Max Boot


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Max Boot (born 1969 in Moscow, Soviet Union[citation needed]) is an American author, editorialist, lecturer and military historian. He has been a prominent advocate for neoconservative foreign policy, once describing his own position as support for the use of "American might to promote American ideals" throughout the world.[1] He is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, a contributing editor to The Weekly Standard, a weekly columnist for the Los Angeles Times and a regular contributor to other publications including the Financial Times and The New York Times. He is also a consultant to the U.S. military and a regular lecturer at U.S. military institutions such as the Army War College and the Command and General Staff College. He has previously worked for The Wall Street Journal and The Christian Science Monitor. While at The Wall Street Journal, Boot authored Out of Order, a critique of the American legal system, and Savage Wars of Peace, a study of small wars in American history. Max Boot has recently written War Made New, an analysis of revolutions in military technology since 1500.

Max Boot

Born1969
Moscow
OccupationWriter, Historian
NationalityAmerican
SubjectMilitary history

Education

Raised in Los Angeles, Boot earned a bachelor's degree in history from the University of California, Berkeley in 1991, and a master's degree in diplomatic history from Yale University in 1992.[2]

Controversy

According to Paul D. Thacker, while preparing for The Wall Street Journal a 1994 editorial which endorsed a report criticizing EPA risk assessment methods, Boot submitted a rough draft of his piece to controversial science pundit Steven J. Milloy for review.[3] The report, which also criticized a proposed OSHA ban on indoor cigarette smoking in the workplace,[4] was published by the Regulatory Impact Analysis Project and was written by Milloy,[5] the group's founder and president. At the suggestion of Milloy, who was later found to have been funded by major cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris,[6] Boot changed the description of the group from "private consulting firm" in the draft to "nonprofit research group" for the final editorial.[7]

Career

For a few months, Boot was a member of Benador Associates, a neoconservative PR firm, which describes itself as presenting a highly qualified cadre of inspiring, knowledgeable speakers, and says "Each of our members is nationally and internationally recognized on issues of the Middle East and national security, among others." However, as of 20 February 2006 he was no longer listed as a member.[8]

Bibliography

  • War Made New: Technology, Warfare, and the Course of History, 1500 to Today (Gotham Books, 2006), ISBN 1-59240-222-4
  • The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power (Basic Books, 2002), ISBN 0-465-00721-X
  • Out of Order: Arrogance, Corruption and Incompetence on the Bench (Basic Books, 1998), ISBN 0-465-05375-0

References

  1. ^ Boot, Max (2002-12-30). "What the Heck Is a 'Neocon'?". OpinionJournal.com. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
  2. ^ "Max Boot". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-02-19.
  3. ^ Thacker, Paul D. (2005-05-11). "The junkman climbs to the top". Environmental Science & Technology Online. American Chemical Society. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
  4. ^ "Rethinking Risk", The Wall Street Journal, (A-28) 1994-12-06.
  5. ^ "Steven J. Milloy". Junkscience.com. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
  6. ^ Rampton, Sheldon (2000). "How Big Tobacco Helped Create "the Junkman"". PR Watch. Center for Media and Democracy. Retrieved 2007-02-07. ;
  7. ^ Boot, Max (1994-12-01). "Fax: Draft of "Risk Rethought" sent to Steven J. Milloy" (PDF). Legacy Tobacco Documents Library, University of California, San Francisco. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
  8. ^ "Benador Associates Members". Benador Associates, Inc. Retrieved 2007-02-20.