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Roots of Strategy: The 5 Greatest Military Classics of All Time
Contains writings of Sun Tzu, Vegetius, De Saxe, Frederick the Great, and Napoleon. Edited by Thomas R. Phillips.
448 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1941
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 7, 2008
Everyone talks about The Art of War by Sun Tzu as if they had read it, but have you really? This book provides the (translated) source documents for five strategic thinkers (Sun Tzu, Vegetius, De Saxe, Frederick, and Napoleon) with only the bare minimum of editorial comment, and lets you make your own judgement. Now that I've read them, I have to agree that it's true, we are doomed to repeat the past, but only because people don't change.
April 8, 2021
It feels weird trying to rate a book that's mostly a collection of other books, especially classic military manuals, so I'll just comment on the specifics what this book does and doesn't have to offer.
First of all, it doesn't offer much context or explanation, so it's certainly not for beginners in the field. Phillips provides little introductions at the start of each book, but it's often not clear from those how much these authors' advice was used, how useful or insightful it actually was. A funny example of this is just casually not mentioning the French invasion of Russia in the introduction to Napoleon's Military Maxims and then coming across the part in those maxims where Napoleon insists that armies can march just fine in any climate. Hahaha...oops.
A glossary would've been helpful, but it's quickly clear that this book is for people who have some background knowledge on what abatis and entrenchments and redoubts are and how they would've been used at the time, not for aspiring fantasy writers trying to learn about military history. Even taking into account that I don't know much about warfare in the 1700 and 1800s, it felt like some of the translations chosen were maybe not the best, especially in the case of the Maurice de Saxe section. The language felt needlessly obscure and unclear at times, but maybe that's just how de Saxe was expressing himself while high as a kite.
There's also the compiler's annoying choice to leave out two volumes of Vegetius' work with the argument that it's not useful for modern purposes and only of interest to historians. Part of de Saxe's work is omitted for the same reason. That being said, there's still lengthy portions of Frederick the Great's work that rely on an intimate knowledge of 18th century Germany that would've made a lot more sense if there was a map.
One of the fun things I actually enjoyed about this book was the way the different personalities of the authors inevitably showed through -- Sun-Tzu feels grizzled and infinitely perceptive, Vegetius feels like a nerd trying to save his neck through excessive obsequiousness, de Saxe feels like a bossy know-it-all blowing out clouds of opium smoke in between his insistence that soldiers wear such and such uniforms and sandals are of the utmost importance.
As it is, I'm sure it will be a useful reference in the future, when I've brushed up on the history that surrounds these texts.
All that being said, I should also mention that Philips totally praised Hitler in the introduction to the Frederick the Great section. Just a casual bit of proof that the American military initially sided with Hitler and the Nazis. So, that's an unpleasant taint on the book.
First of all, it doesn't offer much context or explanation, so it's certainly not for beginners in the field. Phillips provides little introductions at the start of each book, but it's often not clear from those how much these authors' advice was used, how useful or insightful it actually was. A funny example of this is just casually not mentioning the French invasion of Russia in the introduction to Napoleon's Military Maxims and then coming across the part in those maxims where Napoleon insists that armies can march just fine in any climate. Hahaha...oops.
A glossary would've been helpful, but it's quickly clear that this book is for people who have some background knowledge on what abatis and entrenchments and redoubts are and how they would've been used at the time, not for aspiring fantasy writers trying to learn about military history. Even taking into account that I don't know much about warfare in the 1700 and 1800s, it felt like some of the translations chosen were maybe not the best, especially in the case of the Maurice de Saxe section. The language felt needlessly obscure and unclear at times, but maybe that's just how de Saxe was expressing himself while high as a kite.
There's also the compiler's annoying choice to leave out two volumes of Vegetius' work with the argument that it's not useful for modern purposes and only of interest to historians. Part of de Saxe's work is omitted for the same reason. That being said, there's still lengthy portions of Frederick the Great's work that rely on an intimate knowledge of 18th century Germany that would've made a lot more sense if there was a map.
One of the fun things I actually enjoyed about this book was the way the different personalities of the authors inevitably showed through -- Sun-Tzu feels grizzled and infinitely perceptive, Vegetius feels like a nerd trying to save his neck through excessive obsequiousness, de Saxe feels like a bossy know-it-all blowing out clouds of opium smoke in between his insistence that soldiers wear such and such uniforms and sandals are of the utmost importance.
As it is, I'm sure it will be a useful reference in the future, when I've brushed up on the history that surrounds these texts.
All that being said, I should also mention that Philips totally praised Hitler in the introduction to the Frederick the Great section. Just a casual bit of proof that the American military initially sided with Hitler and the Nazis. So, that's an unpleasant taint on the book.
October 14, 2023
It appears that Goodreads, like some other platforms, has difficulty sorting out this series of books and I have several in my collection. This one, one of the earliest, brings together five military classics, Sun Tzu's Art of War (based on the Lionel Giles translation); Vegetius's The Military Institutions of the Romans (based on the 1767 John Clarke translation); Marshal Saxe's Reveries on the Art of War (based on the Charles-Lavauzelle translation); Frederick the Great's Military Instructions for the Generals (based upon a 1936 translation of the Instructions of 1747); and The Military Maxims of Napoleon as compiled by General Burnod and published in 1827.
March 5, 2018
Collecting the thoughts of Sun Tzu, Vegetius, Maurice de Saxe, Frederick the Great, and Napoleon in one volume, this edition from 1943 - interesting rereading these and rediscovering their ideas and experiences of war. Focusing on the art of command, I found all had something to offer though perhaps Sun Tzu and Frederick the Great were the most useful on this. Enjoyed Vegetius' discussion of how the Roman Legions coped with elephants.
February 15, 2019
Novice to professionals should read this book. If you consider yourself a disciple of the discipline of arms, obviously the art of war is a must. Lesser known Vegetius and De Saxe are just as valuable. Frederick and Napoleon basically apply de Saxe and Vegetius, resulting in a how to manual.
There is no reason to read this book if you are not involved in the profession of arms.
There is no reason to read this book if you are not involved in the profession of arms.
July 22, 2018
Undoubtedly helped me to become a master at destroying my competition while Gaming from Risk to Online Conquest games.
Thou Shall Fall
Thou Shall Fall
March 5, 2026
Review is just for The Art of War by Sun Tzu.
June 17, 2008
wow, what a book. so many wonderful strategems.
Read
October 12, 2013Not sure which volume she has, my image is too blurry. This color matches, though
September 10, 2014
Excellent compilation
December 4, 2019
A great primer for a student of the art of war.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews