Quote Originally Posted by marct View Post
Guided study can be useful, but it is always important to remember that in such a setting you are being "guided" by someone else's view of what is important. It is a fascinating paradox in that it really helps to have expert guidance in getting a rough picture together, but that picture then limits what you can see.
...and never truer in the case of Clausewitz, the reading of On War itself often hindered by the guidance of 'experts'. To illustrate, anecdotally, I've heard of John Keegan's surprisingly misguided A History of Warfare being withdrawn (belatedly) from recommended reading lists because of its unhelpful impact on strat studies/mil history students' grappling with the Prussian's concepts and impact.

As to the act of reading itself, I don't think we spend nearly enough time teaching our learners the how of critical reading. Mortimer Adler's How to Read a Book still has some gems to offer (though shame he cut corners on the Brittanica Great Books series - not user friendly texts at all).