For three decades, Ralph Peters has been the most provocative and visionary American writer on strategy, security, intelligence, and military affairs, predicting every major trend that has plagued the post-Cold-War world. A career military officer and acclaimed author, he has always faced the issues others shunned:

The explosion of religious terrorism and its all-or-nothing nature

The resurgence of deadly ethnic strife as borders disintegrate around the world

The fateful weaknesses of our extravagantly expensive intelligence system

The dangers of over-reliance on technology to solve human problems

The endless nature of 21st-century warfare

Our military leadership's difficulty adapting to a changed world

The colossal waste of taxpayer dollars on dubious weapons--at a cost in soldiers' lives

Why wishful thinking is as deadly as fanaticism

These and other enduringly vital themes are addressed in this definitive collection of the finest and most influential work of Ralph Peters over a generation of conflict. Lines of Fire is a career-capping and indispensible work for understanding today's crises--and tomorrow's.