Emile Simpson served in the British Army from 2006-12 as an infantry officer in the Royal Gurkha Rifles. He completed three tours in Southern Afghanistan, and also served in Brunei, Nepal, and the Falkland Islands. He previously read history at Oxford University, and was a visiting defence fellow there in 2011 on the Changing Character of War Programme.
'A work of such importance that it should be compulsory reading at
every level in the military; from the most recently enlisted cadet
to the Chief of the Defence Staff and, even more important, the
members of the National Security Council who guide him. ... War
From the Ground Up deserves to be seen as a coda to Clausewitz's
'On War'. But it has the advantage of being considerably shorter.'
--Michael Howard, Times Literary Supplement
"One of the most important assertions in this fascinating book is
that the outcome of wars is now less subject to assessment by body
counts than to the verdict of civilian outsiders, who make
judgments with scant heed to pure military logic. ... This is the
first book by an immensely intelligent and interesting young man,
from whom much will be heard. He lays down principles of
policy-making and war fighting for instance, the key in
counter-insurgency is to match actions and words so as to influence
target audiences to subscribe to a given narrative with a wisdom
lacking in most contemporary foreign offices. ... Ministers would
do well to read Simpson's fascinating and provocative study before
they launch their next lunge into the unknown. They might then
better understand how elusive in modern conflict are the concepts
of winning and losing."--Max Hastings, The Sunday Times"[A]n
erudite and intelligent contribution to the literature on
counterinsurgency." -- Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs"War
From the Ground Up should be read by all aspiring military
commanders and their Whitehall masters."--The Guardian"Emile
Simpson writes from experience as a frontline soldier who completed
three tours in Afghanistan and as a visiting fellow at the
University of Oxford. He combines academic rigour with practical
perspective to explore the understanding and conceptualisation of
modern war. [...] This important book [...] is an essential read
for those interested in understanding both the conflict in
Afghanistan and the contested and often confused nature of modern
war." -- James Denselow, International Affairs"Filled with
provocative and innovative observations about the blurring of
military and political realms in kaleidoscopic environments, this
book is the most perceptive account of contemporary conflict I have
seen. It deserves to widely read by military practitioners and
their political leaders."--Conrad Crane, lead author of FM 3-24,
Counterinsurgency and Director of the U. S. Army Military History
Institute"War from the Ground Up is an interesting and important
meditation on the nature of the unsatisfying wars of the modern era
by a man who has seen more of them than most, former Gurkha Rifle
officer Emile Simpson. It should be read by everyone interested in
the current war in Afghanistan and in the likely nature of conflict
for many years to come; these wars are not going away, and Simpson
has done yeoman s work in helping us understand them."--John Nagl,
Minerva Professor of Culture and War, U.S. Naval Academy,
Annapolis"Emile Simpson engages with a key problem in our
understanding of conflict - the binary fallacy that sees war as
essentially two-sided and as a precursor to political outcomes,
rather than as a multi-player political ecosystem with its own
logic. Simpson's analysis of the conflict in Afghanistan should be
required reading for all students and practitioners of modern war."
-- David Kilcullen, author of The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting
Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One"I am constantly bowled over by
Emile Simpson's insights. He produces lines that exude common sense
and which, because they are pithy, deserve to be widely quoted and
will be. Put simply, this is the most intelligent book on war that
I have read for a very long time."--Hew Strachan, Oxford
University"How to do and how not to do counter-insurgency, by an
expert and exceptionally thoughtful practitioner. Hard analysis,
and happy talk-free. Essential reading for anyone seriously
interested in what makes success in counter-insurgency so
elusive."--Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, author of Cables from Kabul:
The Inside Story of the West's Afghanistan Campaign"A work of such
importance that it should be compulsory reading at every level in
the military; from the most recently enlisted cadet to the Chief of
the Defence Staff and, even more important, the members of the
National Security Council . . . It is impossible to summarize Emile
Simpson's ideas without distorting them. His own style is so
muscular and aphoristic that he can concentrate complex arguments
into memorable sentences that will have a life of their own. His
familiarity with the work of Aristotle and the history of the
English Reformation enables him to explain the requirements of a
strategic narrative as effectively as his experiences in
Afghanistan illuminate his understanding of the relationship
between operational requirements and political objectives. In short
(and here I shall really go overboard) --deserves to be seen as a
coda to Clausewitz's On War. But it has the advantage of being
considerably shorter."--Michael Howard, Times Literary
Supplement"One of the most important assertions in this fascinating
book is that the outcome of wars is now less subject to assessment
by body counts than to the verdict of civilian outsiders, who make
judgments with scant heed to pure military logic. ... This is the
first book by an immensely intelligent and interesting young man,
from whom much will be heard. He lays down principles of
policy-making and war fighting for instance, the key in
counter-insurgency is to match actions and words so as to influence
target audiences to subscribe to a given narrative with a wisdom
lacking in most contemporary foreign offices. ... Ministers would
do well to read Simpson's fascinating and provocative study before
they launch their next lunge into the unknown. They might then
better understand how elusive in modern conflict are the concepts
of winning and losing."--Max Hastings, The Sunday Times"[A]n
erudite and intelligent contribution to the literature on
counterinsurgency." -- Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs
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