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Van
01-22-2009, 07:04 AM
Air Power Against Terror (http://www.amazon.com/review/R3J5EH0FVOTLQ3/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm)was well worth the effort. Two thirds of it is a robust, well sourced history of the first seven (roughly) months of the GWOT, from 9/11 through Operation Anaconda, and the last third of it is a pretty solid critique of the use of air power during this period. The history part gets a little dry and long winded, but the analysis makes it worth it.

It's important to hear the rest of the story about Operation Anaconda, but it is an emotionally loaded subject, so I don't want to derail the "Currently Reading" thread.

What concerns me is that this book is ripe to be cherry-picked by Douhet/Mitchell worshippers. But this should be motivation for ground forces guys to read it, so they can equally cherry-pick the problems and failures section.

Van
01-22-2009, 07:18 AM
David Kilcullen's Accidental Guerrilla. I should be receiving a reviewers' copy in a few days, and am really looking forward to it.

SNW
01-23-2009, 10:46 PM
Thesis: Political Institutions and Military Change: Lessons from Peripheral Wars by Deborah Avant

Work: Legitimacy Among Nations by Thomas Franck (again)

Pleasure: in between books at the moment, but i always have an open atlas on the desk

kville79
01-24-2009, 01:47 AM
"Foucault and the Iranian Revolution: Gender and the Seduction of Islamism"

Started reading it awhile back, put it down, and now picking it back up again.

Granite_State
01-25-2009, 11:31 PM
Research:

Steel Chariots in the Desert - SC Rolls
Armoured Cars in Eden - Kermit Roosevelt

Pair of WWI armored car memoirs, from Lawrence's driver and TR's son. Both very good, similar books, both spend a little more time on local flora and fauna than on combat against the Turks.

Personal:

Frontsoldaten - Stephen G. Fritz

Not bad, but kind of wish I'd just read Guy Sajer instead, given how much he gets quoted by the author.

The New American Militarism - Andrew Bacevich

Excellent book, found myself agreeing with him a lot more often than not. Should be required reading for all soldiers, civil servants and (especially) politicians.

Flashman at the Charge - George MacDonald Fraser

Maybe the best one in the series so far. Great stuff.

120mm
01-26-2009, 06:40 PM
Orson Scott Card's

Ender's Game

Speaker For the Dead

Xenocide

Original trilogy. There is a critical lesson(s) in each book, imo.

Ender's Game is primarily about leadership

Speaker For the Dead is primarily about cultures and cultural differences and how they affect relationships

Xenocide is primarily about ethics. It's built around a set of "wicked problems".

All three should be military and academic required reading.

Van
01-26-2009, 06:59 PM
Frontsoldaten - Stephen G. Fritz

Not bad, but kind of wish I'd just read Guy Sajer instead, given how much he gets quoted by the author.

The Forgotten Soldier is powerful and incredibly depressing.
It should be required reading for military policy makers and political leaders, to keep them mindful of wh is on the far end of their decision process.

Van
01-28-2009, 12:34 AM
David Kilcullen's The Accidental Guerrilla (http://www.amazon.com/Accidental-Guerrilla-Fighting-Small-Midst/dp/0195368347/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233102301&sr=8-1) was excellent. It really make the case for counter insurgency as the graduate level of warfare.

Having mentioned Douhet and Mitchell in reference to Air Power Against Terror (http://www.amazon.com/Air-Power-Against-Terror-Operation/dp/0833037242/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233102668&sr=1-1), it crossed my mind that I have heard Douhet cited and on rare occasion quoted, but I never read his works. That's on my desk now. He was quite the visionary. but very easy to quote out of context.

sandbag
01-28-2009, 12:27 PM
I cannot agree more. It's a good mix of daily conditions, TTPs and a testament to the soldier's exposure to chickensh*t in multiple forms. It reads like a diary. Good stuff.



The Forgotten Soldier is powerful and incredibly depressing.
It should be required reading for military policy makers and political leaders, to keep them mindful of wh is on the far end of their decision process.

Van
01-29-2009, 01:18 AM
... isn't long but might be worth reading if you get a free copy. Meh.

"Terror Terror Terror" (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1577066537/ref=cm_cr_thx_view) was a collaborative project that had some good input, but the premise was flawed. Still, it might be OK for a long plane ride.

Now I'll get back to William Mitchell's Winged Defense, a comedy.

tulanealum
01-29-2009, 06:02 AM
For a great look into the Soviet experience in Afghanistan, read The Hidden War (http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-War-Russian-Journalists-Afghanistan/dp/080213775X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233209430&sr=1-1). I can't remember the author's name, but he was a Russian journalist who offered a very fair and impartial perspective of the fight...it's a quick and easy read that you won't want to put down...

I"m surprised it isn't on more Afghan reading lists.

patmc
01-29-2009, 12:12 PM
Artyom Borovik. It is sitting on the bookshelf next to my desk. Agree that it is a good book, and makes you feel for the Soviet Soldier, even though they were the "bad guys."


For a great look into the Soviet experience in Afghanistan, read The Hidden War (http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-War-Russian-Journalists-Afghanistan/dp/080213775X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233209430&sr=1-1). I can't remember the author's name, but he was a Russian journalist who offered a very fair and impartial perspective of the fight...it's a quick and easy read that you won't want to put down...

I"m surprised it isn't on more Afghan reading lists.

Steve Blair
02-04-2009, 05:17 PM
Has anyone read Pete Blaber's "The Mission, the Men, and Me" (http://www.amazon.com/Mission-Men-Me-Lessons-Commander/dp/0425223728/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=IZASRSSCBO385&colid=1BRCW7BH53V24)? Just saw the Amazon feed on it and got interested.

patmc
02-07-2009, 02:30 AM
"The Ugly American" by Lederer and Burdick arrived last night, I read it until I fell asleep, and finished it today after class. What a great, but frustrating book. It tells "made up" stories of diplomats, aid workers, military officers, and other Americans in a "made up" South East Asian country near Thailand, Burma, and Vietnam in the early 1950s. It demonstrates Americans that get it, and those that do not, and hurt US and local interests through their actions or inactions. The fight then was communism, but it is sad to think that a lot of these mistakes still go on in our current conflicts. I found it listed on a MiTT recommended reading list, but I would recommend it to any military, governmental, or civilian planning to work or travel abroad, especially if they will be building relationships or working with local nationals. Great book.

Spud
02-07-2009, 05:17 AM
Found Cobra II in P/B at a discount book store so spent the last couple of weeks of my leave chewing through it.

Just got through the The Battle at Ngok Tavak by Bruce Davies. Intersting story but on the readibility scale its pretty low ... could have really used some great editing.

Just opened My Commando Memoirs by Otto Skorzeny ... it's been sitting on my shelf for a while but hadn't got around to it. Still stuck in the merits of 'Dueling'!!!

Jas

davidbfpo
02-07-2009, 09:40 PM
Finished Mark Urban's paperback edition of 'Fusiliers: How the British Army lost America but learned to fight'. An excellent short account mixing the regimental - a line infantry unit - and the wider war. First published in hardback in 2007.

I have read little on the American War of Independence; the last was Rebels and Redcoast by Hugh Bicheno, which was not so convincing a history..

William F. Owen
02-08-2009, 02:24 PM
Finished Mark Urban's paperback edition of 'Fusiliers: How the British Army lost America but learned to fight'. An excellent short account mixing the regimental - a line infantry unit - and the wider war. First published in hardback in 2007.


I have to say Mark Urban's military history is a touch variable in my eyes. He tried to tell the BBC history Magazine that JFC Fuller invented the "Blitzkrieg," which somewhat challenges his credentials in this area. His book "Big Boy's Rules," was not a great work either. Nice chap though. I used to run into him a lot at the RUSI.

Cavguy
02-08-2009, 03:58 PM
Reading Dexter Filkins' "The Forever War (http://www.amazon.com/Forever-War-Dexter-Filkins/dp/0307266397/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234108641&sr=8-1)". Good read so far, mostly a bunch of anecdotes from his travels in Iraq and Afghanistan. Paints a good picture of the area, issues, and people for those who haven't been there. It's not really a coherent history as such but episodic bits from his interactions in both theaters that characterize the conflict and the population involved over time.

Recommended so far. Lots of penetrating quotes from locals. His intro about 2001 Afghanistan, and the shifting tribal loyalties among the somewhat chivalric (in its own way) "war" culture was fascinating to me as someone who hasn't visited Afghanistan.

Schmedlap
02-08-2009, 04:02 PM
For a great look into the Soviet experience in Afghanistan, read The Hidden War (http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-War-Russian-Journalists-Afghanistan/dp/080213775X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233209430&sr=1-1). I can't remember the author's name, but he was a Russian journalist who offered a very fair and impartial perspective of the fight...

I just read a very favorable review in Proceedings of The Great Gamble: The Soviet War in Afghanistan (http://www.amazon.com/Great-Gamble-Soviet-War-Afghanistan/dp/0061143189).


I have to say Mark Urban's military history is a touch variable in my eyes... His book "Big Boy's Rules," was not a great work either.
Just to eliminate any confusion for the board, there are two recent books with similar titles. As William points out, there is Big Boys' Rules (http://www.amazon.com/Big-Boys-Rules-Struggle-Against/dp/0571168094) by Urban and there is also the recently released Big Boy Rules (http://www.amazon.com/Big-Boy-Rules-Americas-Mercenaries/dp/0306817438) by Fainaru. I only mention this because I thought William was confused when I saw him associate Urban with that title, but then I did some googling and saw that he is correct and there are two similarly named titles.

This came to mind because I read a favorable review of Big Boy Rules (by Fainaru) on the same page as the review of The Great Gamble.

Cavguy
02-11-2009, 05:46 AM
Got my copy of Tom Ricks' The Gamble (http://www.amazon.com/Gamble-Petraeus-American-Adventure-2006-2008/dp/1594201978/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234331083&sr=8-1) from Amazon today. Read halfway through so far, it's a fascinating read. Covers a lot of ground SWC members are probably familiar with, but Tom can write. Like Bing West's Strongest Tribe (http://www.amazon.com/Strongest-Tribe-Politics-Endgame-Iraq/dp/1400067014/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234331110&sr=8-1), the military senior leadership (read JCS) comes off very, very poorly, along with the usual Bush administration targets (Rumsfeld, Rice, Cheney). His "rehabilitation" of General Odierno is also an interesting read after his drubbing in Fiasco (http://www.amazon.com/Fiasco-American-Military-Adventure-Iraq/dp/0143038915/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234331131&sr=8-1) .

Several SWC regulars are mentioned in the narrative - you will recognize many of the stories. I recommend the read thus far.

patmc
03-03-2009, 02:01 AM
Finished a few the last couple weeks.

"Once a Warrior King" by David Donovan. A LT leads a 5 man adviser team in Vietnam, living with a Vietnamese village, and working with the local militia forces. Great story, and well written. Lots of lessons about the war, small unit tactics, COIN, etc... Was recommended for those going on MiTTs.


"Watchmen" by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. A graphic novel aka long comic book, and coming to theatres this week. Famous for its serious and different take on superheroes, their identities, and their motivations. I was really surprised how much I enjoyed it. Not a light or easy read, but really draws you in. Hope the movie lives up to it.


"Street Without Joy" by Bernard Fall. Another wow book. Sad history of French experience in Indochina, and how they failed to adapt to reality of the people, politics, geography, enemy, or revolutionary warfare. The later chapter when America enters the picture is equally sad and frustrating, as it predicts a poor ending, which proved true. One paragraph stuck out to me with the recent announcements on Iraq and the future Advisory and Assistance Brigades:

"... Feb 9, 1962, marked the opening date of America's involvement in the new Indochina war. Although the war "adviser" is carefully added to the name of every American operating in the country, it soon acquired the quotation marks usually reserved for assertions no one takes quite seriously any longer. Since 1961 Americans die in Viet-Nam, and in American uniforms. And they die fighting." (Fall, page 346).

Granite_State
03-04-2009, 12:34 AM
Finished a few the last couple weeks.

"Once a Warrior King" by David Donovan. A LT leads a 5 man adviser team in Vietnam, living with a Vietnamese village, and working with the local militia forces. Great story, and well written. Lots of lessons about the war, small unit tactics, COIN, etc... Was recommended for those going on MiTTs.



How'd it compare to The Village?

patmc
03-04-2009, 01:35 AM
I would say that "Once a Warrior King" is a good follow-up read to "The Village." Both tell similar story and mission, but "Once a Warrior King" was written years after the war, combining characters and events to make it a more fluid story. Its also told in first person, as a narrative, while "The Village" reads more like a history or report (if memory serves me). West's is probably a little more tactical in approach, but overall, can't really pick which is better. Both are good. Recommend both.

Van
03-07-2009, 01:43 AM
Don't bother. What a dud.

The constant comparison between HTS and Phoenix got old after forty or fifty repetative pages, and it hit Godwin on page 100.

But if you want my copy and don't mind the marginalia, drop me a PM, and I'll pay the postage to get it out of my house. For a more detailed review click here (http://www.amazon.com/review/R190FPMYGPR3QX/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm).

I'm digging back into "Stupid Wars" for catharsis.

William F. Owen
03-07-2009, 09:11 AM
Hugh Smith's work on Clausewitz (http://www.amazon.com/Clausewitz-Study-Military-Political-Ideas/dp/1403935866) is excellent. About the best analysis of CvC I have ever read, and I think I've read most.

What becomes evident from this work is that 99% of CvC's critics, simply never read or understood him. Moreover it is not blindingly praising of CvC. Smith does take CvC to task on a couple of issues, especially use of language, and contradictions. Not required reading if you are about to deploy, but probably extremely useful if you are into "Military thought" and this thing we do.

Spud
03-14-2009, 04:07 AM
Got my copy of Tom Ricks' The Gamble (http://www.amazon.com/Gamble-Petraeus-American-Adventure-2006-2008/dp/1594201978/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234331083&sr=8-1) from Amazon today. Read halfway through so far, it's a fascinating read.
I recommend the read thus far.

Just finished it on the plane home. Made me wonder whether we could have done more back in 04. I vividly remember a conversation with my boss shortly before AL FAJR as we ducked outside for a smoke and he posed the big "what can we do better" question. Being an Aussie it was pretty easy to be flippant when dealing with the big US machine but after a couple of Marlborough's (although he smoked a pipe which was kinda weird) we'd come to the conclusion that greatest single asset the US had in the Iraq fight was money ... we were spending heaps but it was all just horribly directed. Based on that (and several other conversations) he actually fired up the line a proposal to just buy our way to success by paying every swinging dick to get them employed and give them something to do ... sort of where the SOI plan got to. Coming so close to the nightmare that Fallujah had turned into following the 'hands off secure yourselves' approach it never got past his boss.

The Gamble is also a really interesting discussion for the ethics classes I'm currently embroiled in at Staff College. At what point can I as an officer just disregard an order, particularly after already injecting an opposing POV and being told to get on with it? It appears, based on the book that it is exactly the decision Odierno took with regard to the security presence. If it’s correct, the title of the book maybe the largest understatement in the whole publication.

Spud
03-14-2009, 04:12 AM
"Once a Warrior King" by David Donovan. A LT leads a 5 man adviser team in Vietnam, living with a Vietnamese village, and working with the local militia forces. Great story, and well written. Lots of lessons about the war, small unit tactics, COIN, etc... Was recommended for those going on MiTTs.


There's a really good Aussie title like this ... Tiger Men by Barry Petersen. Tells' the story of a member of the Australian Army Training Team -- Vietnam holed up in the hills with a Montgnard tribe. If you can find it I think it is a much more informative read than Donovan's (which curiously sits right beside it on my bookshelf).

Spud
03-14-2009, 04:15 AM
Also just finished Lions of Medina about Charlie Coy 1/1 Marines in 1967. Speechless :mad: at the stupidity of it all. Amazed at the tenacity and bravery of a small group of blokes.:eek:

davidbfpo
03-14-2009, 11:35 AM
'Lessons in Imperial Rule: Instructions for British Infantrymen on the Indian Frontier' by General Sir Andrew Skeen (Re-published in 2008 by Frontline Books, part of Pen and Sword Books; originally published in 1932 and the fouth edition in 1939).

The new introduction by Dr Robert Johnson, Oxford University sets the context and the contemporary relevance.

davidbfpo

Mark O'Neill
03-14-2009, 12:03 PM
Ricks' book, not a bad read, but as Niel has previously pointed out, not a whole lot new. I think Linda R's book will stand the test of time a little better.

I am just over half way through Mullaney's book... excellent book , strikes me as a really impressive young man. Little wonder that Nagl and Yingling were willing to mentor him.

Killer's book... nice cover (very well done with the publisher too) exhaustive and comprehensive in scope, but I am finding quite a few areas where I agree with Bacevich . And, I am over / a little tired of the faux Hemingway style ".. I smoked a cigar..." , " A few moleskines later...' etc etc

My best COIN book in the last year remains Marston and Malkasian's edited work.

Cheers

Mark

Tom Odom
03-14-2009, 12:17 PM
Appropriately I am reading Pete Mansoor's Baghdad at Sunrise . I am enjoying the book; I had the oppostunity to meet him a couple of years ago while he had the COIN center at Leavenworth.

Best
Tom

Mark O'Neill
03-14-2009, 12:30 PM
Appropriately I am reading Pete Mansoor's Baghdad at Sunrise . I am enjoying the book; I had the oppostunity to meet him a couple of years ago while he had the COIN center at Leavenworth.

