The cover of On Grand Strategy

On Grand Strategy

by John Lewis Gaddis

I honestly can’t remember why I picked this up: maybe an Amazon recommendation, maybe a reference somewhere in management book recommendations. I read it in the middle of my tenure at The Wall Street Journal, probably hoping to pick up some tips for navigating complex political workplaces.

Gaddis spins a series of essays on ‘grand’ strategy, specifically western white male strategy (with occasional references to Sun Tzu). His writing tends towards stream-of-consciousness, and tends to harp on the same few themes of realism and focus. This isn’t a strong recommendation, unless you really need more motivation to read Machiavelli.