Colonel (Retired) Chuck Oliviero
War fascinates us, but what do we really know about its nature? Strategia is the product of Colonel Oliviero’s decades-long intellectual quest to address this fundamental query. His work offers both the serious student and the casual reader a foundation upon which to build a deeper understanding of military thought and theory, and thereby a richer appreciation of mankind’s deadliest pursuit.
Strategia introduces many of the major contributors to military thought and theory as well as some of their most profound impacts on the conduct of war, from Sun-Tzu to the modern day, encompassing warfare on land, at sea and in the air, as well as in the cyber-realm.
Strategia is an essential primer and a point of departure. With this foundation in place, the student of war can proceed to follow Clausewitz’s admonition to develop a “fine and penetrating mind.”
Colonel (Retiredd) Charles ‘Chuck’ Oliviero spent four decades in the Canadian Army as an Armoured Corps officer. He spent half of his career either as a student or as a teacher, and the other half commanding troops. He has an MA and PhD in War Studies and is a graduate of the German Army Command and Staff Course. He speaks Italian, French, German and a little bit of English. Strategia is his second book with a third currently being edited.
Some members asked for info on the books/articles mentioned at the end of the Strategia presentation. They are as follows:
Recommended by Chuck Oliviero:
- The Making of Strategy: Rulers, States and War — ed by Williamson Murray et al;
- Military Innovation in the Interwar Period — ed by Williamson Murray et al;
- Williamson Murray, Preparing to Lose the Next War? Strategic Review 26 (Spring 1998): 51-62.
- Williamson Murray, Thinking about Cities and War Marine Corps Gazette 84 (July 2000): 38-40.
- Military Adaptation in War — Williamson Murray
- Military Culture Does Matter — Williamson Murray
Recommended by Cam Ross:
- One Soldier’s War — Arkady Babchenko (A Russian soldier’s experiences in the Chechen War)
Recommended by Lawrence Johnson:
- War: How Conflict Shaped Us — Margaret MacMillan
- Men At War: The Best War Stories of All Time — ed by Ernest Hemingway
All the above books are available through www.amazon.ca except Men At War, which is available from www.abebooks.com
