BITEBACK TO PUBLISH POWERFUL AND TIMELY SURVEY OF THE RUSSIAN WAY OF WAR
James Stephens, Publisher at Biteback, has acquired World English Language rights to The New Total War by former foreign correspondent, soldier and MP, Bob Seely, a critical survey of Russia’s approach to conflict, both in Ukraine today and throughout modern history.
Russian warfare has become the global discussion point in recent years, sparked by the devastating scale of the fighting in Ukraine and the Kremlin’s threats of conflict, including nuclear conflict, with the West. The New Total War is the essential guide to how Russia fights against not only Ukraine but the West as well. It is for anyone who wants to understand how conflict in our world is evolving.
This book is the result of over a decade of research and dozens of interviews. It has been written by a former British soldier and journalist who has travelled extensively throughout Ukraine to get to the truth of Putin’s modus operandi. It tells the story of how, under President Putin, Russia has combined two forms of twentieth-century fighting into a single, new way of total war. It shows why the Kremlin has been in conflict with Kyiv since 2005 and explains why it has been so determined to suppress Ukrainian independence in the face of the bravery and defiance of the Ukrainian people.
Due to its extensive tradition of creative thinking about war, Russia’s new way of fighting is also a guide to how authoritarian states the world over will challenge the West for global supremacy using both military and non-military methods. This book is, therefore, a warning of the style of conflict that will be waged against the West to undermine our beliefs, our power and our influence.
Dr Robert (Bob) Seely is a former soldier, foreign correspondent and British Member of Parliament. As a young foreign correspondent, he witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Union. He first warned of a revanchist Russia in the mid-1990s and has written and researched it extensively since. As a British soldier, he served on the Iraq, Afghan, Libya and ISIS campaigns, where he witnessed the changing nature of war at first-hand. As a Member of Parliament from 2017 to 2024, he warned of the growing Russian threat to peace. Dr Seely has long been fascinated by the fusion of different forms of conflict, trying to understand them from informational, military and political angles. Additionally, he devoted a decade of academic study to Russian warfare for his Ph.D from King’s College, London. The New Total War is the result of over thirty years of expertise in Russia, Ukraine and modern warfare.
Stephens acquired World English rights direct from the author.