THE WHITE FLAG PRINCIPLE: How to Lose a War and Why

by Shimon Tzabar ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 1972

Tzabar, an Israeli now living in London, is self-described as a painter turned cartoonist turned journalist. Turned darkly comic. Wars, he proposes, should be lost instead of won. ""The advantages of defeat are many."" Take Japan, a feudal-cum-industrial ""socioeconomic monster"" before World War II, now a happy and prosperous modern state. ""If Japan had won the war, this monster would have grown bigger,"" in the end destroying the country. Or take England versus Germany, etceteraetcetera. If, as history teaches, defeat is desirable, nations must work at it, developing a ""science of military disaster"" replete with handbooks on how to surrender, retreat, recruit bad troops, encourage poor morale, achieve weapons malfunction, become a cooperative POW, and the like. This is the first such textbook. Admirably detailed (""A white flag. . . can be in one of four possible shapes: it can be rectangular, triangular, swallow-tailed or pendant""), Tzabar gives equal attention to masterminding tactical military debacle, managing a bad foreign policy, and ruining a flourishing economy.

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1972

ISBN: 1568582595

Page Count: -

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1972

Categories: NONFICTION