The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace and the Course of History - Tapa dura

This ambitious book sets out to reinterpret the history of the twentieth century as a long war in which conditions of outright military confrontation or of frantic 'cold' competition lasted from the outbreak of the first world war until the collapseof the Soviet Union. He goes on to argue that this long experience of war has brought about a fundamental change in the constitutional basis of sates, and explores this idea through the notion of the 'market state'. By clarifying the relationship between constitutional settlements and military power, and by drawing on his firsthand experience in the heart of superpower planning, Bobbitt reveals a startling new way of understanding the past - and an awesome glimpse of the future.

Philip Bobbitt teaches constitutional law at the University of Texas. He has held visiting fellowships at Nuffield College, Oxford and Kings College, London. He has served as Counsel to the Senate Select Committee on the Iran-Contra Affair, as well as Director of Intelligence and Senior Director for Strategic Planning at the National Security Council. He has written previous books on nuclear strategy, social choice and constitutional law. He lives in Austin, Washington and London.