Best
Tom


Mansoor's book resonated with me having been to those areas (quite a bit later than what he writes about). I also do not think that his personal story about command in the 'current' battle has been bettered in any other monograph yet.

Tom, I guess that you know better than most of us what is going down there now. Might have been there with you next month if things with MNC and my mob had panned out differently.,,

Best,

Mark

Spud
03-18-2009, 10:04 AM
Knocked off Kill Bin Laden over the past couple of nights. Apart from using the world's greatest porn star name for PERSEC reasons (Dalton Fury), it's everything you would expect of a book of this type. Nothing earth-shattering (I think we all expected some level of complicity by various warlords and others in supporting the escape of the tall, bearded one) but provides another account in the mix of books/articles to come out about this period. I was surprised at the amount of detail in the book about SIGINT though ... ????????

Backwards Observer
03-29-2009, 07:57 PM
Just finished Daniel Ford's grittily entertaining and uncannily prescient, "Incident At Muc Wa". Next up is...

Cavguy
03-30-2009, 02:51 PM
Just finished Daniel Ford's grittily entertaining and uncannily prescient, "Incident At Muc Wa". Next up is...

Donlon is often a guest speaker here in Leavenworth, he's retired in the area. Interesting guy.

Backwards Observer
03-31-2009, 07:20 AM
Donlon is often a guest speaker here in Leavenworth, he's retired in the area. Interesting guy.

Sir, thanks for mentioning that. Glad to hear it.

Tom Odom
03-31-2009, 07:50 AM
Donlon is often a guest speaker here in Leavenworth, he's retired in the area. Interesting guy.

As a kid, I remember reading the Reader's Digest Condensed Book that had his story in it.

and speaking of reading, a friend here got a basic load of Iraq books and I have been reading them as a favor :D

Finished Pete Mansoor's Baghdad at Sunrise

Tom Rick's The Gamble

Linda Robinson's Tell Me How this Ends

and now am nearly through Bing West's The Strongest Tribe

All have their strengths and their weaknesses, depending on the launch point of the author.

Best
Tom

slapout9
03-31-2009, 02:56 PM
Tom, are you going to do any reiews of the books you have read? You know since you have gone to all that trouble to read them:)

Tom Odom
04-04-2009, 10:50 AM
Tom, are you going to do any reviews of the books you have read? You know since you have gone to all that trouble to read them:)

Buddy,

Given that some of the most important figures in those books are in my immediate world, I will have to pass for now, other than saying each author has a somewhat unique perspective and agenda. I did find that reading the books offered a failrly concentrated swig from the proverbial firehouse regarding players across the board. I found insights and connections on the Iraqi side to be very helpful to me in my day to day existence.

That said, I am now eagerly waiting for the first 16 of the Richard Sharpe Advneture series of historical novels by Bernard Cromwell on the Peninsular Wars, which will allow me to remote my entertainment from my current reality. I love the Sharpes Rifles series with Sean Bean and look forward to a sustained good read.

Best
Tom

slapout9
04-06-2009, 07:49 AM
I understand Tom;) Ditto On the Sharp's TV shows, have not read any of the books...would like to see the series again.

davidbfpo
04-06-2009, 01:06 PM
The Sharpe Appreciation Society have a website for fans and the less interested: http://www.southessex.co.uk and one of the rifleman actors his own site: http://www.riflemanharris.co.uk/ . Enjoy.

davidbfpo

Stevely
04-07-2009, 05:15 PM
A friend just loaned me The Strongest Tribe and The Village. Definitely look forward to reading them both.

Schmedlap
04-07-2009, 09:23 PM
Ads for "The Unforgiving Minute" keep popping up in the upper right of my screen here at the Council. Has anyone read it? If so, would you say that someone unfamiliar with the military could read/enjoy it?

I would like to be able to recommend at least one book that would help people understand the military, especially in the context of what is occurring today. The people whom I associate with (http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/showpost.php?p=69455&postcount=15) aren't willfully ignorant, imo. They are just different. Should any of them ever express a desire to read up on something, I'd like to have a recommendation ready.

Uboat509
04-07-2009, 10:00 PM
I would like to be able to recommend at least one book that would help people understand the military, especially in the context of what is occurring today. The people whom I associate with (http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/showpost.php?p=69455&postcount=15) aren't willfully ignorant, imo. They are just different. Should any of them ever express a desire to read up on something, I'd like to have a recommendation ready.

Can't go wrong with We Were Soldiers Once and Young. It's a great window into the military midset.

SFC W

Steve Blair
04-08-2009, 02:38 PM
Ads for "The Unforgiving Minute" keep popping up in the upper right of my screen here at the Council. Has anyone read it? If so, would you say that someone unfamiliar with the military could read/enjoy it?

I would like to be able to recommend at least one book that would help people understand the military, especially in the context of what is occurring today. The people whom I associate with (http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/showpost.php?p=69455&postcount=15) aren't willfully ignorant, imo. They are just different. Should any of them ever express a desire to read up on something, I'd like to have a recommendation ready.

There's some decent fiction out there, too, and that's sometimes more accessible to those who don't have a military background and aren't into military history.

Schmedlap
04-08-2009, 09:07 PM
I just read the NY Times review for The Unforgiving Minute via the SWJ blog (http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/2009/04/nyt-review-the-unforgiving-min/). Judging from what a journalist got from the book, it sounds like what I was looking for. Reading the reviewer's account of the book, I thought to myself, "sounds very similar to the story of every other Infantry Officer I've ever met who was commissioned within 3 years of 9/11." That's exactly what I was looking for. A common story that takes a while to convey - but apparently this guy did a good job of conveying it, if a NY Times columnist was able to understand it. That's the type of target audience I was looking at.

Shek
04-09-2009, 01:35 PM
Ads for "The Unforgiving Minute" keep popping up in the upper right of my screen here at the Council. Has anyone read it? If so, would you say that someone unfamiliar with the military could read/enjoy it?

I would like to be able to recommend at least one book that would help people understand the military, especially in the context of what is occurring today. The people whom I associate with (http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/showpost.php?p=69455&postcount=15) aren't willfully ignorant, imo. They are just different. Should any of them ever express a desire to read up on something, I'd like to have a recommendation ready.

Schmedlap,

I just finished reading it. Not a bad read and he does have a compelling personal story, although I don't think his experience as a LT is atypical (which isn't meant as a criticism, just categorizing it). The first 1/3rd of the book covers his West Point experience, the second 1/3rd of the book covers his Rhodes/Oxford experience, and the last 1/3rd covers his platoon leader experience and getting out of the Army.

While the title was probably more of an editor's choice, I felt that it doesn't accurately portray the scope of the book. I went into the book expecting to see more about the "unforgiving minute" and it takes until 4/5ths of the book until you get to it. To be fair, however, it's not a bad juxtaposition to show that despite all the preparation, sometimes events are beyond your control and so you need to be prepared for that harsh reality.

If you're looking for a book to recommend to those outside the military, I'd offer up "In a Time of War" instead since the "cast" of characters in the book is larger and it really demonstrates the sacrifice of both those who are deployed as well as the spouses/girlfriends/family left back home and the range of emotions that they experience. I think folks would connect more with that than the unique experience of Mullaney (Oxford, traveling the world between terms while at Oxford) prior to actually reporting to a unit.

On the flip side, the book certainly casts the military in a much more intellectual light than some of the stereotypes out there (between Mullaney's Oxford experience and his mentors at West Point - Nagl, Yingling, Ostlund), so if that's the message you'd like to send in your recommendation, then this book is on target for that.

MikeF
04-09-2009, 02:29 PM
I just finished reading it. Not a bad read and he does have a compelling personal story, although I don't think his experience as a LT is atypical (which isn't meant as a criticism, just categorizing it). The first 1/3rd of the book covers his West Point experience, the second 1/3rd of the book covers his Rhodes/Oxford experience, and the last 1/3rd covers his platoon leader experience and getting out of the Army.

I'm about halfway through it now. Mullaney is a classmate of mine with remarkable experiences, wicked smarts, and a good heart, but his book is more of a personal memoir rather than the defining word on warfare as some have alluded.

He simply did one tour in combat as a platoon leader; I can only imagine what his insight would have been if he had stayed in for combat command, but he choose a different path. I would not be suprised if one day we see Congressman, Senator, or President as a label for him.

Regardless, the book serves as a great recruiting pitch for USMA and a call for service from the country's best and brightest. In that light, he nailed it.

v/r

Mike

jkm_101_fso
04-09-2009, 09:25 PM
If you're looking for a book to recommend to those outside the military, I'd offer up "In a Time of War" instead since the "cast" of characters in the book is larger and it really demonstrates the sacrifice of both those who are deployed as well as the spouses/girlfriends/family left back home and the range of emotions that they experience.

Concur. "In a time of war" wasn't what I thought it was going to be, but I liked it, even though the tone was sad, IMO.

I have my wife reading it, and aside from when she has questions about jargon or acronyms, she can't put it down, except for the parts that made her cry. Another good one along the same lines is "The long road home". It came out a while back, but is worth the read. It was much more detailed with the combat portion, though.

Schmedlap
04-10-2009, 01:55 AM
This is what I'm up against.

http://abumuqawama.blogspot.com/2009/04/worrisome-veteran.html

MikeF
04-10-2009, 02:06 AM
This is what I'm up against.

http://abumuqawama.blogspot.com/2009/04/worrisome-veteran.html

Dude, she understands irregular and unconventional warfare!!! We should all learn from her covert infiltration, disruption, and deception techniques- quiet forms of anger...Too smart for her own good with no experience under her belt- grievances persists, she cries stupidly. Mike weeps for her woeful bliss.

Classic.

v/r

Mike

jkm_101_fso
04-10-2009, 03:13 AM
This is what I'm up against.

http://abumuqawama.blogspot.com/2009/04/worrisome-veteran.html

Thanks, Penn State.

I guess Matthew's inability to get above a C+ also demonstrates that we are indeed knuckledraggers, in addition to being overly aggressive and confrontational.

davidbfpo
04-10-2009, 12:09 PM
Take the antidote by another university: http://americanveteranmagazine.blogspot.com/2009/04/dispelling-student-veterans-stereotypes.html

Yes, the first video is troubling, but the link helps to explain and Penn State did apologise.

davidbfpo

Steve Blair
04-10-2009, 02:07 PM
Take the antidote by another university: http://americanveteranmagazine.blogspot.com/2009/04/dispelling-student-veterans-stereotypes.html

Yes, the first video is troubling, but the link helps to explain and Penn State did apologise.

davidbfpo

What I found funny is that the "Anger, intimidation, bad attitude, arrogance, academic ineptitude, poor language skills, inability to adapt, self-righteousness, and so on" line quoted in the AmVets piece as representing veterans who go back to school could be easily and accurately applied to many of the dedicated wanna-be Marxists that I've encountered in classes, as well as a few professors.;)

Schmedlap
04-10-2009, 03:26 PM
Regarding the link provided by davidbfpo, this quote generated a reading on my BS-o-meter. It could be a false reading, but it just sounds weird:

The SERV program at Cleveland State has demonstrated that student-veterans, like any underserved population on a college campus, will succeed in a system that recognizes and addresses their legitimate transitional issues... Studies show that when student-veterans are given the opportunity to succeed, they will often exceed expectations, and Penn State acknowledged that the university values its relationship with student-veterans on their campuses across Pennsylvania.
Who knew that we needed some issues addressed? What works well for me is doing the assigned reading before class, showing up on time prepared to discuss it, taking notes during lectures, and doing a little studying after class. Did I overlook some "opportunity to succeed" that I was unknowingly denied? The veterans whom I know, who attend college, share my attitude: this is easy stuff because we have more free time, nobody is shooting at us, we don't have any mindless rules to put up with, and we're only responsible for ourselves.

That said, while the interaction in the video is unlike anything that I've ever seen from a veteran (but highly common from most of my peers when I was in Business School - one of the primary reasons that I would never want to be a professor), the attitude toward veterans and servicemembers encapsulated in that film is highly accurate and prevalent, from what I've seen.

I think that the "American Veteran" (http://americanveteranmagazine.blogspot.com/2009/04/dispelling-student-veterans-stereotypes.html) folks, like other veterans groups, respond to such silliness in the wrong way. It should not meet any kind of public outcry or criticism. It should remain in the public domain, unchallenged, so that everybody can see their true colors. Instances in which enlightened academics and others put their bigotry so clearly on display should not be co-opted in order to engage in the "woe-is-us, we need government money" type of whining. To do so only helps to create a perception that their attitudes are right, but that their presentation is inappropriate. They should be looked at, and given the same amount of time, as some jerk in a restaurant or bar who talks too loud about his views about people of various ethnicity.

Ken White
04-10-2009, 06:12 PM
Special Operations and Strategy by James D. Kiras and To Dare To Conquer by Derek Leebaert. Bought both after Wilf recommended them. The former concentrates on WW II through today, the latter purports to cover 'from Achilles to Al Qaeda.'

Both books essentially make the same two principal points; (1) At the operational and strategic levels, most 'special operations' do not succeed in producing major effects; and (2) many special operations that do achieve success are not performed by special operations forces but rather by 'conventional' units -- or even worse... :D

Both also make the valid points that hasty wartime expansion of SOF historically entails lowering standards often creating more problems than are solved and that, regardless of the historical lack of coup de main success, such forces are very important today and should be encouraged to be innovative and flexible (and that, in the west, they are generally not...). Both also make the point that direct action is probably over rated as a tactic and that coordination or operating with conventional forces are problematic.

Of the two, I believe the Kiras book to be far superior; Professor Leebaert possesses considerable knowledge but he tends to share only part of it; for but one of many examples, he apparently refers to Paddy Mayne but doesn't bother to give him a name. He also has the, to me, disconcerting habit of frequently trying to compare historical events (from Drake's round the world voyage as one instance) to current actions while interjecting political commentary. In short, he teaches International Relations and not strategy, military subjects or history -- and it shows. That specialization does allow him to note the mutual antipathy between SO and conventional forces has been around for centuries. :(

Both are good reads but I'd recommend "Special Operations and Strategy" as the better single choice. It's concise, well done and accurate.

DTS
04-16-2009, 03:48 AM
Finished 'Lone Survivor' last week, 'The Village' before that. Just got my copy of 'Accidental Guerrilla' today (came out two weeks later in Canada). Thought this book would be a big topic of discussion here but haven't seen much, yet. Is there another thread on it somewhere?

Van
04-16-2009, 06:33 AM
DTS, Amazon has some interesting discussion of Accidental Guerrilla (http://www.amazon.com/Accidental-Guerrilla-Fighting-Small-Midst/dp/0195368347/ref=cm_cr-mr-title) hiding in the reviews and comments.

Right now, I'm enjoying Truppenfuhrung, a translation of the 1933 German troop leading or unit command manual. It's an excellent resource on leadership and a primary source regarding the principles of auftragstaktik.

Majormarginal
04-16-2009, 07:13 AM
Crucible of War by Anderson. I gained a new perspective on the French and Indian War.
Wired for War by P.W. Singer. I went to the Patton Museum a couple of weeks ago. I understood the equipment there. This Flash Gordon stuff is interesting.

Van
04-23-2009, 01:13 AM
"Iraq & the Evolution of American Strategy" by some guy from Carlisle Barracks, and Truppenführung, HeeresDienstVorschrift 300 (in translation)

Putting Iraq in the title of "Iraq & the Evolution of American Strategy" is good marketing, but almost deceptive. It's an excellent discussion of the bizarre nature of national strategy in a democratic state. It shares one failing of most discussions of U.S. foreign policy; the complete absence of any effort to identify U.S. national interests. How can one rationally discuss threats without consideration of what is threatened? Of course, any effort to get Americans to clearly and concisely state U.S. national interests either causes protracted stammering and sputtering, or starts a brawl.

I could make the case that you don't understand U.S. Army doctrine until you understand Truppenführung. That might be an overstatement, but reading this, it is clear that the U.S. Army is a great German achievement.

MikeF
04-23-2009, 01:48 AM
If you only read three books ever, here they are....

Charlie Rose suggested fiction was the best way to tell the truth. He maybe correct.

I'm reading The Shack: Where Tragedy confronts Eternity by Wm. Paul Young.

http://www.amazon.com/Shack-William-P-Young/dp/0964729237/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240451204&sr=1-1

On the non-fiction side, I'd suggest two must reads for anyone that desires to be a COIN practisioner.

1. How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas
David Bornstein
http://www.amazon.com/How-Change-World-Social-Entrepreneurs/dp/0195138058

2. Conceptual Blockbusting: A Guide to Better Ideas
Dr. James Adams

http://www.amazon.com/Conceptual-Blockbusting-Guide-Better-Ideas/dp/0738205370

For military personnel, tread carefully, they will unnerve you at times. Recon, raids, dismounted/mounted patrolling, and airmobile ops are easy...This stuff is hard.

v/r

Mike

carl
04-23-2009, 02:35 AM
Here are 5 books that nobody has mentioned. I found them all to be well written, easy to read and I learned things that I never knew and didn't know I didn't know. If I were a history author, these are what I would want to write. They were fascinating.

The Union Cavalry in the Civil War: From Fort Sumpter to Gettysburg 1861-1863 by Stephen Z. Starr

The Japanese Merchant Marine in WWII by Mark R. Parillo

The Skulking Way of War: Technology and Tactics Among the New England Indians by Patrick Malone

The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway by John B. Lundstrom

Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway by Parshall & Tully

I'm glad Rob mentioned Defeat Into Victory.

