Thinking About National Security

The former Secretary of Defense has spent the past two years writing a book of unusual merit. There are few surprises and there is a total lack of political polemic. Nor does Brown seek to use his pages to explain or justify the Carter defense policies. Yet this book should be widely read: it is intelligent in its analysis, comprehensive in scope and fluent in style. The issues he deals with go well beyond the details of defense policy into the major areas of foreign affairs.