NUCLEAR WAR
by Annie Jacobsen
Dutton
A scary book about the automaticity of nuclear war when a missile launches at us. Then a description of the outcome of many megaton warheads on cities and then the end of civilization for a few thousand years probably. Nothing we haven't read before. The war is started by the N. Koreans - a point that our set of presidents allowed them to build up such a threat over many years with our program of devastating sanctions.
New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West
by David E. Sanger
A pretty interesting read on our competition with Russia and China. My main take away is that every administration from Bush 1 through Biden - every single one, has been blazingly incompetent in foreign affairs. In the current presidency, it is clear that Biden is scared poopless of Putin and desperately wants Ukraine not to retake its land but go for a negotiated settlement and perhaps vassal hood to Russian. Not that Trump doesn't want that also. Thus, the dribble of more powerful weapons, etc. Lots of interesting tidbits, I didn't know.
The New Makers of Modern Strategy: From the Ancient World to the Digital Age
by Hal Brands , John Bew, et al. | May 2, 2023
Absolutely fascinating book - again pointing out some smart people and a lot of dunces. Theory and practice from ancient times till now.