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yates9's review against another edition
3.0
A good survey of the history of strategy, but one that may leave the reader more confused than enlightened because the term has been used in so many slippery ways.
The last chapter is insightful and useful, but the history is in a matter of reality, haphazard and confused, and as such hard to really remember and take onboard.
The last chapter is insightful and useful, but the history is in a matter of reality, haphazard and confused, and as such hard to really remember and take onboard.
dtkvb's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
3.25
80% of this book could be cut out.
radella_hardwick's review against another edition
I gave up at the bit where Freedman is treating the Christian Old Testament as historical fact. Surely there are enough examples of strategy throughout human history without using The Bible or Homer, for that matter.
uigeadail's review against another edition
4.0
What should have been published as a set of volumes to rival Encyclopaedia Brittanica deserves some props for somehow being condensed into a 32 hour slog of an audiobook.
paulgrostad's review against another edition
4.0
A massive book. Impressive research and insight by Lawrence Freedman, but in my opinion he is stretching the boundaries of Strategy too far. He could have cut a third of the book and I wouldn't have missed anything...
emiann2023's review against another edition
5.0
As the author notes, there are a lot of other books out there on strategy. All of them with differing, often contradictory ideas of what makes a strategy successful, or when you should use it.
This book is (to me) inherently refreshing in that it points out the obvious flaws of common beliefs about strategy, and takes the topic from traditional warfare and military strategy to politics to business. And beyond that into incredible detail. I had a smile on my face when he mentioned the works of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky and their work on behavioral economics and how irrational we truly are and that to be honest, one most always give room for the unpredictable human nature. I also enjoyed the connection to Nassim Taleb and the Black Swan, and how much of what we assume to be a realistic story is really on a perception, but it is the perception we remember best.
Truly a great worthwhile listen. Can't wait to pick up a hardcover to put on my shelves.
This book is (to me) inherently refreshing in that it points out the obvious flaws of common beliefs about strategy, and takes the topic from traditional warfare and military strategy to politics to business. And beyond that into incredible detail. I had a smile on my face when he mentioned the works of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky and their work on behavioral economics and how irrational we truly are and that to be honest, one most always give room for the unpredictable human nature. I also enjoyed the connection to Nassim Taleb and the Black Swan, and how much of what we assume to be a realistic story is really on a perception, but it is the perception we remember best.
Truly a great worthwhile listen. Can't wait to pick up a hardcover to put on my shelves.
bloodyfool0's review against another edition
4.0
It is a long book. Is heavy on the sociological impact on strategy over time. It's continuing evolvement especially in business means strategy continues to develop in changing environments and one has to adapt with it. The interesting aspect is that once you adapt a strategy in a particular business, is that strategy becomes stale and once must reengineer it. BPR is one such aspect but even that needs an overhaul.
araleith's review against another edition
3.0
I learned the most from the historical looks at strategy, but the more modern theoretical concepts were a bit more of a struggle for me.