Customer Reviews

US Civil-Military Relations After 9/11: Renegotiating the Civil-Military Bargain

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Mackubin Owens's clear, concise style is a pleasure to read. I read it in one sitting because what I'd just read was so illuminating I wanted to get to the next subject immediately. Owens walks the reader through very complex, subtle, and extremely important issues with the brevity appreciated by a lay reader, like myself, but with enough footnotes and references to satisfy even the most exacting scholar. All sides of any issue are shown clearly and evenly. I'd thought vaguely about most of the issues raised in this book, but after reading just the first chapter I realized that, indeed, I had thought vaguely. This book has increased my knowledge and sharpened my thinking. Everyone in public service engaged in national defense policy should read this book. It would save wasted effort and wasted lives. If we truly believe that we are a republic, a form of government that requires the engagement of its citizens in both the thinking about and the doing of our nation's defense, the more citizens who read this book, the healthier our democracy.

As someone who teaches an undergraduate elective in civil-military relations, I've read most of the books Mackubin Owens references in this concise, well-written argument. Even with my level of familiarity with the subject, I was blown away by how he accurately and eloquently lays out the history of civil-military relations in the U.S., the issues that complicate that relationship in the wake of 9/11, and the solutions he puts forth. This book should be read by military leaders and civilian leaders alike in the national security establishment, as well as concerned citizens.

If you're only going to read one book on the subject, this is the book to read.

Ed Cox

Author of Grey Eminence: Fox Conner and the Art of Mentorship

This book informs one of the status of Civil-Military relations that are part of the every day decisions that this countryh faces. It explains the role of each and where some have drifted from their assigned duties of responsibility. Well worth the read.