Blattman's a brilliant scientist and statistician. Like his academic work, this accessible book takes a non-dogmatic, evidence-led approach that is undogmatic and grounded in empiricism. His school of thought is hard to pin down, but there is a certain unreflected acceptance of rationality as an epistemology underpinning his approach. Nevertheless, he does not blindly accept the homo-economicus-dogmas of mainstream economic thought; refreshing! Nevertheless, while his academic credentials are top-grade, this book reads at times a tad superficial - especially when he uses (cherry-picks?) historical anecdotes to explain interstate war. I wonder whether his analysis is perhaps exclusively applicable to civil wars and internal conflicts rather than explaining what makes states go to war.