Tracing the development of military applications in space, Baker seeks to examine what U.S. and Soviet planners are doing in space and whether it is possible to conduct wars from outer space.

First published in 1933, "The Shape of Things to Come" is science fiction novel written by H. G. Wells. Within it, world events between 1933 and 2106 are speculated with a single superstate representing the solution to all humanity's problems. A classic example of Wellsian prophesy, this volume is highly recommended for fans of his work and of the science fiction genre. Herbert George Wells (1866 - 1946) was a prolific English writer who wrote in a variety of genres, including the novel, politics, history, and social commentary. Today, he is perhaps best remembered for his contributions to the science fiction genre thanks to such novels as "The Time Machine" (1895), "The Invisible Man" (1897), and "The War of the Worlds" (1898). Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this book now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.

This selection of short stories offers a return journey through the future as it used to be. Time speeds backwards to the 1870s—to the alpha point of modern futuristic fiction—the opening years of that enchanted period before the First World War when Jules Verne, H. G. Wells and many able writers delighted readers from Sydney to Seattle with their most original revelations of things-to-come. In all their anticipations, the dominant factor was the recognition that the new industrial societies would continue to evolve in obedience to the rate of change. One major event that caused all to think furiously about the future was the Franco-German War of 1870. The new weapons and the new methods of army organization had shown that the conduct of warfare was changing; and, in response to that perception of change, a new form of fiction took on the task of describing the conduct of the war-to-come.

Will tomorrow's wars be dominated by autonomous drones, land robots and warriors wired into a cybernetic network which can read their thoughts? Will war be fought with greater or lesser humanity? Will it be played out in cyberspace and further afield in Low Earth Orbit? Or will it be fought more intensely still in the sprawling cities of the developing world, the grim black holes of social exclusion on our increasingly unequal planet? Will the Great Powers reinvent conflict between themselves or is war destined to become much 'smaller' both in terms of its actors and the beliefs for which they will be willing to kill? In this illuminating new book Christopher Coker takes us on an incredible journey into the future of warfare. Focusing on contemporary trends that are changing the nature and dynamics of armed conflict, he shows how conflict will continue to evolve in ways that are unlikely to render our century any less bloody than the last. With insights from philosophy, cutting-edge scientific research and popular culture, Future War is a compelling and thought-provoking meditation on the shape of war to come.

Is peace an aberration? The New York Times bestselling author of Paris 1919 offers a provocative view of war as an essential component of humanity. NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW “Margaret MacMillan has produced another seminal work. . . . She is right that we must, more than ever, think about war. And she has shown us how in this brilliant, elegantly written book.”—H.R. McMaster, author of Dereliction of Duty and Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World The instinct to fight may be innate in human nature, but war—organized violence—comes with organized society. War has shaped humanity’s history, its social and political institutions, its values and ideas. Our very language, our public spaces, our private memories, and some of our greatest cultural treasures reflect the glory and the misery of war. War is an uncomfortable and challenging subject not least because it brings out both the vilest and the noblest aspects of humanity. Margaret MacMillan looks at the ways in which war has influenced human society and how, in turn, changes in political organization, technology, or ideologies have affected how and why we fight. War: How Conflict Shaped Us explores such much-debated and controversial questions as: When did war first start? Does human nature doom us to fight one another? Why has war been described as the most organized of all human activities? Why are warriors almost always men? Is war ever within our control? Drawing on lessons from wars throughout the past, from classical history to the present day, MacMillan reveals the many faces of war—the way it has determined our past, our future, our views of the world, and our very conception of ourselves.

The literature of future wars is an exciting and popular genre embracing classics such as The War of the Worlds and mass-market bestsellers such as The Amtrak Wars. Here sci-fi meets the spy thriller, the war novel meets the novel of dystopia, quality fiction meets the bestseller. Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, Erskine Childer's The Riddle of the Sands, and Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 are typical in combining critical and commercial success. This new edition of Voices Prophesying War shows how the genre developed, accounts for its success, and describes how it is still changing. The first examples of such fiction are as much concerned with politics as with war. The Anonymous Reign of George VI, published in 1763 and set in 1918 describes the triumphant imperialism of an English monarch who still leads his troops into battle on horseback. A century later the first recognizable classic of the genre, The Battle of Dorking, played on the theme of unpreparedness for war, describing a Prussian invasion of the British Isles. Imaginary invasions by the French, Germans, Americans, Russians, Soviets, and, of course, Martians, followed in huge numbers. Throughout the nineteenth century novelists wrote with increasing sophistication on the technology of war; often, as in the case of Conan Doyle and H. G. Wells, they were in advance of the generals and scientists, and their prophesies were fulfilled, in terrible fashion, by two world wars. Since the Second World War American authors have come to the fore, and the nuclear age has produced such classics as Nevil Shute's On the Beach. The Cold War has also given rise to a great many bestsellers, some, like General Sir John Hackett's The Third WorldWar, marking a return to an older theme - of predictions of war by professional soldiers. This new edition of Voices Prophesying War examines recent work in detail and includes a unique checklist of all major future war fiction (in English, French, and German) to have appeared since the eighteenth century.

