Mags

I relaxed over the week-end by reading magazines: one issue of Eclectic Reading, two of OK Magazine and The New Scientist, one of the New Yorker, and one of The Economist. I also finished reading a play satirizing the Academie francaise by Saint-Evremond.

Sarraute and a truckload of strategy books

Since my last post,I spent three days straight in a library for professional reasons. So I read the complete works of Nathalie Sarraute on the way down (I'm in Washington), and then I read the following books. I thought I wasn't going to be able to do it. I did it, but now I'm really tired. Here's the list:

Albert, David S. and Daniel S. Papp. The Information Age: An Anthology on Its Impact and Consequences. Washington, D.C. : The Center for Advanced Concepts and Technologies, 1997.

Allen, Thomas B. Declassified : 50 Top-Secret Documents That Changed History. Washington: National Geographic, 2008. 305 pages.

Berger, Samuel R., Scowcroft, Brent., Nash, William L., In The Wake Of War : Improving U.S. Post-Conflict Capabilities. New York : Council on Foreign Relations, 2005.

Biddles, Stephen D. American Grand Strategy After 9/11:An Assessment. Carlisle Barracks: Strategic Studies Institute, April 2005, 50 p.

Biddle, Stephen. Military Power : Explaining Victory And Defeat In Modern Battle. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004.

Bracey, Earnest N. The Comedy Of War : Understanding Military Policy And Politics For The Twenty-First Century. Lanham: University Press of America, 2006.

Brailey, Malcolm. The Transformation Of Special Operations Forces In Contemporary Conflict : Strategy, Missions, Organisation And Tactics. Duntroon: Land Warfare Studies Centre, 2005.

Briscoe, Charles H. All roads lead to Baghdad : Army Special Operation Forces in Iraq. Fort Bragg: USASOC History Office, 2006. 517 p.

Buley, Benjamin. The New American Way Of War : Military Culture And The Political Utility Of Force. New York : Routledge, 2008.

C4ISR Integrated Architecture Program (CIAP), United States Central Command, Command Intelligence Strategy Document (Fourth Edition, July 1996).

C4ISR Integrated Architecture Program (CIAP), United States Central Command, Command Intelligence Strategy Document (Fifth Edition, May 1997).

Centre for Army Lessons Learned, “Targeting for Victory: Winning the Civil Military Operations / Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures,” Targeting for Victory Newsletter 3-23, Sep 2003.

Cimbala, Stephen J. Through a Glass Darkly : Looking at Conflict Prevention, Management & Termination. Westport: Greenwood, 2001.

Council on Foreign Relations. Nonlethal Weapons and Capabilities New York: Council on Foreign Relations, 2004.

Davis, Paul , Jonathan Kulick, Michael Egner. Implications of modern decision science for military decision-support systems. Santa Monica: Rand, 2005.

Davis, Jacquelyn K. CVX : A Smart Carrier For The New Era. Washington : Brassey's, 1998.


Drew, Dennis M. And Donald M. Snow. Making Twenty-First-Century Strategy/An Introduction to Modern National Security Processes and Problems. Maxwell Air Force Base: Air University Press, 2006.

Drinkwine, Brian M. The Serpent In Our Garden : Al-Qa'ida And The Long War./ Carlisle: U.S. Army War College, 2009.

Edwards, Sean J. A. Swarming and the Future of Warfare. Santa Monica: Rand, 2005.

Eland, Ivan. Putting "Defense" Back into the U. S. Defense Policy : Rethinking U. S. Security in the Post-Cold War World . Westport: Greenwood, 2001.

Evans, Michael. The Tyranny Of Dissonance : Australia's Strategic Culture And Way Of War, 1901-2005. Duntroon: Land Warfare Studies Centre, 2005.

Fishel, John T. and Max G. Manwaring. Uncomfortable Wars Revisited. Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, 2006.

Frank, Aaron. B. Pre-Conflict Management Tools: Winning the Peace. Washington: Center for Technology and National Security Policy, National Defense University, February 2005, 37 pages.

