The Science of War: Defense Budgeting, Military Technology, Logistics, and Combat Outcomes

· Princeton University Press
Ebook
280
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

An essential introduction to modern defense policy

The U.S. military is one of the largest and most complex organizations in the world. How it spends its money, chooses tactics, and allocates its resources have enormous implications for national defense and the economy. The Science of War is the only comprehensive textbook on how to analyze and understand these and other essential problems in modern defense policy.

Michael O'Hanlon provides undergraduate and graduate students with an accessible yet rigorous introduction to the subject. Drawing on a broad range of sources and his own considerable expertise as a defense analyst and teacher, he describes the analytic techniques the military uses in every crucial area of military science. O'Hanlon explains how the military budget works, how the military assesses and deploys new technology, develops strategy and fights wars, handles the logistics of stationing and moving troops and equipment around the world, and models and evaluates battlefield outcomes. His modeling techniques have been tested in Iraq and Afghanistan, including the methods he used to predict higher-than-anticipated troop fatalities in Iraq—controversial predictions that have since been vindicated.

The Science of War is the definitive resource on warfare in the twenty-first century.
  • Gives the best introduction to defense analysis available
  • Covers defense budgeting
  • Shows how to model and predict outcomes in war
  • Explains military logistics, including overseas basing
  • Examines key issues in military technology, including missile defense, space warfare, and nuclear-weapons testing
  • Based on the author's graduate-level courses at Princeton, Columbia, and Georgetown universities

About the author

Michael E. O'Hanlon is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who specializes in national security policy. His many books include Bending History and The Wounded Giant.

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.