Soldiers of Reason : The RAND Corporation and the Rise of the American Empire

The first-ever popular history of the RAND Corporation, written with full access to its archives,__Soldiers of Reason__is a page-turning chronicle of the rise of the secretive think tank that has been the driving force behind American government for sixty years.Born in the wake of World War II as an idea factory to advise the air force on how to wage and win wars, RAND quickly became the creator of America’s anti-Soviet nuclear strategy. A magnet for the best and the brightest, its ranks included Cold War luminaries such as Albert Wohlstetter, Bernard Brodie, and Herman Kahn, who arguably saved us from nuclear annihilation and unquestionably created Eisenhower’s “military-industrial complex.”In the Kennedy era, RAND analysts became McNamara’s Whiz Kids and their theories of rational warfare steered our conduct in Vietnam. Those same theories drove our invasion of Iraq forty-five years later, championed by RAND affiliated actors such as Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld, and Zalmay Khalilzad. But RAND’s greatest contribution might be its least known: rational choice theory, a model explaining all human behavior through self-interest. Through it RAND sparked the Reagan-led transformation of our social and economic system but also unleashed a resurgence of precisely the forces whose existence it denied— religion, patriotism, tribalism.With__Soldiers of Reason,__Alex Abella has rewritten the history of America’s last half century and cast a new light on our problematic present. An “entertaining and fast-paced” account of the organization that defines the military-industrial complex—and continues to shape our world today (The New York Times Book Review). The RAND Corporation was born in the wake of World War II as a think tank to generate research and analysis for the United States military. It was a magnet for the best and the brightest—and also the most dangerous. RAND quickly became the creator of America’s anti-Soviet nuclear strategy, attracting such Cold War luminaries as Albert Wohlstetter, Bernard Brodie, and Herman Kahn, who arguably saved us from nuclear annihilation—and unquestionably created the military-industrial complex Eisenhower warned against. In the Kennedy era, RAND analysts and their theories of rational warfare steered our conduct in Vietnam. Those same theories drove our invasion of Iraq forty-five years later, championed by RAND affiliated actors such as Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld, and Zalmay Khalilzad. But RAND’s greatest contribution might be its least known: rational choice theory, a model explaining all human behavior through self-interest. Through it RAND sparked the Reagan-led transformation of our social and economic system, but also unleashed a resurgence of precisely the forces whose existence it denied: religion, patriotism, tribalism. With Soldiers of Reason, Alex Abella shares a “well-researched” history of America’s last half century that casts a new light on our problematic present (San Francisco Chronicle). An “entertaining and fast-paced” account of the organization that defines the military-industrial complex—and continues to shape our world today ( The New York Times Book Review ). The RAND Corporation was born in the wake of World War II as a think tank to generate research and analysis for the United States military. It was a magnet for the best and the brightest—and also the most dangerous. RAND quickly became the creator of America’s anti-Soviet nuclear strategy, attracting such Cold War luminaries as Albert Wohlstetter, Bernard Brodie, and Herman Kahn, who arguably saved us from nuclear annihilation—and unquestionably created the military-industrial complex Eisenhower warned against. In the Kennedy era, RAND analysts and their theories of rational warfare steered our conduct in Vietnam. Those same theories drove our invasion of Iraq forty-five years later, championed by RAND affiliated actors such as Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld, and Zalmay Khalilzad. But RAND’s greatest contribution might be its least known: rational choice theory, a model explaining all human behavior through self-interest. Through it RAND sparked the Reagan-led transformation of our social and economic system, but also unleashed a resurgence of precisely the forces whose existence it denied: religion, patriotism, tribalism. With Soldiers of Reason , Alex Abella shares a “well-researched” history of America’s last half century that casts a new light on our problematic present ( San Francisco Chronicle ). The first-ever popular history of theRAND Corporation, written with full access to its archives, Soldiers of Reason is a page-turning chronicle of the rise of the secretive think tank that has been the driving force behind American government for sixty years. Born in the wake of World WarII as an idea factory to advise the air force on how to wage and win wars, RAND quickly became the creator of Americas anti-Soviet nuclear strategy.A magnet for the best and the brightest, its ranks included Cold War luminaries such as Albert Wohlstetter, Bernard Brodie, and Herman Kahn, who arguably saved us from nuclear annihilation and unquestionably created Eisenhowers military-industrial complex. In the Kennedy era,RAND analysts became McNamaras Whiz Kids and their theories of rational warfare steered our conduct in Vietnam. Those same theories drove our invasion of Iraq forty-five