Freedman, Lawrence. The Transformation Of Strategic Affairs. New York : Routledge for the International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2006.

Gompert, David C., Irving Lachow, and Justin Perkins. Battle-Wise Gaining Advantage in Networked Warfare. Washington: Center for Technology and National Security Policy, National Defense University, January 2005.
Gray, Colin S. War, Peace And International Relations : An Introduction To Strategic History. London: Routledge, 2007.

Haass, Richard N. Intervention : The Use of American Military Force in the Post-Cold War World. New York: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1998.

Hanley, Brian. Planning for Conflict in the Twenty-First Century. Westport: Praeger, 2008.

Hart, Gary. Fourth Power : A Grand Strategy for the United States in the Twenty-First Century. London: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Hattiangadi, Anita U. The Third Annual navy workforce Research and Analysis Conference: Supporting Military Transformation CRM D 0008431.A2/Final, Washington: CAN, June 2003, 38 pages.

Heng, Yee-Kuang. War As Risk Management : Strategy And Conflict In An Age Of Globalised Risks. New York : Routledge, 2006.

Hicks, Kathleen and Eric Ridge. Planning for Stability Operations/The Use of Capabilities-Based Approaches. Washington: CSIS Report, 2007.

Hoehn, Andy. N3w Division of Labor : Reconsidering American Strategy and Forces to Meet New Challenges. Santa Monica: Rand, 2007.

Joint Staff, Joint training manual for the Armed Forces of the Unites States CJCSM 3500.03A, Washington: Joint Chiefs of Staff, September 2002.

Keller, William W. and Gordon R. Mitchell. Hitting First : Preventive Force In U.S. Security Strategy. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2006.

Kinross, Stuart. Clausewitz And America : Strategic Thought And Practice From Vietnam To Iraq. London : Routledge, 2008.

Kiras, James D. Special Operations And Strategy : From World War II To The War On Terrorism. New York : Routledge, 2006.

Klein, Gary. Intuition at Work: Why Developing Your Gut Instincts Will Make You Better at What You Do. New York: Random House, 2003.

Kreighbaum, Jay M. Force-Application Planning / A Systems-and-Effects-Based Approach. Maxwell Airforce Base: Air University Press, 2004.

Lewis, Harmon S. Breaking the Code for Operational Planners: A Comparative Analysis of National Security Strategies Since the End of the Cold War. Norfolk: Joint Advanced Warfighting, 2008.

Lewis, Leslie, James A Coggin, and C. Robert Roll. The United States Special Operations Command Resource Management Process/An Application of the Strategy-to-Tasks Framework. MR 445 A/SOCOM. Rand: Arroyo Center, National Defense Research Institute, 1994.

Lingel, Sherrill Lee. Methodology For Improving The Planning, Execution, And Assessment Of Intelligence, Surveillance, And Reconnaissance. Santa Monica: RAND, 2007.

Lind, Michael. American Way of Strategy. London: Oxford University Press, 2006.

Loveman, Brian. Strategy For Empire : U.S. Regional Security Policy In The Post-Cold War Era. by Lanham: SR Books, 2004.

Mahnken, Thomas G., and Thomas A. Keaney. War in Iraq : planning and execution. New York : Routledge, 2007.

Mandel, Robert. Security, Strategy, And The Quest For Bloodless War. Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 2004.

Meinhart, Richard, “Strategic Planning by the Chairmen, Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1990 to 2005,” Letort Papers April 2006, 29 pages.

Metz, Steven. Iraq & The Evolution Of American Strategy. Washington: Potomac Books, 2008.

Miller, Steven E., Sean M. Lynn-Jones, and Michael E. Brown. America's Strategic Choices. Boston: MIT Press, 2000.

Murdock, Clark A. Improving The Practice Of National Security Strategy : A New Approach For The Post-Cold War World. Washington: CSIS Press, 2004.

Ochmanek, David A. Military Operations Against Terrorist Groups Abroad : Implications For The United States Air Force. Santa Monica: RAND, 2003.

