Synopsis
"This fascinating collection of 30 short essays examines the challenges of future wartime leadership and strategy through the lens of science fiction. Klug, an Army War College professor, and Leonard, best known as the voice and pen behind Doctrine Man, have compiled a full plate of stories to educate, inform and provoke." ― War on the Rocks
The literature of ideas. When author Pamela Sargent used those words to describe science fiction in 1975, the genre had exploded into the literary mainstream. As a literature of ideas, science fiction has proven to be a powerful metaphor for the world around us, offering a rich tapestry of imagination through which to explore how we lead, how we think, and how we interact. To Boldly Go assembles more than thirty writers from around the world—experts in leadership and strategy, senior policy advisors and analysts, professional educators and innovators, experienced storytellers, and ground-level military leaders—to help us better understand ourselves through the lens of science fiction
Each chapter of To Boldly Go draws out the lessons that we can learn from science fiction, drawing on classic examples of the genre in ways that are equally relatable and entertaining. A chapter on the burdens of leadership by Ghost Fleet author August Cole launches readers into the cosmos with Captain Avatar aboard the space battleship Yamato. In another chapter, the climactic Battle of the Mutara Nebula from The Wrath of Khan weighs the advantages of experience over intelligence in the pursuit of strategy. What does inter-species conflict in science fiction tell us about our perspectives on social Darwinism? Whether using Star Trek: Deep Space Nine to explore the nuances of maritime strategy or The Expanse to better understand the threat posed by depleted natural resources, To Boldly Go provides thoughtful essays on relevant subjects that will appeal to business leaders, military professionals, and fans of science fiction alike.
Table of Contents
Foreword—Major General Mick Ryan
Introduction
PART I: THE CAPTAIN’S HAND
1 Space Battleship Yamato and the Burden of Command—August Cole
2 Of X-Wings and Y-Wings—Kera Rolsen
3 Adama’s Unequal Dialogue—Mick Cook
4 Earth Must Come First!—Jo Brick
5 You’re Not Ender Wiggins, and That’s Okay—Will Meddings
6 Princess Leia and the Strategic Art of Métis—Heather S. Gregg
7 Want to Know More?—Jess Ward
PART II: THE FINAL FRONTIER
8 Yours is the Superior—Jonathan Klug and Steven Leonard
9 The Empire’s New Hope—James Groves
10 Graff’s Game—Thomas Bruscino
11 From Tactics to Galactic Grand Strategy—Major General Mick Ryan
12 Where No Port Has Gone Before—Timothy Choi
13 Sun Tzu, Ender, and the Old Man—Kathleen J. McInnis
PART III: THE PRIME DIRECTIVE
14 All That You Touch You Change—Jacqueline E. Whitt
15 Romulans and Remans—Max Brooks
16 Are We Such Apostles of Mercy?—Janeen Webb
17 Beware the Beast Man–Steven Leonard
18 Flag Follows Trade—Theresa Hitchens
19 The Vice Admiral and the Flyboy–Kelsey Cipolla
20 I Exist Only to Serve—Julie M. Still and Kelly A. Lelito
PART IV: THE WAR OF THE WORLDS
21 One Voice in the Night—Clara Engle
22 There’s No Screaming in Space—Jon Niccum
23 The Final Frontier—Erica Iverson
24 Blood Lessons—M. L. Cavanaugh
25 You Rebel Scum!—Jonathan Klug
26 Calm Men Who Deal Death Wholesale—Rebecca Jensen
PART V: THE RISE OF THE MACHINES
27 We Don’t Serve Their Kind Here—Margarita Konaev
28 Things We Learned from Captain Trips—Craig and Steve Whiteside
29 Musings on the Murderbot—Elsa B. Kania
30 Man > Machine—Liam Collins
31 You Can’t Hide From the Things You’ve Done—Francis J. H. Park
PART VI: THE DARK SIDE
32 The Mark of Locutus—David Calder
33 From Darth Vader to Dark Helmet—Dan Ward
34 To Live and Die at My Command—Jonathan Klug
35 The Mirror Crack’d—Steven Leonard
Contributors
Index
About the Author
Jonathan Klug is a professor at the U.S. Army War College, military strategist, and historian. A PhD candidate in Military and Naval History at the University of New Brunswick, he is an award-winning military history instructor and has taught at both the Air Force and Naval Academies.
Steve Leonard is an award-winning faculty member at the University of Kansas School of Business, where he serves as Senior Assistant Dean and Professor of the Practice. A former senior military strategist and the creative force behind the defense microblog, Doctrine Man!!, he is a career writer and speaker with a passion for developing and mentoring the next generation of thought leaders. He is a senior fellow at the Modern War Institute at West Point; the co-founder of the national security blog, Divergent Options; co-founder of the Military Writers Guild; and a member of the editorial review board of the Arthur D. Simons Center’s Interagency Journal. He is the author, co-author, or editor of several books, including To Boldly Go (Casemate, 2021), Why We Write (Middle West Press, 2019), Winning Westeros (Potomac Books, 2019), and Strategy Strikes Back (Potomac Books, 2018).
Mick Ryan is a strategist and retired major general from the Australian Army. A distinguished graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, as well as the USMC Command and Staff College and USMC School of Advanced Warfare, he is a passionate advocate of professional education and lifelong learning. In a 35-year military career, he commanded at multiple levels in the Australian Army and served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and East Timor. His first book, War Transformed, was published in 2022.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
