On War

by Carl von Clausewitz

Clausewitz's ideas, though densely packed in, are generally simple and are for the most part clearly expressed in jargon-free language, both in the original and in the present translation. However, these qualities may deceive the casual reader into thinking he is reading mere commonplaces. That may have been why a retired British officer of exalted rank, who was certainly not lacking in intelligence, remarked to this writer some years ago: “I once tried reading Clausewitz, but got nothing out of it.” If he had encountered strange new ideas requiring some effort to comprehend them—like some recent strategic essays that use mathematics, game theory, and the like—he might well have made that effort and perhaps carried away a feeling of being suitably rewarded. Instead he encountered wisdom, and thought it was nothing new. Perhaps he also found some of the ideas not quite to his liking, and not liking ideas is a common reason for misunderstanding them.