Lawrence D. Freedman

Knaus writes about Bosnia, a relatively successful case of international intervention. Stewart mocks formulaic approaches to intervention and rejects almost all policy prescriptions for Afghanistan other than extracting foreign troops as soon and as gracefully as possible.

Beetle is a major contribution to the history of World War II. From Smith's vantage point, one sees the defeat of Germany in a new light.

Miscamble argues that there was no reason to suppose that Japan was close to surrender prior to the bombing, that the bombing turned the debate in Tokyo in favor of surrender, and that the grim calculus of war suggested that if the atom bombs had not been used, many more would have died than were killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Gerges, one of the most astute chroniclers of Islamist radicalism, begins his book with a masterly and trenchant account of the origins of al Qaeda and its decline after 9/11. Warrick, a reporter for The Washington Post, narrates an extraordinary story of intrigue and betrayal behind one operation in the war on terror.

Coming 50 years after 1961, with Berlin now the capital of a unified German state, Kempe’s compelling, lively (and unusually well-illustrated) account is a reminder that the city was once at the heart of a crisis that almost turned the Cold War hot.

As Byman reminds readers in this comprehensive, balanced, and sharply written history, Jewish militants relied on force from the start to push the British out and keep the Arabs at bay.

A new book from Van Creveld is always something to be savored. There have been many previous histories of airpower, but none so comprehensive and sensitive to context as this one.

In Unwarranted Influence, Ledbetter traces how Eisenhower's "military-industrial complex" speech came about and charts its later influences, refuting those who claimed it sank without trace. A companion piece from the same period is a reprint of Ekirch's 1956 book The Civilian and the Military. 

Bergen is one of the most intelligent and informed chroniclers of al Qaeda, and in his latest book, he narrates the long-running conflict between that group and the West.

Horowitz has written a scholarly analysis of why some governments enthusiastically embrace military innovations while others miss out.

Starting with World War I and ending with the Iraq war (and with clear implications for the war in Afghanistan), Rose shows how confused political leaders often are about exactly what they are trying to achieve in the coming peace.