Essential reading for US defence planners and strategists, or anyone interested in a potential war over Taiwan. Gady explains why American and Chinese operational concepts aiming to win a short, sharp war are flawedand likely to increase the risks of escalation and a protracted attritional conflict. -- Stacie Pettyjohn, Director of the Defense Program, Center for a New American Security Carefully reasoned and exhaustively researched, this book demonstrates the daunting operational, organisational and political challenges that the US would face should it go to war with China over Taiwan. Uncomfortable but essential reading. -- Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies, Kings College London The likelihood of war between the US and China is growing. Anyone interested or worried by this owes it to themselves to read and consider Gadys excellent overview of how this war would be fought, and the great risks it would entail. This tightly written book covers everything from strategic cultures and theories of victory to strategies, operational concepts, and military-technical considerations. It is rare indeed for a single volume to cover such expansive ground, and rarer still to do it so elegantly. -- Robert O. Work, 32nd US Deputy Secretary of Defense (201417) A much-needed and timely addition to the growing body of literature on a potential Taiwan conflict. This book addresses the urgent need to reconsider how to understand the potential for nuclear escalation and protracted conflict, and ultimately how to strengthen deterrence in the Indo-Pacific. -- Meia Nouwens, Senior Fellow for Chinese Security and Defence Policy, International Institute for Strategic Studies Gady poses important questions about what American and Chinese theories of success for a Taiwan campaign might be, against the context of two different cultures of war. An essential text on the conceptual underpinnings of deterring such a warand, if necessary, winning it. -- Mick Ryan, Retired Major-General, Australian Army, and Adjunct Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies