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Book Review: Judgment at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia
Get PDFAuthor: Gary J. Bass
Reviewed by Lieutenant Colonel Peter M. Erickson (US Army), PhD, Deputy G35, US Army Europe and Africa
Lieutenant Colonel Peter M. Erickson, PhD, provides a valuable overview of Gary J. Bass’s explanation of why the post–World War II Tokyo trials “were a relative failure.” He highlights how a lack of impartiality, the “legacy of empire,” and the judges’ backgrounds and motivations affected the trials. Erickson calls the book “a must-read for Defense community leaders who often wrestle with the strict legality of America’s tactical actions and the broader and deeper moral impacts of its strategic endeavors.”https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/1068/thumbnail.jp
Deterrence Gap: Avoiding War in the Taiwan Strait
Get PDFThe likelihood China will attack Taiwan in the next decade is high and will continue to be so, unless Taipei and Washington take urgent steps to restore deterrence across the Taiwan Strait. This monograph introduces the concept of interlocking deterrents, explains why deterrents lose their potency with the passage of time, and provides concrete recommendations for how Taiwan, the United States, and other regional powers can develop multiple, interlocking deterrents that will ensure Taiwanese security in the short and longer terms. By joining deterrence theory with an empirical analysis of Taiwanese, Chinese, and US policies, the monograph provides US military and policy practitioners new insights into ways to deter the People’s Republic of China from invading Taiwan without relying exclusively on the threat of great-power war.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1960/thumbnail.jp
Book Review: Limited Force and the Fight for the Just War Tradition
Get PDFAuthor: Christian Nikolaus Braun
Reviewed by Reverend Dr. Wylie W. Johnson, chaplain, US Army War College class of 2010
Retired US Army chaplain Dr. Wylie W. Johnson reviews Christian Nikolaus Braun’s dissertation-turned-book on a “casuistic” approach to just war informed by the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas. Johnson overviews the philosophies with which Braun engages—those of Michael Walzer and of revisionists (virtue ethicists)—and quotes Braun’s central purpose: to provide a “third way” to these philosophies and “remind contemporary thinkers of the tradition’s core—namely, its practical function as a guide to statecraft.”https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/1047/thumbnail.jp
Book Review: The Hollow Crown: Shakespeare on How Leaders Rise, Rule, and Fall
Get PDFAuthor: Eliot A. Cohen
Reviewed by Lieutenant Colonel Zachary Griffiths, special assistant, Office of the Chief of Staff of the Army
Lieutenant Colonel Zachary Griffiths provides an insightful review of Professor Eliot A. Cohen’s book on leadership lessons through the lens of William Shakespeare’s work, a method that “helps readers see common challenges in new ways.” Griffiths describes Cohen’s structural approach to the book—a blend of modern examples with Shakespearean counterparts—and writes that The Hollow Crown’s “effective structure allows chapters to stand on their own while remaining part of a cohesive whole.” Griffiths also notes that “[a] deep appreciation for Shakespeare’s works is not required to enjoy the book,” and that, though the book “occupies an unusual literary space,” it would “rest easily on a bookshelf alongside biographies and excellent leadership texts.”https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/1051/thumbnail.jp
Book Review: The Making of a Leader: The Formative Years of George C. Marshall
Get PDFReviewed by Reverend Dr. Wylie W. Johnson, Chaplain (US Army, retired), US Army War College class of 2010
Dr. Wylie Johnson provides a thoughtful review of Rhodes Scholar Josiah Bunting’s new book on the early life and career of General George Marshall. As Johnson notes, there are many books about Marshall, and Johnson highlights the value of Bunting’s book, which contextualizes Marshall’s early career—from experience as a staff officer (rather than leading troops in combat), to having authority in overseas assignments, to recreation. Johnson notes that “Marshall had a different military career than that which is usually lauded today.” He writes that the book is “a well-written introduction to the art of leadership that senior leaders can recommend to rising junior officers.”https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/1062/thumbnail.jp
Book Review: Waging a Good War: How the Civil Rights Movement Won Its Battles, 1954–1968
Get PDFAuthor: Thomas E. Ricks
Reviewed by Keith Nightingale, retired colonel, US Army
Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas E. Ricks frames the American civil rights movement in terms of a (nonviolent) war, examining the leadership, strategy, and tactics required for success. Ricks also discusses the postwar-like effects the movement had on its participants (such as PTSD), which reviewer Colonel Keith Nightingale (US Army, retired) calls the most poignant matter in the book. Nightingale also praises the work as a highly readable dissection of the movement and a history of the first order.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/1039/thumbnail.jp
Book Review: Military Culture Shift: The Impact of War, Money, and Generational Perspective on Morale, Retention, and Leadership
Get PDFAuthor: Corie Weathers
Reviewed by Rodger M. Kissane, graduate student, College of International Security Affairs, National Defense University
Rodger M. Kissane provides a thoughtful review of this important book on “bridging and even transcending generational differences” in the US military. Kissane highlights author Corie Weathers’s “insightful . . . recognition that each generation imprints itself upon the institution in ways that reflect their life experiences.” He also outlines the book’s relevance to leaders in that Weathers addresses “ ‘messy dynamics’ leaders confront in synthesizing . . . various perspectives, ideals, and values.”https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters_bookshelf/1045/thumbnail.jp
Parameters Winter 2024-25
Get PDFWelcome to the Winter 2024–25 issue of Parameters. This issue consists of an In Focus special commentary, three forums (Indo-Pacific, Security Cooperation, and Historical Studies), and the regular Civil-Military Relations Corner installment
