Distilling the ideas of the greatest military theoreticians of history, including Sun Tzu, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Carl von Clausewitz, this clear and engaging Very Short Introduction presents a fascinating account of the "art of the general." Antulio J. Echevarria II highlights the dynamic relationship between the main elements of strategy: purpose, method, and means. Drawing on historical examples, he discusses the major types of military strategy and how emerging technologies are affecting them.

This second edition has been updated throughout, and now includes an extended chapter on cyberwarfare which shows how the use of social media platforms to influence opinions on political views and manipulate populations to act in certain ways has evolved from an art to a science.