The inside story of the small group of soldier-scholars who changed the way the Pentagon does business and the American military fights wars, against fierce resistance from within their own ranks.

"What we need is an officer with three heads" -- "Another type of warfare" -- "Eating soup with a knife" -- Revolutions -- The insurgent at war -- The irregulars -- "Where's my counterinsurgency plan?" -- The Basin Harbor gang -- The directive -- The insurgent in the engine room of change -- The workshop -- Hearts & minds -- "Clear, hold, and build" -- "We are pulling in different directions" -- The field manual -- The surge -- Awakenings -- The insurgent in the Pentagon -- "It is folly" -- COIN vs. CT -- "Storm clouds" -- "A new American way of war".