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Bobbs- Merrill Co. N.Y. 1965, Revised Edition
of the Ellis Farnesworth Translation with Introduction and essay by Neal Wood.
index, footnotes, diagrams, paperback
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Reviewer's comment:
Until recently this was the best edition of The Art of War. Now it has
been superceded by Christopher Lynch's
excellent translation and extensive analysis and
commentary. Dr. Wood conducted a year-long graduate seminar on Machiavelli, his
sources, his political career, his thought, and his influence, which I was
fortunate to attend. Among the specific topics in which I participated was
Machiavelli's central focus on war and politics. But this edition of Art of
War was not then available in print. Dr. Wood's conclusions about
Machiavelli's thinking about war and politics is contained in his excellent and
detailed introduction essay.
This is a general outline of the chapter contents. see
For additional material on Machiavelli see
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Introduction:
Dr. Wood's commentary and analysis is as important as the book itself. He
believes that Machiavelli's views on war were directly relevant to his theories
about politics. He describes these in five points: "Machiavelli evidently
believes that the basis relationships between the arts of war and of politics
are as follows:
1 Military power is the foundation of civil society
2 A well-ordered military establishment is an essential unifying element in
civil society
3 A policy of military aggrandizement contributes to the stability and
longevity of civil society.
4 The military art and the political art possess a common style
5 A military establishment tends to reflect the qualities of the civil society
of which it is a part.
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Preface
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Book One - General topics about recruiting
and organizing an army
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Book Two - Detailed discussion of ancient and
contemporary armies with comparisons
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Book Three - Roman, Greek, Macedonian, and
Swiss formations in battle
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Book Four - Advice on battle formations,
avoiding battles leadership, religion
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Book Five - Roman and contemporary formations
for movement, logistics, discipline, psychological warfare
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Book Six - Advice of camps, military justice,
logistics, psychological warfare
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Book Seven - Fortifications, Siege and
defense against sieges, surprise, discipline
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