The Past as Prologue: The Importance of History to the Military Profession

Exploring the usefulness of the study of history for contemporary military strategists, this volume illustrates the great importance of military history while simultaneously revealing the challenges of applying the past to the present. Essays from authors of diverse backgrounds--British and American, Civilian and Military--present an overwhelming argument for the necessity of the study of the past by today's military leaders in spite of these challenges. Part I examines the relationship between history and the military profession. Part II explores specific historical cases that reveal the repetitiveness of certain military problems.

Author: Williamson Murray
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 05/08/2006
Pages: 298
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.91lbs
Size: 8.94h x 6.04w x 0.73d
ISBN: 9780521619639

About the Author
Sinnreich, Richard Hart: - Richard Hart Sinnreich works as an independent consultant in areas ranging from Army wargaming to defense transformation. His recent writings include 'The Changing Face of Battlefield Reporting', ARMY, November, 1994; 'To Stand & Fight', ARMY, July, 1997; 'In Search of Victory', ARMY, February 1999; 'Whither the Legions', Strategic Review, Summer, 1999; 'Conceptual Foundations of a Transformed US Army with Huba Wass de Czege', The Institute For Land Warfare, March 2002; 'Red Team Insights From Army Wargaming', DART, September 2002; 'Joint Warfighting in the 21st Century' (with Williamson Murray), IDA (2002); and A Strategy By Accident: US Pacific Policy in the Cold War. He writes a regular column for the Lawton Constitution and occasional columns for ARMY and The Washington Post.Murray, Williamson: - Williamson Murray is Professor Emeritus of European Military History at Ohio State University and a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Defense Analysis. He is the author of a number of books including The Changes in the European Balance of Power, 1938-1939, The Path to Ruin; Luftwaffe; German Military Effectiveness; The Air War in the Persian Gulf; Air War, 1914-1945; The Iraq War: A Military History, with Major General Robert Scales, Jr.; and A War to Be Won: Fighting the Second World War, with Allan R. Millet. He also co-edited numerous collections, including Military Innovations in the Interwar Period (1996) with Allan R. Millet and The Dynamics of Military Revolution, 1300-2050 (2001), with MacGregor Knox.

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