"This major new book, by the author of the classic ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MILITARY HISTORY, is a sustained and rigorously argued attempt to put forward a general theory of military combat, one which will be valid across history and potent in its implications for strategies and tactics in military policy. It is, in essence, an application of the scientific method to the behavioral patterns of military action. The book achieves its special strength from the rigor of quantified analysis combined with a wealth of detail drawn from actual military history. A major conclusion of the book is that American military planners and commanders need to draw upon historical experience in constructing a science of military combat, a science which is more essential than ever in an era of high military technology. Much like IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE, Col. Dupuy's UNDERSTANDING WAR gives an account of why American military ventures have frequently failed; but more important, it points the way toward successfully learning from historical experience."--Jacket.