Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Barbara W. Tuchman, author of the World War I masterpiece The Guns of August, grapples with her boldest subject: the pervasive presence, through the ages, of failure, mismanagement, and delusion in government. Drawing on a comprehensive array of examples, from Montezuma’s senseless surrender of his empire in 1520 to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Barbara W. Tuchman defines folly as the pursuit by government of policies contrary to their own interests, despite the availability of feasible alternatives. In brilliant detail, Tuchman illuminates four decisive turning points in history that illustrate the very heights of folly: the Trojan War, the breakup of the Holy See provoked by the Renaissance popes, the loss of the American colonies by Britain’s George III, and the United States’ own persistent mistakes in Vietnam. Throughout The March of Folly, Tuchman’s incomparable talent for animating the people, places, and events of history is on spectacular display.

Text: English, Hebrew (translation)

The high-technology weapons of the Gulf War were only the start of a revolution in future warfare based on computer power & the silicon chip. Scientists in leading mil. labs are hard at work on a new generation of weapons of startling inventiveness. Shukman writes with a knack for finding the right source, secret document or image to illustrate a complex situation. Provides insight into how a revolution in hardware (& software) will affect both our mil. & political future. Also discusses the effect of these weapons on the politics of the future. How can we defend ourselves now that almost anyone -- enemy countries but also terrorists & maniacs -- can leapfrog their way to technological threat? Alarming.Ó

Throughout the world, countries are obliged to make great sacrifices in order to raise the vast sums of money needed to secure their defence. But both the sacrifice and the money will be wasted unless properly prepared and qualified commanders are available to direct military operations in the event of war breaking out.Many books have been written which attempt to deduce the qualities required of contemporary generals by studying the performance of the great captains of history. By contrast, in Directing Operations, first published in 1989, Kitson works out the qualities needed by studying the tasks that would be likely to confront commanders of the day. He goes on to discuss how traditional methods of producing senior officers, which may have been suited to the needs of the massed armies of the first half of the twentieth century, should be adapted to fit the demands of the modern world.Kitson's writings continue to be widely read and provoke strong opinions, and the ideas contained in Directing Operations remain highly relevant to the armies of all developed countries.