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Book Review: Skies of Thunder: The Deadly World War II Mission over the Roof of the World
July 19, 2024 — Dr. Heather Venable, course director, Airpower Strategy and Operations, at the Air Command and Staff College, insightfully analyzes multifaceted author and translator Caroline Alexander’s latest history of the China-Burma-India Theater. Venable overviews the book’s four main elements and the two structural topics—the “ ‘Hump’ of the Himalayas” and the land bridge. She praises the author’s “beguiling human and geographical detail” that “brings the CBI Theater to life while casting a critical eye on the human frailties of her research subjects.”... MORE

Book Cover: Skies of Thunder: The Deadly World War II Mission over the Roof of the World

Book Review: Cold Rivals: The New Era of US-China Strategic Competition
June 18, 2024 — Naval War College associate professor Dr. Jeffrey Reeves provides a thoughtful critique of this anthology on relations between the United States and China. After a brief note on US-Chinese relations during the Trump and Biden-Harris administrations, Reeves offers suggestions for further reading and implies that the book, while providing a “historical account of US-China relations and [chronicling] its evolution,” is not unique in its contributions compared to similar literature, though he does praise two chapters on economics and technology that “stand out.”... MORE

Book Review: Age of Danger: Keeping America Safe in an Era of New Superpowers, New Weapons, and New Threats
June 18, 2024 — Dr. John A. Nagl overviews Andrew Hoehn and Thom Shanker’s contributions with their recent book, Age of Danger, which is “well worth readers’ attention.” Nagl describes Hoehn and Shanker’s emphasis on the importance and relationship between the US intelligence community and the US Department of Defense. His review also focuses on the US relationship with China and Russia, the latter of which is featured as “[t]he acute threat” in what Nagl calls “the book’s best chapter.”... MORE

Book Review: The Hollow Crown: Shakespeare on How Leaders Rise, Rule, and Fall
June 18, 2024 — Lieutenant Colonel Zachary Griffiths provides an insightful review of Professor Eliot A. Cohen’s book on leadership lessons through the lens of William Shakespeare’s work, a method that “helps readers see common challenges in new ways.” Griffiths describes Cohen’s structural approach to the book—a blend of modern examples with Shakespearean counterparts—and writes that The Hollow Crown’s “effective structure allows chapters to stand on their own while remaining part of a cohesive whole.” Griffiths also notes that “[a] deep appreciation for Shakespeare’s works is not required to enjoy the book,” and that, though the book “occupies an unusual literary space,” it would “rest easily on a bookshelf alongside biographies and excellent leadership texts.”... MORE

Book Review: The Decline and Fall of Republican Afghanistan
June 18, 2024 — Foreign-policy expert Dr. Whitney Grespin reviews a “deservedly cutting reflection on mistakes made and lessons not learned during the Afghanistan War.” She notes the book’s “valuable perspective,” as one of the authors was in Kabul when it fell. Distilling the book’s contents into a detailed, useful overview, Grespin provides a helpful roadmap for readers interested in these topics and concludes the book is “[a] necessary read for practitioners engaged in security assistance.”... MORE

Book Review: The Wandering Army: The Campaigns that Transformed the British Way of War
May 20, 2024 — European Military History | Author: Huw J. Davies | Reviewed by Dr. James D. Scudieri, senior research historian, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College | Senior research historian Dr. James D. Scudieri lends his expertise to review King’s College London academic Huw J. Davies’s most recent book, a “powerful monograph” on the 1750–1850... MORE

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Book Review: Thanks for Your Service: The Causes and Consequences of Public Confidence in the US Military
May 20, 2024 — Civil-Military Relations | Author: Christian Nikolaus Braun | Reviewed by Lieutenant Colonel James “Andy” Nichols, US Army War College class of 2023 | Lieutenant Colonel James “Andy” Nichols provides a thoughtful review of Duke University professor Peter D. Feaver’s book on the reasons for—and proposed ways to maintain—the “high public confidence”... MORE

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Book Review: Limited Force and the Fight for the Just War Tradition
May 20, 2024 — Military Theory | Author: Christian Nikolaus Braun | Reviewed by Reverend Dr. Wylie W. Johnson, chaplain, US Army War College class of 2010 | Retired US Army chaplain Dr. Wylie W. Johnson reviews Christian Nikolaus Braun’s dissertation-turned-book on a “casuistic” approach to just war informed by the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas. Johnson... MORE

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Book Review: Armies in Retreat: Chaos, Cohesion, and Consequences
May 20, 2024 — Military History | Editors: Timothy G. Heck and Walker D. Mills | Reviewed by Dr. J.P. Clark, associate professor of strategy, Basic Strategic Art Program, US Army War College | Dr. J.P. Clark provides a thoughtful analysis of this anthology on retreat, an "under-studied topic in the US military." The book covers case studies spanning from the... MORE

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Book Review: Military Culture Shift: The Impact of War, Money, and Generational Perspective on Morale, Retention, and Leadership
April 19, 2024 — Military Culture | Author: Corie Weathers | Reviewed by Rodger M. Kissane, graduate student, College of International Security Affairs, National Defense University | Rodger M. Kissane provides a thoughtful review of this important book on “bridging and even transcending generational differences” in the US military. Kissane highlights author Corie... MORE

Cover for Military Culture Shift: The Impact of War, Money, and Generational Perspective on Morale, Retention, and Leadership