O'Hanlon, Michael E. Defense Strategy for the Post-Saddam Era. New York: Brookings Institution Press, 2005.

Owens, John E., and John W. Dumbrell. America's "War On Terrorism" : New Dimensions In U.S. Government And National Security. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2008.

Partin, John W. and Rob Rhoden, Operation Assured Response: SOCEUR’s Neo in Liberia April 1996, United States Special Operations Command History and Research Office, September 1997, 50 pages

Pirnie, Bruce. Analysis of Special Operations Forces in Decision Aids / Recommendations. Rand: Santa Monica, 1994.

Renshon, Jonathan. Why Leaders Choose War : The Psychology Of Prevention. Westport: Praeger Security International, 2006.

Reveron, Derek S. and Judith Hicks. Inside Defense : Understanding The U.S. Military In The 21st Century. New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

Riedel, Bruce. The Search for Al Qaeda/ Its Leadership, Ideology, and Future Washington: Brookings, 2009.

Rudd, David, Deborah Bayley, Ewa K. Petruczynik. Beyond The Three-Block War. Toronto : Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies, 2006.

Sloan, Elinor C. Military Transformation And Modern Warfare : A Reference Handbook. Westport: Praeger, 2008.

Tucker, David. Confronting The Unconventional : Innovation And Transformation In Military Affairs. Carlisle: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, 2006.

US Government. National Strategy for Combating Terrorism. Washington: Office of the President of the United States, September 2006, 29 pages.

United States Transportation Command, Joint Deployment System (JDS) Procedures Manual, 22 February 1988, 40 pages.

Yarger, Harry R. Strategy And The National Security Professional : Strategic Thinking And Strategy Formulation In The 21st Century. Westport: Praeger, 2008.

Garber, Crews and Tarzi, Lacey

I read Marjorie Garber's Shakespeare and Modern Culture. I learned for the first time about actresses playing Hamlet or Shylock, for example, but otherwise I found some of the parallels -- Coriolanus and Il Duce's execution? -- a little forced. However, I have no doubt that the Bard's influence is as broad or broader in language that she proposes. I also read Crews and Tarzi's The Taliban and the Crisis in Afghanistan, for professional reasons, as I am reading Jim Lacey's edited A Terrorist's Call to Global Jihad. This last volume is quite a difficult read, and I'm glad that I'm not reading the 1600-page version. I also read an issue of The Economist.

Prunier, Wullschlager, Brent

I read the latest issues of Vanity Fair, the Utne Reader and The Economist, along with an issue of Eclectic Reading. I also read Gerard Prunier's Darfur, which I didn't find profound but rather factual. I thought the argument about whether this qualified as a genocide under any other definition but the UN's 1948 one was not interesting. I also read Jonathan Brent's Inside the Stalin Archives, which is really the story of one man's research trip to a country where he doesn't speak the language. This would be more interesting to someone who hadn't ever been on a research trip. I also read Jackie Wullshlager's Chagall, primarily to figure out if Chagall's main work was inspired by Russia. It was. I thought the man had a hard life, overall, out of the shtetl to Europe and then back, caught by World War I starving and freezing in Moscow, displaced first the Russian Revolution and then by World War II. I saw his stained glass chapel in Vence, and I liked it better than most of his paintings, not that this is an educated judgement about art, but more about my personal taste. I am now reading a second issue of The Economist and a book about Shakespeare and modern culture. I have with me to take on a research trip a compendium of XVIIth century plays and the complete works of Nathalie Sarraute. The latter I'm really itching to get into.

Battiscombe, Tolan

I read a biography of Queen Alexandra by Georgina Battiscombe, and it was a nice, diverting read but pretty pointless. I then read Sandy Tolan's Lemon Tree, about the journey of an Israeli Holocaust survivor towards non-retribution in her friendship with a Palestinian terrorist. This book was given me by a pacifist friend, and I can certainly see why he is interested in having as many people as possible read it. I found myself quibbling with certain historical details reported in the book, principally of course the battle of Deir Yassin. There is no doubt, however, that whatever the truth at Deir Yassin, the inaccuracies in its reporting did frighten many Palestinians into leaving Israel. Do I believe the non-retribution is the way to deal with conflict of any type? I think it is by far the most civilized and ideal way. Do I think this has potential to really solve problems in the Middle East? Not for a long time. The problem is that I don't feel I as an outsider can make that suggestion to anyone who lives there.

