Need sources for paper on military spending

override367

I have a research paper due and I've picked US military spending as the topic.

I've got plenty of online sources, but I am required to use a book too and was wondering if anyone knows a good one.

Living in a podunk town so I need something that's rather widely available and not too obscure, as I'm not interested in actually buying a book (this is for english class and is only going to be four pages long, so I just wanted to pick a topic I find interesting enough to fill four pages, and one no one else had) so I'm just going to get one from one of the libraries within driving distance

Something statistic heavy would be awesome so I can just throw some in there. I just did a much much longer research paper for another class and my drive to do any real research is nearly nonexistent. Thankfully, being english class, it's 90% about the format.


Any help would be appreciated

Reckless

You want this.

http://www.amazon.com/Military-Balance-2009-International-Institute/dp/0415498465/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1250079204&sr=8-3

Try your local library and make use of inter-library loans to avoid paying $texas for it.

Deebaser

Go to the nearest university or community college. The library there should have tons of books.

kaliyama

You'd probably have to look at a federal depository. You can look up books, but they'll be out of date. if you want current figures, research the FY07/FY09 defense appropriations act.

Sentry

Is this at a University? If so, you school should have access to EBSCO or Lexis-Nexus available on-line.

Books are not the way to go at the University level. scholarly journals for the win!

override367

I have to use at least one book, she physically wants to see the book too. It's a little stupid. I put in for inter-library loan for that one Reckless, thanks.

Hopefully I can get it tomorrow and put a source in there for wednesday.

SammyF

Don't look for a book with stats or financial figures if you want to look at current programs; despite popular belief, some defense programs can shift pretty radically in a very short window of time. I've worked in defense contracting both from a public policy standpoint and a private industry standpoint for a while, and it's amazing how you can talk about a program for ten years only to watch it get completely de-funded in the space of ten days. As little as six months ago no one would ever have speculated that the F-22 Raptor would get cut for a variety of reasons.

If you absolutely need a book, look for one that details the budget process. That's some interesting shit; it's fascinating to watch the Navy strip all funding for programs from they desperately want so they can request shit they don't actually need, knowing full well that a Congressman from Mississippi who happens to be a ranking member on a certain committee will force the Navy to accept money for the necessary program because building a certain ship employs about 2,500 skilled laborers in his District; thus the Navy gets the ships it needs without sacrificing funding for programs it can frankly live without.