Alexander L. George is a paragon of scholarship-an academic who successfully crosses boundaries between theory and policy, political science and several different disciplines, and case study analysis and theory building. Most of all, he bridges the gap between the ivory tower of research and the world of people, power, and politics. In these original essays, former students, colleagues, and admirers collaborate in portraying the research program of Alexander George's scholarship in all its diversity and complexity, examining subjects ranging from the role of beliefs in foreign policy-making to the factors involved in diplomacy and the use of force. Taken together, these essays offer strong testimony to Alexander George's extraordinary vision, erudition, and humanity.

Admiral John S. McCain and the Triumph of Naval Air Power covers the life and professional career of Adm. John S. McCain Sr. (1884–1945). Spanning most of the first half of the twentieth century, McCain’s life and career highlight the integration of aviation into the Navy, emphasizing the evolution of the aircraft carrier from a tactical element of the fleet stressing sea control to a strategic force capable of long-range power projection. Although much of the book focuses on carrier aviation, McCain was instrumental in the emergence of flying boats, considered essential for long-range reconnaissance in the Pacific. One of the senior officers branded as “Johnny-Come-Latelys” by pioneer aviators, McCain nevertheless brought fresh approaches and innovation to naval aviation. His prewar and initial wartime commands encompassed tender-based and shore-based aviation, which were critical to early operations in the Pacific, yet McCain also understood the power and potential of carrier-based aviation, initially as commanding officer of the USS Ranger before the war, then as a carrier task force commander under Adm. William F. Halsey in the Pacific in 1944 and 1945. Moreover, he served tours as Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics and the first Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air) in 1942–1944. In these posts he witnessed and played a role in the culmination of naval air power as a means of delivering crippling blows to the enemy’s homeland. McCain was among only a handful of officers who achieved prominence during the war and who had experience in all of these varied and challenging levels of command.

In 1960 there were some 3,500 strategic nuclear weapons in the United States and by the mid-1970s there were more than 10,000. This book, written by a member of the U.S. nuclear weapons force, gives an account of that buildup and the efforts taken to keep the stockpile under control. Jerry Miller highlights the strategies, targeting and attack plans, and arms control measures associated with the bomb. He addresses the role of the military in establishing requirements and the role of the scientists in meeting those requirements and identifies the weapons' strengths and weaknesses and their significance for the future. A final chapter reviews threat scenarios and suggests actions to bring the nuclear force into line.

This report documents the results of a conference on Military Operations and Crisis Management, held at RAND in January 1990 to explore issues concerning the use of military force in crises. The conference brought together active-duty and retired military officers, analysts, academic experts, and policy officials. Together they examined the constraints on and special requirements for force employment in crises that potentially involve the superpowers in a nuclear escalation. Tension can arise between the conflicting logics and imperatives of force and diplomacy when two nuclear-armed superpowers seek to have a war without shooting at each other. The logic of force employment in crisis thus differs from that in war. Conference participants concluded that the political signal that might be intended by the manipulation of military forces may not be understood by the adversary. Political leaders must understand the possible costs and risks in military terms of actions taken with military forces. Military leaders, on the other hand, must recognize the nature of the crisis management challenge to political leaders. Finally, political leaders must communicate their objectives clearly to those in charge of implementing them.

The Mighty Moo is the tale of how a scrappy little World War II aircraft carrier and its untested crew earned a distinguished combat record and beat incredible odds to earn 12 battle stars in the Pacific. The USS Cowpens and her crew weren’t your typical heroes. She was a flattop that the US Navy initially didn’t want, with a captain nearly scapegoated for the loss of his last command, pilots who self-trained on the planes they would fly into combat, and sailors that had been in uniform barely longer than the ship had been afloat. Despite their humble origins, Cowpens and her band of second-string reservists and citizen sailors served with distinction, fighting in nearly every major carrier operation from 1943 to 1945, including the Battles of the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf. Together they faced a deadly typhoon that brought the ship to the verge of capsizing, and at war’s end there was only one US aircraft carrier in Tokyo Bay to witness the Japanese surrender—The Mighty Moo. In the years to follow, Cowpens’ service has become the wellspring for a remarkable modern tradition, both within the US Navy and the small Southern town that still celebrates her legacy with a festival every year. The Mighty Moo is a biography of a World War II aircraft carrier as told through the voices of its heroic crew—a “Band of Brothers at sea.”