Book Reviews

Putin, The West, And the Contest over Ukraine and the Caucasus Gerard Toal, (Oxford, 2017). pp. 408. amazon.com Based on almost 16 years of research and written in the aftermath of Russian adventurism in Ukraine (2014) and Georgia (2008), Near Abroad offers a detailed analysis of the geopolitical complexities faced by Russia and countries in… Read More

A History of the Cold War Norman Stone, (London, 2010). pp. 688. amazon.com This is an infuriating book: the basic tenets of which are that Communism is bad and that the Anglo-US axis (the “Atlantic” of the title) invented Europe, and that all good in Europe stems henceforth. The first point is valid in the… Read More

Lawrence Freedman, (New York, 2019). pp. 378. amazon.com The Future of War, A History, tackles 150 years of musing on the future of war. More specifically, it presents a thematic survey of the end of conflict and its pitfalls. The work is divided into three sections, each dealing with the themes of a particular epoch.… Read More

The Woman Behind the Making of On War Vanya Eftimova Bellinger, (Oxford, 2016). pp. 312. amazon.com The ancient adage that states that “behind every great man lies a great woman” may find its epitome in the case of Carl Von Clausewitz and his beloved wife, Marie. Thanks to Vanya Eftimova Bellinger, we now have a… Read More

The New School of Multilateralism Ursula Werther-Pietsch (Ed.), (Facultas, 2022). pp. 174. Die Handlungsfähigkeit der internationalen Gemeinschaft steht auf dem Spiel. Das Nachdenken über die Friedens- und Sicherheitsarchitektur wird immer wichtiger. Das neue Buch „Envisioning Peace in a Time of War”, greift dieses Thema auf und ruft zu einer “Neuen Schule des Multilateralismus” auf. Zehn… Read More

The Principal Officers Behind History’s Great Commanders David Zabecki (Ed.), (Naval Institute Press, 2 Vols., 2008). pp. 484. Source: amazon.com In attempting to shed light on some of the lesser dramatis personae of modern military history, Zabecki has assembled a collection of 28 essays covering 30 of modern military history’s lesser-known greats. As an exploratory… Read More

The Rise and Fall of Russia’s Strategic Nuclear Forces 1945–2000 Steven Zaloga, (New York, 2005). pp. 304. amazon.com Anyone familiar with the work of Steven Zaloga will know that one of Zaloga’s strong points is his command of technical details; 2005’s The Kremlin’s Nuclear Shield is no exception. This work narrates the development and deployment… Read More