Human Face Of War, The

Description: Warfare is hugely important. The fates of nations, and even continents, often rests on the outcome of war and thus on how its practitioners consider war. The Human Face of War is a new exploration of military thought. It starts with the observation that much military thought is poorly developed - often incoherent and riddled with paradox. The author contends that what is missing from British and American writing on warfare is any underpinning mental approach or philosophy. Why are some tank commanders, snipers, fighter pilots or submarine commanders far more effective than others? Why are many generals sacked at the outbreak of war? The Human Face of War examines such phenomena and seeks to explain them. The author argues that military thought should be based on an approach which reflects the nature of combat. Combat - fighting - is primarily a human phenomenon dominated by human behaviour. The book explores some of those human issues and their practical consequences. The Human Face of War calls for, and suggests, a new way of considering war and warfare.



Contents: Figures; Abbreviations; Foreword; Series Editors' Preface; Introduction; 1. Art or Science?; 2. Developing an Approach; 3. The Nature of Combat; 4. Tools and Models; 5. Shock and Surprise; 6. Tactics and Organizations; 7. Commanding the Battle; 8. The Soul of an Army; 9. Regulators and Ratcatchers; 10. The Human Face of War; Notes; Bibliography; Index.



Author Biography: Jim Storr is a former British Army officer. He is now an independent defence consultant. He studied Civil Engineering before joining the Army and serving in the British Army of the Rhine for much of the 1980s. Amongst a series of staff and regimental appointments in the Falkland Islands, Northern Ireland and Cyprus he studied at the Royal Military College of Science and the Army Staff College at Camberley. He was a military adviser to operational research teams before spending more than four years writing and teaching high-level military doctrine. In 2002 he was awarded a doctorate for a thesis on the nature of military thought. In his second career his main activates are consultancy, research, writing and teaching. He has spoken at, or chaired, a number of national and international conferences. His clients include defence industrial corporations, research agencies and universities. He is a visiting fellow of the Defence College of Management and Technology, Cranfield University and an honorary research fellow of the Department of Modern History of the University of Birmingham. He has worked for, or taught at, all of the major elements of Britain's Defence Academy.