Books with title The Warlord of Mars Illustrated

The Art of War (Italian: Dell'arte della guerra) is a treatise by the Italian Renaissance political philosopher and historian Niccolò Machiavelli.The format of The Art of War is a socratic dialogue. The purpose, declared by Lord Fabrizio Colonna (perhaps Machiavelli's persona) at the outset, "To honor and reward virtù, not to have contempt for poverty, to esteem the modes and orders of military discipline, to constrain citizens to love one another, to live without factions, to esteem less the private than the public good." To these ends, Machiavelli notes in his preface, the military is like the roof of a palazzo protecting the contents.Written between 1519 and 1520 and published the following year, it was Machiavelli's only historical or political work printed during his lifetime, though he was appointed official historian of Florence in 1520 and entrusted with minor civil duties.

Machiavelli's philosophy is based on his pessimistic view of human nature. He has been called a "pagan Augustinian". Aristotle and Plato also called attention to the imperfect nature of man, but Machiavelli rejected their approach. He follows Xenophon more closely. It was Xenophon who took a rational organization, the army, and applied the lessons learned in its construction and operation to the problems of society in general. Machiavelli follows his lead in linking military and civil societies. He goes a step beyond Xenophon when he applies the lessons of military practice to the internal affairs of his civic body. For all his recognition of the failings of human nature, Xenophon could not free himself from the Greek distinction between friend and foe. For him coercion was to be applied to the enemy, and both the army and the polis were to be based on friendship. Machiavelli does not recognize this distinction. To him everyone is a potential enemy, hence the civic rulers must employ the same measures employed by the general to defeat his enemies. This is the reason Machiavelli makes no distinction between the statesman and military commander and why his approach to politics is a military one.Just as the unchanging character of human nature is the stable ingredient which makes the study of history important for the statesman, the presence of man himself at the controls in all human organizations makes the study of his character the basic activity for the successful leader. Machiavelli's state and army are not abstract entities endowed with human characteristics or desires. All decisions are made by men and all evoke reactions in other men. Machiavelli's insistence on this principle is seen in each of the diverse topics included in this study. For him the proper decision to such questions as whether to form alliances or not, when to invade the enemy territory, when to use money, how to acquire and control colonies, how to use "peace" offensives, how to organize a community and whether to appease an aggressor or not are all based on an evaluation of the probable reaction of those humans affected by the decision. Likewise, his criteria for the selection of a leader and his precepts to guide the leader's actions in command of an army are based on principles of psychology. The reaction of the army is itself governed by an evaluation of the human material available to the leader. Such considerations as the proper type of soldier, the discipline to be developed, the training program to be followed, the most useful armament, the correct logistical procedures, and the proper role of infantry, cavalry and artillery are all made under the assumption that man has been, is, and always will be the central and essential weapon in war.Based on this assumption, some of Machiavelli's major points are as follows:(1) War between men is inherent and inevitable.(2) War will be total or limited depending on the political objectives involved.(3) Uncontrolled and unprepared for, war is destructive; but properly channeled and prepared for, it can serve socially useful purposes.(4) The proper way to conduct a war is to carry it to the enemy; keep the initiative; maintain exclusive decision-making power; do not try to buy friends; do not remain neutral or passive when danger threatens, however remotely; always present your side as peace loving and leave your opponent every opportunity to retreat or surrender; use subversive agents inside the other society to pave the way; govern acquired territories through local intermediaries; do not risk total victory or defeat with less than all your forces; be prepared to adapt to the times-- to retreat if necessary to await another day.

The Warlord of Mars, by Edgar Rice Burroughs, is the third book in his famous Barsoom series. This novel continues where The Gods of Mars abruptly ended. John Carter's wife, the princess Dejah Thoris, is imprisoned in the Temple of the Sun by the vile pretender goddess Issus. It is said one has to wait an entire Barsoomian year before the room the prisoner is in revolves back to the entrance. John Carter discovers that a First Born knows the secret of the Temple of the Sun, and he and the Holy Hekkador Matai Shang want to rescue the Holy Thern's daughter who is imprisoned with Dejah Thoris and another Barsoomian princess, Thuvia of Ptarth. John Carter follows them in the hope of liberating his beloved wife. His antagonists manage to stay ahead of him and flee to the north, taking the three previously imprisoned women along.

Voltaire said, "Machiavelli taught Europe the art of war; it had long been practiced, without being known." For Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), war was war, and victory the supreme aim to which all other considerations must be subordinated. The Art of War is far from an anachronism—its pages outline fundamental questions that theorists of war continue to examine today, making it essential reading for any student of military history, strategy, or theory. Machiavelli believed The Art of War to be his most important work.