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 Blood-Soaked Monster
featuring Stephen Kotkin via The Claremont Review of Books Writing a biography of Joseph Stalin is a monumental task, which he made as difficult as possible.
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 BARRY STRAUSS
Churchill’s Grandeur Andrew Roberts has written a masterful biography of the British statesman. AMAZON  Kevin Mckenna On Characters, Plot, And Themes Of In The First Circle
by Russell Roberts via EconTalk Russian Literature Professor Kevin McKenna of the University of Vermont talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the characters, plot, and themes of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's masterpiece, In the First Circle. This is the second episode of the EconTalk book club discussing the book. The first episode--a discussion of Solzhenitsyn's life and times--is available on EconTalk at Kevin McKenna on Solzhenitsyn, the Soviet Union, and In the First Circle.  Judicial Fortitude: The Last Chance to Rein in the Administrative State Peter J. Wallison | Encounter Books In his newest book, Peter Wallison argues that the administrative agencies of the executive branch are gradually taking over the legislative role of Congress. The courts bear the major responsibility for this because they have failed to carry out their primary constitutional responsibility: to assure that the elected branches of the government — Congress and the president (including the executive branch that the president controls) — remain independent and separate from one another. Since 1937, the judiciary has abandoned this role. It has allowed administrative agencies great latitude in interpreting their statutory authorities. As a result, unnecessary regulation has imposed major costs on the US economy, the separation of powers has been compromised, and erosion of the role of a representative Congress creates a significant threat that Americans will question the legitimacy of the US government’s decisions in the future. A Chevron Revolution In The Supreme Court? by David Davenport via Defining Ideas A new book proposes a rollback of the administrative state. Reforming Regulation by Michael J. Boskin via PolicyEd There are often economic, health, safety, environmental, and other benefits that justify regulation. But it is important to keep in mind that many of them create a drag on the economy by imposing costs or stifling innovation and competition. Once implemented, we need to track their impact and periodically reevaluate them. An ongoing goal should be to achieve the original goals at a lower cost. The dangers of giving authority to administrative agencies
Peter J. Wallison | AEIdeas Not all administrations are willing to abandon due process and legal restrictions to achieve certain policy ends. But we risk this kind of lawlessness in the future unless administrative power is limited by law.  Review: America's Deep History With South Asia
quoting Niall Ferguson via The Wire Srinath Raghavan's history of US involvement in South Asia – primarily India, Pakistan and Afghanistan – provides a rich backdrop of lessons for today’s US policymakers as they consider dilemmas in the region.  The Best Books For Making Sense Of The Financial Crash, 10 Years Later
mentioning Niall Ferguson via The Strategist (New York Magazine) The financial crisis of 2008 was the most important single economic event since the 1930s — and it was also the subject of last week’s print issue of our magazine, which chronicles the ascent of the New New Left and Donald Trump, as well as the demise of the middle class, pop culture, and the American Dream.  Clausewitz’s Library: Strategy, Politics, and Poetry By Vanya Eftimova Bellinger, Strategy Bridge: “Carl von Clausewitz is considered by many the west’s preeminent military theorist, and within professional military education his seminal treatise On War is extensively cited and studied. With so much attention, it might be supposed that we know all there is to know about his life and work. In reality, however, Clausewitz’s intellectual path, especially in his later years, remains somewhat of a mystery.” War Stories As They Should Be Told
By Steve Leonard, Modern War Institute: “With The Fighters, Chivers returns to classic form, bringing to life a series of personal stories of war, drawn together across time and space with a common thread: the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”  Victor Davis Hanson: The Secret Strength Of The West interview with Victor Davis Hanson via Our American Network Hoover Institution fellow Victor Davis Hanson discusses Carnage and Culture and the strength of the US. Learning War: The Evolution of Fighting Doctrine in the U.S. Navy, 1898-1945
By Stephen Stein, Strategy Bridge: "In these years, the Navy changed from a traditional institution of the sailing era, relying on apprenticeship and on-the-job training at sea, to a modern learning organization that valued technology, professional education, and shore-based schools."  On Islam Is on Target
William Kilpatrick One of the interesting aspects of Fr. James Schall’s refreshing collection of essays, On Islam, is that it provides a chronological record. The first essay appeared in 2003, the last in 2018. This allows the reader to see how our understanding of Islam has changed over those years. Unfortunately, it hasn’t changed much at all. […]  Pandora’s Box: A History of the First World War
By Richard Fulton, Strategy Bridge: “The key descriptor for the last two years of the war was exhaustion: physical, emotional, economic, spiritual exhaustion.” The Complete China Maritime Militia Bookshelf From Andrew S. Erickson: “Rarely is a topic so little recognized and so little understood, yet so important and so amenable to research using Chinese-language open sources…”  Five Books: Norman Naimark
featuring Norman M. Naimark via Five Books Norman Naimark is an American historian and author who specializes in modern Eastern European history, genocide and ethnic cleansing. He is a professor in the history department at Stanford University, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. Naimark has been awarded the Officers Cross of the Order of Merit by Germany.  How To Crack The Electoral Code
quoting Victor Davis Hanson via SF Gate Theodore White invented a genre with his groundbreaking book "The Making of the President, 1960," and news junkies ever since have eagerly awaited postmortems from inside the operations of the various Republican and Democrat presidential campaigns. There have been 14 presidential elections since Kennedy-Nixon, and each has generated its own raft of books. DR. LEWIS GADDIS, PAUL KENNEDY & CHARLES HILL: YALE'S GRAND STRATEGY SYMPOSIUM  
