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 AM January 13, 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. 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)
  3. Canuel, Hugues. The Fall and Rise of French Sea Power: France's Quest for an Independent Naval Policy, 1940-1963. Annapolis, MD: US Naval Institute Press, 2021. (digital copy only)
  4. 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.
  5. Clews, Graham T. Churchill's Phoney War: A Study in Folly and Frustration. Annapolis, MD: US Naval Institute Press, 2019.
  6. 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)
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. Fridman, Ofer. Enemy Civilian Casualties: Politics, Culture, and Technology. London, UK: Lexington Books, 2019.
  10. Gall, Sandy. Afghan Napoleon: The Life of Ahmad Shah Massoud. London, UK: Haus Publishing, 2021. (digital copy only)
  11. Greaves, Wilfrid and P. Whitney Lackenbauer, eds. Breaking Through: Understanding Sovereignty and Security in the Circumpolar Arctic. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2021.
  12. Groh, Tyrone L. Proxy War: The Least Bad Option. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2019.
  13. Hoffman, Frank G. Mars Adapting: Military Change During War. Annapolis, MD: US Naval Institute Press, 2021. (digital copy only)
  14. 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)
  15. 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.
  16. Miller, Benjamin, with Ziv Rubinovitz. Grand Strategy from Truman to Trump. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2020.
  17. Morningstar, James Kelly. War and Resistance in the Philippines, 1942-1944. Annapolis, MD: US Naval Institute Press, 2021. (digital copy only)
  18. Raymond, Gregory Vincent. Thai Military Power: A Culture of Strategic Accomodation. Copenhagen, DK: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, 2018.
  19. Riedel, Bruce. Beirut 1958: How America's Wars in the Middle East Began. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution, 2020.
  20. Struthers, Joel Adam. Appel: A Canadian in the French Foreign Legion. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier Press, 2019.
  21. Ucko, David H. The Insurgent's Dilemma: A Struggle to Prevail. London, UK: Hurst and Company, 2022. (digital copy only)
  22. Vandergriff, Donald E. Adopting Mission Command: Developing Leaders for a Superior Command Culture. Annapolis, MD: US Naval Institute Press, 2019.
  23. 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)