On Grand Strategy

By: John Lewis Gaddis

Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain

Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

A master class in strategic thinking, distilled from the legendary program the author has co-taught at Yale for decades.

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. A thrilling experience for history lovers and a necessary one for anyone serious about the art of leadership, On Grand Strategy is the very definition of a master class.

©2018 John Lewis Gaddis (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“[T]he best education in grand strategy available in a single volume . . . a long walk with a single, delightful mind . . . On Grand Strategy is a book that should be read by every American leader or would-be leader.” (John Nagl, Wall Street Journal)

“A remarkably erudite volume…[that] renders nuanced verdicts on an eclectic cohort of thinkers, writers, monarchs and conquerors…Gaddis has indisputably earned the right to plow different fields of historical inquiry, which he does in On Grand Strategy with self-evident glee and peripatetic curiosity.” (Washington Post)

“Thought-provoking…The approach is highly idiosyncratic and the structure loose; it has something of the feel of a personal manifesto or intellectual memoir.” (Weekly Standard)

Repairs if not reinvents a long-damaged wheel

Pulls some of the greatest examples of western strategy into a single (yet complex) evolutionary frame.

Like history? Yes!

Great narrative of history as we know it. Also consider this book equivalent to a semester with the author in his classroom at Yale.

Classics commentary drown out lessons on strategy

Impressive knowledge of classics. However, the actual lessons in strategy are well-known to the pedestrian.

Paradigmatic illustrations on war, leadership, policy making

Michael Chamberlain does a fine job narrating John Lewis Gaddis’s, On Grand Strategy, the paradigm on making and fighting war, leadership, and policy making. One of the most illuminating books I have read, Gaddis has written a master work that survives time.

very informative, compellingly written.

while the narrator was slow in his delivery the stories were very well written. the conclusions made by the Author were well reasoned. Thank you

What a Journey!

Excellent prose, analysis, and weaving together of seemingly disparate threads. I have to listen to this over and over...

Good, if slightly limited, read.

Overall a good book, but I had some quibbles with pauses (narrator would stop talking for an awkward, if small, amount of time) and lack of geographic diversity (while an offhand reference is made to Sun Tsu is made in the beginning, the rest is highly Eurocentric. In an age of globalism, where grand strategy necessarily competes with those of other cultures, it would have been great to get views from those other cultures.)

Great lesson on strategies that changed the world

As a former masters student within the field of geopolitics, this book was 1) a great refresher of the grand strategies that pass between time and 2) a great history from the mindset of the actions taken by those famous figures in history.

The book drives you to consider what type of person you are, a fox or a hedgehog while giving examples between the two differing approaches to historical scenarios.

All in all, this book is probably most relevant today as you can apply your knowledge found within Gaddis’s book to the real world problems arising in the world today.

The fox that can dig in

Being a fox means you may rarely be poor, if you have not alienated everyone, but only the hedgehog can stick to a path to win or lose to the end. But it is the fox who know when to dig in like a hedgehog who wins. Thus, credit is given to those historical figures who knew their strengths and weaknesses, when to fight and when not to fight, and won. The stories of Octavian and Queen Elizabeth are striking, as of Lincoln. Machiavelli's pivot of the relationship of being good to power is greatly appreciated. The power of hedgehogs to create their own enemies and thus their downfall through blindness struck me, as it was told so well. Teaching strategy and predicting the future were both areas that I always wondered about, and found that Gaddis explained clearly. The good professor can prove who is right too. If there's a lesson, once the teacher has done his job, do not look back and if there are tethers, cut them. Even the greats.

Can't recommend highly enough!

I think strategy is one of the most misunderstood and most overused words around. For years, I've been trying to get my head around it and this book has done it for me. It is pure brilliance. I love history, military, and politics so the examples are spot on for me.

It's just fantastic.