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Strategy Strikes Back: How Star Wars Explains Modern Military Conflict Hardcover – 1 May 2018

by Max Brooks (Author)

58 ratings

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The most successful film franchise of all time, Star Wars thrillingly depicts an epic multigenerational conflict fought a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. But the Star Wars saga has as much to say about successful strategies and real-life warfare waged in our own time and place. Strategy Strikes Back brings together over thirty of today’s top military and strategic experts, including generals, policy advisors, seasoned diplomats, counterinsurgency strategists, science fiction writers, war journalists, and ground-level military officers, to explain the strategy and the art of war by way of the Star Wars films.

Each chapter of Strategy Strikes Back provides a relatable, outside-the-box way to simplify and clarify the complexities of modern military conflict. A chapter on the case for planet building on the forest moon of Endor by World War Z author Max Brooks offers a unique way to understand our own sustained engagement in war-ravaged societies such as Afghanistan. Another chapter on the counterinsurgency waged by Darth Vader against the Rebellion sheds light on the logic behind past military incursions in Iraq. Whether using the destruction of Alderaan as a means to explore the political implications of targeting civilians, examining the pivotal decisions made by Yoda and the Jedi Council to differentiate strategic leadership in theory and in practice, or considering the ruthlessness of Imperial leaders to explain the toxicity of top-down leadership in times of war and battle, Strategy Strikes Back gives fans of Star Wars and aspiring military minds alike an inspiring and entertaining means of understanding many facets of modern warfare. It is a book as captivating and enthralling as Star Wars itself.

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Product details

Hardcover: 246 pages
Publisher: Potomac Books Inc (30 May 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1640120335
ISBN-13: 978-1640120334
Product Dimensions: 15.9 x 2.5 x 23.5 cm
Boxed-product Weight: 544 g
Average Customer Review: Be the first to review this item
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 113,941 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #306 in Iraq War History
- #176 in Fantasy & Science Fiction Films
- #582 in Vietnam War History (Books)

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Review

"This may be the most innovative and interesting book on military strategy ever published. . . . This volume takes a completely different approach to explaining both the eternal nature and modern intricacies of strategy, politics, and conflict by using the popular Star Wars movies as a common frame of reference for discussing the many issues and challenges modern practitioners of the strategic arts face."--Jerry Lenaburg, New York Journal of Books--Jerry Lenaburg "New York Journal of Books "

"Star Wars is just as much a foundational mythology of our time as The Iliad was a long time ago. Strategy Strikes Back ingeniously uses that world far, far away to help readers take a look at our wars here today."--P. W. Singer, best-selling author of Wired for War and coauthor of Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War-- (09/22/2017)

"Strategy Strikes Back highlights what good science fiction and serious reflection on pop culture can do: bring the (strategic) dilemmas of the current age into stark relief."--Erin Simpson, War on the Rocks--Erin Simpson"War on the Rocks" (06/01/2018)

"You might be forgiven for thinking the never-ending Star Wars franchise was simply a cash cow built of sequels, spin-offs and toys. But the space saga is actually helping further the discussion about military strategy right here on Earth."--Chad Jones, San Francisco Chronicle-- (06/21/2018)

"Over the course of history, our single greatest vulnerability has been a failure of imagination. Strategy Strikes Back confronts that vulnerability. The future may not evolve precisely as these authors suggest, but evolve it will. As it does, we will discover that some of tomorrow's challenges will prove to be timeless, and others surprisingly new. Learning to imagine now will be time well spent."--Gen. Martin Dempsey, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff-- (09/22/2017)

"Anyone with a basic knowledge of the Star Wars universe is sure to enjoy the creative parallels used by these esteemed authors to simplify complex topics. Avid fans with deep knowledge of this universe cannot help but embrace these parallels, think through them more deeply, and dig even deeper into them as they try to support or argue against the authors while also showing off their superior knowledge of their favorite series of movies."--Steve Luczynski, Strategy Bridge-- (09/10/2018)

