Friedman begins with the origins of strategy, seeking insights from the Bible, ancient Greek mythology, Sun Tzu, and Machiavelli. He guides the reader through works from Carl von Clausewitz to the nuclear strategists of the 1950s to the era of counterinsurgency and the new military revolution; he begins with Marx's revolutionary analysis of politics and analyzes political strategy through Obama's presidential campaign; and he develops a comprehensive historical narrative of business strategy, covering all the important reformers from Frederick Winslow Taylor and Alfred Sloan to Peter Drucker.