Backwards Observer
04-23-2009, 07:19 AM
Gotta agree on "Defeat into Victory". An excellent work of writing and a remarkably lucid insight into hardship campaigning from a first-class military mind. There's like a, "you must be (expletive) kidding" event every few pages or so in the first section, "Defeat", described in Slim's inimitably restrained prose. Great recommendation.

Majormarginal
04-25-2009, 09:18 AM
I read Shattered Sword. Lots of good detailed info.

davidbfpo
04-25-2009, 12:49 PM
In early 2007 this insiders account 'Inside the Jihad: My life with Al Qaeda: A Spy's story' by Omar Nasiri (Pub. 2006) appeared on some threads here and somewhere on this thread. Recently I purchased a second-hand edition and read it the other day on a train journey. Superb account on this Moroccan's journey, insights into the training camps and how he was handled / managed by the intelligence agencies - before "resigning".

The 2006 introduction by the BBC's Security Correspondent, Gordon Corera is excellent and just as relevant today. A summary is on: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6156180.stm

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Jihad-My-Life-Qaeda/dp/0465023886

jmm99
04-25-2009, 05:52 PM
about "secret prisons" and "torture", it seems well to keep in mind, some of the characters who appear in the BBC clip:


Through a series of contacts he found his way to Peshawar where he met Abu Zubaydah, the gatekeeper of the Afghan training camps who would be captured soon after 9/11 and was recently transferred from a secret CIA prison to Guantanamo Bay.

His first stop was Khalden, one of al-Qaeda's key training camps. Amongst those who attended were Mohammed Atta - the ringleader of the 9-11 attacks - and Richard Reid, the so called "shoe bomber" who tried to detonate explosives on a transatlantic flight.
...
Recruits were also trained how to resist interrogation and provide false information - Nasiri's mentor at the camps, Ibn Sheikh al-Libi, would go on to provide false evidence of links between al-Qaeda and Iraq after he was captured by the US.
....
From Khalden, Nasiri was sent to Darunta, the "graduate" school which focused on training individuals for operations.

There, recruits learnt how to make explosives and detonators from scratch.

Nasiri also witnessed chemical weapons experiments - including the use of gases and poisons on rabbits, evidence of an organised WMD programme far earlier than had previously been reported.

With his training complete, Abu Zubaydah despatched Nasiri back to Europe with instructions to set up a "sleeper" cell and to remain in contact.

The danger in the current spin cycle is that the overwhelming evidence (obtained prior to and independently of their interrogations) against these characters will be lost sight of.

Roger Trinquier had a quasi-religious theory that terrorists' souls could be redeemed by torture. What may occur is that these characters will be redeemed as victims - and their guilt for 1000s of murders will become submerged under allegations of assaults done to them.

LawVol
04-25-2009, 06:09 PM
by George Friedman. This is the guy from STRATFOR. I know nothing about him beyond that. The book uses trend lines, current events, and I suppose some gut feeling to predict what the next 100 years might look like. He takes pains to point out that, despite his specifics, he shouldn't be taken literally. He seeks to give us a general idea of what might happen. Although a good bit of it might make one think WTF?, if you take it in the proper context, it does provide much to think about. I'd love to hear anyone else's thoughts on this?

Before that it was "The Starfish and the Spider" by Ori Brafman. I didn't necessarily agree with the author's view of man (inherently good) in light of his mention of AQ as a starfish, but he got his point across.

I'm now just beginning "The Second World: How Emerging Powers are Redefining Global Competition in the Twenty-First Century" by Parag Khanna. He views the current world as having 3 superpower (the US, EU and China) and looks at their influence on the 2d world (think Russia, Mexico, Egypt, etc.) and the 2d world's influence on them. I'm not sure about the EU being a superpower, but I'm open to the idea. Although they project a somewhat persuasive influence, I'm not sure if that qualifies. But maybe I'm placing too much emphasis on military might.

datroy
04-26-2009, 06:37 AM
The Puritan Origins of American Patriotism

http://www.amazon.com/Puritan-Origins-American-Patriotism/dp/030010099X

One of the best books I've read in a while

MikeF
04-26-2009, 04:21 PM
The Puritan Origins of American Patriotism

http://www.amazon.com/Puritan-Origins-American-Patriotism/dp/030010099X

One of the best books I've read in a while

If you wanna learn a bit more about that, I'd suggest Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.

v/r

Mike

Ken White
04-26-2009, 04:38 PM
that sheds light on 'American patriotism' as well: "Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America (America: a Cultural History) " (LINK) (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0195069056/vdare).

This one, less scholarly but fairly accurate for all that, is from the now senior Senator from Virginia:"Born Fighting; How the Scots-Irish Shaped America " (LINK) (http://www.amazon.com/Born-Fighting-Scots-Irish-Shaped-America/dp/0767916891/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b).

goesh
04-27-2009, 12:03 PM
Thanks for the lead on the Scotch/Irish - my ancestors were militia engaged against the Brits and the tribes. In those days, young teens were bearing arms. Now days, there would be collective cries of outrage if a 17 yr old was in Iraq or Afghan, sorry for the digression.

Ken White
04-27-2009, 05:34 PM
As a 15 year old ArNG Cannoneer and 16 year old Marine Tanker, I resembled that. (Do not try this at home. Professional on closed course) :D

Schmedlap
04-27-2009, 06:39 PM
Those last two suggestions by datroy and MikeF look like two books that I could tear through in a day. As if I needed another reason to look forward to the end of this tedious semester.

Presley Cannady
04-27-2009, 07:30 PM
Pre-publication of Control Techniques for Complex Networks (http://decision.csl.uiuc.edu/~meyn/CTCNonline.pdf).

Jedburgh
04-28-2009, 01:40 AM
...haven't had much time to read for pleasure lately, but I finally got around to starting Polly Moh's Military Intelligence and the Arab Revolt (http://www.amazon.com/Military-Intelligence-Arab-Revolt-Modern/dp/0415493315/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240882046&sr=8-1), which is a very good read thus far. Focused on the WWI Hejaz campaign, it would make a excellent companion read to Yigal Sheffy's British Military Intelligence in the Palestine Campaign, 1914-1918 (http://www.amazon.com/Military-Intelligence-Palestine-1914-1918-Studies/dp/0714646776/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240882240&sr=1-1) - an outstanding and highly recommended read which I picked up a few years back.

For those with an interest in the subject and era, there's also Empires of Intelligence: Security Services and Colonial Disorder After 1914 (http://www.amazon.com/Empires-Intelligence-Security-Services-Colonial/dp/0520251172/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240882563&sr=1-1), by Martin Thomas, which is far broader in scope than the two mentioned. It is an excellent read as well, although it starts off slow and pedantic. As an aside, I have to say that the author is a great guy in that he was very helpful in answering a couple of questions I shot him out of the blue about source material.

Next up, as time permits, is Priya Satia's Spies in Arabia: The Great War and the Cultural Foundations of Britain's Covert Empire in the Middle East (http://www.amazon.com/Spies-Arabia-Cultural-Foundations-Britains/dp/0195331419/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240882770&sr=1-1). This one did not receive reviews that were as positive as the others, but I figured reading it in following would make for a useful comparison.

What I'd really like to lay my hands on is the The Middle East Intelligence Handbooks 1943-1946 (http://www.amazon.com/Middle-East-Intelligence-Handbooks-1943-1946/dp/1852070609/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3ICNUJMPI8GAU&colid=2K56XBI4QI1I7); its a five-volume set and priced way out of my range. And the price seems to keep changing upward, not down. It would be nice to find the collection sitting in an old used book store in an alley somewhere, priced at a more reasonable level.....

datroy
04-28-2009, 02:41 AM
The Puritan Origins of American Patriotism

http://www.amazon.com/Puritan-Origins-American-Patriotism/dp/030010099X

One of the best books I've read in a while

Let me change that - one of the best books I've ever read. The last 20 pages alone are worth the price of the book.

goesh
04-28-2009, 05:27 PM
"Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun" by Wess Roberts

Stevely
04-28-2009, 05:41 PM
"Zwei Armeen und Ein Vaterland" by Jörg Schönbohm. The author was a general in the Bundeswehr, who was given the mission to dissolve the East German army (NVA) and integrate NVA soldiers and resources into new Bundeswehr units in the wake of the re-unification of Germany. It's a fascinating read so far about a herculean task.

William F. Owen
04-29-2009, 04:39 PM
...haven't had much time to read for pleasure lately, but I finally got around to starting Polly Moh's Military Intelligence and the Arab Revolt (http://www.amazon.com/Military-Intelligence-Arab-Revolt-Modern/dp/0415493315/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240882046&sr=8-1), which is a very good read thus far. Focused on the WWI Hejaz campaign, it would make a excellent companion read to Yigal Sheffy's British Military Intelligence in the Palestine Campaign, 1914-1918 (http://www.amazon.com/Military-Intelligence-Palestine-1914-1918-Studies/dp/0714646776/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240882240&sr=1-1) - an outstanding and highly recommended read which I picked up a few years back.

As someone brought up to believe that T.E. Lawrence was mostly irrelevant to the outcome of Allenby's Operations, you've got me sold! Seems like an excellent work. Many thanks.

davidbfpo
04-30-2009, 09:48 PM
The Bottom Billion: Why the poorest countries are failing and what can be done about it, by Paul Collier (Pub. October 2008, Oxford University Press).

Normally I avoid books on development and economics, but this short book is crisp and enlightening - it is a bestseller. Particularly about the failures in Africa, of the locals and those faraway. Something for AFRICOM's reading list?

Got rave reviews and here is just one (UK): This authoritative and strongly reviewed book has become a 'must-read' for those involved in or concerned about aid and development. Written for a wide, general audience, the politics and economics involved are explained in exceptionally clear style. 'Read this book. You will learn much you do not know. It will also change the way you look at the tragedy of persistent poverty in a world of plenty' "Financial Times"

He has gone onto write another book (not read): 'Wars, Guns and Votes: Democracy in dangerous Places'. Link is to an interview of the author: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/mar/10/paul-collier-oxford-university


davidbfpo

Backwards Observer
05-01-2009, 06:29 AM
Two outstanding memoirs from enviably erudite and grounded foreign-service wallahs:

Ninety-Day Wonder: Flight To Geurrilla War by John Ryder Horton

http://www.amazon.com/Ninety-Day-Wonder-Flight-Guerrilla-War/dp/0595094538/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241157275&sr=1-1

Tiger In The Barbed Wire: An American In Vietnam 1952-1991 by Howard R. Simpson

http://www.amazon.com/Tiger-Barbed-Wire-American-1952-1991/dp/0788151487/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241157183&sr=1-2

Also, Richard McKenna's justly popular, The Sand Pebbles, is perhaps one of the great works of American Fiction. The film is pretty (expletive) good, too..."Holman, come down!"

http://www.amazon.com/Sand-Pebbles-Bluejacket-Books/dp/1557504466/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241158273&sr=1-1

The Mad Magazine take, "The Sam Pebbles", from 1968...

http://www.thesandpebbles.com/mad_magazine/mad_sandpebbles.htm

Van
05-03-2009, 07:36 PM
"Analytic Support to Intelligence in Counterinsurgencies (http://www.amazon.com/Analytic-Support-Intelligence-Counterinsurgencies-Walter/dp/0833044567/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241378941&sr=1-1)" by Walter L. Perry which is turning out to be a fresh volume of buzzword bingo. Renaming the classic guerrilla phase I, II, and III; proto-insurgency, small scale insurgency, and large scale insurgency does so much to improve our understanding of insurgency and how to deal with it... Some of the quantitative stuff might interest software designers, but will only annoy soldiers.

And getting ready to pick up "Anthropological Intelligence (http://www.amazon.com/Anthropological-Intelligence-Deployment-American-Anthropology/dp/0822342375/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241379295&sr=1-1)" by David Price. Its introduction looks like a pathological pacificist's apologia, but there might be some meat as it goes along.

Spud
05-05-2009, 10:29 AM
Loretta Napoleoni's Insurgent Iraq: Al Zarqawi and the New Generation. Was written before the JDAM slammed into him but is still quite a good read. She seems to objectively cover off on the myths and legends created for and by this bloke over time.

AmericanPride
05-07-2009, 10:50 AM
I'm wrapping up Tanner's the Military History of Afghanistan -- interesting series of events in Afghan history, but I had expected more analysis of what drove those events.

I'll be moving on to Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival next.

ODB
05-16-2009, 03:38 AM
Horse Soldiers by Doug Stanton

CPT Foley
05-16-2009, 12:42 PM
I mentioned it recently in another post, but I'll raise it again. I'm worried about our (U.S. Military) lack of appreciation for literature/fiction/poetry as valuable tool to enhance cultural awareness in the GWOT.

Tom Friedman & Judith Milller & Robert D. Kaplan are great journalists, I'd recommend them too. But I think they would be the first to admit that they don't know the cultural nuances of the Arab world that Alaa Al Aswany or Naguib Mahfouz convey in their fiction.

If you wanted to truly understand mentality of a 19th Century Russian, what really made them tick, would you read history, or would you read Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Gogol? You would read both! And we don't. I realize there is a major dearth of Arab literature, but get your hands on what you can, if you are serious about understanding the Arab world.

patmc
05-16-2009, 03:33 PM
In response to the fiction request, which is really valid, I was waiting at the PX for a haircut and came across a random novel on the rack. "The Underdogs" by Mariano Azuela. Apparently it is "the greatest novel of the Mexican Revolution" about a Mexican Indian that fights with rebels and becomes a general under Pancho Villa. I started reading it while waiting for a barber, and its pretty good so far. Not a long read.

Also reading: "The Idea of Pakistan" by Stephen Cohen. Really interesting history and analysis of Pakistan, with a focus on the idea vs the actual state of Pakistan, and the inherent problems that arise from the difference. I have Weaver's "Pakistan: In the Shadow of Jihad and Afghanistan" and Ahmed Rashid's "Descent into Chaos" on the shelf to follow it (When I get some quality reading time."

"Utility of Force" by Rupert Smith. Excellent book, but I'm reading it a little bit as a time as there are a ton of ideas to absorb and think about. Very worth the time!

datroy
05-16-2009, 06:25 PM
Currently reading Rites of Peace: The Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna

reed11b
05-16-2009, 08:31 PM
Just finished reading three books on PMC's in Iraq. None were very good, though "Big Boy Rules" was the best of the three. Anyone know of better books that don't either make contractors out to be superheroes "these brave men and women of Blackwater can leap over tall buildings and kill terrorists with laser beams from there eyes!" or supervillains, "these neofascits of Blackwater kill small children and innocent Iraqis to help Bush's cronies make more money"
Reed

carl
05-16-2009, 09:01 PM
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre by B. Traven.

One of the most memorable novels I've read. Far better than the movie. There is a passage describing a small Mexican Army unit attacking a hacienda. Very impressive if at all true. After reading that, I never much worried about the Mexican Army's ability to handle things inside Mexico.

CPT Foley
05-16-2009, 10:54 PM
Thanks for the tip. I'll definitely check out "The Underdogs."

carl
05-17-2009, 03:09 AM
you can download The Underdogs (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/549) for free at Project Gutenburg.

Van
05-21-2009, 01:24 AM
Just finished Anthropolological Intelligence (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0822342375/ref=cm_cr_thx_view) by David Price. An encyclopaedic study of the use and abuse of social science in WW II. All his agonizing over the role of anthropologists serving their country in harms' way didn't impress me much, but the discussion of anthropologists in Germany and working at the internment camps in the U.S. was interesting and disturbing.

This one gives a lot of context for the extreme guilt issues of the outspoken anti-military anthropologists that get mentioned in SWC.

Granite_State
05-22-2009, 01:31 AM
Just finished reading three books on PMC's in Iraq. None were very good, though "Big Boy Rules" was the best of the three. Anyone know of better books that don't either make contractors out to be superheroes "these brave men and women of Blackwater can leap over tall buildings and kill terrorists with laser beams from there eyes!" or supervillains, "these neofascits of Blackwater kill small children and innocent Iraqis to help Bush's cronies make more money"
Reed

I thought Robert Young Pelton's "Licensed to Kill" was pretty good. He talked about the many negatives of using PMCs, spent some time on the Sandline adventures in Africa and Papua New Guinea, but also didn't demonize the men out there with the guns. A friend of mine worked for a smaller British PMC in Iraq, and the book was pretty in line with what he told me.

reed11b
05-22-2009, 01:52 AM
I thought Robert Young Pelton's "Licensed to Kill" was pretty good. He talked about the many negatives of using PMCs, spent some time on the Sandline adventures in Africa and Papua New Guinea, but also didn't demonize the men out there with the guns. A friend of mine worked for a smaller British PMC in Iraq, and the book was pretty in line with what he told me.

