Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine

New York Times, USA Today, Amazon, and Publishers Weekly bestseller

Aspects of History, The Critic, Octavian, and Modern War Institute Book of the Year.

Two leading authorities―an acclaimed historian and the outstanding battlefield commander and strategist of our time―collaborate on a landmark examination of military history and war since 1945. Conflict is both a sweeping history of the evolution of warfare from the Cold War conflicts up to Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine, and a penetrating analysis of military strategy and what we must learn from the past―and anticipate in the future―in order to navigate an increasingly perilous world.

In this deep and incisive study, General David Petraeus, who commanded the US-led coalitions in both Iraq, during the Surge, and Afghanistan and former CIA director, and the prize-winning historian Andrew Roberts, explore over 70 years of conflict, drawing significant lessons and insights from their fresh analysis of the past. Drawing on their different perspectives and areas of expertise, Petraeus and Roberts show how often critical mistakes have been repeated time and again, and the challenge, for statesmen and generals alike, of learning to adapt to various new weapon systems, theories and strategies. Among the conflicts examined are the Arab-Israeli wars, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the two Gulf Wars, the Balkan wars in the former Yugoslavia, and both the Soviet and Coalition wars in Afghanistan, as well as guerilla conflicts in Africa and South America. Conflict culminates with a bracing look at Putin’s disastrous invasion of Ukraine, yet another case study in the tragic results when leaders refuse to learn from history, and an assessment of the nature of future warfare. Filled with sharp insight and the wisdom of experience, Conflict is not only a critical assessment of our recent past, but also an essential primer of modern warfare that provides crucial knowledge for waging battle today as well as for understanding what the decades ahead will bring.

This essential study of modern warfare delivers critical lessons on:

• The Evolution of Warfare: Trace conflict from 1945 through the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to the modern battlefield in Ukraine.
• Lessons from History: An incisive look at why statesmen and generals alike have repeated critical mistakes and the challenge of adapting to new technologies.
• Global Conflict Zones: In-depth case studies of the Arab-Israeli wars, Vietnam, the Falklands, the Balkans, and guerilla conflicts in Africa and South America.
• The Future of Conflict: A bracing assessment of Putin’s invasion and a clear-eyed look at the technologies and strategies that will define the battlefields of tomorrow.

General David Petraeus is a retired United States Army general and widely respected as a leading warrior intellectual. He graduated with distinction from the US Military Academy and earned a Ph.D. from Princeton University. He served for 37 years in the US Army, culminating his time in uniform with 6 consecutive commands as a general officer, 5 of which were in combat, including Command of the Surge in Iraq, US Central Command, and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. He then served as Director of the CIA. He has held academic appointments at six universities and currently is a Senior Fellow and Lecturer at Yale. He is a prominent commentator on contemporary security issues, military developments, and global affairs. He is currently a Partner in a major investment firm and chairs that firm’s Global Institute.

Andrew Roberts is a biographer and historian whose books include the New York Times bestsellers Churchill: Walking With Destinyand Napoleon: A Life (winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize), Masters and Commanders, The Storm of Warand Salisbury: Victorian Titan(winner of the Wolfson Prize for History), among others. His most recent book, The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III,was published in November 2021. Roberts is a Fellow of the Royal Societies of Literature and the Royal Historical Society, and a Trustee of the International Churchill Society. He is currently Visiting Professor at the Department of War Studies at King's College, London, and the Roger and Martha Mertz Visiting Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.