I stopped by Amazon.com's Purchase Circles. The list on the left is a college preparing young people to join the organization on the right. Can you guess which ones?

Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations. Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae This Kind of War : The Classic Korean War History (Brassey's Five-Star Paperback Series) People Skills Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis (2nd Edition) Waging Modern War:Bosnia, Kosovo, and the Future of Combat Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War Once an Eagle The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding by Arnold Schwarzenegger Band of Brothers : E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest

Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life  Harry Potter Schoolbooks: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them  Dreamcatcher: A Novel by Stephen King Body for Life: 12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Strength  Waging Modern War:Bosnia, Kosovo, and the Future of Combat  The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life  The Power of Alignment: How Great Companies Stay Centered and Accomplish Extraordinary Things The Strategy-Focused Organization: How Balanced Scorecard Companies Thrive in the New Business Environment The Art of War by Sun Tzu Ghost Soldiers: The Forgotten Epic Story of World War II's Most Dramatic Mission

On the left, why soldiers should obey daft civilians. Both: history of war (especially battle gone bad) and keeping in shape. On the right, books about waging bureaucracy, leadership, witchcraft and mysticsm. 

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York on the left, and the combined U.S. armed forces (Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, sans Coast Guard and Merchant Marines).

The federal academies offer vocational education. One of the challenges in any industry or profession is feeding current and best practices back to academe. You can see connections in this example but I wonder how well this feedback loop exists in other fields.

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire has been doing a splendid job blogging primary coverage in political news media and web sites. Many handicapping articles ("this poll shows..."), fundraising facts ("operatives are eagerly searching for loopholes that will allow the spigot to keep flowing after November"), and campaign tactics (Mitt Romney (R) blasts Shannon O'Brien (D) so Mitt can face Robert Reich (D)).

A nice thing: I can't tell Goddard's politics from his coverage. Journalistic integrity in blogville.