COUNTER-STRIKETV BOOKS - CounterStrikeMedia

BUILDING MILITARIES IN FRAGILE STATES

3/29/2019

TNSR: Book Review Roundtable: Building Militaries in Fragile States by by Walter C. Ladwig III, Loren DeJonge Schulman, Tommy Ross, and Jason Fritz

Working in Non-Permissive Environments:
Arming Civilians Isn’t the Answer
By Leon S. Waskin, RealClearDefense: “USAID has long sought to develop an approach for the rapid deployment of its staff into high threat regions. One idea is to develop “Rapid Expeditionary Development – RED” teams."

Blood and Power: The Militia-Corruption Nexus in Latin America
By Paul Rexton Kan, Small Wars Journal: “Although much of the focus has been on how the military, national guard and police are reacting to the opposition’s new found assertiveness, paramilitary groups, loyal to the ruling party and numbering in the hundreds of thousands, have acted as official henchmen of the governing elite. Known as colectivos, these militias have long acted to repress dissent and opposition as a means to ensure the survival of the regime."

MIDNIGHT IN CHERNOBYL: UNSUNG HEROES OF A NUCLEAR CATASTROPHE

2/24/2019

AMAZON

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BUSINESS INSIDER
UNSUNG HEROES

“Chernobyl” offers a grim, dramatic indictment of socialism
By Derya M. Little on Jun 13, 2019 02:47 am
Back in 1986, the Turkish government had to stop giving me and other elementary school children tiny packages of hazelnuts because somewhere in the USSR something had exploded, and somehow that explosion had poisoned the [...]
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COSTS OF CONVERSATION: OBSTACLES TO PEACE IN WAR TIME, ORIANA SKYLAR MAESTRO

2/7/2019

'The Costs of Conversation: Obstacles to Peace Talks in Wartime'
Oriana Skylar Mastro | Cornell University Press
Through four primary case studies, “The Costs of Conversation” demonstrates that the strategic costs of conversation best explain the timing and nature of countries’ approach to wartime talks, and therefore when peace talks begin.

How do we avoid war on the Korean Peninsula? And how will the ongoing US-China rivalry play out? Oriana Skylar Mastro joined AEI’s “Banter” podcast ahead of the Trump-Kim summit to discuss the process of diplomatic negotiations and her new book, “The Costs of Conversation: Obstacles to Peace Talks in Wartime” (Cornell University Press, 2019). Mastro explains how belligerents decide whether to talk to their enemies and why they go from only fighting to also talking. Listen here.

WEST OF THE REVOLUTION: A COUNTER-INTUITIVE HISTORY OF THE BIRTH OF THE PAX AMERICANA

2/6/2019

In this unique history of 1776, Claudio Saunt looks beyond the familiar story of the thirteen colonies to explore the many other revolutions roiling the turbulent American continent. In that fateful year, the Spanish landed in San Francisco, the Russians pushed into Alaska to hunt valuable sea otters, and the Sioux discovered the Black Hills. Hailed by critics for challenging our conventional view of the birth of America, West of the Revolution “[coaxes] our vision away from the Atlantic seaboard” and “exposes a continent seething with peoples and purposes beyond Minutemen and Redcoats” (Wall Street Journal).
22 illustrations; 15 maps

IN PRAISE OF EMPIRE

2/6/2019

Misplaced guilt
by Andrew Roberts
A review of In Praise of Empires: Globalization and Order by D. Lal

The Italians are rightly proud of Ancient Rome, the French revere the Napoleonic First Empire, the Portuguese esteem Prince Henry the Navigator as highly as the Austrians do Emperor Charles V, or the Spanish King... more

MR. FIVE PERCENT

1/12/2019

THE GUARDIAN

AMAZON

ASIA & SECULARISM: THE MEIJI RESTORATION

1/10/2019

The Meiji Restoration
by Michael R. Auslin via Stanford University Press
For Japan, the Meiji Restoration of 1868 has something of the significance that the French Revolution has for France: it is the point from which modern history begins. In this now classic work of Japanese history, the late W. G. Beasley offers a comprehensive account of the origins, development, and immediate aftermath of the events that restored Imperial rule to Japan.

HOOVER INSTITUTION BOOKS AND PODCASTS 2018 & ASIA TIMES BOOKS FOR 2019

12/25/2018

HOOVER BOOKS

PODCASTS

ASIA TIMES

ARMIES OF SAND: EFFECTIVENESS OF ARAB LEADERSHIP IN WAR & EGYPT'S PLACE IN US REGIONAL STRATEGY & A NEW LOOK AT SUEZ CANAL

12/21/2018

Arab military effectiveness
Kenneth Pollack | AEI video
In the years since World War II, Arab militaries have routinely lost every major conflict, even when they have had advantages. Is it because of their strategy? Their equipment? Or something else entirely?

