How long does it take to read On War?
Carl von Clausewitz
On War by Carl von Clausewitz takes about 8 hours 28 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 8 hours 28 minutes
A week or two of reading
First published 1835. 462 pages, about 127,050 words.
17 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 14 hours 7 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 8 hours 28 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 5 hours 18 minutes |
The page count is the median across 194 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
Vom Kriege is the basic work on the Western way of war. For Clauswitz, war is "politics by other means". It concentrates on defeating the enemy by massing overwhelming force at the enemy's weak point. In his rationalistic model, the prince (or other governing elite) begins with a set of objectives and chooses the most cost-effective way of accomplishing them. If force is seen as that way, then the prince chooses war. When the objectives have been achieved, then the war has been won regardless of conditions and dispositions on the field. Clausewitz is read by every officer cadet in every decent military academy in the world. Written in the 18th century, Vom Kriege is as relevant today as the day it was published.
Subjects: Military art and science, War, Strategy, Military, Nonfiction, Oorlog
