Wondering what to read this summer? As our loyal followers have come to expect: every year our strategic analysts and experts treat you to a thoughtfully curated collection of exceptional book recommendations to digest on the beach, by the pool, on a ‘terrasje’ or during Rob de Wijk’s anticipated nuclear apocalypse.
With suggestions ranging from the newest must-reads to modern classics with newfound relevance, these books are sure to increase your knowledge of the world, help get you up to speed on the latest global trends and most pressing geopolitical issues and keep you reading all summer long.
Nothing says “Summer” like the HCSS Summer Bookshelf!
Strategic Analyst Laura Jasper recommends:
“The Wizard of the Kremlin” by Giuliano da Empoli
This novel, laced with pitch black cynicism and hard political analysis, is a timely dissection of current Russian power told through the eyes of ‘The wizard of the Kremlin’ Vadim Baranov. Baranov is portrayed as the Tsar’s most powerful strategist in a story, rooted in reality, where truth and lies, news and propaganda have become indistinguishable. The lead character is said to be inspired by Vladislav Surkov. Like Baranov, Surkov is often described as Putin’s “poet amongst wolves”.
Director of Research Tim Sweijs recommends:
“The Dynamics of Military Revolution, 1300-2050” by MacGregor Knox and Williamson Murray (eds.)
Amidst the carnage in Ukraine, military innovation continues apace. Future war communities are debating whether we are at the verge of another Revolution in Military Affairs. This debate dates back to at least the late 1970s and gets revisited every few years since. Futurists claim that the character of war is set to change dramatically because of the convergence of technologies, concepts, and organisational forms. Traditionalists posit that the more changes, the more remains the same.
In their modern classic, MacGregor Knox and Williamson Murray offer analytical frameworks and historical analysis to help us gain a better understanding of this debate. Spearheading a list of eminent contributors, they compare Military Revolutions to earthquakes and Revolutions in Military Affairs to pre-shocks and after-shocks. A must (re-!)read for everyone interested in how polities, societies and their militaries create modes of war & warfare.
Assistant Analyst Alisa Hoenig recommends:
“Black Butterflies” by Priscilla Morris
A gripping novel about life during the siege of Zarajevo. The story follows well-known artist Zora as she lives, loves and struggles when war breaks out in the city that she has called home for decades. Overnight, the once open-minded, diverse population becomes fiercely divided and polarised. But at the same time, old friends and strangers support each other through hardship and grief.
This is a very touching, human story about every-day life in a war zone, which, amongst all the bad and the ugly, nevertheless manages to highlight the beautiful and the glimmers of hope.
Strategic Analyst Ron Stoop recommends:
“The National System of Political Economy” by Friedrich List
List is the second most read German economist of the 19th century. Sometimes called the ‘Anti Adam Smith’, he expertly weaves in (geo)political considerations and critiques parts of the commonly accepted ‘global cosmopolitan’ liberal economic order. Countries like Japan, South Korea and China have used the lessons of this economist to build up their economies in the face of overwhelming technological and economic superiority of western states.
Must read for anyone who wants to understand the political economy of the 21st century. Book is published in 1841, so available in the public domain.
Strategic Analyst Davis Ellison recommends:
“Nuclear War: A Scenario” by Annie Jacobsen
Security studies as a field often falls into abstract discussions about some of the world’s worst case scenarios. Jacobsen’s detailed account of a fictional (but very plausible) nuclear war involving the U.S., North Korea, and Russia offers an excellent corrective to that tendency. By focusing on real human impacts and actual government procedures, the book should be required reading for anyone in the strategic studies community.
Assistant Analyst Arne Eichholtz recommends:
“The Prize” by Daniel Yergin
For much of the 20th century, and perhaps still, geopolitics was oil: think OPEC’s role in international affairs, the Suez-crisis or imperial Japan before WWII. In this Pullitzer prize-winning book, Mr. Yergin chronicles how the oil industry grew into one of modern societies’ most vital arteries. It describes the rise of the majors, oil’s role in WWII, the formation of OPEC, the power dynamic between majors and exporters – and much else. A phenomenal read.
Data Scientist Maarten Vonk recommends:
“Free: Coming of Age at the End of History” by Lea Ypi
Incredible coming of age story at the end of communism in Albania. Lea Ypi offers a delusional description of life as a child in an extremely harsh communist regime and details her remarkable awakening of a false reality. An astounding depiction of how one’s reality shatters overnight, as an isolated country suddenly begins to open up.
Assistant Analyst Ayla Elzinga recommends:
“Focus – The ASML Way: Inside the Power Struggle over the Most Complex Machine on Earth” by Marc Hijink
One cannot help but wonder, how the world player that is ASML rose to power from a small town in the Netherlands. With roughly 90% of all chips worldwide produced with ASML’s machines, chances are the iPhone lying on your desk right now contains a chip that rolled out one of its machines. Starting out as a small project under Philips, this multibillion-dollar company today finds itself in the midst of a global power struggle at the dawn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Dutch journalist Marc Hijink was allowed to walk around the company for three years and shares his unique insights in this book.
Strategic Analyst Pieter-Jan Vandoren recommends:
“Why Nations Fail” by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson
Why are some nations richer than others? Is it because of their geography, their working culture, or the intelligence of their leaders? In this thought-provoking book, Acemoglu and Robinson examine all major countries and empires in world history and come up with one decisive factor: the establishment and preservation of inclusive political and economic institutions. A must-read to appreciate the value of institutions and stability in these turbulent times.
