Insurgents, raiders, and bandits

Description

This very readable book is a study of "asymmetric" warfare; specifically, it is an examination of 18 leaders of military conflicts, each of whom acted in asymmetric / irregular or otherwise unconventional ways. Each chapter is part biography, part history lesson, and part examination of military art and science in practice. It follows several themes relevant to unconventional warfare, including moral legitimacy as a strategic goal, dividing one's forces into multiple small units to attack multiple locations simultaneously, and countertactics to such attacks. Theses themes relate many of the chapters, but most chapters can be read independent of the whole and still be enjoyable and useful lessons on history and tactics. See more on John Arquilla here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Arquilla

Description

"From the small bands of wilderness warriors who battled in 18th-century North America to the "Chechen Lion," and the contemporary conflict in Chechnya, John Arquilla chronicles the deadly careers of the greatest masters of irregular warfare over the past 250 years. Their impact on events has been profound, with irregulars playing crucial roles in such epochal struggles as the Anglo-French duel for North America, the defeat of Napoleon in Spain and Russia, the American Civil War, both world wars, and the current era of terrorism. Seeing the world through the eyes of guerrillas, raiders and bandits, Arquilla has written an alternative history that provides lessons for warfare in our time that must not be ignored."--Publisher's web site.

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