If I were in charge of your university…

…you would be at this very moment deep into a mandatory course in military history. The history of warfare is a window to the larger history of every time in every place; it is a window into the human soul, the extremes of good and horrible; it has inspired artists since artists painted on cave walls; and, perhaps most important, an appreciation of the dimensions of war is a requirement for enlightened citizenship in today's world.

But I'm not, and so you are excused. If, however, you decide to pursue this study, you could do a whole lot worse than starting with Paul Kennedy's Engineers of Victory, a study of problem solvers who affected the outcome of World War II. It's somewhat technical. It covers a lot of familiar ground in a new and insightful way. And it's an absorbing read.

Well. It's on the list.