YTP’s Summer 2009 Top Ten Coolest Books: Change, Life, and Politics

Change, Life and Politics. Seems like a random collection of topics, but really, aren’t those the three most interesting things *to* read about? I think so.

As sometimes happens, I have been in a reading frenzy of late, and have pounded through about 15 books in the past three weeks. Some of these books are part of the PhD program I started at Henley Putnam University (you can read my Henley-Putnam University reviews if you like), some are books I have been meaning to read for a while, and some are books that were sent to me for review. The book karma must have been flowing my way, because I have enjoyed almost every single one of these, and even the books I disagreed with helped me understand the ones I liked. Reading gets no better than this. This is reading in *the zone*, where every book builds on the previous. I love the zone.

So in no particular order, here is a quick overview of what threw me into the zen flow of voracious book consumption these past three weeks:
The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements is actually a psychological profile of people drawn to revolutions and other radical movements before psychological profiling even existed as a discipline. A fascinating read.

Terrorism and Homeland Security: An Introduction is different from the others I was reading these past few weeks. More textbook and facts; less philosophy. However, if you have any interest in sounding informed in a conversation on terrorism, this is the book to get.

On Violence was not my favorite book, mainly because I think Arendt writes from the emotional viewpoint of the late 60s rather than with any profound new insights into the nature of violence and its origins. However, her book is an excellent foil to the next book.

Revolutionary Change is a book worth buying just for the last chapter. Talking about putting change and political theory in content; this guy dominates the subject.

The Transformation of War was both fabulous and disappointing – no in between. Some chapters, especially the first two on the history of war, were unbelievably wonderful, as was the annotated bibliography. The middle chapters ramble a bit, but overall Van Creveld is certainly worth reading.

The Law of War was my least favorite book of the summer, mainly because it is full of recommendations like this “the UN would work better if it would just adhere to its Charter more closely.” Um, yeah. But could you get a little more specific? However, it is the most comprehensive book on international law out there, and the only one that takes a stab at compiling all of the legal documents that have an international focus. Worth reading, even if it does have some strangely disconnected conclusions.

Blankets of Fire is one of my longtime favorites, discussing the use of strategic bombing in World War II from an academic point of view. The author’s systematic investigation of strategic bombing is a template for all military history study.

Man, The State, and War was my all-time summer favorite. I like Kenneth Waltz’s writing voice, and even if his school of political realism has been taken over by the neo-realists, I still think his work has relevance post-Cold War. I also admire his convictions – he stood by his theories and conclusions even when they weren’t trendy at the height of the 1990s “all conflict is over”-ness.

Nurtureshock: New Thinking About Children was another favorite this summer, and, frankly, I wish there were more scientific investigations along these lines. What a refreshing look at the science behind many social trends in parenting. While a divergence from all my political science readings, this book was a solid social science read worth taking the time to finish from cover to cover.

My final summer favorite (really) was Contending Theories of International Relations: A Comprehensive Survey. Yes, I know, the title alone sounds like something that could put you to sleep. But I loved it, because it does an excellent job of organizing political science factions in an accessible and interesting manner. A must-have reference for anyone interested in political science or international relations.

So there it is. My list. What did you read this summer?