Books to Battles

Dr. Wendy Whitman Cobb sits down with China scholar Lyle Morris to explore critical blind spots in the study of China’s military and strategic behavior. Drawing on his latest work, Morris examines the assumptions that shape Western analysis of China and identifies the political, military, economic, and international factors that could influence Beijing’s decision-making over Taiwan. The conversation highlights what analysts may be missing—and why it matters for strategy.

General Mike Minihan, U.S. Air Force retired, joins Books to Battles for a wide-ranging conversation on leadership, readiness, and the future of American airpower. Drawing on more than three decades of service—including command of Air Mobility Command and senior leadership roles in the Indo-Pacific—General Minihan reflects on preparing forces for great-power competition, building a warrior culture, and the lessons that have shaped his approach to leadership and warfighting.

On this episode of Books to Battles, Dr. Wendy Whitman Cobb sits down with General Adrian Spain, Commander of Air Combat Command, to discuss the challenges facing today’s Combat Air Forces. General Spain shares his perspectives on readiness, modernization, and preparing Airmen for future conflict, as well as the operational problems that demand greater attention. He also discusses the books and ideas shaping his thinking as a senior Air Force leader.

In the second installment of our Fiction-a-Month series, Books to Battles turns to Robert Heinlein’s classic The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. We explore the novel’s depiction of revolution, resistance, political organization, and the strategic challenges facing a weaker actor confronting a more powerful adversary. Along the way, we connect Heinlein’s lunar rebellion to key concepts from the SAASS Military Theory course and consider what fiction can teach us about strategy and war.

In this episode of Books to Battles, Tobias Bernard Switzer discusses his new RAND report, Air Power, Not Air Forces, and the lessons drawn from U.S. efforts to build partner aviation capabilities in Iraq and Afghanistan. Switzer argues that future security force assistance should prioritize generating effective combat airpower over replicating Western-style air force institutions, emphasizing affordable capabilities, sustainable support, and organizational approaches better suited to partner needs.