It is not exaggerating to say that Col G.F.R. Henderson was the doyen of British military writers and theorists during the latter part of the 19th Century and the first years of the 20th. His work enjoyed both popularity and influence, and he directly contributed to the successful strategy employed by Lord Roberts during the latter phase of the Second Anglo-Boer War. His teaching influenced a whole generation of senior officers who saw service during the First World War through his work a professor at the British Staff College in Camberley.

This collection of his essays displays all the style, lucidity and accessibility that make his writings as thought-provoking as they are readable. The subjects range from theoretical reflections ('War', 'Strategy', 'Tactics of the Three Arms Combined') to models of historical writing ('Notes on Wellington' and a significant amount of material devoted to the American Civil War, including Henderson's thoughts on the Battle of Gettysburg and the 1864 Wilderness Campaign).

The work closes with a lengthy essay on the state of the British Army in 1899. The Science of War also includes an introductory Memoir of Henderson by Field Marshal Lord Roberts, and a lengthy new essay by Duncan Rogers providing further information about the life of Henderson, and lending context to his place within the field of military history.