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Book Review: Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine
July 1, 2025 — Billed by the reviewer as “must-read for military professionals who want to understand how the United States and Russia came to the precipice of war,” this book posits that the Washington bipartisan foreign policy consensus is to blame for the Russia-Ukraine War. Using US diplomats, bureaucrats, defense contractors, and politicians to make his point, Horton uses their work to argue for restraint when dealing with Russia. ... MORE

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Book Review: Into the Void: Special Operations Forces after the War on Terror
July 1, 2025 — Edited by James D. Kiras and Martijn Kitzen, Into the Void: Special Operations Forces after the War on Terror, looks at what is unique about the special operations forces enterprise, explores how the organization must evolve, as well as a range of new operational concepts that could benefit SOF. Contributors include academics and practitioners from several backgrounds and countries... MORE

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Book Review: Origins of the Just War: Military Ethics and Culture in the Ancient Near East
July 1, 2025 — Origins of Just War: Military Ethics and Culture in the Ancient Near East, by Rory Cox, explores three ancient cultures —Egyptian, Hittite and Israeli—and how they navigated their relationships between ethics and war. Factors central to these civilizations include political authority, divine leadership, justice, and putting down rebellion. The book offers various disciplinary perspectives including philosophy, religion, art, history, sociology, and international relations. The reviewer notes, “This book will be of interest and accessible to academics, practitioners, and general interest readers alike; it reminds us about the value of broadening our philosophical arguments with the influence of history, religion, law, and culture.”... MORE

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Book Review: Dr. Seuss and the Art of War: Secret Military Lessons
July 1, 2025 — Dr. Seuss and the Art of War: Secret Military Lessons is broken into five parts. Part one introduces Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss). Part two discusses Geisel’s knowledge of strategy, while part three discusses specialty topics. Parts four and five examine luck in war and post-traumatic stress, respectively. The reviewer notes, “because Dr. Seuss used the genre of story as a pedagogical device, he likely made military strategy digestible to a wider audience.” ... MORE

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Book Review: How to Fight a War
July 1, 2025 — Current member of the British Parliament, former British Army officer with Afghanistan experience, and senior visiting research fellow at Kings College London’s War Studies Department Dr. Mike Martin delivers what he terms a “reference guide for the Commander in Chief” in How to Fight a War (3). The result is far more and will serve as an accessible primer for aspiring national security professionals and senior leaders seeking to understand the basic principles of employing violence to prosecute wars successfully. ... MORE

Book Review: The War for Ukraine: Strategy and Adaptation Under Fire
July 1, 2025 — Mick Ryan’s book The War for Ukraine: Strategy and Adaptation Under Fire examines Russia’s and Ukraine’s strategies and, and Ukraine’s NATO supporters, “exploring how the Russians and Ukrainians adapted during the war—on the battlefield and institutionally.” The book has two parts. Part one explores strategy. Part two discusses adaptation in the Russia-Ukraine War and includes points about adaptation for future wars. The reviewer sees it as a must-read saying, “The War for Ukraine is essential reading for civilian and military national security professionals. The strength of the book is Ryan’s unique blend of experience, education, and access.” ... MORE

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Book Review: The World Will Never See the Like: The Gettysburg Reunion of 1913
April 8, 2025 — The World Will Never See the Like: The Gettysburg Reunion of 1913, by John L. Hopkins, traces the story of the Gettysburg reunion from its inception in 1908 to its fruition in 1918, covering the community perspective, the veterans’ search for reconnection, spectators’ thoughts on the spectacle, and more. In the words of reviewer Wylie W. Johnson, “The takeaway for senior leaders from this compelling book is the overriding necessity for reconciliation.”... MORE

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Book Review: Knife Fights: A Memoir of Modern War in Theory and Practice
April 8, 2025 — Today’s force still has plenty to learn about counterinsurgency from Operation Desert Storm. John Nagl’s Knife Fights: A Memoir of Modern War in Theory and Practice “a book about counterinsurgency and its journey from the far periphery of US military doctrine to its center, for better and, some would argue, for worse.” The reviewer notes, Nagl’s work “provides a tangible example of the impact junior leaders can have on the service.”... MORE

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Book Review: Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI
April 8, 2025 — Zachary E. Griffiths’ review of Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI, portrays Ethan Mollick’s book as a concise, easy-to-read tour of artificial intelligence—a user’s guide of sorts. With insightful information about how to use AI, Mollick’s work also covers the history of artificial intelligence and ethical and legal issues that come with using large language models. In his review, Griffiths recommends all Army officers read this book... MORE

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Book Review: Unit X: how the Pentagon and Silicon Valley Are Transforming the Future of War
April 8, 2025 — Bureaucracy versus technology. The Pentagon versus Silicon Valley. Is cooperation possible? If you have ever wondered how the US military and civilian technological institutions can work together to America’s advantage, Robert D. Bradford III’s review of Unit X: How the Pentagon and Silicon Valley Are Transforming the Future of War explores the story of the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental and its connection to the Department of Defense and Silicon Valley... MORE

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