Thank you.
I keep hearing good things about the book, but I have not found it yet. I'll keep looking.
Reed

davidbfpo
05-23-2009, 12:58 PM
'The Circuit' by Bob Shepherd, pub. 2008, is an excellent description of the international commercial security industry, better known as PMC; the author is an ex-SAS NCO's account starting before 9/11 and good chapters on Afghanistan. Ends with a call for greater regulation and ending contracts that should belong to the state. I suspect only in hardback, maybe wait till in paperback. See: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Circuit-Soldiers-Powerful-Secretive-Industries/dp/0330455737

'Churchill's Wizards: the British genius for deception 1914-1945' by Nicholas Rankin, pub. 2008; a broadbrush approach and a very useful list of sources to exploit. having read much on this topic I was slightly disappointed, but as a starter a good choice. See: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Churchills-Wizards-British-Deception-1914-1945/dp/0571221955

davidbfpo

Brandon Friedman
05-23-2009, 11:13 PM
I'm reading Steven Pressfield's The Afghan Campaign (http://www.amazon.com/Afghan-Campaign-novel-Steven-Pressfield/dp/038551641X), about Alexander's battles with the Afghan tribes 2,300 years ago. Just now getting into it and I hope it's as good as Gates of Fire.

Mike in Hilo
05-24-2009, 04:13 AM
The Village War by William R. Andrews.....Mike F cited this VN book in his April '08 SWJ contribution on how AQIZ became entrenched in Zaganiyah...Took a while to acquire and read it.....

An old work (1973), and heavy among the sources cited are the oft-quoted Rand interviews. But Andrews chronicles the methodology of insurgent takeover of a Deltaic community, and offers a still timely reminder of the devastating impact of armed propaganda....In these case studies, the initial surfacing of selected clandestine cadre was an armed propaganda event conducted by a visiting armed propaganda team: denunciations by plants amongst the assembled villagers and orchestrated trial, then public evisceration and beheading of a selected, hapless village elder, his wife and children. Not surprisingly, obedience ensued.

selil
05-27-2009, 09:40 PM
A good read. I figure the author (William F. Owen) must be full of himself (poke poke poke poke), but I must say I wish he had gone ahead and written more fiction. I gave the book to my dad to read and he was in much of that territory (61-63). No real idea what he did there but his commentary will be interesting. Mr. Owen should have written more fiction he has a talent for it.

Rifleman
06-05-2009, 04:09 AM
Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of Seal Team 10

There's nothing like a good tactical story for those of us who are too shallow for strategic thought. ;)

The Cuyahoga Kid
06-07-2009, 06:38 PM
Finished Reading
Baghdad at Sunrise: A Brigade Commander's War in Iraq by Peter R. Mansoor

Next Books
Joker One: A Marine Platoon's Story of Courage, Leadership, and Brotherhood by Donovan Campbell
The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One by David Kilcullen

Schmedlap
06-08-2009, 12:28 AM
Human Intelligence, Counterterrorism, & National Leadership by Gary Berntsen

This is very short book. I read about chapter at a time while on the subway. If I had a longer attention span, I could probably read it cover to cover in an hour or less. It is written as a series of recommendations to the current administration (written before the election) and each chapter ends with a bullet-format summary of those recommendations.

Thus far, I particularly like his idea of getting rid of the polygraph for everyone except those in the counterintelligence center. He points out the unreliability of it (lots of false positives) and the deterrent effect it has upon individuals whom we need to recruit.

I have taken a polygraph as part of an investigation into the conduct of my Soldiers. I took it voluntarily, but midway through I was starting to regret it. It turned out well - as a result of the test the investigation rightfully ended. But as the interview progressed and the interviewer kept adjusting the questions to box me into a yes or no response, I really didn't like it. "Have you ever stolen someone's trust?" WTF does that mean? I answered every question truthfully. When it was over, the interviewer said, "you're good, everything's fine - there was one question that was kind of iffy, but everything pertinent to the case checks out." What question was that? Like I said, I answered them all truthfully. I was already a bit unsure of whether it was going to misread me. Now I am even less inclined to take one in the future. I know a few guys who are unwilling to take full-scope polygraphs, not because they've done anything wrong but because, as they put it, the answer to most questions is, "none of your business." The author also points out that people who have conducted espionage in the past have taken the polygraph and "passed."

Sergeant T
06-08-2009, 02:37 AM
Enormous digression for this thread. Taken a half dozen polygraphs for employment in my time. They almost always break down to the same questions, but the results can vary greatly. There is simply too much sway in the results due to the polygraph administrator. Some approach it as an interrogation, some approach it as a conversation. There is a very good reason they are not admissible as evidence in a criminal trial. The test is only as good as the person administering it. It has become one of those devices organizations wrap themselves in to feel warm. Adlrich Ames passed two polygraphs while engaged in espionage. Because he was able to pass the Agency never looked for other obvious clues. It's become a lazy shortcut for organizations not willing to expend the effort looking into a person's character. (Had an acquaintance 25 year old female fail because the 50+ year old male administrator kept digging for details about her sex life while the tape was running.) Part of the fixation with metrics rather than qualitative measures.

carl
06-08-2009, 03:36 AM
Not such a big digression. A book called The Lie Detectors got a very good write up in the Wall Street Journal sometime back. I have not yet read it but mean to.

I have read other books and articles on lie detectors and if you are so inclined they are pretty easy to beat; at least in the sense that you can easily foul up the result to the point it won't be usable.

selil
06-09-2009, 03:03 AM
Not a book, but watched the movie "Defiance". Not what I expected. Insurgency v. high intensity conflict. The special features section of the DVD was interesting too.

Old Eagle
06-09-2009, 07:47 PM
Ran across two pubs that provide a lot of insight into what we're discussing here.

Flashback #1 CGSC Field Circular 100-20 Low-Intensity Conflict (http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/star/images/137/1370316001a.pdf), of 1986. Many of the same tensions, confusions and frustrations rear their ugly heads in this pub. Remarkably, the schoolhouse had a decent insight into many of the challenges and potential solutions in Small Wars.

Flashback #2 The Trailwatcher -- a TRADOC complilation of many of the writings of the very prolific Mike Malone. I worked a major project with M2 (as he refered to himself) back in the 80s. M2 was truly an Army treasure, understanding the essence of soldiering, leadership, organizational behavior and information technology (in an era before advanced computer communication!!)

Tom Odom
06-11-2009, 11:40 AM
Ran across two pubs that provide a lot of insight into what we're discussing here.

Flashback #1 CGSC Field Circular 100-20 Low-Intensity Conflict (http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/star/images/137/1370316001a.pdf), of 1986. Many of the same tensions, confusions and frustrations rear their ugly heads in this pub. Remarkably, the schoolhouse had a decent insight into many of the challenges and potential solutions in Small Wars.


Bruce

Steve Metz and I were there when that FC was written. Note that it was published by the dept of logistics managemenet and operations--not the department of tactis or joint andf combined operations. I read parts of it because i was writing LP 14 on the Simbas in the Congo--originally sold as a peacekeeping study to get it past my boss who thought a look at the Congo wars might be seen as racist--and they wanted me to look at the parts on peacekeeping. I think Steve may have worked it as well.

Best
Tom

Blackjack
06-11-2009, 06:35 PM
Oddly enough, I am reading How To Deal With Tribesmen.

selil
06-11-2009, 11:17 PM
I'm reading "The accidental guerilla" by some ape named Kilcullen. I keep waiting for a Jane Goodall moment but so far it is about a bunch of guys running around in circles. Talking about an instructor he says ".. internal or ethno-religious conflicts weren't really wars, and civil wars didn't count under the classical definitions of war either.." (page 2)..

zenpundit
06-12-2009, 02:52 AM
Wired for War by PW Singer, of which I am more than halfway finished and Emergence by Steven Johnson, which I started today. Next on the rotation is The Anabasis of Cyrus by Xenophon ( Ambler trans.)

One nice thing about Wired for War is as you read through it, a fair number of names that pop up here at SWJ and the SWC in discussions or as participants/contributors are quoted, sometimes at length.

My summer reading list is here (http://zenpundit.com/?p=3124), for those interested. Some of the links are askew due to a coding error, unfortunately, but most of them just go to Amazon anyway.

davidbfpo
06-22-2009, 05:04 PM
A good book on the theme of de-radicalization is: 'Leaving Terrorism Behind: Individual and collective disengagement', edited by Tore Bjorgo and John Horgan (Pub by Routledge 2009). Some theoretical and general chapters, then case studies and not just featuring Islam. Took time to read and worthwhile.

davidbfpo

Uboat509
06-22-2009, 07:39 PM
I am about to start reading On Combat, The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace by LTC(R) Dave Grossman. I heard the LTC speak back in 2006 prior to our group's deployment to OIF V. I had heard some of his controversial views on Combat and killing before and did not agree with them but he did have some very good stuff in his seminar about PTSD and mindset. I never did get around to reading his book, though. Now I am taking a General Psychology course and I have to do a book report on a book that realates to one of the topics we will be studying. This one seemed an obvious choice.

SFC W

AnalyticType
06-22-2009, 07:54 PM
I'm reading "The accidental guerilla" by some ape named Kilcullen. I keep waiting for a Jane Goodall moment but so far it is about a bunch of guys running around in circles. Talking about an instructor he says ".. internal or ethno-religious conflicts weren't really wars, and civil wars didn't count under the classical definitions of war either.." (page 2)..

selil, I recently put this book on my "to read" list. I'm thinkin' it'll be removed now.

Currently I'm reading The Utility of Force by Gen. Rupert Smith. It's a dense read but I'm learning a great deal.

Victoria

J Wolfsberger
06-22-2009, 08:08 PM
Just finished A Problem From Hell. Now I need some light reading, so I bought a copy of the Rand Corporation monograph: In the Middle of the Fight: An Assessment of Medium-Armored Forces in Past Military Operations

Just biding time until July, when Eye of the Storm (Legacy of the Aldenata), by John Ringo, and By Heresies Distressed, by David Weber, both come out on the same day.

davidbfpo
06-22-2009, 08:59 PM
Analytic Type,

I enjoyed reading Killcullen's book, although it was read in stages during a holiday and now I can see why many in the military praise it. The chapters on Afghanistan and Iraq were excellent; those on less well known conflicts at least helpful and that on Western Europe not as convincing. Makes good arguments on the accidental guerilla and avoiding intervention.

I'd certainly put it on a reading list, as so many will cite it.

davidbfpo

selil
06-23-2009, 12:25 AM
selil, I recently put this book on my "to read" list. I'm thinkin' it'll be removed now.

Currently I'm reading The Utility of Force by Gen. Rupert Smith. It's a dense read but I'm learning a great deal.

Victoria

Don't take my criticism to strongly. It is a a good book. The author is a good writer. I on the other hand can be a hyper critical curmudgeon. YMMV

AnalyticType
06-23-2009, 05:14 AM
...I've finally finished wading through 16 pages of this thread, and investigating a significant proportion of the books mentioned. I have added a substantial number of them to my reading queue. And here I was, for years thinkin' that I'm well read...

As for your adjusted advice, selil, it's noted. I am willing to read a great deal, even if I don't agree with it necessarily. But I'm not willing to waste my time on inaccurate or 'inventive' non-fiction. So I may well reapply The Accidental Guerrilla to my list, to be consumed with a grain or two of salt.


Don't take my criticism to strongly. It is a a good book. The author is a good writer. I on the other hand can be a hyper critical curmudgeon. YMMV

I noticed, somewhere back about midway in this 2+ year-long thread, that someone had mentioned reading Strategikon. I read that, along with Machiavelli's The Prince and the 'condensed' version of CvC's On War, and Sun Tzu, among others, for my various undergrad classes. While I've read and re-read Sun Tzu many times over the last 30 years, I only recently read the others. Loved Machiavelli, by the way. I'm thinking that I need to revisit the Strategikon, for it did not receive my full attention at the time.

Currently, or should I say concurrently, with Rupert Smith's Utility of Force, I'm also re-reading Heuer's Psychology of Intelligence Analysis and Morgan Jones' The Thinker's Toolkit.

Some of the others that I've read in the last couple years are Moment of Truth in Iraq by Michael Yon, Roughneck Nine-One by Frank Antenori, 'Dalton Fury's Kill Bin Laden, and the one I just finished last week, Ghost by Fred Burton (Stratfor VP). And then there's Plato, Cicero, St. Augustine, Locke, Mill, and the rest... I'm currently mulling over Just War Theory as a result of all of my political theory reading, and how it applies to current events and the type of threats we face.

William F. Owen
06-23-2009, 05:35 AM
A good read. I figure the author (William F. Owen) must be full of himself (poke poke poke poke), but I must say I wish he had gone ahead and written more fiction. I gave the book to my dad to read and he was in much of that territory (61-63). No real idea what he did there but his commentary will be interesting. Mr. Owen should have written more fiction he has a talent for it.

Thanks for that. Yes, may well start writing fiction again. Some say I never stopped !! :D

William F. Owen
06-23-2009, 05:48 AM
Over the last couple of months I have read (Relevant to SWJ) :

Wired for War - Singer: As someone who writes about UAVs for a living, I thought it disappointing. Very frothy stuff, with quite a lot writing piled on to no useful purpose. The odd interesting snippet, which had they comprised the entire book, would have been a winner.

Accidental Guerilla - Kilcullen: It's OK, but it's not on my "Want to know something, then read this list." Some of it I just don't agree with. It's in the same box as "Utility of Force - Smith" I'd also add that rank and reputation are no excuse not to hold the author to rigour. If it helps, read that last sentence again. ;)

The Scientific Way of Warfare - Bousquet: Recomended by some here. Not an easy read, but actually some of it is pretty good stuff. Not a great book, but I feel better for having read it.

pjmunson
06-23-2009, 05:56 AM
Hugh Kennedy's "The Great Arab Conquests" - Very interesting and well written.
Ahmed Rashid's "Descent into Chaos" - Recommended. This book seems to be a good, current look by Rashid, who has what must be unparalleled access to key players in the area. I'm finding it much more helpful than "Taliban" although having read that one adds to the background for "Descent into Chaos."

PINT
06-23-2009, 11:02 AM
An older book but still interesting Bush At War by Bob Woodward...easy read and makes you wonder. Almost done with that one. Next is Fear Up Harsh: An Army Interrogator's Dark Journey Through Iraq by Tony Lagouranis...no idea about the reputation of this one but of interest. I've got my stack of books for the next week or so...Galula's Counterinsurgency Warfare, Friedman's The World is Flat, Rick's Fiasco and The Gamble...I listened to Rick's stuff on CD and decided I wanted to read it too. Need to pick up The Accidental Guerilla next I think...

Jedburgh
06-23-2009, 11:55 AM
....Next is Fear Up Harsh: An Army Interrogator's Dark Journey Through Iraq by Tony Lagouranis...no idea about the reputation of this one but of interest....
Lagouranis has zero credibility - much of what he relates is hearsay and highly embellished. He was a disciplinary problem child during his time in service (a six year specialist/E-4 - which in MI in today's Army isn't easy to accomplish :rolleyes:), and the book is simply exploitation of a hot topic of which he had only tangential operational exposure at a very low level.

Instead, I recommend (despite the tabloid-style title) How to Break a Terrorist: The U.S. Interrogators Who Used Brains, Not Brutality, to Take Down the Deadliest Man in Iraq (http://www.amazon.com/How-Break-Terrorist-Interrogators-Brutality/dp/1416573151/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245172460&sr=1-3).

PINT
06-23-2009, 09:08 PM
Lagouranis has zero credibility - much of what he relates is hearsay and highly embellished. He was a disciplinary problem child during his time in service (a six year specialist/E-4 - which in MI in today's Army isn't easy to accomplish :rolleyes:), and the book is simply exploitation of a hot topic of which he had only tangential operational exposure at a very low level.

Instead, I recommend (despite the tabloid-style title) How to Break a Terrorist: The U.S. Interrogators Who Used Brains, Not Brutality, to Take Down the Deadliest Man in Iraq (http://www.amazon.com/How-Break-Terrorist-Interrogators-Brutality/dp/1416573151/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245172460&sr=1-3).

Read that one. Easy and interesting read.

Thanks for the tip on Lagouranis!

GBNT73
06-24-2009, 11:20 AM
Revolutionary warfare:
Dragonwars, by J. Bowyer Bell. He is a diffcult read. I powered my way through teh below one, but I have to read it again.
Dynamics of the Armed Struggle, (by the same)

Origin of war:
How War Began, by Keith Otterbein, just barely started.
War Before Civilization, by Lawrence Keeley -- great read. Causes one to question the whole "4GW" concept.

Separation of God and Man:
The Great Divorce, by C. S. Lewis

Team building/leading
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, by Patrick Lencioni. it has a stupid narrative "parable", but the model he proposes is excellent. It came recommended by a university professor/team builder.

LawVol
06-24-2009, 12:29 PM
Most of what I've read lately could be deemed introductory to various subject matter and I've found that each has met that purpose well.

Soldiers of Reason by Alexa Abella: explores the beginning of the Rand Corporation and traces its development to the modern day. It discuss rational choice theory in the context that Rand developed and used it. I thought this was a good book for some strategic theoretical background.

The Bottom Billion by Paul Collier: examines four traps that cause poorer countries to remain that way and four instruments that can assist in crafting a plan for action.

The Second World by Parag Khanna and The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria: both examine the second world's rise and implications.

Wired for War by Peter Singer: I liked this book as I approached it as providing introduction to an area I was unfamiliar with. It's written well and explores robotics used in war. The author raises some interesting legal/ethical questions that need further examination.

The Accidental Guerilla by David Kilcullen: although the term "accidental guerilla" is new to me, his thesis that we create additional enemies through our actions isn't. I seem to recall this coming up from the left side of the political spectrum in the 2004 election. That, however, doesn't change the fact that there is some truth to the assertion. This book allowed me to better develop an understanding of the complexity of the situation, particularly with respect to the influence of culture (sometimes more so than religion) on the actions of those we come into contact with.

