The 33 Strategies of War

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The 33 Strategies of War
Author	Robert Greene (author)
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Business, Management, Military History, Psychology, self-improvement
Publisher	Penguin Group (HC); HighBridge Audio (CD)
Publication date	January and April 2006
Media type	Print (Hardcover) and CD
Pages	496
ISBN	ISBN 0-670-03457-6 (HC); 978-1-59887-091-6 (CD)

The 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene is a collection of discussions and examples on offensive and defensive strategies released in 2006, which teaches the reader how to apply these strategies to resolve conflicts in daily life. The book uses examples from a wide variety of people and conditions such as Napoleon Bonaparte, Lawrence of Arabia, Alexander the Great, and the Tet Offensive.^[1] Although one reviewer has called the book "an indispensable book, [which] provides all the psychological ammunition you need to overcome patterns of failure and forever gain the upper hand,"^[2] another one found it "perplexing — if not downright unhealthy — [to publish] a book on the lessons of war for everything but war at a time when we [Canada] are, er, at war."^[3] Yet another reviewer found the book's coverage of military history informative, but the political tales "mostly foolish or just plain wrong".^[4]

The 33 Strategies of War was part of the reading list for youths attending the Indigenous Leadership Forum organised by the University of Victoria, which aimed to redesign radical Indigenous politics and the Indigenist movement.^[5] It is also read by students attending a Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary course in Christian apologetics.^[6]

[edit] Summary

The 33 Strategies of War is not as much about war as it is about strategies of dealing in various environments and understanding the strategies and methods to counter them. Whether you are trying to hone your offense strategy or better your defensive skills to thwart other's attacks, this book provides a series of examples and interpretations to help. Greene's examples are from a wide variety of people and conditions — Napoleon Bonaparte, Alfred Hitchcock, Sun Tzu, Margaret Thatcher, Shaka the Zulu, Lord Nelson, Franklin Roosevelt, Hannibal, Ulysses S. Grant, and many more.

The book is broken into five parts: Self-Directed Warfare, Organizational (Team) Warfare, Defensive Warfare, Offensive Warfare and Unconventional (Dirty) Warfare. Each part contains a differing number of strategies, each in a chapter. Each chapter has the similar layout. There are multiple examples of political situations (most are battles, but there are plenty of political or business examples) and an accompanying interpretation. There is an occasional "instructional" section followed by examples. All chapters end with a "Reversal" to give a brief discussion of where the strategy may not apply, a contrary view or defense. Throughout the book Mr. Greene liberally sprinkles quotes from a variety of sources for the reader's interpretation. These are artfully laced in the margins and between sections.

Usage: This book is not necessarily read cover-to-cover. In only a few places does Mr. Greene assume previous sections were read and those conditions are rare. Therefore, it can be used to supply information that may be relevant in specific situations. A suggested method of reading this book is to read the first section in each chapter to provide a "feel" of the discussion. When a situation is encountered where this strategy is being used the entire chapter or all chapters in that part may be read. Regardless, the examples educational and are applicable in many situations.

[edit] Complete Table of Contents

• Preface

Part I: Self-Directed Warfare

• 1 - Declare War on Your Enemies: The Polarity Strategy
• 2 - Do Not Fight the Last War: The Guerrilla-War-of-the-Mind Strategy
• 3 - Amidst the Turmoil of Events, Do Not Lose Your Presence of Mind: The Counterbalance Strategy
• 4 - Create a Sense of Urgency and Desperation: The Death-Ground Strategy

Part II: Organizational (Team) Warfare

• 5 - Avoid The Snare of Groupthink: The command and Control Strategy
• 6 - Segment Your Forces: The Controlled Chaos Strategy
• 7 - Transform Your War into a Crusade: Morale Strategies

Part III: Defensive Warfare

• 8 - Pick Your Battles: The Perfect Economy Strategy
• 9 - Turn the Tables: The Counterattack Strategy
• 10 - Create a Threatening Presence: Deterrence Strategies
• 11 - Trade Space for Time: The Nonenagement Strategy

Part IV: Offensive Warfare

• 12 - Lose The Battles But Win The War: Grand Strategy
• 13 - Know Your Enemy: The Intelligence Strategy
• 14 - Overwhelm Resistance With Speed and Suddenness: The Blitzkrieg Strategy
• 15 - Control the Dynamic: Forcing Strategies
• 16 - Hit Them Where it Hurts: The Center of Gravity Strategy
• 17 - Defeat Them in Detail: The Divide and Conquer Strategy
• 18 - Expose and Attack Your Enemy's Soft Flank: The Turning Strategy
• 19 - Envelop The Enemy: The Annihilation Strategy
• 20 - Maneuver Them Into Weakness: The Ripening For the Sickle Strategy
• 21 - Negotiate While Advancing: The Diplomatic-War Strategy
• 22 - Know How To End Things: The Exit Strategy

Part V: Unconventional (Dirty) War

• 23 - Weave a Seamless Blend of Fact and Fiction: Misperception Strategies
• 24 - Take The Line of Least Expectation: The Ordinary-Extraordinary Strategy
• 25 - Occupy the Moral High Ground: The Righteous Strategy
• 26 - Deny Them Targets: The Strategy of the Void
• 27 - Seem to Work for the Interests of Others While Furthering Your Own: The Alliance Strategy
• 28 - Give Your Rivals Enough Rope To Hang Themselves: The One-Upmanship Strategy
• 29 - Take Small Bites: The Fait Accompli Strategy
• 30 - Penetrate Their Minds: Communication Strategies
• 31 - Destroy From Within: The Inner Front Strategy
• 32 - Dominate While Seeming to Submit: The Passive-Aggressive Strategy
• 33 - Sow Uncertainty and Panic Through Acts of Terror: The Chain Reaction Strategy

• Selected Bibliography
• Index

[edit] References