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Clausewitz: His Life and Work, by Donald Stoker
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Carl von Clausewitz's masterwork, On War, is generally considered the greatest text on military theory ever written. Clausewitz is a touchstone for the field today, and is read by scholars, students, and military personnel around the world. And yet to Clausewitz himself, far more important than achieving recognition for his scholarly and theoretical contributions was achieving glory on the field of battle-winning renown not with his pen but with his sword.
Military historian Donald Stoker's perceptive biography of Carl von Clausewitz moves skillfully between Clausewitz's career as a soldier and his work as a theoretician and author, exploring the composition of On War and other works while also emphasizing the many military engagements in which Clausewitz fought. Though Clausewitz certainly spilled his share of ink, he also spilled blood--his as well as that of the enemy. As an officer in the Prussian army, Clausewitz fought in battles from Jena-Auerstedt to Waterloo, as well as the battle of Borodino while serving the Russians. Stoker takes readers through the heat of these battles, providing historical overview and discussing each engagement in detail. Rich context is provided by Clausewitz himself, who wrote abundant letters to his wife and friends throughout his life, and from which Stoker draws extensively.
Clausewitz argues for the centrality of Clausewitz's work as a soldier, but it does not neglect his historical achievements in military theory. Stoker unpacks each of Clausewitz's significant works, considering their influences and describing the circumstances around their composition. The interplay between the biographical details of Clausewitz's life and the arguments put forth in his written works allows for a deeper understanding of these familiar texts, and Stoker's insightful commentary adds depth to the discussion. The result is an absorbing reassessment of both the man and his legacy, and a significant contribution to the study of Clausewitz and his place in today's military and political landscape.
- Sales Rank: #591583 in eBooks
- Published on: 2014-10-01
- Released on: 2014-10-01
- Format: Kindle eBook
Review
"Carl von Clausewitz is better known as a scholar of war than a soldier, but Stoker, of the [Naval War College Program at the] Naval Postgraduate School, demonstrates that Clausewitz's theoretical writings were, in fact, heavily informed by extensive field experience....This practical knowledge informed his voluminous postwar writings on history, politics, and war itself. On War "shows us how to think about war," Stoker notes, but it is shaped by how wars are made: that remains Clausewitz's special legacy. Publishers Weekly 09/08/2014
"A timely and welcome update to Roger Parkinson's and Peter Paret's biographies of Clausewitz; Stoker's treatment of the Prussian's life is both lively and accessible."
--Antulio J. Echevarria II, Elihu Root Chair of Miltiary Studies, U.S. Army War College
"This is a well-written and valuable addition to the Clausewitz library, but it also serves as a useful history of the Napoleonic Wars, as Stoker draws on Clausewitz's sharp observations to illuminate some of the most important military engagements of that period." Lawrence Freedman, author of Strategy: A History, in Foreign Affairs
"Clausewitz: His Life and Work" is an excellent introduction to both the life of Clausewitz and his great work, "On War."�J. W. Thacker, Department of History, Western Kentucky University, Bolling Green Daily News
"What makes Stoker's book remarkable is that Clausewitz is turned into a very approachable and recognizable person. It is organized in such a way as to follow Clausewitz and his various works through his tumultuous career, delivering a seamless exposition that pairs well with the pictures and maps provided for each operation. This work speaks to younger officers in particular but has a broad appeal to all those interested in the development of strategy." - Army Magazine
"Great. A skillful study of the interplay of military history and thought provides Don Stoker with an instructive way to approach Clausewitz's career and writings." --Jeremy Black, author of War and Technology
"One of the book's great strengths is its accessibility; Stoker weaves the standard sources together with authoritative, modern secondary treatments to form a readable, well-paced narrative that draws out biographical detail while illuminating the broader political and military canvas on which Clausewitz's life was lived." - War on the Rocks
"Carefully crafted...an important and worthy book." - The Daily Beast
About the Author
Donald Stoker is Professor of Strategy and Policy for the U.S. Naval War College's program at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He is the author of The Grand Design: Strategy and the U.S. Civil War.
Most helpful customer reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
Meet Clausewitz the Prussian Officer
By Jonathan Lupton
Grappling with Clausewitz's theories is hard. This title offers a chance to gain insights by studying his life story. This thoroughly researched, generally readable biography shows the real-life Clausewitz - an ambitious soldier caught up in the campaigns, battles, and behind-the-scenes politics of the Napoleonic Wars. Like many a young officer, Clausewitz thirsted for battlefield glory; unlike many he survived to write about it. More importantly he melded his experience of battlefields, headquarters, generals and field marshals with profound reflections on military theory.
At age eleven, when kids like me were shuttling electric trains around living rooms, young Clausewitz`s father handed him over to the Prussian army. There Clausewitz found himself in a stagnant military culture. The days of Frederick the Great were over; Prussia was a minor state under indecisive leadership as France simmered, then boiled over, exporting its revolution to the world. Inspired partly by his mentors, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau (real men, not pairings of warships that rattled British nerves in both world wars), Clausewitz recognized weaknesses in the Prussian army and worked for reform. Just as important, Clausewitz found himself caught up in the budding yet controversial politics of German nationalism that grew as Prussia suffered defeats and humiliations at Napoleon's hands. He served in the siege of Mainz in 1793, then again at Prussia's humiliating defeat at Auerstadt in 1806. In 1812, frustrated with the way Prussia was collaborating with Napoleon to attack Russia, Clausewitz went over to the Russian army, where he served through the long retreat and saw combat at Borodino. He then served Prussia again in the final campaigns of the Napoleonic wars, serving as chief of staff for the Prussian corps that fought Grouchy at Wavre during Napoleon's hundred-day campaign in 1815.