Seven Deadly Scenarios by Andrew Krepinevich: I did not finish this book as it seemed too sensationalist. The invented footnotes with future dates serve only as self-serving tools rather than assisting the reader with any understanding. The author attempts to paint a picture of future scenarios through a narrative approach, but this method was ineffective for his subject matter (at least for me; some may like it). I did fully read though the chapters on Pakistan and China but found nothing really new. The chapter on Mexico-US was the most interesting IMO.

Next up: Terror and Consent by Philip Bobbitt and The Secret Sentry by Matthew Aid.

pjmunson
06-25-2009, 02:36 AM
I have "The Second World" on my bookshelf, but pushed it back in the queue when I read a review from someone that seemed credible (forget who) that panned it. Your take as to its credibility/utility?

I'm interested in Bobbitt's new book. I skimmed/read his "Shield of Achilles" and found it to be huge, but interesting in parts. I don't agree with all of his concepts and analysis, but I think overall he brings up some good points to think through and come to your own conclusions.

LawVol
06-25-2009, 02:27 PM
I have "The Second World" on my bookshelf, but pushed it back in the queue when I read a review from someone that seemed credible (forget who) that panned it. Your take as to its credibility/utility?

I'm interested in Bobbitt's new book. I skimmed/read his "Shield of Achilles" and found it to be huge, but interesting in parts. I don't agree with all of his concepts and analysis, but I think overall he brings up some good points to think through and come to your own conclusions.

As an introductory piece, The Second World" is pretty good. Apparently, the author has travelled extensively is researching the book and his academic credentials look good. His bio in the book says he advised SOF in Iraq and Afghanistan so I guess that helps too. There is a bit much of the "America is declining" train of thought, but he's entitled to his opinion and its a logical opinion to derive from his findings. Of course, there is also much to disagree with in reaching those conclusions, but I wanted something a bit outside my normal readings. I found it very helpful in learning a bit about some of the areas that don't always make the news and in understanding the big picture. While I can't vouch for everything he says, it all seems plausible and backed by research. I'd like to find a similar book from a different perspective though, so I can round out the knowledge base.

I picked up the "Terror and Consent" book because it purports to examine the interplay between law and strategy, something I'm keenly interested in given that I'm a JAG. While most seem to subscribe to a notion of a change in warfare due to technology or a breakdown in state control over the means of warfare, I think the increasing relevance of law may also have an effect. I'm trying to wrap my head around this issue now and it looks like this book will be helpful in doing that. I'm open to other suggestions though. :) Bobbitt's "Achilles" book will make into my stack as well.

Bob's World
07-04-2009, 12:17 PM
Touring Colleges on the East Coast with my two youngest this week; Today, on the 4th of July will be in Charlottesville and Washington; will Tour UVA, Monticello and the Capital Mall.

In that spirit, I strongly encourage everyone to Google up a copy of the Declaration of Independence to review today!

A piece of timeless genius, and the cornerstone of our nation. Friends and Foes around the world measure us by how well we stack up to the standard established here.

davidbfpo
07-04-2009, 01:13 PM
Just read 'Intelligence Matters: the CIA, the FBI, Saudi Arabia and the Failure of America's War on Terror; by Senator Bob Graham (pub. 2004, but updated in paperback 2008). In places wise and in others for a non-American reader dense Washington bureaucratic arguments. Intrigued at his description of the Polish role in Iraq pre-Gulf War Two and comments on the industry-security linkages in the UK. Advances a view that thousands of trained AQ fighters are in the USA and a greater that in the USA comes from Hizbollah, without explaining why.

davidbfpo

Valin
07-04-2009, 02:50 PM
Just finished The Next Founders: Voices of Democracy in the Middle East (http://www.amazon.com/Next-Founders-Voices-Democracy-Middle/dp/1594032327)
Joshua Muravchik

Very inspiring and depressing at the sametime. Inspiring in that we see the bravery of these people, depressing in what they are going up against.
I would not call it a "Must Read" (and oh how I hate that term) but it's well worth your time.

I'm not really a man of the written word so here is a good review.

‘The Next Founders: Voices of Democracy in the Middle East’ (http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/mesh/2009/06/the-next-founders-voices-of-democracy-in-the-middle-east/)
Jun 15th, 2009 by MESH

MESH invites selected authors to offer original first-person statements on their new books—why and how they wrote them, and what impact they hope and expect to achieve. Joshua Muravchik is a fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins University School for Advanced International Studies, and a member of MESH. His new is book is The Next Founders: Voices of Democracy in the Middle East.

From Joshua Muravchik

When I would tell people that I was writing a book about Middle Eastern democrats, the reaction was invariably the same: “That will be a short book.” This jibe expressed the common knowledge that the region remains stubbornly autocratic.

The fact that there is precious little democracy in the Middle East does not mean, however, that there are no democrats. Surveys show that the vast majority say they want democracy, although it is uncertain what they mean. Perhaps more important, there are also individuals whose lives revolve around making their countries more free and democratic, and who have proven they understand these ideas well. We know little about them because their work is peaceful and incremental and overshadowed by the shocking deeds and pronouncements of tyrants, terrorists, and religious fanatics.

I have profiled seven of them, six Arabs and an Iranian. In addition to illuminating their goals and activities, I have attempted to sketch a full biography in the hope of understanding how they came to be who they are.

(snip)

Valin
07-04-2009, 02:53 PM
I picked up the "Terror and Consent" book because it purports to examine the interplay between law and strategy, something I'm keenly interested in given that I'm a JAG. While most seem to subscribe to a notion of a change in warfare due to technology or a breakdown in state control over the means of warfare, I think the increasing relevance of law may also have an effect. I'm trying to wrap my head around this issue now and it looks like this book will be helpful in doing that. I'm open to other suggestions though. :) Bobbitt's "Achilles" book will make into my stack as well.


I look forward to your take on this book/subject.

AnalyticType
07-08-2009, 02:37 PM
Has anyone yet read Achieving Victory In Iraq: Countering an Insurgency by Col. Dominic J. Caraccilo & Lt. Col. Andrea L. Thompson? If so, what are your thoughts on the book and its authors? Also as it was published last September (and therefore went to press about a year ago,) has the last year borne out their arguments?

I don't recall seeing this one discussed further back in this rather long thread, but I may have missed it. I have not read this book yet, so I'm curious about its reception among SWC's members. I did notice that the Foreward was written by Bing West, which is what brought the book more sharply to my attention.

Valin
07-08-2009, 04:51 PM
Has anyone yet read Achieving Victory In Iraq: Countering an Insurgency by Col. Dominic J. Caraccilo & Lt. Col. Andrea L. Thompson? If so, what are your thoughts on the book and its authors? Also as it was published last September (and therefore went to press about a year ago,) has the last year borne out their arguments?

I don't recall seeing this one discussed further back in this rather long thread, but I may have missed it. I have not read this book yet, so I'm curious about its reception among SWC's members. I did notice that the Foreward was written by Bing West, which is what brought the book more sharply to my attention.

I haven't heard of this book, looks..interesting. I have a feeling that as time goes on the book shelves will be filled with books like this.
And here's my problem...there are so many book...only 24 hours in a day...and I have to go to the bathroom sometime :)

Amazon Product Description (http://www.amazon.com/Achieving-Victory-Iraq-Countering-Insurgency/dp/0811703886)

Interview with Army Colonel Dominic Caraccilo (http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bloggersroundtable/2008/09/10/Interview-with-Army-Colonel-Dominic-Caraccilo)

Date / Length: 9/10/2008 9:00 AM - 45 min
Description: Army Col. Dominic Caraccilo, commander of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 187th Infantry Regiment, will discuss the progress of Iraqi army units protecting the city of Mahmoudiyah.

Ken White
07-08-2009, 05:40 PM
It is generally better though, to just post a brief excerpt and provide links rather that repeating most of what would be found at the link. Avoids copyright problems and tailors your post to those who might be interested.

Zack
07-13-2009, 05:15 AM
just finished (un)civil war of words, and inside the jihad a couple of days ago. Now working on an atlas of conflict of the middle east, winkie, and wired for war.

pjmunson
07-15-2009, 02:42 PM
Hew Strachan, "Clausewitz's On War"
Just finished Paul Kennedy's "The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers" - Not small war oriented, but very informative on changes in international power equation
Charles Esdaile's "Napoleon's Wars"
Christopher Layne's review article from the latest International Security - "The Waning of U.S. Hegemony - Myth or Reality?"

Taiko
07-17-2009, 04:49 AM
Just finished:
Echevarria II-Clausewitz and Contemporary War
Metz-Iraq and the Evolution of American Strategy
Ricks-The Gamble
Molan-Running the War in Iraq
Blaxland-Revisiting Counterinsurgency: A Manoeuvrist Response to the War on Terror for the Australian Army
Kilcullen-The Accidental Guerrilla

Just started:
Jomini-The Art of War
Jordan, Kiras, Lonsdale, Speller, Tuck, and Walton-Understanding Modern Warfare
Tse-Tung-Selected Military Writings of Mao Tse-Tung
Callwell-Small Wars: Their Principles and Practice

Next in Line:
Galula-Counter-Insurgency Warfare
Taber-The War of the Flea
O'Neil-Insurgency and Terrorism

pjmunson
07-18-2009, 01:55 PM
Visited Half-Price Books and got Wallerstein's "World-Systems Analysis." Wonder how much his ideas will interact with the Bobbitt thesis on where the world is heading.

Also got Lawrence's "Invisible Nation" about the Kurds with the Kurdish elections around the corner.

Valin
07-18-2009, 02:14 PM
In the process of reading
Global Jihadism: Theory and Practice
Jarret M. Brachman

Very Very Good.

Kevin23
07-19-2009, 07:55 PM
A Savage War of Peace by Allister Horne

The Gamble by Tom Ricks(I've already read Fiasco)

The Accidental Guerrilla by David Kilcullen

Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World by Rupert Smith

I'm also planning on reading the Savage Wars of Peace by Max Boot and War Made New also by Max Boot.

Cavguy
07-20-2009, 03:34 AM
Read three books last week:

The Singularity is Near (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143037889?ie=UTF8&tag=crb0tamzu-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0143037889) by Ray Kurzweil - truly eye opening, disconcerting vision of the future. Premise is that by 2045 we will essentially merge with machines to a transcendent future. Sounds far out, but the case is very logical. Was a TX Hammes recommendation. Also check out the website (http://singularity.com), a movie version (along the lines of An Inconvenient Truth) is coming out this year. It is a 1000 page book, but you can get the meat of the case in chapter 1, the rest is justification/backup for the provocative thesis. Or wait for the movie.

The Principles of War in the Information Age (http://www.amazon.com/Principles-War-Information-Age/dp/0891417133/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248060622&sr=1-1) by Bob Leonhard. A good, thought provoking read arguing the traditional principles are obsolete.

Centurion (http://www.amazon.com/Centurion-Eagle-Simon-Scarrow/dp/0755348362/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248060666&sr=1-6)by Simon Scarrow. A light fiction about a Roman legion fighting the Parthians.

Tukhachevskii
08-01-2009, 12:26 AM
I'm re-reading the following:

Carl Schmitt, The Concept of the Political. A work which, to quote Nietzsche, counts as a timely untimely meditation. I am surprised that strategists do not read it if only for its clear emphasis on the necessity and meaning of disntinguishing between friend and enemy.

John Buchan, Greenmantle. A work of fiction which, IMO, contains more words of wisdom than will be found in your average, bog standard, academic tome. Set during WWI it revolves around the fortunes of a group of British intelligence officers and their attempt to thwart German plans in the Ottoman Empire. Along the way one gets the best disection of the Middle Eastern mentality and the Mind of Islam you're likely to find; 'No one knows what will set off a jihad!'. Much of it may be politically incorrect but that simply adds to its truth value.

Hegel, The Philosophy of Right (especially section 445)

Shimon Naveh, In Pursuit of Military Excellence: The Evolution of Operational Theory. I first read this during my undergraduate studies and, like most fresh faced and easily impressed layabouts, was bowled over by his verbose and self-important proclamations. Though still a valuable study of the development and conceptual foundations of Soviet/Russian deep operations theory (if anything this is its saving grace) I am not surprised that the IDF found his recent theory of SOD (Systematic Operational Design) so hard to digest that they spat it out in favour of a more traditional emphasis on "actual" military art in their recent Gaza campaign which paid dividends.

Klugzilla
08-01-2009, 03:05 AM
Blowtorch Bob Komer's Organization and Management of the "New Model" Pacification Program -- 1966-1969 (http://www.rand.org/pubs/documents/2006/D20104.pdf). Komer's RAND analysis of pacification organization and management in SVN.

U.S. Army Special Warfare: Its Origins by Alfred Paddock. An analysis of attempted to cope with special warfare after WWII. So far it appears in many ways to be a history of SWCS.

William F. Owen
08-01-2009, 07:41 AM
John Buchan, Greenmantle. A work of fiction which, IMO, contains more words of wisdom than will be found in your average, bog standard, academic tome.
Concur. It's orld Class fiction. It's excellent. My other favourite in this vein is Rogue Male (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rogue-Crime-Masterworks-Geoffrey-Household/dp/075285139X).


Shimon Naveh, In Pursuit of Military Excellence: The Evolution of Operational Theory. I first read this during my undergraduate studies and, like most fresh faced and easily impressed layabouts, was bowled over by his verbose and self-important proclamations. Though still a valuable study of the development and conceptual foundations of Soviet/Russian deep operations theory (if anything this is its saving grace) I am not surprised that the IDF found his recent theory of SOD (Systematic Operational Design) so hard to digest that they spat it out in favour of a more traditional emphasis on "actual" military art in their recent Gaza campaign which paid dividends.
Sorry, but IMO, this book is garbage. He gets it all wrong. He doesn't seem to understand the dissonance between "Deep Battle" theory and actual practice. Big ideas, with little else to support them. All the big ideas fall over when faced with actual operational conditions.
Naveh also plays very fast and loose with the historical record.
Read Nikolas Zetterling rebuttal of Naveh if you can find it. I have a copy, if you PM me your e-mail.

Red Rat
08-01-2009, 10:37 PM
Concur. It's orld Class fiction. It's excellent. My other favourite in this vein is Rogue Male (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rogue-Crime-Masterworks-Geoffrey-Household/dp/075285139X).


Sorry, but IMO, this book is garbage. He gets it all wrong. He doesn't seem to understand the dissonance between "Deep Battle" theory and actual practice. Big ideas, with little else to support them. All the big ideas fall over when faced with actual operational conditions.
Naveh also plays very fast and loose with the historical record.
Read Nikolas Zetterling rebuttal of Naveh if you can find it. I have a copy, if you PM me your e-mail.

Glad it is not just me that is finding it somewhat verbose! Looks like I could do with the Zetterling rebuttal as well.

Also on the reading list at the moment:


Gretchen Peters - Seeds of Terror A look at the heroin/Taliban nexus

History of European Morals by William Lecky - something I should have probably read as an undergraduate...

41 Years in India by Field Marshal Roberts

and


The Big katie Morag Storybook by Mairi Hedderwick - at the behest of my 4 year old daughter who has her priorities very clear and generally sets mine! :D

REMF
08-02-2009, 07:04 PM
On the reading list at the moment:
Just finished The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Wars/conflict being the least predictable of things right after women :D, it's rewarding reading and a good addition to any perspective of conflict.
Baghdad at Sunrise by P.R. Mansoor. I've been recommended this one, but I've heard mixed reviews. Is it any good?
War Comes to Long An by Jeffrey Rice.
Modern Warfare by Roger Trinquier.

Tukhachevskii
08-03-2009, 08:39 PM
Some thoughts on Shimon Naveh’s In Pursuit of Military Excellence that I thought I’d share with you. In many places in his turgid tome Naveh claims that the Soviet Army came up with something approximating what scientists would call a universal or general covering law (i.e, Hempel) regarding operational manoeuvre which formed the foundation of Deep Operations Theory. To prove this Naveh often approvingly cites or paraphrases from the Red Army Field Regulations of 1936;

“By employing the universal combination of the linear holding group and a columnar shock group and an appropriate organisation of troops and resource s for combat the Red Army managed to create both the right synergy and the proper conditions for executing a coherent manoeuvre” (my italics, p. 172-3 but cf. pp. 187-9, 190, 218-9, 224-26) .

Yet for all his “research” Naveh ignores or is ignorant of facts which upset his theoretical edifice. If the Soviet Army did indeed develop a theory of Deep Operations which, in terms of the relationship between a linear front and the operational depth, as the example above purports, came to represent something approaching the fundamental truths of operational art then why did the Red Army Field Regulations of 1944 (which is not cited by Naveh in the text or bibliography) state the following in no uncertain terms;

“The concept of “striking and holding forces” as a part of combat formations which existed in the previous Polevoy Ustav (the 1936 Regulations venerated by Naveh) confused command personnel and led to inaction of so-called “holding forces in combat [!]. This Polevoy Ustav abolishes the division of a combat formation into a striking and a holding force, but it requires the concentration of main effort on the axis of the main attack and a determined attack by lesser forces on the axis of secondary attack” (my italics, p. 5)

Thus, the theoretical tents expounded by Naveh were never actually adhered to by the Red Army and were promptly abandoned in 1943 during which time the 1944 regulations were being revised. For all of Naveh’s linguistic acrobatics it appears the supposedly pristine theory of Deep Operations (in the above respects at least) never existed outside Naveh’s own head. As D. M. Glantz explained in Soviet Military Operational Art, which Naveh cites but evidently never read, Deep Operations “theory” was actually a set of assumptions which were in constant evolution (p.12). The Red Army constantly went back and forth over their experiences in an attempt to ascertain which facets of the “theory” were applicable and which, like the above, could be jettisoned (at any given time). Relying on the 1936 Regulations to prove that the Red Army had discovered the timeless “laws “ of operational art is sheer nonsense given they themselves had the good sense to ditch much of what they had initially assumed correct. Funny that.

