The Future of War: Power, Technology and American World Dominance in the Twenty-first Century

America is the only great naval power in history who has never really recognized that she is one. The Friedmans pull out some nuggets, even if much of their information is well known to those in the military and the defense industry.


Insight into the unforeseen consequences of technology   April 11, 1999
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

This book directs one's attention to the discussion the way we have thought about war will no longer be as relevant in the future. The notion of "weapons reaching and obsolete status" points to a central thesis in the book--that America will remain the preponderant military and technical power of the 21st century. This of course may be a comforting piece of information for policy shapers and makers, and business peoples. But is it really ? Such dominance by one nation is bound to lead to the shifting of the balance of power among nations unless the movement toward internationalization proves to be successful. However, aspiring powers and emerging nations that wish to be freed from this American dominance may -- and there seems to be information to support this -- seek weapons of mass destruction to counter US global hegemony.

This book made a clearly argued case for American Dominance, but it does not help us to see the political/moral future. But within its parameters, its an "eye-opener."


Very nice analysis with some new twists   December 12, 1998
This is a well thought out book. I picked it up cheap for a few of the included charts and graphs and was very nicely surprised by the content.

The Friedmans have done a very nice survey of the evolutiionary ptrocess of weapons and weapons systems. The introduction of the concept of weapon senility vs weapon obselescence is very intersting.

This one really makes you think.


A graduate course in thinking   June 27, 2009
Harvey Slentz (Amelia Island FL USA)
"The Future of War" is for anyone interested in military matters, or anyone interested in thinking. It's a great book about warfare, but even if you don't have much interest in war, you'll find a treasure-trove of that oft-cited skill, 'critical thinking'.

The book begins with the long history of war, providing insight into things I never considered. For example, the author explains how David was able to kill Goliath, who was burdened with very heavy defensive armor at the expense of mobility.

The book draws a comparison to present day Goliaths - the huge armored tanks and the aircraft carrier battle groups - and how both strategy and technology is changing the usefulness of those weapons systems. I was surprised when I realized that the immense power of a carrier battle group is primarily focused on protecting the carrier, which in turn only has a few dozen attack aircraft from which it launches offensive weapons. I knew some of the data previously, but the book assembled that data in a way I hadn't considered.

The importance of sea lane control, and the analogy to control of certain orbits in space, was fascinating. There's so much more, but you'll have to read the book. It's a keeper, even though it was written several years ago.