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the author mentioned, john mcphee, is my favorite nonfiction author, and i couldn't recommend him more highly. i was disappointed to see that the now surely out

the author mentioned, john mcphee, is my favorite nonfiction author, and i couldn't recommend him more highly. i was disappointed to see that the now surely out of print place de la concorde suisse was not easily available on the usual ebook resources, but he's an author worth paying for. another excellent book of his that would likely line up well with hn-adjacent interests is the curve of binding energy, written in the early 90s about a physicist's concern with the risk of nuclear proliferation among nonstate actors: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54968.The_Curve_of_Binding_Energy https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54968.The_Curve_of_Bindi...

microtherion 7y ago
I enjoy McPhee's writing, but I couldn't help thinking that in Place de la Concorde Suisse, he was regurgitating the propaganda his sources fed him, rather than getting an accurate picture. While there are some people in Swiss society who enjoy military service, the majority of military age men dislike the army (and voted to abolish the army outright in 1989; it was the votes of the past-military age generation which preserved the army). As for fighting effectiveness, luckily it has never been tested. But having seen the workings of the army firsthand, from the me-too way in which weapons systems are purchased, to the hidebound mediocrities who permeate the officer corps and army leadership, to the sheer implausibility of an army that has not fought a war in 200+ years being any good at it, I have zero expectation that the army would be anything but an expensive joke in an actual war.
stateofnounion 7y ago
agreed, mcphee is excellent. encounters with the archdruid left an indelible impression on me.
- greesil 7y ago
  I enjoyed The Curve of Binding Energy
selimthegrim 7y ago
He’s the one who wrote about the Atchafalaya too?
- mauvehaus 7y ago
  Yes

microtherion 7y ago

I enjoy McPhee's writing, but I couldn't help thinking that in Place de la Concorde Suisse, he was regurgitating the propaganda his sources fed him, rather than getting an accurate picture. While there are some people in Swiss society who enjoy military service, the majority of military age men dislike the army (and voted to abolish the army outright in 1989; it was the votes of the past-military age generation which preserved the army). As for fighting effectiveness, luckily it has never been tested. But having seen the workings of the army firsthand, from the me-too way in which weapons systems are purchased, to the hidebound mediocrities who permeate the officer corps and army leadership, to the sheer implausibility of an army that has not fought a war in 200+ years being any good at it, I have zero expectation that the army would be anything but an expensive joke in an actual war.

stateofnounion 7y ago

agreed, mcphee is excellent. encounters with the archdruid left an indelible impression on me.

greesil 7y ago
I enjoyed The Curve of Binding Energy

selimthegrim 7y ago

He’s the one who wrote about the Atchafalaya too?

mauvehaus 7y ago
Yes