Winning Westeros

Max Brooks is a writer, public speaker, and senior fellow at the Modern War Institute at West Point, and nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. He is the author of World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War and The Harlem Hellfighters, among other works. Brooks, and the other coeditors of this book, edited Strategy Strikes Back: How Star Wars Explains Modern Military Conflict (Potomac Books, 2018). John Amble is the editorial director at the Modern War Institute and a military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army Reserve. ML Cavanaugh is a senior fellow at the Modern War Institute and a U.S. Army strategist with global experience. Jaym Gates is an acquiring editor for Nisaba Press and Falstaff Books, as well as a freelance editor and author.

“Fans of Game of Thrones interested in the insights of modern strategic thinkers will enjoy this book. . . . Illuminating readers’ blind spots is where fiction can truly help strategic thinkers get outside the box, and this is where Winning Westeros has the biggest impact.”-Jessica Dawson, Res Militaris“Winning Westeros makes understanding military history and strategy accessible and fun. These incisive and creative essays help readers think clearly about diplomacy, conflict, warfare, and the range of complex competitions that influence our security and prosperity today.”-Lt. Gen. (Ret.) H. R. McMaster, former national security advisor and author of Dereliction of Duty

• ForewordJames StavridisPart 1. People and War1. Mycah’s Parents Didn’t Get a VoteMax Brooks2. A House to Be FearedJonathan P. Klug3. Fear or Love: Insights from Machiavelli for Those Who Seek the Iron ThroneLiam Collins4. The Source of Tyrion Lannister’s Unlikely Survival and SuccessJoe Byerly5. The Mother of Dragons: Defiant Leadership for Uncertain TimesRick Montcalm6. Lessons for Command from Khaleesi’s RiseErica Iverson7. From Brienne of Tarth to Lyanna Mormont: Shifting Attitudes about Women in CombatKelsey Cipolla8. You Know Something, Jon Snow, about the Qualities of a Strategic LeaderP. W. Singer and ML CavanaughPart 2. Technology and War9. The Lessons of Viserion and Technological AdvantageJonathan E. Czarnecki10. Game of Pwns: Baelish and Varys as Drivers of Modern ConflictNina A. Kollars11. WMD in Westeros and BeyondMagnus F. Nordenman12. The Influence of Sea Power on WesterosMichael Junge13. Winning the Waves: Sea Power and the Seven KingdomsBryan McGrath14. What the Walls of Westeros Teach Us about War and WarfareJohn SpencerPart 3. Combat and War15. Siege Warfare in the Seven KingdomsLionel Beehner, Benedetta Berti, and Mike Jackson16. Dragons, Dothraki, and Achieving Victory in BattleMick Cook17. The Wildlings at the Wall: When Climate Drives ConflictJ. Daniel Batt18. Shock and Chaos: Psychological Weapons of War in Westeros and Our WorldGregory S. Drobny19. How to Fight the Lannister ArmiesJoshua D. Powers and Jonathan Bott20. Becoming No One: Human Intelligence in the Seven KingdomsAndrea N. Goldstein21. The Battle of the Bastards and the Importance of the ReserveJess WardPart 4. Strategy and War22. The Myth of the Accidental StrategistSteve Leonard23. Why the Westerosi Can’t Win WarsChuck Bies24. Strategic Storytelling in Game of ThronesJaym Gates25. Resources, War, and the Night King’s Deadly ArithmeticAndrew A. Hill26. The Red Wedding and the Power of NormsTheresa Hitchens27. Daenerys Targaryen’s Coalitions for WarMick Ryan28. Arya Stark’s Targeted Killing and Strategic Decision-MakingCraig Whiteside29. Ned Stark, Hero of the Seven Kingdoms, and Why the Good Guys Win (in the End)ML Cavanaugh30. White Walkers and the Nature of WarPaul ScharreEpilogue: Down from the Citadel, Off the WallML CavanaughContributors