Quote Originally Posted by Bob's World View Post
Sadly, 99% of Clausewitz proponents have simply never read him either.
Maybe true, but they are generally less prone to attributing things to him, which he never said.

Its just so damn hard to muddle ones way through his ramblings, and also to sort out what is an early thought on a topic, and what is his final assessment.
Really? I know folks get easily put off, but I persevered because I knew it was important. Thank G*d I did, because from this, all else flows.
To my mind, the real problem is not actually understanding what he writes, but junking the baggage that stops most folks understanding it - eg: the hold overs from the abysmally low quality of modern military thought.

bIs there any good, highly abridged with insightful commentary (both pro and con) version of CvC? Such a product would go a long way to clearing the air, and be far more helpful than tossing a 5 lb tome to a LT and asking him to read and understand what it ultimately means.
Sure there are! Many. Some better than others, but here's a few.

Smith
Samida
Echevarria
Heuser
...and that's the short list!
I would also strongly recommend anything by Colin S. Gray as being one of the most useful demonstrators of CvC in practical terms and also a very good critic as to the things CvC simply never mentioned or just assumed.
Having that, I would argue that is actually a strength as well as a flaw - how's that for duality!!