"Strategy Strikes Back succeeds . . . in illuminating the parallels between war-fighting in speculative fiction and the real world. It opens strategic thinking to non-expert audiences, and prompts experts to reason creatively about the role of force--and indeed the Force--in establishing and maintaining political order."--Stephen Dyson, H-Diplo--Stephen Dyson "H-Diplo "

"Illuminating."--Lawrence D./I>--Lawrence D. Freedman "Foreign Affairs "

"This assortment of imaginative and fun analyses is an absolute essential for any military theorist, strategist, critic, and lover of the Star Wars saga that to this day, continues to inspire, expand, and hold a profound sway in our imaginations."--Christopher S./I>--Christopher S. Poppleton "Aviation Digest "

About the Author

Max Brooks is a writer, public speaker, nonresident fellow at the Modern War Institute at West Point, and senior resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Art of Future Warfare project. He is the author of World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War and The Harlem Hellfighters, among other works. John Amble is the editorial director of the Modern War Institute. A military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army Reserve, he is a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. ML Cavanaugh is a nonresident fellow at the Modern War Institute and a U.S. Army strategist with global experience and assignments ranging from the Pentagon to Korea and Iraq to Army Space and Missile Defense Command. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, among other publications. Jaym Gates is a science fiction editor and author, with more than a dozen anthologies to her credit. She is the coeditor of War Stories: New Military Science Fiction. Stanley McChrystal is a U.S. Army general (ret.) who led the Joint Special Operations Command in Iraq during the Persian Gulf wars and was top commander of American forces in Afghanistan.

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Amazon.com: 58 reviews

Edward M. Van Court

This will awaken the Force.

23 August 2018 - Published on Amazon.com

Verified Purchase

"Strategy Strikes Back" is a collection of twenty-eight essays discussing a broad range of military topics, drawing on lessons illustrated by the Star Wars body of fiction, both movies and literature. In addition to the main focus, strategy, the essays address:
- Nation building/rebuilding
- The civil military divide - the disconnect between the civilian population and the military
- The implications of emerging military technology
- Just War theory and practice
- How dictators rise
- Ethics, beyond Just War
- The arguments of Mahan and Corbett replayed with starships
- Hybrid warfare
- The practical and moral implications of pre-emptive attacks
- Organizational culture
- And, of course, the application of military force.

Wide-ranging, with more than thirty contributors, the essays vary in style and content, but are consistently well thought out.
My favorite chapter was "Lightsabers and Deathstars" discussing complexity versus simplicity of arms, although it misses the implications of training time requirements weapons discussed. The runner up for me was "Darth Vader's Failed Counterinsurgency Strategy", a staff meeting of Imperial leadership attempting to work through what went wrong with their counterinsurgency operations.

The book is supremely and shamelessly nerdy. Military theory, real military theory, more theory than one can acquire from board, computer, or video games, is in many ways narrow, unquestionably intellectual, and invites obsession; the stuff of nerd focus. Star Wars, of course, is iconically nerdy. So take some of the most significant military and strategy thinkers of the moment, sift through them for the ones who are also Star Wars affecianados, and solicit their thoughts. That was the process for editing this book. The book is splendid grist for discussion for members of either circle of nerds, but a joy for people who belong to both clubs.

E.M. Van Court

3 people found this helpful

JordiScrubbings

Full of lessons, this book is

16 June 2018 - Published on Amazon.com

Verified Purchase

With my own experience teaching Star Wars and conflict and an obsession reading everything people write on the subject of Star Wars and conflict, I was very excited to read Strategy Strikes Back: How Star Wars Explains Modern Military Conflict. Edited by Max Brooks, John Amble, ML Cavanaugh, and Jaym Gates – three of whom are involved with the Modern War Institute at West Point, Strategy Strikes Back is a collection of 28 essays from various writers, each providing a different perspective into conflict through the prism of Star Wars.