A collection of twenty-five essays from eight countries, illustrating the many approaches to science fiction.

There has been an explosion in the coverage of foreign influence efforts in the United States in recent years, thanks in large part to the revelation that the Russian government invested a great deal of time and resources into managing the ways Americans perceived the candidates in the 2016 presidential election. However, despite all the discussion, confusion seems to persist regarding how governments work to frame the ways people see the world. While influence has always been a weapon of warfare, the digital age has brought about a dramatic shift in the ways in which perceptions are managed. The barriers that once existed between formal government narratives and individual citizens of foreign nations have gone in favor of a widely connected but often ideologically isolated populous. As Americans grow more divided, foreign influence efforts are better suited than ever cater to the individual by way of persuasion masked in confirmation bias. This effort to influence, to shift perceptions, is not a byproduct of diplomacy, but rather a facet of hybrid warfare - and let there be no mistake, a war is raging. As long as human beings look to the horizon and wonder, as long as nations stretch further than ear shot, as long as the populous has a say in the actions of their governments, perception can be used as a weapon. We look out our windows to see what

General George S. Patton famously said, "Compared to war all other forms of human endeavor shrink to insignificance. God, I do love it so!" Though Patton was a notoriously single-minded general, it is nonetheless a sad fact that war gives meaning to many lives, a fact with which we have become familiar now that America is once again engaged in a military conflict. War is an enticing elixir. It gives us purpose, resolve, a cause. It allows us to be noble. Chris Hedges of The New York Times has seen war up close -- in the Balkans, the Middle East, and Central America -- and he has been troubled by what he has seen: friends, enemies, colleagues, and strangers intoxicated and even addicted to war's heady brew. In War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, he tackles the ugly truths about humanity's love affair with war, offering a sophisticated, nuanced, intelligent meditation on the subject that is also gritty, powerful, and unforgettable.

"Stunning. Sean McFate is a new Sun Tzu." -Admiral James Stavridis (retired), former Supreme Allied Commander at NATO An Economist Book of the Year 2019 Some of the principles of warfare are ancient, others are new, but all described in The New Rules of War will permanently shape war now and in the future. By following them Sean McFate argues, we can prevail. But if we do not, terrorists, rogue states, and others who do not fight conventionally will succeed—and rule the world. The New Rules of War is an urgent, fascinating exploration of war—past, present and future—and what we must do if we want to win today from an 82nd Airborne veteran, former private military contractor, and professor of war studies at the National Defense University. War is timeless. Some things change—weapons, tactics, technology, leadership, objectives—but our desire to go into battle does not. We are living in the age of Durable Disorder—a period of unrest created by numerous factors: China’s rise, Russia’s resurgence, America’s retreat, global terrorism, international criminal empires, climate change, dwindling natural resources, and bloody civil wars. Sean McFate has been on the front lines of deep state conflicts and has studied and taught the history and practice of war. He’s seen firsthand the horrors of battle and understands the depth and complexity of the current global military situation. This devastating turmoil has given rise to difficult questions. What is the future of war? How can we survive? If Americans are drawn into major armed conflict, can we win? McFate calls upon the legends of military study Carl von Clausewitz, Sun Tzu, and others, as well as his own experience, and carefully constructs the new rules for the future of military engagement, the ways we can fight and win in an age of entropy: one where corporations, mercenaries, and rogue states have more power and ‘nation states’ have less. With examples from the Roman conquest, World War II, Vietnam, Afghanistan and others, he tackles the differences between conventional and future war, the danger in believing that technology will save us, the genuine leverage of psychological and ‘shadow’ warfare, and much more. McFate’s new rules distill the essence of war today, describing what it is in the real world, not what we believe or wish it to be.