Stratagem: Deception and Surprise in War

Front Cover
Artech House, 2007 - History - 560 pages
Out-of-print and out of the hands of military professionals for years, Artech House answers the demand, making the sought-after, classic work, Stratagem: Deception and Surprise in War, available once again. This timeless and widely cited volume offers professionals a model and template for studying and analyzing deception operations. Readers get an historical analysis of deception and surprise, over 100 real-world case studies, and a set of methods that underlie and pervade the entire book. This unique resource takes a broad and deep look at surprise operations, presenting intriguing questions and hypotheses about the possible causes of surprise, including deception. Thoroughly referenced and supported with clear data tables, the case studies concentrate on goals, planning, expectations, security, leaks, warnings, intelligence assessments, and final results. The book concludes with analytical lists of battles from 1914 to 1968, systematically laid out in columns for cross-tabulation.

About the author (2007)

Barton Whaley is a research professor in the Department of Defense Analysis at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and is a consultant with and author for the National Intelligence Council's Foreign Denial & Deception Committee (FDDC). An internationally renowned scholar and authority on deception and counterdeception, Dr. Whaley has also been associated with M.I.T.'s Center for International Studies, The American University's Special Operations Research Office, the RAND Corporation, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He received his Ph.D. in political science from M.I.T.

Bibliographic information