This American journalist focuses on defense topics, offering deep insights into military affairs. His work is characterized by detailed reporting and analysis of military operations and command structures. Through his writings, he explores the complexities of military endeavors and strategic decision-making. His prose is valued for its informed perspective, contributing to a nuanced understanding of the military world.
The definitive military chronicle of the Iraq war--and a searing judgment on the strategic blindness with which America has conducted it--draws on the accounts of senior military officers giving voice to their anger for the first time.
Today, as liberty and truth are increasingly challenged, the figures of Churchill and Orwell loom large. Exemplars of Britishness, they preserved individual freedom and democracy for the world through their far-sighted vision and inspired action, and cast a long shadow across our culture and politics. In Churchill & Orwell, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas E. Ricks masterfully argues that these extraordinary men are as important today as they ever were. Churchill and Orwell stood in political opposition to each other, but were both committed to the preservation of freedom. However, in the late 1930s they occupied a lonely position: democracy was much discredited, and authoritarian rulers, fascist and communist, were everywhere in the ascent. Unlike others, they had the wisdom to see that the most salient issue was human liberty – and that any government that denies its people basic rights is a totalitarian menace to be resisted. Churchill and Orwell proved their age’s necessary men, and this book reveals how they rose from a precarious position to triumph over the enemies of freedom. Churchill may have played the larger role in Hitler’s defeat, but Orwell’s reckoning with the threat of authoritarian rule in 1984 and Animal Farm defined the stakes of the Cold War and continues to inspire to this day. Their lives are an eloquent testament to the power of moral conviction, and to the courage it takes to stay true to it.
Ricks discusses "the founding fathers, examining their educations and, in particular, their devotion to the ancient Greek and Roman classics--and how that influence would shape their ideals and the new American nation ... [His book] follows [the first four U.S. presidents] ... from their youths to their adult lives, as they grappled with questions of independence and forming and keeping a new nation. In doing so, Ricks interprets not only the effect of the ancient world on each man, and how that shaped our constitution and government, but offers ... new insights into these legendary leaders"--Publisher marketing.
#1 New York Times bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas E. Ricks presents a fresh perspective on the Civil Rights Movement, emphasizing its strategic military elements and their relevance for global nonviolent resistance. Ricks, a seasoned war reporter, reveals that the Movement's significant victories for Black Americans stemmed from more than idealism; they were achieved through careful attention to recruitment, training, discipline, and organization—key components of successful military campaigns. With engaging storytelling, Ricks chronicles the Movement's triumphs and setbacks, following iconic figures like Martin Luther King, Jr. from Montgomery to Memphis. He illustrates that Gandhian nonviolence was an active philosophy, requiring bold confrontations with adversaries both on the streets and in public discourse. The book also shines a light on influential yet lesser-known activists such as James Lawson, James Bevel, Diane Nash, and Septima Clark, who were instrumental in shaping nonviolence into an effective strategy. Ricks provides a nuanced understanding of the Movement's later challenges, marked by internal conflicts and increased white backlash. Rich with new interpretations of familiar events and overlooked aspects of America’s civil rights struggle, this work is an essential contribution to the literature on racial justice and social change, offering crucial lessons for contemporary society.
General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006-2008
The Gamble tells the gripping story of how, in the Iraq War's darkest hour, an unlikely collection of dissident generals, scholars and foreign experts pulled the country back from the edge of the abyss and saved countless lives. This was 'the surge', and at its helm was General David Petraeus, now acknowledged as one of the greatest military tacticians in US history. Based on unprecedented access to the entire chain of army command - at the top and fighting on the ground - this is the definitive account of one of America's biggest ever military gambles, and what it means for the future of Iraq.