Steed examines in some detail six "aberrational" battles in history, from Hannibal's victory at Cannae (216 BC) to the Russian's debacle in Grozny (1994-95),and examines how each involved one side "thinking out of the box" to defeat the other side. He discusses the importance of initiative and maneuver and isolation and other tactical concepts, but he emphasizes especially the importance of understanding the opponent, of understanding how the opponent sees things and expects to operate, of empathizing to the point of being able to see out of the opponent's eyes and walk in his shoes and understand his thinking, both tactically and strategically.
This is an area in which America has been seriously deficient for many decades. We didn't understand the Chinese in Korea, nor the North Vietnamese in Vietnam, nor the Iraqis nor the Afghans in recent history. Our leadership, both military and political, but especially our political leaders, have been woefully ignorant of the cultures and world views of other influential nations around the world, and we have made stupid, avoidable and expensive mistakes repeatedly because of this ignorance.
This is not a light read, but it is a profoundly important book.
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