Chapter 1: Strategy from Fifth Century BC to Twentieth Century AD: Chapter 1: History as Practical Experience Summary and Analysis

There are two very brief sections prior to chapter one. The book begins with a sequence of aphorisms, short erudite sayings used to train others in the art of successful strategy. However, at the very top, just under the recognition that all war is rooted in deception, there soon follows the acknowledgment that whenever there is a war, the parties of all participatory nations suffer more than gain in participating in war. On some level, this either is or appears to be self-evident. After that follows a foreword that begins with a discussion of the development of nuclear weapons and their implications.

However, this sets the stage for unquestionable gains of terrain and...