21st Century Ellis: Operational Art And Strategic Prophecy for the Modern Era, edited by B.A. Friedman

I must admit I don’t know who the Ellis of the title is. This book came on a list of books available for review from the Naval Historical Institute, and as is my fashion [1], I like to read and review books about obscure subjects. For one, they test my own expertise and allow me to become more familiar with the greater intellectual world I inhabit. Given that naval history happens to be one of my beats as a book reviewer, reading about a noted Marine Corps theorist, especially in a slim 150 page volume, sounds like an enjoyable way to increase my own knowledge while also bringing to wider attention an unfamiliar book. One of the pleasures of life I enjoy is finding what is undervalued and underappreciated and drawing some attention to it to help right the scales.

Anyway, that said, this book looks to be interesting, given its focus on tactics and strategy. From what I can tell through pre-reading the book, skimming through it very quickly, it has four chapters of interest to contemporary military concerns in the United States. There are four chapters, to the book, focusing on such issues as counter-insurgency, combined warfare, the Marine Corps, and the Pacific Ocean region. This book is also part of a larger series that seeks to bring the thinking of naval theorists to contemporary readers, especially those in military and strategic circles. Ellis appears to be a thinker whose name is better known than his writings, and as the first collection of his short and profound thoughts, I look forward to getting to know the man better by getting to know his writings.

[1] See, for example:

Non-Book Review: A Handful Of Bullets

Non-Book Review: Fire On The Water

Non-Book Review: The Throne Of Adulis

Non-Book Review: Rebalancing U.S. Forces

Non-Book Review: Rag Man, Rag Man

Non-Book Review: Sword & Shield Of Zion

Non-Book Review: The Human Factors Of Fratricide

Non-Book Review: Jerusalem In The North

Non-Book Review: Aboard The Pirate

Non-Book Review: A Dog Before A Soldier

Non-Book Review: Lost World Of The Golden King

Non-Book Review: The Nature Of War

Non-Book Review: Captured: The Forgotten Men of Guam

Non-Book Review: Internal Security Services In Liberalizing States

Non-Book Review: The Aden Effect

Non-Book Review: Psychology Of Space Exploration

Non-Book Review: Pirate Alley

Non-Book Review: Imperial Crossroads

Non-Book Review: Admiral Insubordinate

A Non-Book Review: Kaigun