THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER 'A rigorous and thoughtful study of what has happened on
battlefields over the past eight decades' THE TIMES 'A hugely important book ... elegantly
written and persuasively argued' DAILY TELEGRAPH ** FULLY UPDATED TO INCLUDE NEW MATERIAL ON
THE ISRAEL GAZA CONFLICT ** Conflict is both a sweeping history of the evolution of warfare up
to Putin's invasion of Ukraine and a penetrating analysis of what we must learn from the past
and anticipate in the future in order to navigate an increasingly perilous world. In this deep
and incisive study General David Petraeus the former CIA director who commanded the US-led
coalitions in both Iraq and Afghanistan and the prize-winning historian Andrew Roberts
explore over seventy years of conflict drawing significant lessons and insights from their
fresh analysis of the past. Petraeus and Roberts show how often critical mistakes have been
repeated time and again and explore the challenge for statesmen and generals alike of
learning to adapt to various new weapon systems theories and strategies. Among the conflicts
examined are the Arab - Israeli wars the Korean and Vietnam wars the two Gulf wars the
Balkan wars in the former Yugoslavia and both the Soviet and Coalition wars in Afghanistan as
well as guerrilla conflicts in Africa and South America. Conflict culminates with a bracing
look at Putin's disastrous invasion of Ukraine yet another case study in the tragic results
that occur when leaders refuse to learn from history and an assessment of the nature of future
warfare. Filled with sharp insight and the wisdom of experience Conflict is not only a
critical assessment of our recent past but also an essential primer of modern warfare that
provides crucial knowledge for waging battle today as well as for understanding what the
decades ahead will bring.
