Alessandra Nisch
Putin’s Wars: Testing Boyd’s Strategy of ...

President Putin made three foundational assumptions in launching his war against Ukraine that should have been correct but were not. First, Putin assumed the invasion of Ukraine would be a quick and easy fight. Second, he assumed the world would denounce the invasion but tacitly allow it. Third, Putin assumed the war would deter NATO expansion.

Putin’s Wars: Testing Boyd’s Strategy of Applied Friction

Biography

#Reviewing Speed: The Life of a Test Pilot and Birth of an American Icon

#Reviewing Speed: The Life of a Test Pilot and Birth of an American Icon

This book is a testament both to the courage of Bob Gilliland and the ingenuity of Skunk Works at its height. Aviation historians and engineers will appreciate the story while the general public can respect a man’s mark on aviation. The book could have improved if it were more accessible to general readers and if it questioned why there hasn’t been a jet that was as groundbreaking since the SR-71. Nevertheless, the book provides a glimpse of the can-do attitude of the military-industrial complex leaving its readers to wonder whether we can once again scrape the heavens and push the limits of aerospace as Gilliland did nearly 60 years ago.

In a Time of Global Crisis, Lessons from an Unhappy Warrior: #Reviewing a Biography of Alanbrooke

In a Time of Global Crisis, Lessons from an Unhappy Warrior: #Reviewing a Biography of Alanbrooke

Alanbrooke’s six years at the apex of the British military, at a time when the nation faced its greatest crisis of modern history, tells a story of the inherent value of deep professional competence, a willingness to register dissent, and a commitment to an ideal greater than any single organization or individual. Alanbrooke proved the criticality of remaining unruffled by those things outside of his control, yet demanding the very best from those within his domain.

#Reviewing No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy

#Reviewing No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy

Proser sets out at the beginning of the Trump administration to uncover the “qualities of character…[and] personal magnetism” that accounted for the acclaim then greeting the Mattis appointment, culminating in his confirmation by the Senate in a vote of 98 to 1. Despite obvious admiration, the author only partially succeeds. Examples that display martial virtues abound, but readers looking for insights into the personality or inner life of Jim Mattis will struggle not only with making political connections to recent events, but also with what might come next in his public life.

#Reviewing Emory Upton: Misunderstood Reformer

#Reviewing Emory Upton: Misunderstood Reformer

The heart of this biography is the account of Upton’s career as a military reformer. Here, David Fitzpatrick has succeeded. Too often we are ignorant of the origins and take for granted many aspects of military training, education, doctrine, leadership, and organization. By understanding the hard-experience that gave rise to these foundational aspects of the military profession, there is still plenty of opportunity to continue Upton’s work in improving it.

James Moody: American Soldier

James Moody: American Soldier

The traditional lore of the American Revolution holds that small groups of Patriot citizen-soldiers using unconventional tactics defeated a superior foe, who was using European tactics unfit for combat in the wilderness of North America. The lesson modern strategists are led to take from the experience of British operations during the American Revolution is that imposing one’s military doctrine in an alien environment is a recipe for disaster. Founding lore, however, overlooks a class of colonists lost in the clamor to understand to what transpired in 1776: Loyalists.

Five Things You Didn't Know About Carl von Clausewitz

Five Things You Didn't Know About Carl von Clausewitz

Carl von Clausewitz is known today as the West’s most influential military thinker. His seminal treatise On War lies at the heart of modern military doctrine. One recent article even compared its status among U.S. officers to that of St. Paul’s letters among Christians...The newly discovered complete correspondence between Carl and Marie von Clausewitz offers invaluable clues about the military theorist’s times, personal life, and writing habits. And, finally, they shed some light on Carl as the person and writer, instead of just the theorist.