The Art of the Strategist

This is a book by Dr.William A.Cohen. The book speaks about 10 essential principles of formulating strategy. While almost all the principles are basic common sense what makes the book intresting is the various examples/anectodes the author gives to drive home a point. The examples range from military warfare (Hannibal's tactics to win the war against the vastly outnumbered Romans), corporate boardrooms (Walmart's rise), Sports (Lance Armstrong's bid to win the Tour de France), Television series and even personal anecdotes. Some of those stories though seem to be a tad tailored from the original one to ensure that it is in line with the Author's point. Some of them ofcourse you would find it difficult to verify (Like the Hannibal story and its details, unless ofcourse you embark on a separate journey by itself). Inspite of this the book is still worth a read if not for anything but to put a lot of common sense things into a framework of cohesive thought. Afterall commonsense, as the cliche' goes, dosent seem to be so common!!!

Have been reading this book " The Last Mughal" by William Darlylymple. The book is a wonderful account of Indian history during the Mutiny days of 1857. It gives an unbiased view of what the first full scale armed resistance to British occupation in India was like. It is intriguing to the point where Indian subjugation was more so a function of its own divsion on religious lines between fellow countrymen rather than a fallout of British supremacy.

True, that the British had better technology and were better equipped in the techniques of modern warfare as compared to the mutining Sepoys, but the events narrated in the book lead you to believe that downfall of the Mughal rule in India owed more to a lack of strong willed leadership and communal factinalism rather than a military weakness.

Given the description of the events, the British could have never subdued the mutiny (and thereby end the last vestiges of Mughal rule) if not for the help it recieved from Indian moneylenders (who were routinely ransacked by the lawless mobs rising from anarchy), Sikh troops (who never forgave the Mughals for murdering their leader Guru Govind Singh), increasing differences of opinion between the Hindu elite of Delhi and the Muslim Whabis, the Gujjar tribes which looted people entering or leaving Delhi (thus effectively seiging the city in a far larger scale than what the british could ever hope for) or for the petty kings and so called high society who formed an efficient spy network for the British (an almost nil spy network on the Indian side contributed significantly to the demise as news of enemy weakness could never flow in. This fascinating aspect of the War is a study by itself).

This book is definitely worth a read for the comphrehensive cover of the Indian Mutiny of 1857. Many of the nationalistic views which portrayed the Mutiny and the way we had come to believe the 1857 Mutiny will forever be changed.