Beneath the humanitarian rhetoric, Virillo sees a sinister innovation in the methods of waging war: territorial space is being replaced by orbital space in which a system of global telesurveillance is linked to the destructive power of bombers and missiles. Governments, the military and the media are becoming part of a seamless and self-justifying process linked by new information and arms technologies.

Passionate and political, Strategy of Deception is a vital examination not only of the war in Yugoslavia but also what Virillo calls our “fin-de-siécle infantilization” in which the reality of battle is reduced to flickering images on a screen.

“One of the most original thinkers of our time.” — Libération

“Virilio is an impressive commentator on the conditioning power of the mass media … he has become essential reading for anyone trying to make sense of America’s out-of-control war of prevention.” — Guardian

Paul Virilio was born in 1932. After the war he trained as an artist in stained glass, working with Braque and Matisse, as well as studying philosophy at the Sorbonne. In 1975 he was made director of the Ecole spéciale d'architecture in Paris. He has written 16 books, including War and Cinema, The Information Bomb, Ground Zero, and Open Sky.