The Roots of Modern Military Education
By Lorenzo Ruiz, Strategy Bridge: “Prussia stands alone among the great military nations of Europe, and this honorable distinction is in a great measure the result of the diffused system of education throughout the country, and of the plan adopted by Stein and Scharnhorst, to make the officers the leaders of the army both in education and in military science.” OSSUARY OF BRASIDAS, LEADER OF SPARTA  In the Footsteps of Brasidas
Life lessons from reading Thucydides and hiking at night  Lesley Blanch, The Sabres Of Paradise: Conquest And Vengeance In The Caucasus (1960) by Ralph Peters via Classics of Military History For those who only know the Caucasus from recent conflicts—in Chechnya, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabagh and elsewhere—this book offers a vital historical perspective. Although Orthodox Russia battled Islamic powers on and off for centuries, Russia’s longest war, waged against hardline Islamists, lasted a full generation in the nineteenth century. John Masters, Bugles And A Tiger (1956) And The Road Past Mandalay (1961)
by Ralph Peters via Classics of Military History These two autobiographical volumes from a former (British) Indian Army officer begin by capturing a lost world, that of the Raj in the years before World War II, in the grand imperial twilight (punishing Afghan tribes, downing gin, and shooting tigers), then move into the desperate war years that doomed the British Empire. Masters’ account of fighting in Burma is an even-rawer version of George MacDonald Fraser’s superb memoir, Quartered Safe Out Here.  Steven Runciman, A History Of The Crusades (Three Volumes, 1951-54)
by Ralph Peters via Classics of Military History The Crusades are often invoked, but rarely understood. Runciman’s modern classic remains the benchmark for its objectivity, clarity and literary merit. Of immediate value for military officers and civilian analysts, this work explodes pernicious current myths, while reporting human valor and folly, treachery and brilliance with enthralling narrative style.
Future Tense: The Lessons of Culture in an Age of Upheaval by Roger Kimball.
We are living in an age of unprecedented upheaval. The future of Western culture is uncertain. America’s economic and political vitality are more fragile than ever. The preservation of tradition is far from guaranteed. Many have observed that we are living through a world historical moment of which Hegel spoke: a time when many of the traditional assumptions about the shape and future of culture are suddenly in play. As The New Criterion embarks on its fourth decade of publication, the magazine commemorates its commitment to the civilizing values of informed criticism with the publication of Future Tense: The Lessons of Culture in an Age of Upheaval. Compiling the writings of some of the greatest essayists of our time, Future Tense examines this pivotal period through a variety of lenses. Beginning with a meditation on memorials after the 9/11 attacks (Michael J. Lewis), the essays address patriotism in relation to Pericles (Victor Davis Hanson), twenty-first century American pride and leadership (Andrew Roberts), the future of religion in America (David Bentley Hart), and the unwinding of the welfare state (Kevin D. Williamson). Continuing this arc, pieces examine self-knowledge and modern technology (Anthony Daniels), the cultural capital of museums (James Panero), and the difficulties of making law in the modern world (Andrew C. McCarthy). In its penultimate essay, the book explores the possibility of a forthcoming political revolution (James Piereson), then closes with a reflection of culture’s role in the economy of life and the fragility of civilization (Roger Kimball). Taken together, these prominent writers demonstrate an acute understanding of the value of Western thought as well as the challenges it faces. Future Tense is an engaging discourse on the prospects of society and an important collection for anyone concerned with the longevity of traditional culture.  Ignorance and Professional Military Education: The Case for Operational Engagement by Thang Tran, Michael Oliveira, Josh Sider, and Leo Blanken Fixes To 'Up Or Out' Promotion System Could Take Years quoting Timothy Kane via Stars and Stripes Air Force veteran and economist Timothy Kane reached one overarching conclusion after writing two books on the military’s “up or out” promotion system: It’s woefully outdated. Soldier Learning 2050 By Charles Heard, Small Wars Journal: “The use of virtual reality and other technologies can’t replace physical training entirely, but they may minimize the amount of physical training required to achieve mastery of tasks.” Dismantling Contemporary Military Thinking By Bradley L. Rees, Small Wars Journal: “Despite the r/evolutionary tenets of warfare that came from precise applications of scientific and technological doctrines, the Modern/Technical School’s misinterpretation of much of Clausewitzian theory ultimately manifested in an over-adherence to Jominian mechanics, Napoleonic maneuver, and von Moltke the Elder’s approach to the application of force.” Who’s Missing? The Limits of Professional Reading Lists By Olivia Garard, Strategy Bridge: “While diverse representation, both of authorship and of content, is necessary and, still, sorely lacking, the general brouhaha fails to heed the crux of the matter. All lists list.” Approaching a Fork in the Road: Professional Education and Military Learning? By David Morgan-Owen, War on the Rocks: “What is the purpose of military education, and how should it be delivered?” The Road Less Traveled: Both Sides Are Right About Professional Military Education by Tammy S. Schultz Ditching PowerPoint: Here’s how these experts are looking to transform the way soldiers learn (Army Times) A small group of focused experts is trying to find ways to tailor, accelerate and adapt soldier learning for decades to come — and one slice of that work is an effort to end the dreaded DBPP syndrome, otherwise known as “Death By PowerPoint.” Assume Nothing; Knowledge (In)Equality
By Ed, Wavell Room: “Thinking conceptually requires an openness of thought which historically might have been considered anathema to military hierarchy and good discipline."  Leaders Are Readers Part III: Managing Your Reading Program
From 3x5 Leadership: “Like almost all things in life and work, to grow as a leader through reading requires a defined management system to ensure long-term sustainability and effectiveness. |
Author of "The True Believer: Thoughts on the nature of Mass Movements."
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