These authors explore Star Wars in four phases: Society and War, Preparing for War, Waging a War, and Assessment of War. As to be expected, I liked some of the essays better than others. While most of the essays stayed in the realm of the cinematic releases, I gave mental bonus points to the essays that referenced The Clone Wars cartoons.

(Although none mentioned the Battle of Odneron from The Clone Wars Season 5, my favorite insurgency in Star Wars history. Perhaps there is room for me to discuss it in a Volume 2?)

Among my favorites were:
Vader and Mission Command by Jonathan Bratton – An analysis of Darth Vader as commander. Emphasis on his lack of trust and lack of big picture vision.
How General Grievous and Vulture Droids Foreshadow Conflict's Fast Future by Raq Winchester and Fran Wilde - The authors explored the growth of technology. They took a very limited scene in Star Wars and extrapolated it into a lesson on future conflict.
Vader’s Failed Counterinsurgency by Liam Collins – Excellent philosophical debate by Imperial officers. Good to read they have the same debates we do.
Tarkin Doctrine: The Empire’s Theory of Victory by Kelsey D. Atherton – A profile of Grand Moff Tarkin, and a somewhat distant admiration of the man who thought fear could control a galaxy.
A Strategist, Yoda Was Not by ML Cavanaugh – Yoda might have been a great warrior and great teacher of Jedi, but ML Cavanaugh describes his failures to save the Republic.

I could not get into Hybrid Star Wars (The Battle for Endor) by James Starvridis and Colin Steele. The Battle for Endor was a strictly military battle – often irregular, but never hybrid. Suffer, the Weak Must: A History of the Galactic Civil War by Craig Whiteside also missed the mark by rewriting classic testimony from ancient texts instead of from the Star Wars galaxy. Some of the reworked classic testimony didn’t fit the narrative and seemed forced. Why the Empire Failed by Theresa Hitchens seemed like a rehash of previous essays and Erica Iverson’s omission of Ahsoka Tano and claim that Rey’s mastery is instinctive, but yet she is “a female Luke Skywalker” in From Princess to General: The On- and Offscreen Rise of the Woman Warrior hurt what was otherwise a strong piece from a strong point of view.

Overall, Strategy Strikes Back was the opposite of Stormtrooper blaster fire – many more hits than misses. I learned a lot about military strategy and took several pages of notes. If I ever get the opportunity to return to the classroom and teach, Strategy Strikes Back will be required reading for my students. Full of lessons, this book is.

One person found this helpful

Erik Ruiz

Fun, informative, and well researched.

9 June 2018 - Published on Amazon.com

Verified Purchase

BLUF: The book successfully uses the Star Wars universe to explain concepts in military affairs, military strategy, operations, civ-mil relations, and a variety of other topics in the security field. It's well researched, easy to read, and best of all, fun!

A bit of a background on myself. I recently graduated from Georgetown University's Security Studies Program with an MA in Security Studies. The program's focus was on strategy and international relations theory, while my concentration focused mostly on military operations. I'm also a huge Star Wars fan who has read a lot of the expanded universe.

First, this is not a Star Wars book. This is a book on strategy and other topics in military affairs, BUT it uses examples in Star Wars to explain such topics. The book is broken down into 28 short chapters which makes them very consumable and keeps them from getting too bloated. Have you ever wondered why the Galactic Empire sucked at COIN? What about the strained relationship between the Jedi Council and the Republic Senate? Does the Clone Army tell us something about our own cil-mil relations? Was Yoda a good strategist? Star Wars may be fiction, but as General McChrystal notes in the forward, "Wisdom is where you find it. Don't be afraid to look in unexpected places."

I recommend this book to faculty of grad level programs that focus on strategy and military affairs, ESPECIALLY if they are fans of Star Wars (WHO ISN'T??). The book would compliment any military strategy class' reading list. It's a well researched book, no only for the serious topics covered, but seldom did I find a canonical mistake regarding Star Wars plot and characters. Some of these authors really went down the Wookieepedia rabbit hole! Nerds!

One person found this helpful