Assistant Analyst Beer Kwak recommends:
“Nausea” by Jean Paul Sartre
Nausea is Sartre’s first novel. It is a classic literary piece as well as a fundamental philosophical work in French existentialism, written as a diary by the fictional Antoine Roquentin, living in Bouville. The village’s name (boue = mud) directly reflects the central theme: Roquentin’s realisation of the inherent meaninglessness of (his) mere existence. As a reader you can feel his sense of detachment from everyday reality and how he loathes this village, where everyone seems to dissolve into a “get up and go to work”-based rut. Or, as Sartre would say, where everyone is fleeing from the responsibility that comes with their lack of essence. Because most importantly, and this is a crucial notion in existentialism: Roquentin eventually also realises that life’s a priori meaninglessness invokes on each of us the freedom and responsibility to give life its meaning.
A short read, yet a wonderful introduction to existentialist thought à la Sartre as well as his superb writing.
Strategic Advisor Kees van Rij recommends:
“Eastern Approaches” by Fitzroy Maclean
Originally published in 1949, but now republished by Penguin Books, and still very readable: well written, not outdated, by the British diplomat, parliamentarian and co-founder of the SAS Fitzroy Maclean (1911-1996).
I thought the testimonies from Maclean’s time as a diplomat in Moscow were particularly worthwhile. Stalin’s horrifying trials against his former associates around 1938 take your breath away and make you involuntarily think of some developments in present-day Russia. But his experiences as a liaison between Tito in Yugoslavia and Churchill during the Second World War also provide a good insight into regional developments in the Balkans that continue into the present.
Assistant Analyst Giulio Damiani recommends:
“JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, (1917–1956)” by Frederik Logevall
An incredibly honest and detailed biography covering John F. Kennedy’s youth, adolescence and initial entrance into the world of American politics. Logevall is a Pulitzer-winning Harvard historian who manages to shine light on the president’s unique childhood and upbringing, ending the book just as JFK, a newly elected US Senator, begins to consider the presidency. The narrative is engaging, accessible, thorough, and outright fascinating, with Logevall masterfully weaving the story of a larger-than-life man as he is shaped by the most transformative historical moments of his time.
Strategic Advisor Jeff Amrish Ritoe recommends:
“Het Raadsel Rutte” by Ron Fresen and Wilma Borgman
A nice insight (almost a ‘being John Malkovich’) into the world of former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as a person. How did he lead his cabinets, what drives him? Why does he sometimes blow a fuse? Is he a real liberal?
Because the book is the result of the many conversations that the authors and interviewees have had with Rutte during their working lives, it is easy to read. Great for the pool or camping during the summer holidays.
Assistant Analyst Ana Dadu recommends:
“Russia: Revolution nd Civil War, 1917-1921” by Antony Beevor
Antony Beevor, a British military historian, tells the story of perhaps the most misunderstood, and perhaps the most influential revolutions of the modern era – the Russian Revolution. Using up to date scholarship and archival documents, the author shows how everyone, from the worker on the streets of Petrograd to the soldiers on the battlefield and the woman doctor in an improvised hospital, experienced a bloody civil war.
This book came out against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and what we see today is echoed in history (not done yet).
Strategic Analyst Gerben Bakker recommends:
“The Concept of the Political” by Carl Schmitt
Those who want to uphold a liberal-democratic worldview should understand the arguments of smart people who oppose it.
In his 1932 book “Der Begriff des Politischen”, German philosopher and jurist Carl Schmitt examines the fundamental nature of the “political” and its place in the modern world. Published in the last days of Weimar Germany, the author joined the Nazi Party the year after. This new translation is a short and great read.
Assistant Analyst Rens van Dam recommends:
“Elon Musk” by Walter Isaacson
This biography is a must read if you want to know what goes on in the mind of the world’s richest man. Walter Isaacson, famous for his biographies, was allowed to follow Elon Musk for two years with every move he made. Together with his conversations with Elon Musk, it creates this fascinating insight in how he lives. It is undeniable that Elon Musk is one of the most influential persons of the century; all the more reason to learn about him.
Strategic Advisor Patrick Bolder recommends:
“7 Seconds to Die: A Military Analysis of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War and the Future of Warfighting” by John Antal
Based on observations during the 5 week war between Azerbaidjan and Armenian related Nagorno-Karabach, John Antal describes in tactical detail how drones have changed warfare. Furthermore he makes recommendations on future weapon systems and doctrines on several aspects for the conduct of war. Personally, I am looking forward to read his newest book as well: “Next War; Reimagining how we Fight”.
Tim Sweijs concludes this year’s HCSS Summer Bookshelf, with not one, but two recommendations:
“The Achilles Trap” by Steve Coll and “Leap of Faith” by Michael Mazarr
Over the past two years I – together with many others in our community – have been reconsidering the conditions for coercion and counter coercion in war as well as pre-war. The obvious trigger was of course Russia’s war against Ukraine and the coercive dynamics in the triangle Russia-Ukraine-NATO. Along the way I am revisiting other episodes in contemporary history including the decades of protracted coercion between US and Iraq.
In two fascinating books, Steve Coll (The Achilles Trap) and Michael J. Mazarr (Leap of Faith) offer us a glimpse behind the curtains of the perceptions and calculations of the senior leadership of the Iraq and the US governments. Their meticulously researched and beautifully written case studies reveal a disconcerting image of a dialogue entre sourds between two sides, featuring dysfunctional decision-making processes tainted by distorted images both of the other and of the self ultimately leading to the total – and one may add: fatal – misapprehension of their opponent.
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