"War from the Ground Up" covers a wide range of topics, including grand strategy, civil-military relations, and counter-insurgency. Simpson's primary thesis is that the traditional model of war as a bi-polar conflict between two discrete political units is not helpful on the modern battlefield. Whereas in the past wars were fought to achieve a specifically military end state, soldiers today "directly seek political, as opposed to military, outcomes." At the same time, military leaders must consider the impact of their actions not only on the enemy but on a diverse set of "audiences". Much of the material consists of historical analysis, including a chapter devoted to the Borneo Confrontation of 1962-1966. Elsewhere, Simpson critiques Samuel P. Huntington's 1957 book "The Soldier and the State". Whereas Huntington had advocated strict civilian control of the military, Simpson argues for reciprocal dialogue between civilian leaders and the military. Simpson also draws on Aristotle's "Rhetoric" to emphasize the importance of "strategic narrative," which he defines as "a story" used "to explain one's actions."