This book dissects precisely how the United States imagines fighting the People's Republic of China, and why it risks failing. Franz-Stefan Gady contends that the US military approach to a potential conflict over Taiwan is unlikely to succeed, relying heavily on both rapidly established information superiority and a decisive victory. This may increase the threat of nuclear escalation between the world's only superpowers.

The more likely scenario is a prolonged war of attrition across land, sea, air, space and cyberspace. America's society, armed forces and industrial capacity are ill-prepared for this--a deficiency stemming from a military culture that prioritises advanced technology over mass, and from a lack of public or political will for the sacrifices required by such a conflict.

Gady's superb research and analysis, based on US doctrine, force structure and general 'ways of war', reveal the significant risks to the United States in a potential conflict with China, whether in the 2020s or 2030s.