Books to Review

Book Review Guidelines

An analytical book review is not simply a summary of the book’s contents. It should give the reader a critical, informative and interesting discussion of the work. It comments on and evaluates the book on certain criteria, including the following:

  • the main ideas and major objectives of the book and how effectively these are accomplished;
  • what, if anything, does it contribute to the literature and how well does it do this;
  • the readership for which it is written;
  • constructive comments on the book’s strengths and weaknesses;
  • the soundness of the theoretical assumptions, the methodology, if any, and the sources used;
  • your own reactions and opinions on the book.

Length: 1000-3000 words. Please look at already-published JMSS reviews to coordinate formatting prior to submission.

Deadline: Please plan to have your completed review submitted within 2 months of receiving the review copy. 

Your review should include:

  • Author(s)/Editor(s) first and last name(s) – please indicate if it is an edited book
  • title
  • year of publication
  • publisher
  • your first and last name
  • institution affiliation
  • a brief biographical note

To review a book listed below, please send an email with the citation to lmhallad@hotmail.com. Include your mailing address if requesting a book be sent to you.

Send completed reviews to Dr. Laurel Halladay, Book Review Editor, at lmhallad@hotmail.com

Books Available for Review (last updated PM November 21, 2022)

  1. Aboul-Enein, Youssef and Joseph T. Stanik. Middle East 101: A Beginner's Guide for Deployers, Travelers, and Concerned Citizens. Annapolis, MD: US Naval Institute Press, 2019.
  2. Abraham, Joseph N. Kings, Conquerors, Psychopaths: From Alexander to Hitler to the Corporation. Arnaudville, LA: Hidden Hills Press, 2020.
  3. Barrett, Matthew. Scandalous Conduct: Canadian Officer Courts Martial, 1914-1945. Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia Press, 2022. (digital copy only)
  4. Buckey, Christopher M. Genesis of the Grand Fleet: The Admiralty, Germany, and the Home Fleet, 1896-1914. Annapolis, MD: US Naval Institute Press, 2021. (digital copy only)
  5. Budjeryn, Mariana. Inheriting the Bomb: The Collapse of the USSR and the Nuclear Disarmament of Ukraine. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press, 2023. (digital copy only)
  6. Burke, Ryan, Michael Fowler, and Jahara Matisek, eds. Military Strategy, Joint Operations, and Airpower: An Introduction, 2nd ed. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2022.
  7. Charney, Michael W. and Wellen, Kathryn, eds. Warring Societies of Pre-Colonial Southeast Asia: Local Cultures of Conflict Within a Regional Context. Copenhagen, DK: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, 2018.
  8. Clews, Graham T. Churchill's Phoney War: A Study in Folly and Frustration. Annapolis, MD: US Naval Institute Press, 2019.
  9. Corbeil, Raoul. Real War, Real Soldier: A Canadian in the North West Front, 1944-1945. Drummondville, QC: Editions FPC, 2021. (digital copy only)
  10. Daniels, Mario and John Krige. Knowledge Regulation and National Security in Postwar America. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2022. (digital copy only)
  11. Delaney, Douglas E., Mark Frost, and Andrew L. Brown, eds. Manpower and the Armies of the British Empire in the Two World Wars. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2021. (digital copy only)
  12. Farley, Robert M. and Davida H. Isaacs. Patents for Power: Intellectual Property Law and the Diffusion of Military Technology. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2020.
  13. Farrugia, Peter and Evan J. Habkirk, eds. Portraits of Battle: Courage, Grief, and Strength in Canada's Great War. Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia Press, 2021.
  14. Fridman, Ofer. Enemy Civilian Casualties: Politics, Culture, and Technology. London, UK: Lexington Books, 2019.
  15. Gall, Sandy. Afghan Napolean: The Life of Ahmad Shah Massoud. London, UK: Haus Publishing, 2021.
  16. Garnett, Holly Ann and Michael Pal, eds. Cyber Threats to Canadian Democracy. Montreal, QC and Kingston, ON: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2022.
  17. Greaves, Wilfrid and P. Whitney Lackenbauer, eds. Breaking Through: Understanding Sovereignty and Security in the Circumpolar Arctic. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2021.
  18. Groh, Tyrone L. Proxy War: The Least Bad Option. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2019.
  19. Houlden, Gordon, Scott N. Romaniuk, and Nong Hong, eds. Security, Strategy, and Military Dynamics in the South China Sea: Cross-National Perspectives. Bristol, UK: Bristol University Press, 2021. (digital copy only)
  20. Jennings, John M. and Chuck Steele, eds. The Worst Military Leaders in History. London, UK: Reaktion Books, 2022. (digital copy only)
  21. Lebovic, Sam. A Righteous Smokescreen: Postwar America and the Politics of Cultural Globalization. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2022.
  22. Lee, Jonathan L. Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present, new edition. London, UK: Reaktion Books, 2022.
  23. Leuprecht, Christian, Joel J. Sokolsky, and Thomas Hughes, eds. North American Strategic Defense in the 21st Century: Security and Sovereignty in an Uncertain World. New York, NY: Springer International, 2018.
  24. McGarr, Kathryn J. City of Newsmen: Public Lies and Professional Secrets in Cold War Washington. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2022. (digital copy only)
  25. Medhurst, John. Sub Culture: The Many Lives of the Submarine. London, UK: Reaktion Books, 2022.
  26. Miller, Benjamin, with Ziv Rubinovitz. Grand Strategy from Truman to Trump. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2020.
  27. Morningstar, James Kelly. War and Resistance in the Philippines, 1942-1944. Annapolis, MD: US Naval Institute Press, 2021. (digital copy only)
  28. Owen, David. Riddle, Mystery, and Enigma: Two Hundred Years of British-Russian Relations. London, UK: Haus Publishing, 2021. (digital copy only)
  29. Raymond, Gregory Vincent. Thai Military Power: A Culture of Strategic Accomodation. Copenhagen, DK: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, 2018.
  30. Riedel, Bruce. Beirut 1958: How America's Wars in the Middle East Began. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution, 2020.
  31. Struthers, Joel Adam. Appel: A Canadian in the French Foreign Legion. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier Press, 2019.
  32. Vandergriff, Donald E. Adopting Mission Command: Developing Leaders for a Superior Command Culture. Annapolis, MD: US Naval Institute Press, 2019.
  33. Verney, Michael A. A Great and Rising Nation: Naval Exploration and Global Empire in the Early US Republic. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2022. (digital copy only)
  34. Ziarnick, Brent D. To Rule the Skies: General Thomas S. Power and the Rise of Strategic Air Command in the Cold War. Annapolis, MD: US Naval Institute Press, 2021. (digital copy only)