Reading resources curated by Dr. Samantha Nutt
AK-47: The Weapon that Changed the Face of War
Larry Kahaner
Wiley, 2007
With as many as 100 million AK-47s in circulation worldwide, this weapon has delivered unprecedented wide-scale devastation. Kahaner’s book contextualizes the spread of this cheap, easy and efficient weapon that is ubiquitous in every modern conflict around the world.
Ernie Regehr
Zed Books, 2015
Looking back at the failed wars of the past quarter century, Disarming Conflict provides an alternative roadmap towards achieving peace. Regehr’s premise is simple: the force of war is not enough to overcome the complex social, political and economic contexts that lead to conflict. Instead, we must address the underlying security policies that lead to unrest.
The Way of the Gun: A Bloody Journey into the World of Firearms
Iain Overton
Harper, 2016
Overton’s The Way of the Gun provides an up close and personal look at the global gun ecosystem and its long-reaching impact. From the people who make them, sell them, use them and die by them, Overton makes sense of our complex relationship with these weapons, which too often end up in the hands of those they are meant to defeat.
Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East
Scott Anderson
Anchor, 2013
In Lawrence in Arabia, Anderson looks back 100 years at World War I’s Arab Revolt and a small group of adventurers who orchestrated a secret effort to control the Middle East. As the world watches the contemporary catastrophes of Syria and Egypt unfold, Anderson’s account shows a shockingly familiar picture.
The Jihadis Return: ISIS and the New Sunni Uprising
Patrick Cockburn
OR Books, 2014
Drawing from his unrivaled experience as a reporter in the region, Cockburn analyzes the unfolding of one of the West’s greatest foreign policy debacles and the rise of the new Jihadis.
King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa
Adam Hochschild
Houghton Mifflin, 1998
King Leopold’s Ghost portrays the horrifying abuses that took place during the discovery and subsequent colonization of the Congo. The continuous and aggressive exploitation of its natural resources continues to fuel violence in eastern DRC today.
Dr Nutt’s book – Damned Nations: Greed, Guns, Armies, and Aid