Since the end of World War II, Arab armed forces have consistently punched below their weight. Why? In a set of AEI graphics, Kenneth Pollack demonstrates that despite being the preeminent supplier of military arms and equipment to Arab countries, America’s efforts have not produced meaningfully strong Arab allies, let alone long-term stability and security. Explore the graphics here.

The US has wasted billions of dollars on failed Arab armies
Kenneth Pollack | Foreign Policy
If the US is going to stay involved in the Middle East, it has to rethink the way it engages with Arab militaries. Ambitious dreams of engaged, modernized militaries must be replaced with more realistic plans that build on the real strengths of allies, instead of forcing soldiers into a mold that their societies and culture have left them unsuited for.

U.S. Commanders Everyone Should Study
By Joe Byerly, Wavell Room: “In America, we have had a number of military leaders worthy of study. By studying their leadership we gain an understanding of the problems they faced, the decisions they made, their successes and mistakes, and how they approached the art of command. More importantly we gain points of traction by which to grow our leadership abilities and become the best version ourselves.

'Armies of Sand: The Past, Present, and Future of Arab Military Effectiveness'
Kenneth Pollack | Oxford University Press

OUP

'Armies of Sand: The Past, Present, and Future of Arab Military Effectiveness'
Kenneth Pollack | Oxford University Press
Since World War II, Arab armed forces have consistently punched below their weight. Over time, soldiers, scholars, and military experts have offered various explanations for this pattern. “Armies of Sand” assesses these differing explanations and isolates the most important causes.

Arab Armies Under the Microscope by Seth Frantzman
The Jerusalem Post
February 13, 2019
https://www.meforum.org/57802/arab-armies-under-microscope

Samuel Tadros: The Sorrows Of Egypt, Revisited
with Samuel Tadros via Hudson InstituteHoover Institution fellow Samuel Tadros discusses whether Egypt still has a place in the US grand strategy.

Why Did It All Go So Wrong? An Arab Veteran of the Anti-Soviet Jihad Speaks by Myra MacDonald

Kenneth M. Pollack writes: Da’ish and Hizballah are the two most important Arab non-state militaries that demonstrated a clear superiority in their battlefield competence over the vast majority of Arab militaries since the Second World War. Understanding why they were exceptionally more successful is therefore a critical element in understanding how Arab society has shaped its armed forces during the modern era, and how the Middle Eastern military balance may change in the future. – Real Clear Books

Book Review Roundtable: What to Make of the Suez Canal Crisis by Jordan Chandler Hirsch, Madison Schramm, Danny Steed, and Galen Jackson

AEI BEST BOOKS FOR 2018 & THE 2019 WAR READING LIST

12/12/2018

War Books: MG Mick Ryan’s 2019 Reading List
By Mick Ryan, Modern War Institute: “Each year I assemble a single-page list of professional readings and other PME resources. It is not designed as a comprehensive reading program, but as short variety of resources for those who wish to begin (or re-energize) the amazing voyage of exploration in the many aspects of the profession of arms."

AEI’s best books of 2018
James Pethokoukis | AEIdeas
With 2018 coming to a close, we asked some of our scholars and staff about their favorite books of the past year. History, economics, literature, science fiction — AEI is an eclectic bunch, and there is something for everyone. Just in time for last-second Christmas gift ideas, too.

CAPITALISM IN AMERICA BY GREENSPAN

12/9/2018

CJ

THE END OF THE BRITISH RAJ & FALL OF EMPIRE

12/7/2018

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BEST BIOGRAPHY EVER WRITTEN ON NAPOLEON

11/17/2018

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"What a novel my life has been!" Napoleon once said of himself. Born into a poor family, the callow young man was, by twenty-six, an army general. Seduced by an older woman, his marriage transformed him into a galvanizing military commander. The Pope crowned him as Emperor of the French when he was only thirty-five. Within a few years, he became the effective master of Europe, his power unparalleled in modern history. His downfall was no less dramatic.

The story of Napoleon has been written many times. In some versions, he is a military genius, in others a war-obsessed tyrant. Here, historian Adam Zamoyski cuts through the mythology and explains Napoleon against the background of the European Enlightenment, and what he was himself seeking to achieve. This most famous of men is also the most hidden of men, and Zamoyski dives deeper than any previous biographer to find him. Beautifully written, Napoleonbrilliantly sets the man in his European context.

