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A review by scribepub
The Dragons and the Snakes: how the rest learned to fight the west by David Kilcullen
Disturbingly brilliant. David Kilcullen, ever the thoughtful observer of wars and the people who wage them, captures the changes in warfare that already confound — and threaten to overwhelm us. He correctly shows that we are mentally and physically unprepared for the new nature of conflict, and will likely pay dearly for it.
Stan McChrystal, partner at McChrystal Group
David Kilcullen has produced another thoughtful, important book. At a time when some believe that the return of competition with great powers (i.e. dragons) might serve as an emotional cathartic to help forget the long war against jihadist terrorist organisations (i.e. snakes), the author exposes and transcends that false choice. His ideas about how to fight for peace in a dangerous world should be read and discussed not only by diplomats, defense officials, and military officers, but also by citizens concerned about securing a better future for their children.
H.R. McMaster, author of Dereliction of Duty and the forthcoming Battlegrounds
To absorb Kilcullen’s insights is to be forced to rethink national and international security in this new century and to adjust military and nonmilitary institutions to a host of new realities. Senior policymakers have no choice but to do so.
Gary Hart, member of United States Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees
An eye-opening look at the state of strategic balance between the United States and its rivals, large and small … The author delivers a detailed and unsettling analysis of how America’s rivals have adapted to the modern strategic landscape — and how they hope to defeat us. Essential reading for anyone concerned with America’s future on the world stage. STARRED REVIEW
Kirkus Reviews
This book should be read by everyone in uniform.
The Times
An impressive exposé on how terrorists and non-state actors outmanoeuvre conventional militaries … At the heart of The Dragons and the Snakes is a Darwinian dialectic between the mighty dragons and the snakes that seek to subvert and outflank them … The Dragons and the Snakes is based on a formidable array of military and political sources.
Malise Ruthven, The Financial Times
Interesting and provocative.
The Sunday Times
Kilcullen is a welcome guide, offering a neat summation of how both nation-states and terrorist groups alike learned to cope with America's conventional military primacy … Kilcullen's approach offers readers accessible insights into what are complex and dynamic trends.
Diplomatic Courier
David Kilcullen offers a wide ranging analysis of the strategic environment since 1993 ... compelling.
Will Leben, Australian Outlook
A dazzling performance ... This is a book that will keep you on your toes. It paints a breathtaking danger-laden picture of a world perennially at war, and of the strange and mesmerising process by which a snake eventually rears up, as fire-filled as a dragon.
Peter Craven, The Saturday Paper
Kilcullen argues persuasively that while the United States has been mired down in forever wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, our current and potential adversaries have gotten the jump on us. His book offers readers a skilfully annotated road map of contemporary conflict, describing in clear, measured prose how and why the days of American strategic and military preeminence are now behind us.
Daily Beast
Kilcullen’s The Dragons and the Snakes is a timely invitation for the West to get its strategic house in order with some new thinking.
The Bridge
An incisive work that has deservedly garnered a great deal of attention and is likely to be of enduring importance in debates about the decline of Western power.
RealClearDefense
Timely … This book should be essential reading for anyone concerned about America’s future and Australia’s place in the global order it created.
Peter Masters, Military Books Australia
Stan McChrystal, partner at McChrystal Group
David Kilcullen has produced another thoughtful, important book. At a time when some believe that the return of competition with great powers (i.e. dragons) might serve as an emotional cathartic to help forget the long war against jihadist terrorist organisations (i.e. snakes), the author exposes and transcends that false choice. His ideas about how to fight for peace in a dangerous world should be read and discussed not only by diplomats, defense officials, and military officers, but also by citizens concerned about securing a better future for their children.
H.R. McMaster, author of Dereliction of Duty and the forthcoming Battlegrounds
To absorb Kilcullen’s insights is to be forced to rethink national and international security in this new century and to adjust military and nonmilitary institutions to a host of new realities. Senior policymakers have no choice but to do so.
Gary Hart, member of United States Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees
An eye-opening look at the state of strategic balance between the United States and its rivals, large and small … The author delivers a detailed and unsettling analysis of how America’s rivals have adapted to the modern strategic landscape — and how they hope to defeat us. Essential reading for anyone concerned with America’s future on the world stage. STARRED REVIEW
Kirkus Reviews
This book should be read by everyone in uniform.
The Times
An impressive exposé on how terrorists and non-state actors outmanoeuvre conventional militaries … At the heart of The Dragons and the Snakes is a Darwinian dialectic between the mighty dragons and the snakes that seek to subvert and outflank them … The Dragons and the Snakes is based on a formidable array of military and political sources.
Malise Ruthven, The Financial Times
Interesting and provocative.
The Sunday Times
Kilcullen is a welcome guide, offering a neat summation of how both nation-states and terrorist groups alike learned to cope with America's conventional military primacy … Kilcullen's approach offers readers accessible insights into what are complex and dynamic trends.
Diplomatic Courier
David Kilcullen offers a wide ranging analysis of the strategic environment since 1993 ... compelling.
Will Leben, Australian Outlook
A dazzling performance ... This is a book that will keep you on your toes. It paints a breathtaking danger-laden picture of a world perennially at war, and of the strange and mesmerising process by which a snake eventually rears up, as fire-filled as a dragon.
Peter Craven, The Saturday Paper
Kilcullen argues persuasively that while the United States has been mired down in forever wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, our current and potential adversaries have gotten the jump on us. His book offers readers a skilfully annotated road map of contemporary conflict, describing in clear, measured prose how and why the days of American strategic and military preeminence are now behind us.
Daily Beast
Kilcullen’s The Dragons and the Snakes is a timely invitation for the West to get its strategic house in order with some new thinking.
The Bridge
An incisive work that has deservedly garnered a great deal of attention and is likely to be of enduring importance in debates about the decline of Western power.
RealClearDefense
Timely … This book should be essential reading for anyone concerned about America’s future and Australia’s place in the global order it created.
Peter Masters, Military Books Australia