The Future of War: Power, Technology and American World Dominance in the Twenty-first Century by George Friedman


The Future of War: Power, Technology and American World Dominance in the Twenty-first Century
Title : The Future of War: Power, Technology and American World Dominance in the Twenty-first Century
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 0312181000
ISBN-10 : 9780312181000
Language : English
Format Type : Paperback
Number of Pages : 272
Publication : First published January 1, 1997

The Future of War makes a brilliant case that the twenty-first century, even more than the twentieth, will be the American century, and that America's global dominance will be associated with a revolution in weaponry and warfare as basic as the one that arose with the development of gunpowder five hundred years ago. From the era of flintlocks and cannons to the day of automatic weapons and heavy artillery, the waging of war-while undeniably changing in many aspects-has continued to rely on the technology that began with the use of black powder to expel a projectile through a tube.

In The Future of War, the authors argue that this Age of Ballistics is ending and we are entering a fundamentally new period, the Age of Precision-Guided Munitions (PGMs), the so-called smart weapons that will antiquate the traditional way of making war. Where guns and artillery are inherently inaccurate and need to be fired thousands of times to hit one target, these new projectiles are precise and lethally efficient; while ballistic weapons platforms must be brought within range of the battlefield, PGMs can devastate from any distance.

The authors show how the innovations in weapons technology will affect America's defense strategies on land and sea, in air and in space, reshaping our military forces, while confronting us with new strategic challenges as America enters the twenty-first century as the dominant power on the globe.

The Future of War: Power, Technology and American World Dominance in the Twenty-first Century Reviews

  • Jonathan Lu

    incredibly well researched book fitting well what you would expect from Friedman. great historical perspective on geopolitics and pretty accurate predictors as well having written this back in '94. Reads a bit slower than most of his other works, but still relevant today.

  • Dan

    It's amazing how outdated this seems now.

  • John Harag

    On point. Even twenty years later, the context provided by Mr and Mrs Friedman goes a long way toward making sense of US foreign policy, especially alongside "The Next 100 Years".

  • Turgut

    George Friedman is always great and pleasure to read! Really deep author. Recommend!

  • L

    The philosophical and historical aspects of this book will make it a classic in the art of military theory.

  • Anton

    Awesome. No, "awesome+", actually. Stratfor and George in particular are beyond great. A VERY fun read with lots of insights; very readable style, etc.

  • Damien Vasseur

    it's a little dated now. But it opens your eyes to how much we spend on weapons we do not need.