Harlan K. Ullman, A Handful of Bullets: How the Murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Still Menaces the Peace   

Dr. Harlan K. Ullman—a Vietnam veteran of the U.S. Navy and a scholar in the areas of law, diplomacy, politics, and strategy—shares his insightful historical analyses and critical recommendations to steer the nation away from danger. Sponsored by U.S. Naval Institute Press and the United States World War One Centennial Commission.

The assassination of the Austro-Hungarian archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie in the streets of Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, precipitated World War I. From those ashes, a second world war and a cold war would arise. Now, a century later, that murder has ironically put in place powerful forces that menace today’s peace. Unfortunately, leaders are largely unaware of the dangers emanating from these forces and prefer instead to deal with their symptoms and not the causes, making solutions very difficult.

Over the past century, four “new horsemen of the apocalypse” have been created. Each poses a direct threat to the well-being of people worldwide, along with peace, stability, and prosperity.  The new horsemen are: 

• FAILED AND FAILING GOVERNMENT;
• ECONOMIC DESPAIR, DISPARITY, AND DISLOCATION;
• RADICAL AND VIOLENT IDEOLOGIES;
• and ENVIRONMENTAL CALAMITIES.

A Handful of Bullets tells the story of how this dangerous and highly volatile state of affairs has occurred. Most importantly, Ullman offers prescriptive recommendations to corral each of these menacing riders, ranging from revising the American national security structure to establishing a vitally needed national infrastructure bank and reforming the electoral process, including mandating universal voting and allowing successful presidents to seek a third term. In the telling, Ullman argues that America desperately needs a new strategic mindset for the twenty-first century. 

HARLAN K. ULLMAN, PhD, is a strategic thinker and innovator whose career spans the worlds of business and government. He serves on the advisory boards for Supreme Allied Commander Europe and Business Executives for National Security (Washington, D.C.) and is senior advisor at the Atlantic Council. Chairman of several companies and an advisor to the heads of major corporations and governments, he was the principal author of “Shock and Awe,” although not the version that was advertised and misused in Operation Iraqi Freedom. A distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, he skippered a swift boat in Vietnam and a destroyer in the Persian Gulf. He holds a Ph.D. from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts and Harvard University, and lives in Washington, D.C.