This reference material is an introduction to strategic doctrine as represented by reputable military and non-military thinkers from Machiavelli up until World War II. It is subdivided into different parts, the authors of which do not always agree with the editors and other authors. It however includes certain well-defined themes and concepts that were useful lessons in determining the outcome of war. In these include the national factors that frequently provide a baseline by which a nation wages and prosecutes war.