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Wars are much different today than they were in years past, but some things remain the same.

On Monday, 8 December 1941, the cows got milked, the eggs got collected, steel was milled, and cars rolled off the assembly lines. The ships still smoked in Pearl Harbor, and the dead and missing were being counted, but the US economy and population, still heavily agricultural, did not stop. The enemy had crippled one of America’s fleets, but did little else.

In contrast, on Wednesday, 12 September 2001, the financial engine of the modern US economy was shuttered as the rescue crews picked vainly through the debris of the collapsed World Trade Center. The modern economy depends on near instant transfer of financial and equity instruments, and the ease of personal travel. The transfers and travel rely simply on trust, that planes fly on time and safely, that financial centers are secure places to work, that rules and contracts will be enforced, that transactions will take place from anywhere on the globe, that brokers and analysts will be at their desks covering all markets in any time zone, 24/7. The enemy in this new era turned the instruments of modern travel – the ease of access to airports and airplanes – into deadly effective weapons against the primary instruments of the financial and stock markets – human capital, the sense of safety, and trust. The enemy did not merely topple a couple of buildings or shut down a city, but shut down the American airline industry, the primary stock market of the world, and many of America’s most prominent banks for several days. Unlike Pearl Harbor, the direct effects of 9-11 were not local, but nationwide in scope.

Wars: Then & Now by Rick Waddell looks at this and offers insightful commentary on how things have changed in the waging of America’s wars… and in some cases… how they have remained the same. It’s a must read for anyone that wants to get a better understanding of the American (political, media and public) psyche during and after our various conflicts through the years.

By Chip Armstrong

Wars: Then & Now by Rick Waddell

Buy this book if you want to understand if America will have the national heart and political will to be ready for our next national emergencies. Will we have the foresight to look beyond our most recent war(s) to prognosticate how to fight new types of enemies in new ways?

I strongly recommend this quick read by the former Army football team captain, Rhodes Scholar, Columbia University Ph.D., corporate executive, and brigadier general.

Buy “Wars: Then & Now” by Dr. Rick Waddell if you enjoy books on national security, military history, and the state of the USA. Rick has always been a man of few words. When he speaks, it is always well thought out. Likewise, his latest book reads quickly, and it gets to his various points by relying on facts, photos, charts, and cogent summations without burdening the reader with unnecessary verbosity. The 277 pages seemed to fly by without a lull. In other words, the former West Point professor has written an entertaining and accessible book for the average reader, government and military professionals, and academics. Ultimately, it provides a framework for understanding America’s wars– past, current, and future– in context to one another. As the saying goes, “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.”

Especially consider buying this book if you lived through and/or served in the military during the ’60s through the 21st Century. Rick’s brilliance is his ability to take wide swaths of disparate history, find the threads of continuity, and tell a story of what happened then, and how it’s apropos now and the future.

Wars: Then & Now is Available for Order Now

Wars are much different today than they were in years past, but some things remain the same.

Wars: Then & Now looks at this and offers insightful commentary on how things have changed in the waging of America’s wars… and in some cases… how they have remained the same. It’s a must read for anyone that wants to get a better understanding of the American (political, media and public) psyche during and after our various conflicts through the years.

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