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The Essential Herman Kahn: In Defense of Thinking Paperback – June 16, 2009

5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 3 ratings
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By the time of his untimely death in 1983, Herman Kahn was recognized by both friends and intellectual adversaries as 'one of the world's most creative and best minds.' The current growing resurgence of interest in Kahn's ideas and intellectual legacy demonstrates the enduring relevance of his work. Yet, in spite of the constant influence of his arguments, there is a shortage of books summarizing Kahn's essential contributions, and thus his work is not as well known as it should be. The Essential Herman Kahn is an attempt to cope with this predicament and offer the public for the first time an anthology consisting of the essence of Kahn's work, organized thematically. The two decades that have passed since his death allow us today to approach his work undisturbed by the 'sound and fury' of the many public debates and controversies he participated in and to focus on some of the deepest and most enduring dimensions of his intellectual contributions. The anthology will try to bring together, out of the several thousands pages published by Kahn during his life, the 'essential Kahn,' the most relevant, consequential and interesting themes, ideas and arguments defining his legacy. As such it will met the needs of those who are interested in Kahn's work but do not have the time and energy to access his out-of-print books, to make their way through the voluminous number of pages, and then to sort out the essential from the accidental, the perennial from the contextual.
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  1. Print length
    286 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    June 16, 2009
  4. Dimensions
    6.12 x 0.66 x 9.15 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    0739128299
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0739128299
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Herman Kahn’s seminal thinking, extracted in this smart volume, is timeless. From thinking about nuclear war to anticipating the complaints about capitalism and forecasting the future, Kahn offers relevant ideas for today’s challenges of terrorism, financial meltdown, and global warming. An indispensible read or re-read! -- Henry R. Nau, The George Washington University

Broken into four parts, The Essential Herman Kahn reflects his wide range of interests: from nuclear strategy to prospects for economic growth, from the state of Western culture to methodologies for forecasting. Kahn, as one might suggest, would be no easy man to condense; but Aligica and Weinstein have done a remarkably good job of it. ― The Weekly Standard

An excellent selection of the works of one of the most original and influential thinkers of our time. -- Mark Blitz

About the Author

Paul Dragos Aligica is senior fellow at the Mercatus Center of George Washington University, faculty fellow at the James Buchanan Center for Political Economy, associate faculty at the Center for Global Studies at George Mason University, and adjunct fellow at the Hudson Institute. Kenneth R. Weinstein is chief executive officer of the Hudson Institute.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lexington Books (June 16, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 286 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0739128299
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0739128299
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.7 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.12 x 0.66 x 9.15 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 3 ratings

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Herman Kahn

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5 out of 5 stars
5 out of 5
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Top reviews from the United States

Dr. Larry Leibrock
5.0 out of 5 stars Fine Book about a Defense Scholar who spoke truth to power.
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2019
Verified Purchase
Very fine example of a scholar who spoke truth to power. His untimely death cost the US dearly. I so wish I could have heard his excellent talks.
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DKC, voracious reader
5.0 out of 5 stars Tough job well done
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2009
It is very difficult to take the work of a prolific, wide-ranging, and influential author and choose and compile a representative sampling of their work in only 260 pages, but Aligica and Weinstein have managed the daunting task. Much of Herman Kahn's once controversial work and methodologies have become such an integral part of modern discourse, or in the case of futurist work, come to pass with uncanny accuracy, that it is well worth taking a moment to understand these roots, often unrecognized and uncredited. In addition, Aligica and Weinstein, through their choices, have revealed consistent threads and concepts often obscured by the sheer mass of Herman Kahn's output. They have also restrained themselves from comment and interpretation, allowing the chosen samples to speak for themselves. It is to be hoped that the book revives interest in a thinker and author, much of whose work is still applicable (frighteningly so in the case of his nuclear war work) decades after his death.

Nobel Prize winner Thomas Schelling states in his foreword to the recently re-released ON ESCALATION by Kahn,
"I know of no better preparation for future nuclear dangers than this book.
It's forty-five years old but is a classic that will never be out of date.
I recommend it not only to those who, were it 1965, would find it essential
in thinking about the most dangerous issues in international affairs, but to
those in a dozen or more nations now to whom nuclear weapons are a new
concern and preoccupation.
This is a genuine classic that, I'm afraid, will never be out of date."

As a futurist Kahn's predictions, often deemed overly optimistic, foolish or controversial at the time, have come to pass with such phenomenal accuracy that it is difficult for most people to presently imagine they were once considered shocking and unlikely. And the methodologies he developed for thinking about the future, or any issue, are cornerstones of all modern future studies.

It is always worthwhile to study the work of men with a commitment to thinking; to clear, impartial thought applied to the most critical issues of the day. "In defense of thinking" is an appropriate sub-title.
Thank you Aligica and Weinstein for a job well done.
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