“The Foundations of the Science of War” by J. F. C. Fuller

⭐️

J.F.C. Fuller was a British Army officer and contemporary of Liddell Hart in the inter-war years following WWI. Where Liddell Hart communicated his theories for success in war well, however, Fuller fails. This work aims to create a taxonomy and pre-science to the conduct of war but offers very little in terms of guidance to the would-be strategist. Fuller creates an exhaustive classification of war in all its elements, effectively embarking on a quest to create a systems theory approach to war. While the concept is interesting, Fuller’s execution is not. His taxonomy is confusing and his personal fascist/racist views bubble up occasionally throughout the text. I will credit Fuller in his limited influence on Liddell Hart: the later theorist took the ideas of the former one and ran with them. I’d avoid this one unless you really love run-on sentences and occultist illustrations.