The Minuteman: Restoring an Army of the People

by Gary Hart

The former U.S. Senator calls for a radical restructuring of the post-Cold War military to create a smaller standing army designed to handle smaller conflicts, along with a larger, well-trained citizen reserve to support it. 20,000 first printing.

208 pages, Hardcover

First published December 3, 2011

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Gary Hart represented the state of Colorado in the U.S. Senate from 1975 until 1987. He is the Wirth Chair professor at the University of Colorado, chairs both the Council for a Livable World and the American Security Project, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and he was cochair of the U.S. Commission on National Security for the 21st Century. The commission performed the most comprehensive review of national security since 1947, predicted the terrorist attacks on America, and proposed a sweeping overhaul of U.S. national security structures and policies for the post-Cold War century and the age of terrorism. Senator Hart is the author of 17 books, including The Courage of Our Convictions: A Manifesto for Democrats, The Shield and the Cloak: Security in the Commons, and God and Caesar in America: An Essay on Religion and Politics.
Read his blog on Huffington Post:

Reviews

[JP · Rating 2 out of 5]

Former Senator Gary Hart is convincing in part of his argument, and less so in another. His main point is that our military should be restructured to a small, expert force for initial response and occasional foreign support. This should be backed by a broader national guard. He also advocates forced universal service. He argues based on history and his own years of involvement with related committees.

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sen. Hart spells out his belief in the democratic value of a stronger reserve force to our Republic. He criticises the Regular Army's neglect of the Reserves to reaffirm the strength of the Regular Army while risking that same strength. More than just the Senator's thoughts, this book is a well researched argument for a smaller standing army and a more robust National Guard.