Great Strategic Rivalries

Reviews / Votes

[A] forceful look at many of the notable rivalries of history....Among the strengths of the work overall is that the chapters, whose topics are distinct and can be read independently, nonetheless allow a reader to encounter both thematic patterns between rivalries and complementary vantage points of different powers' strategic positions....Great Strategic Rivalries usefully examines over two millennia of military history in an informative and useful way....[A]n effective work that is well organized and expertly written, and the result is a worthwhile resource. * Nicholas Michael Sambaluk, Journal of Military History * An excellent introductory chapter and sixteen valuable essays on the great international struggles of history, from the contest between Athens and Sparta to that between the Cold War superpowers. Each one can be read * and will be greatly used by students and professors alikeas a stand-alone survey. It's a great addition.Paul Kennedy, Yale University * From the conflict between Athens and Sparta which ravaged ancient Greece, to the Cold War which dominated the 20th century, humanity has been plagued by these collisions. Here this phenomenon, the great strategic rivalries which have inflicted such sufferings on mankind, is considered in its own right. James Lacey has brought together a series of forensic dissections of the causes and effects of these terrible events across world history. Every chapter is written by an expert of international repute who describes and analyses the course of events. The result is much more than an antiquarian look at the past, for we now face fresh uncertainties as new rivalries emerge in our uncertain world. Those who write here scorn simplicities and slogans, and instead offer insight into the complexity of human affairs at the highest level, for 'Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.' * John France, Swansea University * This impressive collection of essays is the first serious historical investigation of enduring strategic rivalries as a structural feature of inter-state conflicts. The case studies range from Athens and Sparta's clash in the Peloponnesian War to US-Soviet rivalry during the Cold War, and cover not only the motivations behind such enmities, but the broader conditions which call them forth and bring them to an often abrupt conclusion. * Peter Wilson, All Souls College, University of Oxford * Kudos to James Lacey who has assembled preeminent military historians to explain the strategic rivalries of great powers from the Greeks to the Cold War. What emerges is a superb reminder that human nature over the ages does not change and nations remain governed as much by their collective emotions as by their rational calculations. The result is a professional and refreshing effort to remind us that behind the fog of war there are always strategies, whether foolish or inspired. * Victor Davis Hanson, Stanford University, author of Carnage and Culture *