From The American Interest, it is obvious that a military can only fight well on behalf of a society in which it believes. But a society which believes that little is worth fighting for cannot, in the end, field an effective military. Obvious as this is, we seem to have forgotten it; and U.S. Army General David H. Petraeus on the debate concerning the relationship between the Services and the civilian academy. The War Inside: Troops are returning from the battlefield with psychological wounds, but the mental-health system that serves them makes healing difficult.
From The New Yorker, The General’s Report: Sy Hersh on how Antonio Taguba, who investigated the Abu Ghraib scandal, became one of its casualties. From TAP, a look at how the military commissions obscure Gitmo's real purpose. Shankar Vedantam on why torture keeps pace with Enlightenment. Philippe Sands discovers the legal equivalent of outer space in Clive Stafford Smith's survey of Guantánamo, Bad Men: Guantánamo Bay and the Secret Prison.
A review of Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas by Kevin Merida and Michael Fletcher. Jeffrey Toobin on how the Supreme Court, no less than the Presidency, will be on the ballot next November. Did we always care about voting rights? Brian K. Landsberg investigates. Did the Federalist Society have a hand in attorney firings? The right-wing lawyers' group is the casting couch for the federal judiciary—and may have been, newly released documents indicate, for the Justice Department too.
From The New Individualist, here's a guided tour through the chaotic, crumbling conservative landscape and Dr. Hudgins’s 12-Step Cure for Big-Government Conservatism; a review of Crunchy Cons by Rod Dreher. A review of Why I Turned Right: Leading Baby Boom Conservatives Chronicle Their Political Journeys. A review of Freedom's Power: The True Force of Liberalism by Paul Starr. The people's party? A review of Comrades: A World History of Communism by Robert Service. Communism's grim toll: Despite its bloody and failed history, it still holds sway in some nations.
A review of The Political Teachings of Jesus by Tod Lindberg. The first chapter form The Secular Bible Why Nonbelievers Must Take Religion Seriously by Jacques Berlinerblau. Slim, portable gift book for atheists: Carlin Romano reviews The Atheist's Bible, ed. by Joan Konner. Edward Skidelsky reviews In Defence of Atheism by Michel Onfray tr by Jeremy Leggatt and God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens (and more and more). How to be a successful atheist priest: The secret life of Jean Meslier, unsung Enlightenment hero.
A review of Straight to Jesus: Sexual and Christian Conversions in the Ex-Gay Movement by Tanya Erzen. Transexual finds sexism in feminism: A review of Whipping Girl A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity by Julia Serano. From The Humanist, don't give up your day job: An interview with Leslie Bennetts, author of The Feminine Mistake. A review of The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine. A review of Our Bodies, Ourselves: Menopause and I Feel Bad About My Neck, and Other Thoughts about Being a Woman by Nora Ephron.
