Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog

Amory Lovins et. Al, Winning the Oil Endgame: Innovation for Profits, Jobs, and Security
Chock full of great stuff. I participated in a brief bit at the Arlington Institute that generated some of the thinking in the book. I think it was a scenario drill, but it's so long ago I can't remember (2003). I do remember spending a chunk of time with Amory, though, and he always impresses.

Amory Lovins et. Al, Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution
Not as engaging, but more high level and worth perusing for its thinking on how badly we value natural resources.

Jared Diamond, Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail or Succeed
Read it primarily for the China stuff, which is very well done. It's the best part of his book, actually.

T. R. Reid, Confucius Lives Next Door: What Living in the East Teaches Us About Living in the West
Simple thesis with lots of storytelling. Reid is a very good writer.

Sheng-Wei Wang, China's Ascendancy: An Opportunity Or a Threat? (What Every American Should Know About China)
Written with an obvious bias that I approve of, but also a superb compendium of issues and history. I am quoted at length, but what I really valued in the book is the reference book-style presentation. You learn a lot very fast reading this book. I found myself highlighting a lot of material for future use.

Adam B. Ulam, Understanding the Cold War: A Historian's Personal Reflections
Reread this for the stuff on detente. Adam's analysis was always very trenchant.

Carl Sandburg, Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and the War Years
Obviously a good book.