Review: Conflict – The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine by General David Petraeus & Andrew Roberts

General David Petraeus is a renowned military figure in Western circles. He is a retired US general, with 37 years of service behind him and had command in two major wars including in. Iraq and Afghanistan. He was also director of the CIA and has worked very closely with the White House, directly serving various administrations. The co-author of this book, Andrew Roberts, is a biographer and historian with many bestselling titles under his belt.

Since World War 2, thankfully the world has never been enveloped in another total global conflict, however close we have teetered on the brink at various stages of history. In light of current international affairs, with the world at perhaps its most dangerous precipice since 1945 in terms of slipping into all-out conflagration, it is important to analyse those armed conflicts that have occurred during the peace period. This very well-written book, which delves in depth into great detail, is an opus that attempt to fully cover the major wars that have occurred since World War 2. We look in deep military analysis, from a leading professional expert, at armed action across the globe, Korea, Vietnam, The Malaya Emergency, through to the break up of Yugoslavia and then onto more direct personal experiences from Petraeus in Iraq and Afghanistan. The final conflict that is covered is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and although the book misses the more recent updates, it does offer a critical analysis of the worst European outbreak of war since WW2. The conclusion of the book is a neat vision of future dangers and throughout the book we look closely at the key technological developments and changes in tactics and the rise of modern hi-tech military capabilities.

I have had the opportunity to have visited detailed literary analysis of many of these horrific incidents of recent human history so the whole book was not entirely new material to me. The past is the only indicator we have of the future and it is critical to study the most important political developments that have led to war if we are to continue to develop as a global civilization.I would recommend this work to any keen students of modern history and those politicians, leaders and soldiers who seek to further their own ideas and work in this particular field. I try to do as much as I can as a civilized human being in order to address and prevent the likes of global conflict that my grandparents generation suffered and taught me a lot about. We move on through turbulent times and if you believe in understanding our common human destiny, Conflict is an essential piece of reading material that you should add to your collection.