Clausewitz in His Time : Essays in the Cultural and Intellectual History of Thinking about War

Anything but a detached theorist, Clausewitz was as fully engaged in the intellectual and cultural currents of his time as in its political and military conflicts. Late-eighteenth century thought helped shape the analytic methods he developed for the study of war. The essays in this volume follow his career in a complex military society, together with that of other students of war, both friends and rivals, providing a broad perspective that leads to significant documents so far unknown or ignored. They add to our understanding of Clausewitz's early ideas and their expansion into a comprehensive theory that continues to challenge our thinking about war today. Far From Being A Detached Theorist, Carl Von Clausewitz Was As Intensely Aware Of The Cultural And Intellectual Currents Of His Time As He Was Engaged In Its Political And Military Conflicts. The Society In Which He Lived And The People With Whom He Served Affected The Analytic Method He Developed In His Writing And The Conclusions He Reached. The Essays In This Volume Examine Clausewitz In Comparison With Teachers, Friends, And Opponents, A Perspective Enriched By Significant Documents Which Have Been Previously Ignored. They Deepen Our Knowledge Of Clausewitz's Life And How He Enlarged His Understanding Of Warfare From Its Mechanisms And The Interaction Of Its Elements To Its Apparently Permanent Place In The Relation Between States. Text and context: two ways to Clausewitz A learned officer among others Frederick the Great and his interpreters Clausewitz and Schlieffen Phases in the history of strategy From ideal to ambiguity: Johannes von Miller, Clausewitz And the people in arms "Half against my will I have become a professor" Two historians on defeat and its causes.