzu comes into for his influence on Western thinking, but that reference should not mislead into expecting a more global work.
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- J.
- 07-05-16
Strategy and then some
From Biblical times to Wall Street, everything you wanted to know about strategy --- more than enough. One wishes there was more time spent on strategy in ancient history and less about the corporate world. Economic strategy seams like another book. There is some interesting discussion of game theory with the point that very little of it was used in US strategic doctrine in the nuclear age or cold war.
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- Ben
- 07-09-15
The Key to All Strategies finds its Casubon
A widely-read, well-connected, highly qualified man takes us on an extended ramble through a subject ripe with fascination. So where did all the interesting go?
In the true mystery tradition, there are clues (and one or two red herrings) all along the way, with a full explanation clearly set out in the final few pages.
I've included that full explanation at the bottom of this post. I've reversed the text for the benefit of the spoiler averse, but this, after all, is non-fiction – you're supposed to put this sort of thing at the *front* of the book, preferably within the compass of the Audible preview, so that those of us who think this sort of cold, clunky, undilutedly materialistic, absolutely humourless mid-century complacency should go back to the pre-Roger-Penrosean monochrome ages and leave me, my monthly credit and thirty hours of my life alone.
„˙ʇou op ʎǝɥʇ ɟı sǝɔuǝnbǝsuoɔ ǝɥʇ sǝıɹɐsɹǝʌpɐ oʇ ɓuıuıɐldxǝ ɹo noʎ ɥʇıʍ ʞɹoʍ oʇ sɹǝɥʇo ɓuıɔuıʌuoɔ ɹǝɥʇǝɥʍ 'uoısɐnsɹǝd ʇnoqɐ sʎɐʍlɐ sı ʇı snɥʇ – sɹǝɥʇo ɟo ɹnoıʌɐɥǝq ǝɥʇ ɓuıʇɔǝɟɟɐ ɥɓnoɹɥʇ sʞɹoʍ ʇı ʇnq 'ʍolloɟ uɐɔ sɹǝɥʇo ʇɐɥʇ os 'spɹoʍ oʇuı ʇnd ǝq oʇ pǝǝu ʎɓǝʇɐɹʇs sǝop ʎluo ʇoN ˙ɯǝɥʇ ʇnoɥʇıʍ ssǝlɓuıuɐǝɯ sı ʎɓǝʇɐɹʇs ǝsnɐɔǝq sı uoıʇɐɔıunɯɯoɔ puɐ ǝɓɐnɓuɐl ɟo suoıʇsǝnb oʇ uǝʇɟo os pǝuɹnʇǝɹ sɐɥ ʞooq sıɥʇ uosɐǝɹ ǝɥ⊥„
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- Henry Carr
- 05-03-16
Succinct millennia of evolution in strategy
This is a very articulate book summarize the growth of strategy over the course of a full millennia, from biblical times all the way to psychology and neuroscience today. It is a fantastic work in its comprehensiveness. One of the natural difficulties of a book like this is delving into the content deeply enough to really grasp the nuance of each character. Freedman was skilled at this. One fault is that the exploration of tangential topics requires of you an effort to maintain the connection back to strategy in your head, especially on audio.
Murray is a good reader with a natural credibility to his voice. I listen at 1.5x to listen at normal talking speed and at that page he sounds like a knowledgeable, likable friend.
I recommend this book. It is listenable and will expose you to the big players and their fundamental positions.
A couple of quick comments:
1. With a book this long, I recommend mapping out the primary characters and their positions afterwards to get a good grasp of the development and interplay and to help make sense of the vast amount of information.
2. The language is dense; for an audiobook this makes it tough to listen fluidly without rewinding on many occasions. I didn't find this to be too problematic however. I would keep in mind though that it might contribute to a listen 10% longer than the actual length of the audiobook.
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