Book!

Wiley is now listing my book. Brave New War
ISBN: 0-471-78079-0
Hardcover
208 pages
April 2007
NOTE: From the look of it, it is set up for pre-orders on Amazon.

Comments

[tim302]

Right on! When I get a copy, I'll def be reviewing it for my site.

[Duncan Kinder]

"What's the solution? What Robb refers to as deep resilience. We need to make our economic and communication systems more decentralized. If we can't stop an attack in advance, we can mitigate it. Right now, we've left ourselves too open to attack, with all our resources too concentrated. A simple, successful attack in Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, or New York could shut down the world's oil, high-tech, or financial markets, costing millions. We have too few energy sources, too few shipping routes, too few companies making the components for all the things we need. Until Americans start seeing the world as John Robb does, we'll spend all our resources preventing the last attack, rather than the next one."

For many years, now, my MidEast policy has been "Develop solar power and get the hell out of there," which approximates John's position ( as described in the above blurb. )

For many years, now, a Manhattan Project style effort to achieve this has been indicated.

To what extent, following Iraq, the United States will retain the time and resources necessary to achieve this, is uncertain.

Frankly, given the realities of how politics works in the United States nowadays, I doubt if such a solar energy style project would be attempted anyway.

The one question which apparently John fails to address is how each of us, as individuals, might effectively respond to the Global Guerrilla challenge, notwithstanding the apparent failure of the United States to develop decentralized solar power systems or other forms of deep resilience. Is there any way that you or I or John or somebody else might develop his own deep resilience notwithstanding a general failure by society for it to develop?

[John Robb]

Duncan, I don't advocate a Manhattan project. I do provide a framework for unlocking what you outline in the last para.

[john SCOTT]

In general - if you want a new idea, read an old book: many, many older books point out that guerilla's hit valuable targets to cause as much disruption as possible. The only new thing now is that the internet has sped up their abilities to process new ideas (i.e., throw away bad ideas and iterate new ones). Also using the internet as a cheap communicants platform to organize and evangelize. Interesting how 4th gen warfare has started to look like the anarchist movement at the turn of last century.

I think that beyond 'deep resilience' the mechanism is create more loosely-coupled networks: social, energy, banking, etc.

Some things will always be centralized (especially limited physical resources), the market has found the best optimal solution. The key part is how to change the equation to drive markets to a desired behavior. In a sense we're already started this: financial groups have created 'hot' back-ups centers, banks have as well. The oil problem is starting to be solved, since the signal of high prices is driving new ideas. Tax credits are also bringing in new auto's, wind power, etc.

Congrat's on the book, looking forward to adding to the pile....

[Will]

So, how does one get an autographed copy???

[P-]

Get a good agent press on those Wiley guys to get a pic on their site. Almost every book has a cover and well worth more than a thousand words. CONGRATS!! I placed in a order for myself and more for my close friends who wouldn't mind having a copy for Christmas.

'Political scientists are moving away from state against state thinking, to thinking about non-state actors. Our enemies are now much smaller than that: small, ad-hoc bands of like-minded insurgents, organized less like bees in a hive than like the millions of users for Wikipedia, each with its own competing, but complementary agenda.'

Nicely said!!! Got to give them credit for being good descriptors more than i can for being writers advocates(the pic of the book!!)

Your 'Global Oil Shocks' piece may come in a a good link the not too distant future for what i'm doing. Good piece!

http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2006/10/global_oil_shoc.html

My site

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/invest_mavin/

I've used some past, old articles of yours on the related links section.