years later, championed byRAND affiliated actors such as Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld, and Zalmay Khalilzad. But RANDs greatest contribution might be its least known: rational choice theory, a model explaining all human behavior through self-interest. Through itRAND sparked the Reagan-led transformation of our social and economic system but also unleashed a resurgence of precisely the forces whose existence it denied religion, patriotism, tribalism. With Soldiers of Reason, Alex Abella has rewritten the history of Americas last half century and cast a new light on our problematic present. Born in the wake of World War II, RAND quickly became the creator of America’s anti-Soviet nuclear strategy. A magnet for the best and the brightest, its ranks included Cold War luminaries such as Albert Wohlstetter, Bernard Brodie, and Herman Kahn, who arguably saved us from nuclear annihilation and unquestionably created Eisenhower’s "military-industrial complex." In the Kennedy era, RAND analysts and their theories of rational warfare steered our conduct in Vietnam. Those same theories drove our invasion of Iraq forty-five years later, championed by RAND affiliated actors such as Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld, and Zalmay Khalilzad. But RAND’s greatest contribution might be its least known: rational choice theory, a model explaining all human behavior through self-interest. Through it RAND sparked the Reagan-led transformation of our social and economic system but also unleashed a resurgence of precisely the forces whose existence it denied -- religion, patriotism, tribalism. With Soldiers of Reason, Alex Abella has rewritten the history of America’s last half century and cast a new light on our problematic present. A chronicle of the rise of the secretive think tank that has been the driving force behind American government for sixty years. Born in the wake of World War II as an idea factory to advise the Air Force on how to wage and win wars, RAND quickly became the creator of America's anti-Soviet nuclear strategy. A magnet for the best and the brightest, its ranks included Cold War luminaries who arguably saved us from nuclear annihilation and unquestionably created Eisenhower's "military-industrial complex." In the Kennedy era, RAND analysts' theories of rational warfare steered our conduct in Vietnam, and drove our invasion of Iraq 45 years later. But RAND's greatest contribution might be its least known: rational choice theory, a model explaining all human behavior through self-interest. Through it RAND sparked the Reagan-led transformation of our social and economic system, but also unleashed a resurgence of precisely the forces whose existence it denied--religion, patriotism, tribalism.--From publisher description Title Page Contents Copyright Dedication Epigraphs Foreword PART 1 1 A Great Beginning 2 The Human Factor 3 The Wages of Sin PART 2 4 A Talk Before Dinner 5 The Secret Keepers 6 The Jester of Death 7 In RAND’s Orbit PART 3 8 A Delicate Dance 9 Whiz Kids Rule 10 The Art of Science 11 A Final Solution to the Soviet Problem 12 An Irresistible Force PART 4 13 A Night in Rach Kien 14 The Price of Success 15 Stealing Away 16 Plus Ça Change 17 Team B Strikes PART 5 18 Witnessing End Times 19 The Terror Network 20 Yoda and the Knights of Counterforce 21 Back to Iraq PART 6 22 Death of a Strategist 23 Whither RAND? Acknowledgments Endnotes Bibliography Index Footnotes A chronicle of the rise of the secretive think tank that has been the driving force behind American government for sixty years. Born in the wake of World War II as an idea factory to advise the Air Force on how to wage and win wars, RAND was a magnet for the best and the brightest. Rand' advice was followed during the Cold War, and RAND analysts' theories of rational warfare steered our conduct in Vietnam, and drove our invasion of Iraq 45 years later. But RAND's greatest contribution might be its least known: rational choice theory, a model explaining all human behavior through self-interest.--From publisher description Foreword PART 1 A Great Beginning The Human Factor The Wages of Sin PART 2 A Talk Before Dinner The Secret Keepers The Jester of Death In RAND's Orbit PART 3 A Delicate Dance Whiz Kids Rule The Art of Science A Final Solution to the Soviet Problem An Irresistible Force PART 4 A night in the Ranch Kien The Price of Success Stealing Away Plus Ça Change Team B Strikes PART 5 Witnessing End Times The Terror Network Yoda and the Knights of the Counterforce Back to Iraq PART 6 Death of a Strategist Whither RAND? Acknowledgments Endnotes Bibliography Index An in-depth history of the RAND Corporation describes the behind-the-scenes role of the secretive think tank in shaping American political policy for six decades, detailing its origins in the wake of World War II, the part it played during the Cold War years, its development of the rational choice theory, and the contributions of Herman Kahn, Bernard Brodie, Albert Wohlstetter, and others. Born in the wake of World War II, RAND quickly became the creator of Americarsquo;s anti-Soviet nuclear strategy. A magnet for the best and the brightest, its ranks included Cold War luminaries such as Albert Wohlstetter, Bernard Brodie, and Herman I first became aware of RAND's existence in the cauldron of one of the most controversial conflicts in modern American history, the Vietnam War. Alex Abella. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [345]-361) And Index.