I haven't played ASL since about 1993 or so.
After Avalon Hill closed up shop, Rex Martin did
his doctoral dissertation on "The Rise and Fall of Carboard Wargamingin the 1970s" [approximate title] at the University of Pennsyvlania. I found an abbreviated version on the web at one point, but I can't find the bookmark.
His master's thesis, which I got to look at a hardcopy of when I used to playtest there on Wednesday nights, was on the Russo-Uberfinn war.