I've also read an issue of The New Yorker.

McMeekin, Miller, White, Kristeva

Since my last post, I've read Kristeva's Hannah Arendt. I had read her lectures for the University of Toronto, and there was a certain amount of overlap. I also read Feuillet's Choreographie. This book was a facsimile reprint of the classic from the 1700's. It's so old the 's' is printed as an 'f'. This is the original nomenclature for ballet steps, with line figure illustrations. The second book is a collection of Feuillet's ballets, and that is what made the strongest impression. It was a curved line showing the movements of the dancers on the stage, with a sequence of line figures to show the positions. How extraordinary. I also read History's Greatest Heist by Sean McMeekin, about the Russian monies and valuables lost at the Revolution. It was a sobering and ironical thought that the gold was sold at less than 70% of its value because the communists had no experience in dealing with financiers. I also read The Magician's Book, by Laura Miller. After reading it I still can't see the reason why it should have been written, a book about reading The Chronicles of Narnia. The commentary was small, it seemed to me, and the topic without interest. I also read Lincoln's Greatest Speech, by Ron White, about the Second Inaugural. I don't agree that this is his greatest speech. I think that honor belongs to the Gettysburg address, although certainly the language of the Second Inaugural is rich, symphonic even. Finally I read a 1300 page read about dance, entitle, you guessed it, Reading Dance. I enjoyed it, mostly for the personal detail and the things no layperson would know, like it's a tradition for a dancer to sow her own silk tights, and although Pavlova would spit into her shoe to hold the heel there, Allegra Kent chose to use Lepage's glue, because it was stronger.

Arendt, choreography

I've read an issue of Eclectic Reading, The New Scientist, and OK Magazine since my last post. I've also read Diane Athill's Somewhere Near the End, Sandra Menton's Choreography, Moore and Yamamoto's Beyond Words, Brudny's Hannah Arendt, Ettinger's Harendt/Heidegger, Arendt's Rahel Vernhagen, and Kristeva's Arendt.

I liked Athill's memoir about aging; she is spare yet eloquent in her prose; she marks without sentimentality the end of her sexual life, for example. Menton's book is the first I've read about choreography, and it was admirably practical. I thought a lot about movement and how to showcase it, as I had attended an art performance last night. I retain mostly information about planes and facing and angles. The three books about Arendt were instrumental and confirming my view of her as someone who was somehow wounded to endure a relationship with Heidegger, a man who was antithetical to some of her identity. Her Vernhagen is, as the introduction argues, that this is heavily a work of autobiography. I'm debating whether to read more of Arendt. I can't remember if I've read all her work yet.

Claudel prose, mags

I read an issue of Eclectic Reading, The New Yorker, The New Scientist and The Economist since my last post. I also read a volume of Claudel's prose works, which are mostly cultural criticism. I usually don't read collections of newspaper articles, but I made an exception in this case. I liked what he had to say as asides, and he apparently didn't write book length stuff. Here is a quote form Accompagnements, p. 632 of my edition: "C'est tout autre chose de faire marcher neuf personnages, chacun avec sa physionomie, sa vocation, sa ligne personnelle... en sorte que pas un de leurs mouvements concertes soit inutile a l'action, au profit, pour la solution, d'un probleme vraiment foncier, d'interet profond et general et generateur a son tour d'autres problemes concentriques." This is exactly my ideal.

And on p.4 of Positions et propositions, "La parole ecrite est employee a deux fins: ou bien nous voulons produire dans l'esprit du lecteur un etat de connaissance, ou bien un etat de joie." Possibly performance art is meant to be like poetry, not entirely understood.