One of the problems of this time of year is that so many people send so many packages that it takes a long time for people to receive what they have ordered. This is especially true for those of us who receive books for free, books that are sent fairly cheaply and take even longer to come in such busy times than they do normally. I say this somewhat jokingly, as I have not gotten a book to review from any of the several sources I review books for in over a week, and quite frankly I’m a bit impatient to read some new books and review them, especially since there is a time commitment for me to have the books read and reviewed within a month or two, a deadline that is hard to meet when I do not receive the books. On the other hand, I am getting the books for free, so there’s that to consider as well. I will enjoy the books, God willing, when they eventually come. I just hope that no one is trying to steal my review copies for their own libraries. Postal carriers, I’m talking to you.

Given that I have given a fair amount of “non-book reviews” for the books I review (even the occasional novel) for academic journals, I thought it would be worthwhile for me to comment a little bit on what attracts me to particular books, given that most books I receive are those I have specifically requested. Right now I am reviewing books specifically for the Air & Space Power Journal, the Naval Historical Institute, and H-Net. I also requested another book to read from De Re Militari, but I haven’t gotten any response or feedback from that request. So far, the books I have reviewed for these sources has run the gamut from biographies of insubordinate admirals to historical novels to accounts of the Japanese Navy and of the Crusades from the point of view of the Arabs, as well as accounts of the importance of the Persian Gulf to would-be hegemonic naval powers as well as a book on space psychology and one on Somali piracy. The books I am waiting for include a book on the nature of warfare, a history of ancient Afghanistan, a book on the prisoners of Guam during WWII, and an examination of the role of militaries in unstable and growing democracies.

Why am I interested in these subjects? My interest in the Persian Gulf springs from childhood, an interest in the Middle East and its importance to world history and the future, and my own travels there. A few of my reviewed books have related to the Middle East directly (the Holy Land during the Crusades, Yemen, and the Persian Gulf), and others have dealt with other peripheral areas of the Middle East that I have a personal interest in (Somalia, Afghanistan). Some books relate to my larger interest in imperialism (the biography of the British admiral and the history of the Imperial Japanese navy) as well as my interests in military behavior, including vis-a-vis their elected governments (the subject of my capstone paper about Chile and a considerable source of difficulty during my time in Thailand) and my interests in space.

Therefore, the books I have chosen to read are not quiet as random an assemblage as they may seem at first. They are proof of a wide set of interests, but they have common threads that can be readily understood. The books we choose to read, the movies we choose to watch, and the subjects that grab our attention and interest tell us a lot about ourselves. Sometimes it says that we are rather scholarly people whose interests are deliberately obscure and unusual, and other times it tells us that we are idealists with our heads in the clouds and a vivid imagination. Looking at the book reviews I see from friends, I can tell things about their own concerns and interests, and I greatly appreciate to hear what others have to say as well, even if their perspectives and interests vary from my own. I am sure that in time my own interests will shift based on my own state in life, and I look forward to those changes. I will perhaps at that time be waiting for other books to come, though. Some things never change, after all.