Clausewitz's life story offers useful insights into his theories. His belief that the defense is stronger than the offense may reflect his own experience, especially as a participant in the long retreat in Russia, and later as a witness to Napoleon's brilliant defense in 1814 against heavy odds. Clausewitz was a competent officer, but at times showed signs of hesitancy and indecision in his chief of staff role. Not that this pertains to the validity of his master work On War, and his other incisive and informative theoretical and historical writings.
This title is at its best describing Clausewitz's role in historical events, and how these might have influenced his ideas. This is particularly evident in the penultimate chapter, where the author reviews and explains Clausewitz's primary contributions in light of subsequent generations of military scholarship. During the nineteenth century, Clausewitz's works of history were moderately well-known, while his theoretical work remained obscure. Some of Clausewitz's tactical contributions relate only to the long-gone Napoleonic era.
Within the U.S. military establishment, interest in On War remained minor until the 1950s and 1960s. Clausewitz's "trinity" of conflict, seeing war as (a) political, (b) strategic, and (c) tactical, gained traction after the Vietnam conflict, as U.S. military thinkers grappled with the Vietnam defeat. Some writers have discarded Clausewitz as irrelevant to modern guerilla conflict involving non-state actors, but the author points out that a copy of On War was found in an Al Qaeda safe house in Afghanistan.
This title also includes exhaustive details of the battles and campaigns in which Clausewitz fought, even where his involvement was minor or unknown. The theme of budding Prussian nationalism, a source of motivation and deep frustration for Clausewitz, underlies the flow of On War in ways that can only be explained through Clausewitz's own life. At times the narrative is enlightening, but sometimes the progression of place-names and commanders gets confusing and distracting. This title is reader-friendly and astute; a slog in places but worth it in the end. The link between Clausewitz the man, his wife Marie the sounding-board and true editor and publisher of most of his works, the changes that were agonizing Europe 1793-1815, and his profound insights on the nature of war remain relevant and instructive for the military scholar.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
A new approach on a major subject
By R. W. Levesque
Donald Stoker’s biographical approach to Clausewitz is to trace his life throughout his military career. What makes this book interesting is the way Stoker weaves Clausewitz’s biographical information into a military history of the Napoleonic wars using the battles and campaigns in which Clausewitz was involved with both the Prussian and Russian armies. At the same time you can see how his battlefield experience, and personal philosophical studies, influenced his approach to studying military history, and developing his thinking for “On War.” And his battlefield experience was extensive; as Stoker notes in “Clausewitz’s Battles,” an Appendix, Clausewitz fought in 34 plus specifically identified battles, and likely more not identified.
Essentially this is a normal chronological narrative beginning when Clausewitz was a boy officer seeing his first campaign at age thirteen. It then follows his military career and battles during the very traumatic period, for Prussia, when Napoleon won some of his most impressive battles, through his time as a prisoner of war in France. After this period Clausewitz spent years as an instructor and writer, working with such important German military personalities as Gneisenau and Scharnhorst. Another important experience for Clausewitz was when he resigned from the Prussian army and, along with other key Prussian officers, joined the Russian army to fight against Napoleon during his famous 1812 invasion of Russian. It follows Clausewitz back to the west temporarily ending Napoleon’s reign in 1814. Temporarily because, as we know, Napoleon escaped Elba which led to the 100 Days Campaign and more battles with the Prussian army with Clausewitz back in a Prussian uniform.
At the end of the book Stoker summarizes many of the arguments and discussions as they apply to “On War.” But don’t expect a complete discussion on Clausewitz’s philosophy; that is not the intent or strength of the book. (Besides there are other books that already address these issues.) This chapter ties together the threads that Stoker identified while examining Clausewitz’s military experience.
Overall this is a very readable book that adds to the body of knowledge on Clausewitz. Stoker’s approach is different than Raymond Aron, Jon Sumida, Hew Strachan, Peter Paret, Michael Handel, Antulio Echevarria, and Michael Howard. But this is good because Stoker’s approach integrates Clausewitz’s actually military experience into his life and his thinking – definitely worth reading.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
The author does a wonderful job relating Clausewitz's life and putting into the perspective ...
By J. Hamby
Clausewitz is a well detailed and thoroughly researched biography of a man known primarily (at least to me) for his theories on war. But truth be told I knew little about the man until I read Stoker's slightly dry but still engaging biography.
The author does a wonderful job relating Clausewitz's life and putting into the perspective of the soldier's career and how it translated into his theories and writings on the makings of war. Stoker manages to bring life to a matter that in today's light is rather grim and even macabre. Never glorifying war but making sure that the time's reason and notions were faithfully portrayed and explained.
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