Originally published in The Philadelphia Inquirer During a distinguished career in the U.S. Army, which he concluded as director of the National Security Agency, retired Lt. Gen. William E. Odom emerged as one the nation’s foremost authorities on the military of the Soviet Union. He brings that knowledge to the first five chapters of his latest book, The Collapse of the Soviet Military, when explaining how the military arrived at its enviable position in Soviet society by the mid-1980s. The remaining 11 chapters provide a thorough and rigorous investigation of the reasons for its collapse, paying particular attention to the military policies of Mikhail S. Gorbachev. Not only does Odom incorporate much of the most recent scholarship, archival discoveries, and memoir evidence into both … Read entire article »