Future Reading: Strategic Studies

In early July, I posted about my potential 2016 reading goals. I've spent some time identifying categories of books that I want to read over the next few years, so I'll handle these various categories in a series of upcoming posts, starting with strategy.

As I've discussed in great detail, I spent some of 2012 and all of 2013 in Scotland and received my Master of Science (with Distinction) in Strategic Studies from the University of Aberdeen. I've always been interested in military topics, and that course of study helped me to simultaneously expand and focus that interest. While I ready very voraciously before, during, and after my courses of instruction, there were a handful of books I never got around to reading. There are a few more that I'd like to reread. Other books have come up either before or since that course of study. They're listed (and annotated) below.

Bleeding Talent: How the US Military Mismanages Great Leaders and Why It's Time for a Revolution by Tim Kane: This is actually on my 2015 reading list, so I'll let that entry stand.

Cables from Kabul: The Inside Story of the West's Afghanistan Campaign by Sherard Cowper Coles: The author was the British envoy to Afghanistan. This book was added to the 2012-'13 list after I'd already started reading, so I got a copy, but never had a chance to read it. My buddy, CN Constable, says that it's pretty dry material.

Grounded: The Case for Abolishing the United States Air Force by Robert M. Farley: This is also on my 2015 reading list. Parts of the author's case were flawless, and other parts were pretty pedantic and convoluted. If you're going to read this book, do yourself a favor and read it alongside Elinor Sloan's book, listed below.

History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides: I actually found my old Penguin Classic paperback of this book during a recent visit to my storage unit back home. This has been on my list for years due to my study of ancient history, and since it's considered the founding work of both history and strategy, it's time to read it. Once I finish my effort to read Clausewitz's entire volume, I'll transition to Thucydides.

The Influence of Sea Power on History by A.T. Mahan: This is considered the seminal work of naval strategy, and was recommended to me during my days as a Naval ROTC midshipman (and possibly in by my AP US History teacher in high school?).

International Law and the Use of Force by Christine Gray: This was one of the books that was assigned to familiarize students with the Strategic Studies and International Law option. I may or may not make it a priority to read this one.

MCDP 1-1 Strategy: The Marine Corps' MCDP 1: Warfighting is mostly a blatant (albeit liberally footnoted) condensation of Clausewitz. I suspect that this will be similar, but it's worth my time to read. The Marine Corps tends to do better than the Army, who don't even seem to have borrowed writing a doctrinal publication about strategy in the first place.

Modern Military Strategy: An Introduction by Elinor C. Sloan: I want to reread a couple of chapters of this book, particularly the chapter about the "Revolution in Military Affairs". Sloan has another book about precisely that topic that may be added to this list.

Modern Strategy by Colin S. Gray: I read Colin Gray's Another Bloody Century prior to my departure for Aberdeen, and I've quoted this particular book liberally in several items I've written, but it's worth my time to slog through the whole thing.

On War by Carl von Clausewitz: As I've noted elsewhere, I'm currently in the process of reading this epic work, which is the basis for modern strategic thought. Some of it has been difficult to digest, but much of it has been entirely relevant to the conduct of contemporary warfare.

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli: I read this in college, and since it's short, I want to reread it. Machiavelli is described as a notorious cynic, but his writings remain relevant to this day.

Strategic Studies: A Reader by Thomas Mahnken and Joseph A. Maiolo: This was the first book that I started reading back in early 2012 (late 2011?), but I only made it past the first few chapters. I think they have a new edition out, but I'm not sure how much was actually updated. It's a collection of essays, some of them pretty dated, but all of them relevant to the academic discipline of strategic studies.

Strategy in the Contemporary World by James J. Wirtz, Colin S. Gray, and John Baylis: This was meant to be our primary textbook in Aberdeen, but I never read more than a few pages of it. I'd like to remedy that.

The Evolution of Nuclear Strategy by Lawrence Freedman: I read this in 2012, and it was one of the more difficult books because Freedman divides it up by concept, rather than working chronologically. Now that I've completed my Strategic Nuclear Doctrine course, and given that I'm hoping to write about some nuclear issues in the Middle East, I think it would be good to review this one.

The Return of History and the End of Dreams by Robert Kagan: I have an audiobook of this one, and I'd like to give that audiobook a few evenings to refresh my memory. It's dated, but a lot of it is still relevant.

Thinking About Nuclear Weapons: Principles, Problems and Prospects by Michael Quinlan: This book was much shorter and easier to wrap my head around than Freedman's book. Again, my interest in strategic nuclear doctrine recommends a refresher read of this one.

More to come.