The Prince

The Prince is an archaic military guide on how to strategically win territory over the long term. I came across it in corporate circles many moons ago and it's not exactly a gripping read, but still important for multiple reasons.

It's pretty obvious in retrospect why the US invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan was never going to work - why these military ploys rarely ever succeed - because of the fundamentals explained in this book. You can't rule a foreign country from afar due to the native population never accepting you. Even if you assume a seat of power and remain there for decades, they eventually take back control.

Vietnam, for example.

Israel will never succeed in wiping out Palestine and Russia are only creating a massive divide between the east and west because of their invasion of Ukraine, all for a tiny strip of land.

The once enormous British Empire now sits back on its tiny island and Hitler and Naziism had a whale of time blitzkrieging around Europe for six years, but ultimately achieved nothing.

In my eyes, war achieves little besides flexing a lot of muscle while costing lots of precious lives and resources, and this book helps to strengthen the essential message that conflict is pointless and futile over the long term.