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The Principles of War for the Information Age by Robert R. Leonhard, Presidio Press, Novato, Calif., 1998. 288 pages. Retail, $30; Amazon.com, $22.
In this, the deadliest century in human history, there has been no shortage of pundits, journalists, historians, and not a few veterans touting their personal observations, opinions, and experiences as the newest immutable theory of warfare. Few of these offerings passed contemporary scrutiny, let alone the tests of time. A few names, none without some intellectual battle-cars, survive and stand out, J.F.C. Fuller and Richard Simpkin come immediately to mind. When military historians of the future sit down to develop their revised syllabi on "War and Its Theorists," there will be a third name to add Robert Leonhard.
This is Leonhard's third book of pure military theory. His first two, The Art of Maneuver and Fighting By Minutes carry the progression of his thought over the course of the past decade. In this book, Leonhard takes on not just the methods that the Army...