file under: punditry on pause

just finished rise of the vulcans by james mann earlier this evening, and am impressed by both the extensive research and the refreshingly level-headed articulation that went into it. thank god not everything written these days is prone to off-putting hyperventilation (even if said hyperventilation is totally warranted).

i first read about the book in a christopher hitchens article, which might not be the greatest association for some people out there. mister hitchens is one of the few pro-war commentators whose opinion i find thought-provoking and engaging (even though i still manage to strongly disagree with the majority of conclusions he draws), but that's just me. i know opinions on him vary, and his inability to restrain his inner contrarian can be extremely irritating for sure.

anyway, i found the book to be very informative and surprisingly fair (if a bit too forgiving at times). still, definitely recommended for people wanting some real context to go with their current events dissection.