‘Timely, engaging and instructive, “Conflict” is the best one-volume study of conventional warfare in the nuclear age. It sets a new benchmark in understanding modern war.’
Jonathan W. Jordan, Wall Street Journal
https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/conflict-review-how-wars-are-fought-and-won-e52d7a8d?st=32j0zuquu325162&reflink=article_email_share
‘The book is excellent. It covers a remarkable amount of ground in examining many wars around the world over the last eighty years. In doing so, it gets beyond the tactics and technologies of war to place various conflicts in their proper historical and strategic context. It is also very well written. And it benefits enormously from the teamwork of a lifelong historian and writer, Andrew Roberts, with a lifelong soldier (and part-time, passionate student of history along the way), General David Petraeus.
Dr Michael O’Hanlon, The Cipher Brief
Conflict is One Part History, One Part Petraeus Memoir (thecipherbrief.com)
‘David Petraeus and Andrew Roberts, two of the greatest scholars of war around, appear to have a lot of tragic foresight in publishing Conflict just ten days after the darkest day in Israel’s history. It would be difficult to find two more able authors to discuss modern warfare. Their argument reflects their existing work. See Roberts’ recent book, Leadership in War, in which he examines exceptional military leaders of old. Roberts is an unapologetic practitioner of the great man theory of history, so under assault by the academic Left. He emphasizes the primacy of extraordinary individuals throughout his oeuvre. As for Petraeus, he has developed his own theory of strategic leadership, which he has previously fleshed out in writing and lectures. Having served great—and less great—men his entire career, Petraeus has seen the results of their decisions up close on the battlefield. Thanks to the research of both authors, Conflict shows many examples of leaders who, for good or ill, shaped their countries’ fortunes.
Daniel J. Samet, National Interest
The Secrets of Warcraft | The National Interest
‘Conflict, a history of warfare since 1945 by two of the world’s best military minds, retired US General and former CIA director David Petraeus and UK historian Lord Andrew Roberts, biographer of Napoleon and Churchill, among others … emphasise the role of deterrence and the need for the democratic world to remain vigilant in keeping the peace. It is hard for any book about warfare to be positive. But an understanding of how it is conducted in the past, present, and future is critical to greater understanding of modern realities.’
Nevil Gibson, National Business Review (New Zealand)
https://www.nbr.co.nz/book-review/how-todays-wars-are-won-and-lost/
‘Elegantly written and persuasively argued, Conflict is a hugely important book that explains why wars are still being fought and lost, what we can learn from them, and how we can protect ourselves from malign actors in the future. It should be required reading for any Western leader who questions whether military and financial support for Ukraine is money well spent.’
Saul David, Daily Telegraph
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/conflict-david-petraeus-andrew-roberts-review/
‘This is an ambitious and deeply researched volume which does not shy away from the gritty details of combat, as one might expect from a collaboration between the most distinguished commander of the Iraq War and the tireless chronicler of warriors ranging from Napoleon to Churchill.’
Daniel Johnson, The Critic Books of the Year
‘Stimulating … This is an absorbing book, replete with anecdotes, vivid images and often unexpected facts and quotations.’
Brendan Simms, Literary Review
https://literaryreview.co.uk/the-kalashnikov-the-drone
David Petraeus and Andrew Roberts are a formidable team of authors; the former one of the most significant modem US military commanders, the latter a bestselling British historian. As they state, one purpose of the book is to attempt to understand Putin’s war, but it is much more than that. Part analytical narrative survey of key wars since 1945, part reflection on the lessons that can be derived from these conflicts, this is an important book with an avowedly didactic purpose.
Gary Sheffield, TLS
‘Petraeus and Roberts spend little time imagining a world without war, or even a world with less war. Their book – like Clausewitz’s canonical text – is a primer for today’s strategists, brimming with lessons about leadership, counter-insurgency, and intelligence. It’s a guide to effectively prepare for and win wars of the future, to achieve perpetual peace through perpetual strength.’
Elliot Ackerman, The New Statesman
https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/book-of-the-day