Military History, Book Reviews, and Other Things

Tag geopolitics

The Next World War?

One of the weird things about history is it is difficult to know whether you in the middle of world historical events while you are in them because what seems the current trajectory of events may not be the case. … Continue Reading →

Ukraine War- November 2023 – Lessons Learned

I realized something yesterday.  Many news outlets and analysts liken the fighting in Ukraine since the fall of 2021 to WWI, but not many (I am especially looking at you analysis types) try to explain why that is.  I have… Continue Reading →

War in Ukraine

The Russo-Ukraine War of 2022 is now a week old.  Perhaps it is time to step back a minute and consider where we are and what could happen next.  In the first week of the war I learned two things… Continue Reading →

Book Review: The Big Stick by Eliot A. Cohen

The Big Stick by Eliot A. Cohen is an examination of the usefulness and/or necessity of having credible military force as part of US international relations. First the numbers, the book is 243 pages of text divided into 8 topical… Continue Reading →

Book Review: The Future of Land Warfare by Michael O’Hanlon

There is no end of speculation among policymakers and think tanks about what the future of warfare will look like and what the future US military should look like.  The Future of Land Warfare is another entry in that speculation…. Continue Reading →

Book Review: Pussycats: Why the Rest Keeps Beating the West by Martin van Creveld

After reading this latest work from Dr. van Creveld, it is no wonder that Pussycats: Why the Rest Keeps Beating the West had to be self-published as I cannot imagine a mainstream publisher would touch a manuscript that like this that so… Continue Reading →

Podcast: The UN: History and Organization

An explanation of the history and organization of the UN.  Given that the UN plays such a large role in contemporary international relations I thought it worthwhile to talk about what it is and what it does. Download this episode… Continue Reading →

Podcast: Sanctions – Do They Work?

This episode discusses sanctions. Both types of sanctions, diplomatic and economic. More importantly it discusses their usefulness and I give you my answer to what I consider the central question; do sanctions work? Download this episode (right click and save)

Podcast: Hard Power versus Soft Power

This episode explores the differences between hard and soft power and discusses what is normally meant when the to terms are used. Download this episode (right click and save)

Podcast: Terrorism – What is it and what can we do?

A discussion of what terrorism is, what are terrorism’s goal, and what are the realistic options for dealing with it. Download this episode (right click and save)

Book Review: Future Crimes by Marc Goodman

Future Crimes: Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It by Marc Goodman is one of those non-fiction books that is both scary and reassuring at the same time. I picked this up mainly because… Continue Reading →

Book Review: The Revenge of Geography by Robert D. Kaplan

In line with my current grad program pursuing an MA in International relations I have been reading a lot of books about current or semi current events. The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and… Continue Reading →

The First Battle of the Marne & the End of the Schlieffen Plan

The first Battle of the Marne was fought from 5-12 September, 1914.  It was the turning point of the opening campaign in what would be known as the Western Front during World War I.  First Marne represented the death of… Continue Reading →

Book Review: The Accidental Superpower by Peter Zeihan

I picked up Peter Zeihan’s The Accidental Superpower because I thought the title was interesting. I did not expect it to be as excellent a book as it is. I actually expected a dry dissertation on geopolitics. It is a… Continue Reading →

Book Review: House of War by James Carroll

House of War: The Pentagon and the Disastrous Rise of American Power is one of those books that when you are done reading it you cannot quite decide if it was worth reading or not. If you want to know what… Continue Reading →

« Older posts

© 2026 Battles and Book Reviews — Powered by WordPress

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