Coup d'État: A Practical Handbook (1968) is a history book by Edward Luttwak examining the whys and what-fores for the conditions, strategy, planning, and execution of coups d'état.^[1]

[edit] Critical Response

In a 1980 review of the book, Richard Clutterbuck called Coup d'État: A Practical Handbook (1968) one of "only two general contemporary books on the subject" of military coups d'état that are worthwhile in content and readerly interest, the other being Samuel Finer's The Man on Horseback. However, Clutterbuck criticises the book for not further emphasising the role of the news media in determining the likely success of a coup d'état .^[2]

The book played a critical role in the fictional series Illuminatus! by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea regarding a coup in Equatorial Guinea which was the outward trigger for a global crisis in the book.

The book also served as the inspiration for a National Film Board of Canada movie, Power Play, which is set in an unnamed Western country and deals with the planning and execution of a coup d'état.

[edit] References

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