tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25995363.post2203502750240587851..comments2023-06-20T01:49:29.525-07:00Comments on Blogging About the Unthinkable: Wohlstetter in IndiaSovietologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09099598091505738702noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25995363.post-72856012363536352552008-05-31T17:05:00.000-07:002008-05-31T17:05:00.000-07:00I was quite disappointed by the book. It wasn't r...I was quite disappointed by the book. It wasn't really about RAND's research or its studies, was it? It was mainly about the post-RAND careers of people who worked at RAND many decades in the past (Wohlstetter, Marshall, Arrow and such) or people who knew those people but were not connected to RAND at all (like Chalabi). I still would like to read a history of RAND that covers the studies it has done. Alas, this book didn't attempt that.EThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09773657465275663306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25995363.post-72811969819961554382008-05-06T13:36:00.000-07:002008-05-06T13:36:00.000-07:00Well, it's not like I was going to pay for the boo...Well, it's not like I was going to pay for the book--I'm waiting for the university library to buy it. I'm not expecting great history, I'm just interested to see a "popular" rendition of RAND's history.<BR/><BR/>At the same time, perhaps we can take the Amazon review with a grain of salt--the authors doesn't state what has so offended him. Chalmers Johnson wasn't charitable either; it's just that in his review Johnson expresses a very different understanding of RAND than my own. As a historian of the Soviet Union, I have a very different outlook on these things than most; the Soviets didn't have a civilian institution like RAND to critique their defense policy. As such, I see RAND as one of the major features distinguishing the defense cultures of the two superpowers, and a probable reason why Soviet strategic concepts differed so much from our own.Sovietologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09099598091505738702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25995363.post-15642303412071226472008-05-06T13:03:00.001-07:002008-05-06T13:03:00.001-07:00The one negative Amazon review of the book is inte...The one negative Amazon review of the book is interestingWavefunctionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14993805391653267639noreply@blogger.com