Tukhachevskii
08-03-2009, 08:41 PM
On a different note I have recently downloaded a number of works which I shall soon be tackling with gusto. I got them free from www.archive.org.

J. H. Breasted, The Battle of Kadesh

C. E. Callwell, Military Operations and Maritime Preponderance

Moltke, Moltke’s Military Correspondence, 1870-71

C. von der Goltz, The Nation in Arms

F. A. Bayerlin, Jena or Sedan? (think Tolstoy’s War and Peace)

U.S . War Department, A Survey of German Tactics, 1918

Prince Kraft zu Hohenlohe Ingelfingen, Letters on Infantry (1889)

F. N. Maude, Military Letters and Essays

A.J. Tonybee, The Murderous Tyranny of the Turks
A.J. Tonybee, Turkey and the Western Question

goesh
08-04-2009, 12:06 PM
Crazy Horse: Strange Man of the Oglalas by Marie Sandoz

William F. Owen
08-04-2009, 01:43 PM
“The concept of “striking and holding forces” as a part of combat formations which existed in the previous Polevoy Ustav (the 1936 Regulations venerated by Naveh) confused command personnel and led to inaction of so-called “holding forces in combat [!]. This Polevoy Ustav abolishes the division of a combat formation into a striking and a holding force, but it requires the concentration of main effort on the axis of the main attack and a determined attack by lesser forces on the axis of secondary attack” (my italics, p. 5)
... or even that the very reason PU-44 was written is stated that PU-36 "Has become obsolete!! - and "requires thorough revision."

A constant feature of Naveh is stating that sources says "X" when in fact, if studied in detail, it does not. I recently discovered Naveh was very influenced by Simpkin ("Pursuit" is actually dedicated to Simpkin) and I think Simpkin has a nasty habit of ascribing qualities and insights to Soviet thinking that simply did not exist. I think Naveh continues this, in the belief that in by doing so, he is doing something useful. I submit he is wrong.

selil
08-05-2009, 03:08 PM
For the fun of it I'm reading "The complete book of running" James F. Fixx

Rifleman
08-05-2009, 07:56 PM
For the fun of it I'm reading "The complete book of running" James F. Fixx

Read it in high school 25 years ago.

Captivating read at the time. In hindsight, it seems Fixx ran too much for his own good; seemed to be doing it for the endorphin rush, not health.

Shame he dropped dead doing something that he preached for health. There's only so much you can do with a genetic issue.

Schmedlap
08-15-2009, 05:56 AM
I just bought a paperback copy of Ghost Wars by Steve Coll. I'm not sure of what the consensus opinion is of this book or the author's work in general. But I figured it would be interesting to read a book that discusses Afghanistan up to 9/10/01.

bourbon
08-15-2009, 04:25 PM
I just bought a paperback copy of Ghost Wars by Steve Coll. I'm not sure of what the consensus opinion is of this book or the author's work in general. But I figured it would be interesting to read a book that discusses Afghanistan up to 9/10/01.

Coll won the Pulitzer prize for Ghost Wars. I thought it was very good and have yet to read or hear anything negative about the book. He's a sharp guy, and a great foreign correspondent. I recently purchased a copy of his 1994 On The Grand Trunk Road: A Journey into South Asia; so far, so good.

He runs a solid blog at The New Yorker called Think Tank (http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/stevecoll/) covering national security issues; he's got SWJ on his blogroll so he cant be that bad a guy.

ODB
08-22-2009, 05:40 AM
Just started, will post thoughts upon completion......

Zack
08-22-2009, 06:11 AM
Just finished "The Coming Anarchy" by Robert Kaplan, and "Hezbollah" by Norton. Kaplan's book was very interesting to be sure. Now working on Waltz's "Man, the State, and War" as well as Asimov's "Foundation."

Jedburgh
08-23-2009, 12:56 PM
Just finished "The Coming Anarchy" by Robert Kaplan, and "Hezbollah" by Norton....
Norton's Hezbollah is a good read, but I recommend it be preceded by the book he wrote twenty years earlier, Amal and the Shi'a (http://www.amazon.com/Amal-ShiA-Struggle-Lebanon-Modern/dp/0292730403). Although not intended as a set, they read well that way, and the first provides useful context for the second.

Mack
08-23-2009, 03:00 PM
Well, as of now... my macroeconomics textbook (I have an exam in a couple days).

But I'm hoping to finish The Accidental Guerrilla and The Strongest Tribe before September.

Once all that is said and done, I'll begin research on my M.A. thesis and will do so by asking a big question (e.g. exactly what is security? - any book recommendations that addresses this question would be much appreciated) and work my way from there to a more specific question (e.g. how can "the state" co-exist with social organizations that provide for their own security?). Should be a good intellectual romp.

Zack
08-23-2009, 07:51 PM
Norton's Hezbollah is a good read, but I recommend it be preceded by the book he wrote twenty years earlier, Amal and the Shi'a (http://www.amazon.com/Amal-ShiA-Struggle-Lebanon-Modern/dp/0292730403). Although not intended as a set, they read well that way, and the first provides useful context for the second.

Cool, I will check that out. Thanks

Tukhachevskii
08-23-2009, 09:57 PM
exactly what is security? - any book recommendations that addresses this question would be much appreciated) .

When I was in your position a few years ago the following books really helped me and they contain very comprehensive bibliographies for further research:

Barry Buzan et al, Security: A New Framework for Analysis
Barry Buzan, People, States and Fear, 2nd Ed.
Ken Booth (Ed.), Critical Security Studies and World Politics (2005)
R. D. Lipshutz (Ed), On Security (1995)
K. Krause & M. C. Williams (Eds.), Critical Security Studies: Concepts and Cases

Hope thats useful

Bill Jakola
08-24-2009, 12:52 AM
In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan
by Seth G. Jones

http://www.amazon.com/Graveyard-Empires-Americas-War-Afghanistan/dp/0393068986

I just finished the history of the recent 2001-2009 events in Afghanistan. I fonund nothin new here. Seth Jones captures this history in a cogent text totally consistent with what most everyone already knows.

His most useful concept is an explanation of the enemy as a hybrid and complex organism composed of many disperate parts from Taliban and al Qaeda to corrupt qovernment officials and drug traffickers, common crimials to tribal leaders to foreign national interests. Mr. Jones' characterization of the enemy as composed of many parts is helpful in understanding the problems we face in this region; however, he provides no solutions or even potentials for future success.

In this regard, Mr. Jones only provides an overview of recent events without greater context or long term history. I found it helpful as a single source reference, but encourage those interested in Afghanistan to complement it with other works like the "The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East" by Robert Fisk. Althought, Mr. Fisk is mostly appoligetic for all Western nations' action in the Middle East, he does provide a different perspective.

pjmunson
08-24-2009, 01:49 AM
I'd hope Fisk provided more historical context as he took over 1000 pages to do it.

Mack
08-24-2009, 01:50 AM
Security: A New Framework for Analysis[/I]
Barry Buzan, People, States and Fear, 2nd Ed.
Ken Booth (Ed.), Critical Security Studies and World Politics (2005)
R. D. Lipshutz (Ed), On Security (1995)
K. Krause & M. C. Williams (Eds.), Critical Security Studies: Concepts and Cases

Hope thats useful

Thanks Tukhachevskii.
I've posted those sources in my "Things to Read Sooner Than Later" list. Much appreciated!

OpsIntel
08-24-2009, 08:35 PM
Guys,

Finishing Warfare 2.0 on the heels of The Utility of Force (Smith). Preceeded by Hunting Insurgency and Counterinsurgency Leadership Targets (Turbiville) and for some historical flavor A Scratch of the Pen.

Anyone looking at today's and tomorrow's engagements would be well served by reading the first two. They provide interesting context for discussions of the nuts-and-bolts of warfare.

Jedburgh
08-24-2009, 09:49 PM
Guys,

Finishing Warfare 2.0 on the heels of The Utility of Force (Smith). Preceeded by Hunting Insurgency and Counterinsurgency Leadership Targets (Turbiville) and for some historical flavor A Scratch of the Pen.

Anyone looking at today's and tomorrow's engagements would be well served by reading the first two. They provide interesting context for discussions of the nuts-and-bolts of warfare.
Turbeville's Hunting Leadership Targets in Counterinsurgency and Counterterrorist Operations: Selected Perspectives and Experience (https://jsoupublic.socom.mil/publications/jsou/JSOU07-6turbivilleHuntingLeadershipTargets_final.pdf) can be downloaded in full at the JSOU pubs website from the 2007 selections.

There is also a thread on HVTs/Political Assassination (http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/showthread.php?t=4025) in the Global Issues and Threats section of the Council.

patmc
08-25-2009, 12:21 AM
Taking a break from non-fiction to maintain sanity and refresh my brain. It has put me in a very good mood. I have a stack of non-fiction waiting though.

Finished:
"Legion" by William Peter Blatty, sequel to The Exorcist. Murder/cop mystery continuing the story of the first, years later. Not that scary, but interesting ideas and questions.
"The Haunting of Hill House" inspiration for several movies of same/similar name. A little dated, but scary without ever actually showing anything. Evil ending too.
"Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card. Military/political themes, but still sci-fi fun.

Next up, Asimov's "Foundation."

Polarbear1605
08-25-2009, 03:41 PM
I just finished two interesting books, Warrior King by LTC Sassaman and Drowning in the Desert by Capt Gembara. The signifiance of the two books is that they reflect the author's view of their experience during a combat tour in Iraq that first year of occupation after our invasion. Both authors are members of the same Brigade, Sassaman is the commander of the 1-8 Infrantry Battalion and Gembara is the SJA at the brigade headquarters. Sassaman would receive a career ending letter of reprimand for a incident involving one of his platoon sergeants and Gembara, as the SJA, worked on the prosecutors case against the same sergeant. In my mind, Sassaman's book reflects what happens when the general officers could not come up with a strategy for those initial years of the occupation. Left to find his own solutions to the problem, LTC Sassaman uses his initiative to establish one of the most aggressive and successful programs within his brigade and division. The Gembara book supports this success and confirms that Sassaman is a "Warrior King". What I find interesting about the two books is that Sassaman is the combat commander fighting a rising insurgence using the rules of war. Gembara sees the same incidents through the eyes of a lawyer using the rules of law as the filter. These two views clash when in a operation conducted by one of Sassaman's company's a number of insurgents are captured and two enemy are killed. Gembara applying the rules of law sees it as a cover up for a war crime. Laws of War or Rules of Laws; which should you follow in a counter insurgency?

jmm99
08-25-2009, 04:56 PM
Great White One,


Laws of War or Rules of Laws; which should you follow in a counter insurgency?

It depends ! :D

Jedburgh
08-25-2009, 06:15 PM
I just finished two interesting books, Warrior King by LTC Sassaman and Drowning in the Desert by Capt Gembara. The signifiance of the two books is that they reflect the author's view of their experience during a combat tour in Iraq that first year of occupation after our invasion. Both authors are members of the same Brigade, Sassaman is the commander of the 1-8 Infrantry Battalion and Gembara is the SJA at the brigade headquarters. Sassaman would receive a career ending letter of reprimand for a incident involving one of his platoon sergeants and Gembara, as the SJA, worked on the prosecutors case against the same sergeant. In my mind, Sassaman's book reflects what happens when the general officers could not come up with a strategy for those initial years of the occupation. Left to find his own solutions to the problem, LTC Sassaman uses his initiative to establish one of the most aggressive and successful programs within his brigade and division. The Gembara book supports this success and confirms that Sassaman is a "Warrior King". What I find interesting about the two books is that Sassaman is the combat commander fighting a rising insurgence using the rules of war. Gembara sees the same incidents through the eyes of a lawyer using the rules of law as the filter. These two views clash when in a operation conducted by one of Sassaman's company's a number of insurgents are captured and two enemy are killed. Gembara applying the rules of law sees it as a cover up for a war crime. Laws of War or Rules of Laws; which should you follow in a counter insurgency?
There is a fairly lengthy discussion thread (http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/showthread.php?t=5496) on the board focused on Sassaman and his book.

Polarbear1605
08-25-2009, 07:03 PM
Jmm99 says - It depends !
Ah Ha! and that is my point. I am glad we are starting to finally think alike. :wry:

Jedburgh - Thanks for the heads up on the Sassaman discussion thread. I have read about half of it and will continue tonight. Sorry I missed that one! I may comment later just to see if I can break those previous heart-rate records that it set ;)

HumanCOGRachel
08-28-2009, 06:53 PM
I am reading Commanding Heights, an interesting collection of strategic thoughts on complex operations just published in July of 2009 by the Center for Complex Operations (NDU).

I especially like the notes from Gen Barno on the importance of establishing face-to-face trusted advisory relationships, and the importance of working closely with Foreign Service officers as a partner in the counterinsurgency effort since I've heard the same again and again from the DOS perspective.

I'm not through it yet... but there are some goodies:
Bremmer, Chiarelli, Nash, and others authored sections...

Cheers,
Rachel

Van
09-10-2009, 07:50 AM
Patriot Pirates: The Privateer War for Freedom and Fortune in the American Revolution (http://www.amazon.com/Patriot-Pirates-Vintage-Robert-Patton/dp/0307390551/) by Robert H. Patton.

-Definately not the highschool mythology of the Revolution; much discussion of the economic factors behind the insurgency.
-Maritime insurgency is a neglected historical field, and this is a great in depth study.
-Great attention to the strategic, operational, and tactical issues of insurgency, especially when privateers are involved.

I could see basing an overview of COIN for sailors on this one, as it addresses COIN holistically, but with a clear nautical flavor. I'm not quite done yet, but it is worth taking a little extra time and is very enjoyable.

Van

Zack
09-10-2009, 07:56 AM
Just finished "Man, the State, and War" by Waltz and am now reading Mearsheimer's "The Tragedy of Great Power Politics" and Robert Pape's "Bombing to Win." Hooray for IR theory eh?

Zack
09-10-2009, 07:59 AM
Taking a break from non-fiction to maintain sanity and refresh my brain. It has put me in a very good mood. I have a stack of non-fiction waiting though.

Finished:
"Legion" by William Peter Blatty, sequel to The Exorcist. Murder/cop mystery continuing the story of the first, years later. Not that scary, but interesting ideas and questions.
"The Haunting of Hill House" inspiration for several movies of same/similar name. A little dated, but scary without ever actually showing anything. Evil ending too.
"Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card. Military/political themes, but still sci-fi fun.

Next up, Asimov's "Foundation."

Foundation is awesome. I just read it about two weeks ago.

J Wolfsberger
09-10-2009, 11:39 AM
I'm currently working my way through System Analysis, Design and Development by Charles S. Wasson. Anyone who's looking at a duty assignment in TRADOC or AMC ( or their counterparts in other services) might want to look into it.

Granite_State
09-10-2009, 03:21 PM
Patriot Pirates: The Privateer War for Freedom and Fortune in the American Revolution (http://www.amazon.com/Patriot-Pirates-Vintage-Robert-Patton/dp/0307390551/) by Robert H. Patton.

-Definately not the highschool mythology of the Revolution; much discussion of the economic factors behind the insurgency.
-Maritime insurgency is a neglected historical field, and this is a great in depth study.
-Great attention to the strategic, operational, and tactical issues of insurgency, especially when privateers are involved.

I could see basing an overview of COIN for sailors on this one, as it addresses COIN holistically, but with a clear nautical flavor. I'm not quite done yet, but it is worth taking a little extra time and is very enjoyable.

Van

Glad to hear it. I've got the hard cover on my floor, really looking forward to reading it, especially because my home town (Portsmouth, NH) pops up more than once in the index.

jkm_101_fso
09-10-2009, 06:27 PM
Just finished The Unforgiving Minute. I appreciated Mullaney's honesty and Candor; not only regarding combat, but also his personal life.

I've started Lone Survivor...having trouble trudging through the first 50 pages. I think Luttrel makes some statements that some could consider partisan, which I don't like. But it's his book...

zenpundit
09-19-2009, 08:20 PM
The Culture of War (http://www.amazon.com/Culture-War-Martin-van-Creveld/dp/0345505409) by Martin van Creveld

Intelligence and How to Get It: Why Schools and Cultures Count (http://www.amazon.com/Intelligence-How-Get-Schools-Cultures/dp/0393065057/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253391355&sr=1-1)by Richard Nisbett

The Gallic Wars (http://www.amazon.com/Gallic-Wars-Caesars-Account-Conquest/dp/1934941425/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253391432&sr=1-1) by Julius Caesar

Reading the last one on Kindle, which I recommend highly for convenience for any books you do not need a copy of on your shelf.

