New Makers of Modern Strategy

Hal Brands (Editor)

Summary: A collection of essays examining the evolution of strategic thought from classical theorists to modern conflicts. It analyzes how political leaders, military thinkers, and policymakers apply strategy in changing contexts, highlighting enduring principles and adaptations across war, diplomacy, and competition.

Reasons to Read: Essential for understanding the intellectual foundations of military strategy. Illuminates how strategy is developed and applied across history and domains. Helps Joint Force leaders integrate strategic theory into practical planning and execution across domains.

The Dragons and the Snakes: How the Rest Learned to Fight the West

David Kilcullen

Summary: Kilcullen argues that after decades of Western military dominance, both state (China, Russia) and non-state actors have adapted to exploit weaknesses in Western ways of war. He explains how adversaries now use hybrid tactics, decentralized structures, and cheap technologies to counter advanced militaries and compete in the “gray zone” between peace and war.

Reasons to Read: It provides a clear framework for understanding how modern adversaries evolve and why traditional military superiority is no longer decisive. The book explores hybrid threats and evolving adversary strategies and how Joint Force leaders should anticipate and counter complex operational challenges.

Creativity in Military Complexity: Design, Disruptors and Defence Forces

Arthur Herman 

Summary: Examines how military organizations can adapt to increasingly complex and unpredictable security environments. The authors explore design thinking, innovation, disruptive technologies, and organizational adaptation, arguing that traditional linear planning is often insufficient for addressing modern strategic and operational challenges.

Reasons to Read: Helps the reader better understand how complexity, uncertainty, and emerging technologies are reshaping warfare. It provides tools for creative problem-solving, adaptive leadership, and organizational innovation. The lessons help leaders move beyond rigid processes, enabling more effective responses to rapidly evolving operational and strategic environments.

On the Psychology of Military Incompetence

Norman Dixon

Summary: Examines why military organizations repeatedly fail despite training and experience. Analyzes historical examples of poor military leadership, focusing on cognitive biases, institutional culture, and flawed decision-making.

Reasons to Read: Readers gain insight into cognitive and organizational failures that undermine performance. The book sharpens critical thinking, encourages questioning assumptions, and highlights importance of adaptability and feedback. It helps leaders and professionals recognize warning signs of poor decision making, reduce error, and build cultures that value competence, accountability, and continuous improvement.

The Twilight War: The Secret History of America's Thirty-Year Conflict with Iran

David Crist

Summary: Chronicles the covert and overt conflict between the United States and Iran over three decades, revealing espionage, military skirmishes, and missed diplomatic opportunities. Drawing on declassified documents and interviews, he shows how both nations have operated in a shadow war. The book underscores the complexity and volatility of U.S.–Iran relations.

Reasons to Read: Whiled published in 2012, The Twilight War remains highly relevant because it frames U.S.–Iran relations not as episodic crises, but as a continuous, long-term competition conducted largely below the threshold of conventional war. It encourages strategic leaders to shift from a crisis-response mindset to continuous campaigning, escalation management, and integrated deterrence in a complex regional environment.

Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II

Arthur Herman 

Summary: Reveals how American industry mobilized during World War II to become the “Arsenal of Democracy.” It highlights business leaders who partnered with government to massively scale production, overcome constraints, and enable Allied victory through innovation, logistics, and unprecedented collaboration between private enterprise and public leadership.

Reasons to Read: Highlights the critical link between industrial capacity, logistics, and combat power. Reinforces the importance of the defense industrial base and whole-of-nation mobilization in sustaining Joint Force operations during large-scale conflict. In an era defined by rapid technological change and great-power competition, the book’s lessons are arguably more relevant than ever, especially as the U.S. seeks to transition from slow, platform-centric acquisition to fast, networked, and scalable capabilities.