Military History and Strategy. Understanding military strategy is useful not just for generals, but also as an analogy for thinking about life, especially in the business world. Plus, the changing ways people have thought about war over time are fascinating and suggest how our concept of war may continue to evolve over time, from biological warfare to data skirmishes on the Internet.
On War
Karl von Clausewitz's classic theoretical and historical text on war, in which he famously describes war as "the continuation of politics by other means" and declares that "war by its nature has no limits". Going through the history of Prussian and Napoleonic battles, this book still continues to mold "realist" thinking about history and politics.
Strategy
"By indirections find directions out" advises Polonius in Hamlet. B.H. Liddell Hart, a British tank commander who fought the "Desert Fox" Rommel during World War II, advises much the same thing, carefully explaining the importance of indirection and maneuver in warfare. Filled with a variety of historical examples.
The Prince
One of the great expressions of Renaissance secular humanism, The Prince also doubles as a classic treatise on strategy, both political and military. A tutorial for rulers of Italian city-states, The Prince advocates interest over morality, in an early argument for breaking with convention when national security is at stake.
The Art of War
Sun Tzu's ancient work on strategy. Though a little dated, it's interesting to see how people thought about warfare centuries ago, and to see that in some areas, little has changed in what constitutes sound strategy. I think the book has probably been most successful among the Wall Street audience, who like both the military and the eastern cachet of The Art of War.
Just and Unjust Wars
In this book, Michael Walzer surveys the history of war (going as far back as the Peloponnesian War) and develops a theory of "just" and "unjust" wars. He says if a war meets his criterion of unjust, it should not be fought, as he compares wars like the Second World War and the Vietnam War, subjecting them to his analysis.
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