Zack
09-19-2009, 08:25 PM
The Culture of War (http://www.amazon.com/Culture-War-Martin-van-Creveld/dp/0345505409) by Martin van Creveld

Intelligence and How to Get It: Why Schools and Cultures Count (http://www.amazon.com/Intelligence-How-Get-Schools-Cultures/dp/0393065057/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253391355&sr=1-1)by Richard Nisbett

The Gallic Wars (http://www.amazon.com/Gallic-Wars-Caesars-Account-Conquest/dp/1934941425/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253391432&sr=1-1) by Julius Caesar

Reading the last one on Kindle, which I recommend highly for convenience for any books you do not need a copy of on your shelf.

Oh cool Zenpundit posts here. Love your blog. How is the Intelligence book so far? I read the hyper-long review essay you posted, and I am looking forward to reading it.

I am also now reading Great Powers, America and the World After Bush as well as Warden's the Air Campaign.

zenpundit
09-20-2009, 09:40 PM
Hi Zack,

The Nisbett book is very good. While he's an academic this book was much edited for the layman interested in human intelligence, psychology, learning and educational systems. He's doing a lot of meta-analysis of psychometric studies on how heritable intelligence actually is vs. responsive to educational intervention or environment ( diet, parenting, illness etc.) Very up to date - strongly recommend it.

slapout9
09-24-2009, 02:54 PM
Strategy MCDP 1-1 from the SWJ Library. Cain't believe I missed this. Practical very practical......might have to give up M.O.M.:D:D


http://smallwarsjournal.com/documents/mcdp1-1.pdf

jmm99
09-24-2009, 04:32 PM
None of us are perfect. :D

You might consider these as well for an all-levels of warfare tutorial as seen by the Corps:

MCDP 1-2: Campaigning

MCDP 1-3: Tactics

MCDP 3: Expeditionary Operations

I expect you also know MCDP 1: Warfighting, which is the capstone.

I like the writing style of these USMC pubs - not quite Hemingway, but easy to read.

slapout9
09-24-2009, 04:38 PM
None of us are perfect. :D

You might consider these as well for an all-levels of warfare tutorial as seen by the Corps:

MCDP 1-2: Campaigning

MCDP 1-3: Tactics

MCDP 3: Expeditionary Operations

I expect you also know MCDP 1: Warfighting, which is the capstone.

I like the writing style of these USMC pubs - not quite Hemingway, but easy to read.

I have, I just assumed the USMC Strategy model followed the Army,what is that saying about assume:D.

slapout9
09-26-2009, 03:06 PM
The Maneuver Warfare Handbook by Bill Lind. Finally found a paperback copy for $14.95 instead of the 50 bucks for a hard copy. I always wanted to see what the controversy was over this document. I always try to get the original documents to see if the author really said or meant what people say he said or meant.:wry: So we shall see.

William F. Owen
09-26-2009, 03:49 PM
Hamely's "Operations of War," the 1909 edition. Well worth it if you can find a copy. Google Books has it here (http://books.google.com/books?id=MbTzrcRjUf4C&pg=PA439&dq=Hamley+%22Operations+of+War%22#v=onepage&q=&f=false)

Cavguy
09-26-2009, 06:57 PM
Just returned from a week in the UK for a conference. Read three good books on the plane.

Resolved to finally read Nate Fick's One Bullet Away (http://www.amazon.com/One-Bullet-Away-Making-Officer/dp/0618773436/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253991125&sr=1-1) and Craig Mullaney's The Unforgiving Minute (http://www.amazon.com/Unforgiving-Minute-Soldiers-Education/dp/1594202028/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253991174&sr=1-1). Both are similar in a number of ways - smart, articulate, idealist young men become officers, head to combat, and find themselves conflicted by the experiences it imparts upon them. Of the two, I enjoyed Fick's much better (also added some perspective to my earlier read of "Generation Kill") but both were good narratives. Fick's ability to articulate not only what happened but eloquently describe his feelings and reactions to it set his work far above Mullaney's. I found myself identifying with Fick quite a bit.

I remain disappointed that both of the above got out of the military, essentially because (they don't say it directly, but read between the lines), they didn't see their intelligence and insight would be appreciated inside the system if they stayed. Both officers found themselves too reflective and bothered by their experience which contrasted with most of their peers. I think they are not as alone as they perhaps thought they were. However, both had lucrative post-military options drawing them out given their education.

I finally read council member Tom Odom's Journey Into Darkness (http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Into-Darkness-Genocide-University/dp/158544457X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253991055&sr=8-4). Excellent, excellent read, and heartbreakingly frustrating. A book that should be read more widely than perhaps it is. Tom, I'm going to have to email you after I digest it some more. My hat's off to you and Stan.

Niel

MikeF
09-26-2009, 08:09 PM
Just returned from a week in the UK for a conference. Read three good books on the plane.

Resolved to finally read Nate Fick's One Bullet Away (http://www.amazon.com/One-Bullet-Away-Making-Officer/dp/0618773436/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253991125&sr=1-1) and Craig Mullaney's The Unforgiving Minute (http://www.amazon.com/Unforgiving-Minute-Soldiers-Education/dp/1594202028/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253991174&sr=1-1). Both are similar in a number of ways - smart, articulate, idealist young men become officers, head to combat, and find themselves conflicted by the experiences it imparts upon them. Of the two, I enjoyed Fick's much better (also added some perspective to my earlier read of "Generation Kill") but both were good narratives. Fick's ability to articulate not only what happened but eloquently describe his feelings and reactions to it set his work far above Mullaney's. I found myself identifying with Fick quite a bit.

I remain disappointed that both of the above got out of the military, essentially because (they don't say it directly, but read between the lines), they didn't see their intelligence and insight would be appreciated inside the system if they stayed. Both officers found themselves too reflective and bothered by their experience which contrasted with most of their peers. I think they are not as alone as they perhaps thought they were. However, both had lucrative post-military options drawing them out given their education.

I finally read council member Tom Odom's Journey Into Darkness (http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Into-Darkness-Genocide-University/dp/158544457X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253991055&sr=8-4). Excellent, excellent read, and heartbreakingly frustrating. A book that should be read more widely than perhaps it is. Tom, I'm going to have to email you after I digest it some more. My hat's off to you and Stan.

Niel

Niel,

I concur. A memoir from MAJ Fick or Mullaney after company command time would have been much more impressive. Oh well. On their behalf, they did a good job of describing our life to the public given their limited experiences.

I'm gonna order Tom's book now :D.

v/r

Mike

Spud
09-27-2009, 03:18 AM
Resolved to finally read Nate Fick's One Bullet Away (http://www.amazon.com/One-Bullet-Away-Making-Officer/dp/0618773436/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253991125&sr=1-1)

Just finished it today after having read Gen Kill a couple of years ago ... my thoughts on Nate Fick are exactly the same as yours.

Interestingly I picked up a H/C from a second hand store without looking too closely. Whoever the clown was who had it before me treated it like a text book and highlighted/annotated the text all the way through. .. I hate people that do that to books. What concerns me is some of the conclusions “Mel” draws. Linkages to Ataturk? Every section in which the moral decision conflicted with the tactical/operational decision is highlighted with random annotations like " War is a bitter fruit; a devil's egg, born by devilish politicians and high Government officials."

Thanks "Mel" :rolleyes:

Tom Odom
09-30-2009, 03:34 PM
On the professional side, I just finished Foot Soldier: A Combat Infantryman's War in Europe (http://www.amazon.com/Foot-Soldier-Combat-Infantrymans-Europe/dp/0306810905) By Roscoe C. Blunt, Jr.

The book lives up to its name and that of its author; it is a blunt account of the infantry war immediately after Cobra (the breakout) until the crossing of the Rhine and surrender. The book is not without its issues; look at the reviews on the Amazon page linked above. Some of Blunt's stories seem far fetched; single handed combat against a King Tiger is but one example. There are others. As a memoir it is entertaining. As a historical account I have my doubts. Paul Bunyan and his blue ox Babe are also part of history.

I tentatively recommend it to all as a sample memoir; I got to read it as it showed up in a care package. You will, of course, have to decide for yourself.

On the lighter but entertaining and informative side, I am nearing the end of my Richard Sharpe (Sharpe's Rifles) reading festival. I have but 2 books and 2 short stories left to read out of the 25 books. The Peninsular Wars as put forth in the series are interesting and relevant to today's never-ending discussion of warfare. I have two more of the command group on them as well.

Best
Tom

Van
10-04-2009, 12:49 AM
Tyl Ulenspiegel (http://www.amazon.com/Glorious-Adventures-Ulenspiegel-Flanders-Elsewhere/dp/1596054247) By Charles de Coster (also found on Google Books for free).

Not an obvious choice, but a bit of fantasy fulfillment about the Spanish abuses of Flanders in the Sixteenth century, and a Flemish peasant who pushed back. Being of Dutch/Belgian (Flemish; the family name used to be van Koert until we got to Ellis Island) descent, I am seeing where my sense of humor came from. But more seriously, themes of religious conflict, a heavy-handed foreign occupier, and the oppressed population pushing back make this relevant to the COIN theme.

Graycap
10-04-2009, 08:08 AM
I'm also reading Tom Odom's "Journey into darkness".

Great book.

I'm at the Ntarama church. I've paused to reason about it. If possible.

Thanks Sir for your book.

Graycap

davidbfpo
10-04-2009, 10:07 AM
Tom,


On the lighter but entertaining and informative side, I am nearing the end of my Richard Sharpe (Sharpe's Rifles) reading festival. I have but 2 books and 2 short stories left to read out of the 25 books. The Peninsular Wars as put forth in the series are interesting and relevant to today's never-ending discussion of warfare. I have two more of the command group on them as well.

I have a way of passing this comment to the author. I am sure he'd be impressed. Now, do you want the agency for sales in your AO?

davidbfpo

Tom Odom
10-04-2009, 10:43 AM
I'm also reading Tom Odom's "Journey into darkness".

Great book.

I'm at the Ntarama church. I've paused to reason about it. If possible.

Thanks Sir for your book.

Graycap

Graycap

Thank you for that.

Best regards,
Tom

Tom Odom
10-04-2009, 10:45 AM
Tom,



I have a way of passing this comment to the author. I am sure he'd be impressed. Now, do you want the agency for sales in your AO?

davidbfpo

David,

Please do. And tell him that Sharpe and SGM Harper must march again!

Best
Tom

davidbfpo
10-08-2009, 02:32 PM
A slight furore - when the comments are read - over what books to read if you're going out to Afghanistan: http://www.cnas.org/blogs/abumuqawama/2009/10/three-books-afghanistan.html#comments

Some are familiar, others are for deeper reading.

davidbfpo

Spud
10-09-2009, 12:01 AM
Just capped of The Logic of Failure by Dietrich Dorner as part of the reading for the complex planning elective I'm currently doing.

Still not sure what to take away from all his research. It's either:

a) No matter how good your efforts are now, the unintended consequences of your intervention/action in 10 years will probably make the situation worse anyway; or
b) People are incapable of recognising impending failure when it is staring them in the face; or
c) Both of the above.

I think we're doomed :eek:

Ken White
10-09-2009, 02:25 AM
I came to that conclusion years ago. Solution: drink more, worry less -- and I'm still here...:D

Though I have watched a number of the great and good (in their own minds) who told us we were inept, rapacious, depraved, greedy and so forth who also ate right, avoided the minor vices etc. depart this mortal coil. :wry:

Zack
10-09-2009, 03:37 AM
Sounds like an interesting book I will have to check it out.

I'm now reading Plato's Republic (don't know how I avoided it for this long) and Wilson's Ghost by McNamara and James Blight.

karaka
10-09-2009, 04:17 AM
I'm now reading Plato's Republic (don't know how I avoided it for this long)

There were several years where I read that book annually. It's wonderful, I hope you enjoy it.

Zack
10-09-2009, 05:36 AM
There were several years where I read that book annually. It's wonderful, I hope you enjoy it.

I love it so far. Socrates is hilarious.

karaka
10-09-2009, 06:40 AM
Heh, I think more people would get tricked into philsophy if they knew that all the arguments and logic and thinking were actually just a vehicle for very dry wit.

Rifleman
10-12-2009, 10:22 PM
I just started his "Diary of the American War: A Hessian Journal". Given my interest in American frontier history and rifles, I don't know how I missed Ewald until now.

Ewald' diary, plus his works "Treatise on Partisan Warfare" and "A Treatise on the Duties of Light Troops," are said tho have influenced British Rifle Officers Sir John Moore and Colonel Coote-Manningham.

His treatises are next on my list after his diary.

Tom Odom
10-13-2009, 06:34 AM
I just started his "Diary of the American War: A Hessian Journal". Given my interest in American frontier history and rifles, I don't know how I missed Ewald until now.

Ewald' diary, plus his works "Treatise on Partisan Warfare" and "A Treatise on the Duties of Light Troops," are said tho have influenced British Rifle Officers Sir John Moore and Colonel Coote-Manningham.

His treatises are next on my list after his diary.

The Sharpe's Rifles Series was written just for you, mate!

Rifleman
10-13-2009, 01:48 PM
The Sharpe's Rifles Series was written just for you, mate!

I've probably read half of them! :) They're not bad when I'm in the mood for fiction.

I'm finding this Hessian Jaeger diary interesting at the moment though. I've discovered something from North American frontier history that I was only vaguely familiar with.

Taiko
10-14-2009, 07:28 AM
'The New Counterinsurgency Era: Transforming the U.S Military for Modern Wars' by David Ucko

'In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan' by Seth Jones

'The American Culture of War' by Adrian Lewis

'Studying Public Policy: Policy Cycles and Policy Subsystems' by Michael Howlett and M. Ramesh

'Enemies of Intelligence: Knowledge and Power in American National Security' by Richard Betts

'A Choice of Enemies: America Confronts the Middle Easts' by Lawrence Freedman

Strategic Theory is anything but dull and to think I get paid a scholarship to do this :D

OfTheTroops
10-16-2009, 02:11 AM
War of the Flea by Robert Taber
The Savage Wars of Peace by Max Boot
The Ayatollah Begs To Differ by Hooman Majd
Hella Nation(audio) By Evan Wright

Van
10-16-2009, 02:41 AM
LTC (ret) Jim Channon's "First Earth Battalion (http://www.amazon.com/1st-earth-battalion-Jim-Channon/dp/B0006Y9X6W/)" also can be found here (http://ejmas.com/jnc/jncart_channon_0200.htm). I feel like I'd fail urinalysis just for reading this. He was decades ahead of his time in places and a complete flake. If you can get past the New Age stuff, he bandies about some ideas that were way ahead of the time (1979).

Kind of like Heinlein; Heinlein envisioned cellphones, waterbeds, teleoperated manipulators, robotic housecleaning devices like the Roomba, and others, but the flying cars, common space travel, and his vision of computers were way off.

Zack
10-16-2009, 02:49 AM
War of the Flea by Robert Taber
The Savage Wars of Peace by Max Boot
The Ayatollah Begs To Differ by Hooman Majd
Hella Nation(audio) By Evan Wright

I will probably finish War of the Flea tonight (thought it was pretty good) and just picked up Max Boot's "War Made New." Anybody read the latter?

AnalyticType
10-17-2009, 05:48 AM
On the fiction side I recently inhaled Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, and Daniel Levine's The Last Ember (which was great right up until the end, where it got to be a bit too much).

On the nonfiction side of things, I'm concurrently reading The Sling and The Stone by Hammes and Kilcullen's The Accidental Guerrilla. :D

Next on the stack are Brave New War by John Robb, and a more in-depth re-read of Maurice's Strategikon.

Tukhachevskii
10-17-2009, 07:10 PM
I have begun reading Conrad Black's biography of Richard Nixon (IMO one of America's great and under-rated presidents) as well as D. M. Glantz's The Seige of Leningrad: 900 Days of Terror. Although I have rated Glantz' work very highly in the past it has often had the character and feel of direct translations of Soviet works rather than reflecting his own critical appraisal of events. I am happy to say that Leningrad features more of his own opinion as well as the usually high standard of scholarship. I am thinking about purchasing Clash of Titans next.

carl
10-17-2009, 11:11 PM
I just started his "Diary of the American War: A Hessian Journal". Given my interest in American frontier history and rifles, I don't know how I missed Ewald until now.

Ewald' diary, plus his works "Treatise on Partisan Warfare" and "A Treatise on the Duties of Light Troops," are said tho have influenced British Rifle Officers Sir John Moore and Colonel Coote-Manningham.

His treatises are next on my list after his diary.

All of these are available for free at the Online Library of the American Revolution in the South (approximate title) along with dozens and dozens of other things. Link below.

http://lib.jrshelby.com/

Tom Odom
10-18-2009, 06:26 AM
Since I am in an Anglophile trend with the Sharpe's series, I started Carlo D'Este's Warlord on Churchill.

Also reading Bernard Cornwell's small auto-biographical essay on how and why Sharpe came to be.

The parallel role of parents (or lack of) is startling

Tom

davidbfpo
10-18-2009, 10:46 AM
Rifleman and Tom,

You'd enjoy 'Fusiliers: How the British Army lost America but learned to fight' by Mark Urban (Pub. 2007 hardback and 2008 paperback).

My copy has a cover quote 'Superb. An inspiring account' Bernard Cornwell.
Enough said.

