Strategy Strikes Back: The Connections Between Sci-Fi and Reality

by Jack Holder

       Last week, I finished reading a book that I had put off all summer in favor of other books, and now I wish I hadn't. Strategy Strikes Back is a book about the connections between things that happen in Star Wars and their real world equivalents, as well as lessons about warfare that Star Wars teaches watchers. 

     It is divided into four parts so, depending on your interest, you can choose to skip certain parts that do not interest you. I chose to read all four parts, which are as follows: Society and War, Preparation for War, Waging a War, and Assessment of War. 
      In Society and War, the book discusses the relations between the military and its government and civilians, the rebuilding of areas with heavy conflict (such as the forest moon of Endor), the parallels between the direction military conflict in the future and how it is in Star Wars, and the rise of women warriors in movies and reality. 
      In Preparation for War, it talks about the Empire's flawed military in terms of modern day conflicts, different war philosophies, carefully planning the right type of military for your resources, why marines are an important military asset, messing with opponents' minds, and military tech lessons from Star Wars (like why building a Death Star isn't worth it sometimes). 
       The third section, Waging a War, breaks down key battles in Star War (such as the Battle of Endors and Hoth), discusses strategy in Star Wars, as well as uses Star Wars scenes as examples for real world strategies
       The fourth and final section, Assessment of War, deals with counterinsurgency, why the Jedi, the Republic, and the Empire failed, military and civil implications from the history of Star Wars, why Yoda was a poor military leader, and a general history of the Star Wars Galactic Civil War. 
       Overall, this book is a great read for anybody with even rudimentary knowledge of Star Wars because of how it explains everything extremely well for someone like me who does not know much about military terms and tactics, and also still makes it fun to see the similarities and differences between Star Wars and reality.