Culture | The best-laid plans
Optimism has made wars likelier and bloodier
Lawrence Freedman traces a long history of predictions—rarely correct—that fighting would be swift and decisive
The Future of War: A History. By Lawrence Freedman. PublicAffairs; 400 pages; $30. Allen Lane; £25.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “The other side has a vote”
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