AMAZON

STALIN: CLAREMONT REVIEW BOOKS

11/15/2018

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.

The Ambiguity of Stalin
By Jeremy Friedman on Apr 25, 2019 10:00 pm
Somehow Joseph Stalin cannot be reduced merely to just another Russian autocrat or just another communist dictator. Not for him the “banality of evil.”… Stalin: Paradoxes of Power, 1878–1928 By Stephen Kotkin (Penguin Press, 2014) Stalin: New Biography of a Dictator By Oleg Khlevniuk, translated by Nora Seligman Favorov (Yale University Press, 2015) The ...
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THE PROMISE OF AMERICA: REAGAN, A NEW BIOGRAPHY

11/9/2018

Conservative internationalism: Armed diplomacy under Jefferson, Polk, Truman, and Reagan with Henry Nau
Wilson Shirley and Henry R. Nau | "Bradley Lecture Series"

On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, 2 years after Reagan famously said, ‘Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall’
Mark J. Perry | AEIdeas

https://www.amazon.com/Reagan-Life-H-W-Brands/dp/0307951146

ANDREW ROBERTS: CHURCHILL

11/3/2018

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BARRY STRAUSS
Churchill’s Grandeur
Andrew Roberts has written a masterful biography of the British statesman.

AMAZON

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Winston Churchill: Walking With Destiny
interview with Andrew Roberts via Uncommon Knowledge
Andrew Roberts examines the extraordinary life of Winston Churchill in Roberts’s new book, Churchill: Walking with Destiny.

Andrew Roberts On The John Batchelor Show (Part 1 of 8)
with Andrew Roberts via Hoover Daily ReportHoover Institution fellow Andrew Roberts discusses his latest book Churchill: Walking with Destiny.
Part 2 - https://audioboom.com/posts/7163327-churchill-walking-with-destiny-2-of-8-kindle-ebook-by-andrew-roberts
Part 3 - https://audioboom.com/posts/7163326-churchill-walking-with-destiny-3-of-8-kindle-ebook-by-andrew-roberts
Part 4 - https://audioboom.com/posts/7163324-churchill-walking-with-destiny-4-of-8-kindle-ebook-by-andrew-roberts
Part 5 - https://audioboom.com/posts/7163322-churchill-walking-with-destiny-5-of-8-kindle-ebook-by-andrew-roberts
Part 6 - https://audioboom.com/posts/7163321-churchill-walking-with-destiny-6-of-8-kindle-ebook-by-andrew-roberts
Part 7 - https://audioboom.com/posts/7163320-churchill-walking-with-destiny-7-of-8-kindle-ebook-by-andrew-roberts
Part 8 - https://audioboom.com/posts/7163319-churchill-walking-with-destiny-8-of-8-kindle-ebook-by-andrew-roberts

An Artist’s Churchill
Andrew Roberts delivers a masterly, standard-setting biography of the British leader.

HOW TO UNDERSTAND SOLZHENITSYN'S "FIRST CIRCLE"

10/19/2018

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.

Stephen Kotkin On Solzhenitsyn
by Russell Roberts featuring Stephen Kotkin via EconTalk
This week, historian and author Stephen Kotkin of Princeton University and Stanford University's Hoover Institution talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the historical significance of the life and work of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Solzhenitsyn's birth.

REIGNING IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE STATE

10/16/2018

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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.

Rein in the administrative state and preserve democracy
Peter J. Wallison | RealClearPolitics

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.

AMERICA'S DEEP HISTORY WITH SOUTH ASIA

10/9/2018

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.

14 CENTURIES OF FIGHTING ISLAM: SWORD & SCIMITAR

9/2/2018

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BEST BOOKS ON THE FINANCIAL CRASH

8/22/2018

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.

WAR ON THE ROCKS READING LIST 2018

8/22/2018

The 2018 War on the Rocks Holiday Reading List by WOTR Staff

SUMMER READING LIST 2018

2018 In Books: A Review of 80 Books for Leaders
From The Company Leader: "A move from coast-to-coast and a now long daily commute have combined to help in my 2018 book consumption. Audible has certainly been a game-changer too, making drives and PT hours double as “reading” time."

CLAUSEWITZ' LIBRARY: STRATEGY, POLITICS & POETRY

8/7/2018

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.”

BATTLES THAT BROUGHT WESTERN SUPREMACY

7/18/2018

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."

A JESUIT TACKLES ISLAM, AGAIN

7/12/2018

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. […]

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