Center for a New American Security

I am crashing on some writing assignments, so I do not have much time to blog. Or to read much, alas. But I figured I would share with you the books that I am currently reading and those that are on my shortlist, competing for my attention.

Currently Reading:

So a typical cycle for this blogger is to get annoyed by some criticism, write something snarky and mischievous, and then get all Presbyterian about it and feel guilty for having written something snarky and mischievous. I wrote something snarky and mischievous about Dan Drezner yesterday and now feel kinda bad about it because it's really not cricket to write such things.

"The Iliad is ever mindful that war is about men killing or men killed. In the entire epic, no warrior, whether hero or obscure man of the ranks, dies happily or well. No reward awaits the soldier's valor; no heaven will receive him. The Iliad's words and phrases for the process of death make clear that this is something baneful: dark night covers the dying warrior, hateful darkness claims him; he is robbed of sweet life, his soul goes down to Hades bewailing its fate.

Today we have a special interview with NPR's Deborah Amos. Deb is a longtime reader of this blog and an even longer-time student and observer of the Arabic-speaking world.

You all know how much I love reading lists. I have been looking over the suggested reading list for the U.S. Army War College (.pdf), and it is mostly excellent. Some may snigger over the inclusion of Tom Friedman's latest book and scratch their heads over why Jimmy Carter's book on Israel and the Palestinians has been included, but overall, the selections are quite good.

More reading lists can be found here (.pdf).

I have written a little about the utility of quantitative analysis in the field of security studies here and here.

...this one, sure to be under the pillow of every USMA cadet from now until infinity, is out in paperback starting today.

While home in Tennessee this weekend, I finished (and enjoyed) this book and this book

Okay, you all know about the famous Abu Muqawama Counterinsurgency Reading List. But a reader wrote in asking whether or not we might consider posting a reading list on counter-terrorism. That sounds like a fun project, actually, for the readership. So for the next few days, leave your suggestions in the comments. Books, academic articles and journalistic articles are all welcome, as are other media -- movies, documentaries, etc.

A few days ago I posted on this New York Times article about the memoirs from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.