A Strategy Reading List
Some Twitter friends asked for a strategy-related reading list. Here are some thoughts. I've focused on books that may be a bit off the beaten path. Clausewitz, Politics Among Nations, etc. should be on any good list!
Here goes...1/
Some Twitter friends asked for a strategy-related reading list. Here are some thoughts. I've focused on books that may be a bit off the beaten path. Clausewitz, Politics Among Nations, etc. should be on any good list!
Here goes...1/
Robert Komer.
Komer is an underappreciated strategist. Exceptionally lucid and penetrating. Very sensible. "Blowtorch" mind.
"Maritime Strategy or Coalition Defense" really helped my thinking in the Pentagon. Remains very relevant. 2/
amazon.com
Komer is an underappreciated strategist. Exceptionally lucid and penetrating. Very sensible. "Blowtorch" mind.
"Maritime Strategy or Coalition Defense" really helped my thinking in the Pentagon. Remains very relevant. 2/
amazon.com
His study on Vietnam "Bureaucracy Does Its Thing" is also masterful. I remember reading it when I returned from my stint as a civilian in Iraq and thinking: Wow. This nailed what happened. Eerie. 3/
rand.org
rand.org
Robert Osgood.
Osgood's work on limited war was seminal.
His book "Nuclear Dilemmas in American Strategic Thought" is one of the most penetrating but underappreciated contributions laying out the key ways of thinking about nuclear strategy. 4/
amazon.com
Osgood's work on limited war was seminal.
His book "Nuclear Dilemmas in American Strategic Thought" is one of the most penetrating but underappreciated contributions laying out the key ways of thinking about nuclear strategy. 4/
amazon.com
James Schlesinger.
He's famous as a SecDef. But his analytical writings were very penetrating and much more sound than, say, Kissinger's or many of the other poobahs. I think Schlesinger's record holds up best in terms of strategic vision during the Cold War. 5/
He's famous as a SecDef. But his analytical writings were very penetrating and much more sound than, say, Kissinger's or many of the other poobahs. I think Schlesinger's record holds up best in terms of strategic vision during the Cold War. 5/
I particularly recommend his "Strategic Consequences of Nuclear Proliferation." A more sober and analytical approach to the problem than you'll find almost anywhere. 6/
apps.dtic.mil
apps.dtic.mil
Hans Morgenthau is of course famous for Politics Among Nations. Justly a classic. But I also found his Scientific Man and Power Politics especially penetrating. Well worth it. 7/
amazon.com
amazon.com
Robert Gilpin.
Huge fan. Underrated thinker even with a great deal of influence. His War and Change is rightly famous. But his work on the interplay between int'l politics and political economy are really valuable. 8/
amazon.com
Huge fan. Underrated thinker even with a great deal of influence. His War and Change is rightly famous. But his work on the interplay between int'l politics and political economy are really valuable. 8/
amazon.com
Dale Copeland is also a fantastic thinker along these lines. Brings together power considerations with political economy in ways that are really helpful in understanding how international relations really work. 9/
amazon.com
amazon.com
A lot of the nuclear strategy canon is well known. This volume, Limited Strategic War, is an underappreciated part of it. Great piece in it for instance by Tom Schelling, a true giant. 10/
amazon.com
amazon.com
Henry Kissinger.
In my view, overrated as a statesman. But a phenomenal writer and thinker, albeit not always systematic or logical. Place to start is Diplomacy. It's his strong suit: History, character sketches, philosophical insights, the West. 11/
amazon.com
In my view, overrated as a statesman. But a phenomenal writer and thinker, albeit not always systematic or logical. Place to start is Diplomacy. It's his strong suit: History, character sketches, philosophical insights, the West. 11/
amazon.com
Also A World Restored. Even if not always historically reliable, a fantastic meditation on statecraft and strategy. 12/
amazon.com
amazon.com
Edward Luttwak: A master strategist who broke new ground in multiple areas.
One book where he really put his finger on it is Turbo Capitalism, anticipating many of the economic issues we're facing today. 13/
amazon.com
One book where he really put his finger on it is Turbo Capitalism, anticipating many of the economic issues we're facing today. 13/
amazon.com
William Odom: A great strategist and really clear-headed thinker. One of the few to get Iraq War right, for instance.
This book really shaped my thinking on America's role in the world. (The title is a bit misleading.) 14/
amazon.com
This book really shaped my thinking on America's role in the world. (The title is a bit misleading.) 14/
amazon.com
Nicholas Spykman:
This book is a must read. Balance of power, regions, hegemony. The good stuff. 15/
amazon.com
This book is a must read. Balance of power, regions, hegemony. The good stuff. 15/
amazon.com
No list is complete without the peerless Bob Kaplan. There are many of Bob's works well worth consulting, but his book on the Balkans is one that had a huge impact at the time and an area he knows very well. 15/
amazon.com
amazon.com
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