I did mention this book before, so apologies if aware already.

davidbfpo

Tom Odom
10-18-2009, 12:16 PM
Fusiliers: The Saga of a British Redcoat Regiment in the American Revolution (http://www.amazon.com/Fusiliers-British-Regiment-American-Revolution/dp/0802716881/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255867903&sr=1-3)(Paperback) by Mark Urban (Author)

Is this the book, David? I could not find one that matched your title exactly

Tom

M-A Lagrange
10-18-2009, 01:45 PM
I just re read the Nomos of the Earth by Carl Schmitt. Not easy reading but amazing.

davidbfpo
10-18-2009, 09:50 PM
Is this the book, David? I could not find one that matched your title exactly

Tom

Yes, sorry I didn't check Amazon etc for variations.

david

pjmunson
10-19-2009, 05:02 AM
Anyone have a recommendation for a book on complex adaptive systems or systems/complexity theory that is worth reading? I'm looking for something that will be helpful for applying as a frame of reference/analysis, rather than getting into the nuts and bolts of how to really set up the mathematical/modeling sort of analysis that this can get into.

On a reading note, just (finally) finished Rashid's "Descent into Chaos" and found it relatively informative and useful, although I did skim over a lot of his details. Picking Sheehan's "Bright and Shining Lie" back up to finish off the parts I haven't read once and for all. I think it is an excellent and topical book.

Corto
10-19-2009, 09:39 AM
I'm currently reading "Military Orientalism" by Patrick Porter. I'm barely halfway through the introduction but it seems to be a study of how culture informs strategy- and especially how Western militaries misread, or purposely choose to ignore the realities of fighting a non-European/American opponent. Familiar stuff to this crowd I'm afraid. I bought it because it's part of a series along with "The Accidental Guerilla".

I also just finished "Afghanistan And the Troubled Future of Unconventional Warfare" by Hy S. Rothstein.

Here's a review of that book I posted elsewhere:


"This deceptively slim volume by Hy Rothstein (former career Special Forces officer and current Senior Lecturer at the Naval Postgraduate School ) is part diatribe and part lament about military policy in relation to the prosecution of the war in Afghanistan and the implementation of Army Special Forces.

Using Organizational Theory, Rothstein delineates the missteps taken by conventionally minded war planners with narrow parochial interests who shaped America's role and conduct in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2006. Keep in mind, that this book is written specifically about the Rumsfeld-era. The rest of the book is devoted to an explanation of what Special Forces were originally intended to be (a Foreign Internal Defense/ oriented organization) rather than a unit designed or dedicated to "hyper-conventional" direct action "Ranger style" missions. He carefully describes the "Delta-envy" felt by the Army Special Forces community and how it has resulted in a diminished unconventional warfare capacity.

Ultimately he argues for a more population-centric, politically-aware grand strategy in low intensity warfighting. Additionally he argues for a separate service for Special Forces so its leadership can have a seat at the policymaking table instead of relying on Army/JCS leadership to present alternatives to conventional warfare as possible solutions for all problems that potentially require military force. "

wm
10-19-2009, 10:20 AM
Yes, sorry I didn't check Amazon etc for variations.

david

What I found most interesting in Urban's book was the discussion on the fact that the British Army of the 18th and early 19th Century kept forgetting what it had learrned about "small wars" and underwent a debate similar to the current debate in the US Army about what kind of force structure to maintain.

The more things change . . .

Tom Odom
10-19-2009, 11:52 AM
What I found most interesting in Urban's book was the discussion on the fact that the British Army of the 18th and early 19th Century kept forgetting what it had learrned about "small wars" and underwent a debate similar to the current debate in the US Army about what kind of force structure to maintain.

The more things change . . .

No doubt because they wanted to get back to fighting "real" wars :wry:

davidbfpo
10-19-2009, 01:50 PM
No doubt because they wanted to get back to fighting "real" wars.

I am not a military historian but after 1815 (Battle of Waterloo mainly) the British Army (which then did not include the Imperial Indian Army) did not fight a "real" war till the Crimean War 1853-56, which was in alliance with France, Turkey and part of Italy. Then there was a long gap till 1914. Post-1945 there has only been one year when the Britsih Army was not on active operations.

Just a point.

davidbfpo

Tom Odom
10-19-2009, 03:20 PM
I am not a military historian but after 1815 (Battle of Waterloo mainly) the British Army (which then did not include the Imperial Indian Army) did not fight a "real" war till the Crimean War 1853-56, which was in alliance with France, Turkey and part of Italy. Then there was a long gap till 1914. Post-1945 there has only been one year when the Britsih Army was not on active operations.

Just a point.

davidbfpo

Understand. Point was that many armies discount or completely ignore relevant experience until someone else remainds them none too gently. No issues with the long stretch of colonial brush wars with one exception. The 2nd Boer had many of the elements of the Great War to come.

As a historian and a lessons learned guy, I have come to believe that militaries don't really learn until blood is spilled. A lesson not paid for is not a lesson--it's that "history stuff". I actually had that one tossed at me by a flag officer several years ago regarding convoys and convoy security TTPs.

That is why--and I know Wilf will appreciate this one--it is inevitable and often necessary to cloak the old in the new so folks will listen.

Best
Tom

Rifleman
10-19-2009, 07:11 PM
What about the Boer War did the British not consider a "real" war? They were certainly on the receiving end of some "real" marksmanship!

Off topic, but pity the U.S. didn't adopt the 7x57 Mauser. It would have been a far better choice than the .30-40 Krag and, I hate to admit it, the .30-06 Springfield too.

wm
10-19-2009, 07:30 PM
As a historian and a lessons learned guy, I have come to believe that militaries don't really learn until blood is spilled. A lesson not paid for is not a lesson--it's that "history stuff". I actually had that one tossed at me by a flag officer several years ago regarding convoys and convoy security TTPs.

That is why--and I know Wilf will appreciate this one--it is inevitable and often necessary to cloak the old in the new so folks will listen.

Best
Tom
I think that a lot of lessons are learned and carried forward, but it is a cult of personality thing. For example, Sir Garnet Wlsey had his ring, which was able to apply lessons learneduntil its members died, passed out of service, or passed out of favor (as happened to Redvers Buller in that second--or maybe third if you count the Zulu War--"small war" in South Africa). The US Army has had its "rings" as well. I'm sure we could all recount and reminsice about those "rings" at our leisure. The point is that I think Armies (and hierarchical organizations in general) tend to apply only those things that the current leadership values. The German Army learned what to avoid from WWI in the interwar years, but, after France 1940, I submit quickly "forgot" those important lessons when the Fuhrer through the OKW marginalized von Brauchitsch and the OKH to put his personal leadership stamp on the conduct of the ground war.

tequila
10-19-2009, 07:34 PM
What about the Boer War did the British not consider a "real" war? They were certainly on the receiving end of some "real" marksmanship!

A similar tendency would be the opinion of many U.S. Army and Marine officers that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan do not count as "real war", despite the fact that the two combined undoubtedly stretched U.S. ground forces near the breaking point.

Ken White
10-19-2009, 09:52 PM
...the two combined undoubtedly stretched U.S. ground forces near the breaking point.that the stretching occurred over a long period to a small US Force as opposed to a 'real war' shooting past the breaking point of elements of a larger force in a very short period of time.

It's all about intensity. To discount the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as not 'real wars' is foolish and incorrect and in some cases is stupid as its predicated on the fact the opponent is not 'first class' -- that's stupid because they can kill you just as dead as can a better trained and equipped foe...:mad:

To say neither war is high intensity combat against a peer or near peer competitor is true and is saying a quite different thing. One Corps or even one Division taking the KIA toll for Afghanistan from 2001 to date in one day is a whole different kind of war; the Bulge in Europe, 1944-45 saw over 16K KIA in a little over a month. Not long after that, Iwo Jima saw over 6K KIA in about the same amount of time.

Tom Odom
10-20-2009, 06:03 AM
What about the Boer War did the British not consider a "real" war? They were certainly on the receiving end of some "real" marksmanship!

Off topic, but pity the U.S. didn't adopt the 7x57 Mauser. It would have been a far better choice than the .30-40 Krag and, I hate to admit it, the .30-06 Springfield too.

Look at the first year and a half of the war and you will see. The commanders considered the Boers illterate peasants--peasants yes, illiterate no--who would fold at the first whiff of gunpowder. Even Churchill who actually saw the threat felt compelled to point out the Brits were going to need twice as many troops. He was proved wrong. They started around 100K and Winnie said 200k. War ended with 400K.

Boers used superior rifles with absolute mastery of the ground--Spion Kop is a classic on the risks of occupying high but not the highest ground. They also fought from dug in positions that resisted artillery.

Other lesson was railroads are marvelous for supplies and disastrous for tactical flexibility. The Brits were tied to the rails and the Boers could raid at will. Breaking the cycle lead to population control at its worst: the concentration camp.

I like the 7x57; I have a CZ 550 full stock in that caliber. But I still prefer my 1903 in 30-06.

Tom

William F. Owen
10-20-2009, 06:37 AM
That is why--and I know Wilf will appreciate this one--it is inevitable and often necessary to cloak the old in the new so folks will listen.


Sadly very true, and which is why Military Thought has really got to become the formalised study of the past to gain knowledge and skills to apply to the future.

We say we do it.... but we do not.

karaka
10-20-2009, 08:30 PM
Peter Mansoor's "Baghdad at Sunrise" or Dexter Filkin's "The Forever War": which should I pick up next?

Fuchs
10-20-2009, 08:59 PM
Sadly very true, and which is why Military Thought has really got to become the formalised study of the past to gain knowledge and skills to apply to the future.

We say we do it.... but we do not.

That's good for catching up to the benchmark - where we should already be, but aren't.

The world is nevertheless changing and it requires new balances and new ideas as well. The innovative thought is important to address that.
It's not enough to adopt old innovations, ideas and insights.

patmc
10-21-2009, 04:00 AM
I have both on the shelf, but have only read Filkin's book so far. That said, it is a deep and emotional read. The book is stories and observations from his travels during The Long War. Some really exciting and sad stuff, definitely a must read.


Peter Mansoor's "Baghdad at Sunrise" or Dexter Filkin's "The Forever War": which should I pick up next?

tequila
10-21-2009, 01:09 PM
Clan Politics and Regime Transition in Central Asia (http://www.amazon.com/Clan-Politics-Regime-Transition-Central/dp/0521839505).

Feeding my poli-sci side. Not the most involving read, but a good way to refocus on the importance of informal networks and power relations after focusing on state-level relations for so long.

Zack
10-28-2009, 05:24 PM
Now reading After Hegemony, Nagel's the Sling and the Stone, and Xenophon's Anabasis

Zack
10-28-2009, 05:26 PM
Clan Politics and Regime Transition in Central Asia (http://www.amazon.com/Clan-Politics-Regime-Transition-Central/dp/0521839505).

Feeding my poli-sci side. Not the most involving read, but a good way to refocus on the importance of informal networks and power relations after focusing on state-level relations for so long.

You dirty dirty realist.

Cap'nJake
10-28-2009, 07:22 PM
Am finishing up William Manchester's bio of MacArthur (American Caesar).
MacArthur's actions in post-war Japan are ripe for what can be done WRT nation-building.

Sadly, the "global network" makes things too interconnected today to allow an individual that level of autonomy; nor is any entity (nation, military, criminal enterprise, economic aid, diplomatic resolve, etc.) able to be that decisive.

davidbfpo
10-28-2009, 08:38 PM
Sadly, the "global network" makes things too interconnected today to allow an individual that level of autonomy; nor is any entity (nation, military, criminal enterprise, economic aid, diplomatic resolve, etc.) able to be that decisive.

Cap'n Jake,

I think you are wrong it is possible for an individual to be decisive. The US retired General Jacques "Joe" Klein led a remarkable UN mission in Eastern Slavonia, a Serb rebel enclave in Croatia, which was re-integrated with robust action: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Transitional_Authority_for_Eastern_ Slavonia,_Baranja_and_Western_Sirmium

IIRC he was backed by "interested parties", with a UN mandate, which both Croatia and local parties had to accept and a robust Jordanian Army battallion which gave him "muscle".

Cannot recall other UN missions which had such a figure and mission.

davidbfpo

Eden
10-29-2009, 02:49 PM
I just finished Tommy Franks' American Soldier. Did anybody else's BS alarm go off constantly as they read this?

carl
10-29-2009, 07:33 PM
Peter Mansoor's "Baghdad at Sunrise" or Dexter Filkin's "The Forever War": which should I pick up next?

I have Filkin's and have read Mansoor's. "Baghdad" is a great book, well written, interesting and from a civilian's point of view, it opened up a whole new world about how an effective brigade did things in unconventional and relatively conventional roles.

MikeF
11-02-2009, 08:18 PM
Doing a little 'light' reading on some topics outside of small wars. All three are philosophical in nature but explore science, religion, and capitalism in very definitive ways.

1. Why does E=MC^2 by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw

2. A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

3. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Next up is Tom and Stan's most excellent adventure. It was on back order at Border's, but the assistant was well aware of the author:D.

Mike

Zack
11-02-2009, 08:24 PM
Doing a little 'light' reading on some topics outside of small wars. All three are philosophical in nature but explore science, religion, and capitalism in very definitive ways.

1. Why does E=MC^2 by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw

2. A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

3. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Next up is Tom and Stan's most excellent adventure. It was on back order at Border's, but the assistant was well aware of the author:D.

Mike

Ayn is a bit of a crazy person, but can (sometimes) be fun to read nonetheless. The recent book of her Q&As was particularly interesting to me. You should check it out if you are interested in some of her philosophy.

MikeF
11-02-2009, 08:28 PM
Ayn is a bit of a crazy person, but can (sometimes) be fun to read nonetheless. The recent book of her Q&As was particularly interesting to me. You should check it out if you are interested in some of her philosophy.

I haven't started atlas shrugged yet. I want to read it b/c it has profoundly impacted many of our current heads of business and politics. From a short biography that I read about her, she seems to write her philosophies to justify her own lifestyle- similar to Immanuel Kant. We'll see. The other two books are really good. Cox and Forshaw have written a prose book to explain modern physics to laymen like me :D.

Zack
11-02-2009, 08:41 PM
I haven't started atlas shrugged yet. I want to read it b/c it has profoundly impacted many of our current heads of business and politics. From a short biography that I read about her, she seems to write her philosophies to justify her own lifestyle- similar to Immanuel Kant. We'll see. The other two books are really good. Cox and Forshaw have written a prose book to explain modern physics to laymen like me :D.

I'm not really a huge fan of reading fiction for philosophy, as you often have to wade though a whole bunch of nonsense to elicit a view that in any case isn't explicitly spelled out. Her nonfiction philosophical works like Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, the Virtue of Selfishness and Capitalism the Unknown Ideal (or for a good overview her "For the New Intellectual") provide a much denser explanation for her views, and allow you to avoid reading a dreadful behemoth like Atlas Shrugged (1200 pages of bliss it is not). But if you enjoy pain, then you may well love it :D

slapout9
11-02-2009, 09:32 PM
I haven't started atlas shrugged yet. I want to read it b/c it has profoundly impacted many of our current heads of business and politics. From a short biography that I read about her, she seems to write her philosophies to justify her own lifestyle- similar to Immanuel Kant. We'll see. The other two books are really good. Cox and Forshaw have written a prose book to explain modern physics to laymen like me :D.

Mike a better Ayn Rand book for you and shorter is her collection of essays called Philosophy: Who Needs It? It starts with an address she gave to the cadets at West Point, which I posted on here (http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/showpost.php?p=14816&postcount=76) a few years back.

MikeF
11-02-2009, 09:46 PM
I'm not really a huge fan of reading fiction for philosophy, as you often have to wade though a whole bunch of nonsense to elicit a view that in any case isn't explicitly spelled out. Her nonfiction philosophical works like Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, the Virtue of Selfishness and Capitalism the Unknown Ideal (or for a good overview her "For the New Intellectual") provide a much denser explanation for her views, and allow you to avoid reading a dreadful behemoth like Atlas Shrugged (1200 pages of bliss it is not). But if you enjoy pain, then you may well love it :D

Note to self- consult the council prior to buying new books :p.

Thanks for the advice Slap/Zack.

Spud
11-04-2009, 08:10 PM
Just finished Dexter Filkin's The Forever War. Easily one of the most enjoyable books I've read this year. For a journo he does a bloody good job at describing the lunacy of half the things that happen.

davidbfpo
11-12-2009, 09:35 PM
A review by an academic expert of a book The Third Alternative: Between Authoritarianism and Surrender (by an AQ author; NT Google):http://www.carnegieendowment.org/arb/?fa=show&article=24121


The book is the latest development in what can be called a second wave of modern Islamist de-radicalization.

The new body of literature, which is composed of more than 30 books, mainly deconstructs the eight major arguments of jihadism: al-hakimmiyya (God’s exclusive right to legislate), al-riddah (apostasy, mainly of ruling regimes), al-jihad/qital (fighting) for the Islamic state, jihad al-daf‘ (defensive jihad), ahkam al-diyar (rules of conduct in the “abode of Islam” and the “abode of infidelity”), methods for sociopolitical change, the inevitability of confrontation, and the “neo-crusader” arguments.

(Concludes}Most post-jihadist literature does not take a clear stance on democracy. But accepting the “other,” moderating rhetoric and behavior, and participating in electoral politics may be the only viable options for these groups if they want to remain politically significant. In other words, if jihadism heralded the inevitability of armed confrontation, post-jihadism might well entail the inevitable acceptance of democratization.

The review author has written on Ending Jihadism: the transformation of Armed Islamist Groups:http://www.carnegieendowment.org/arb/?fa=show&article=23805

Will copy this to the 'What are you reading' thread.

davidbfpo

davidbfpo
11-12-2009, 10:52 PM
Hat tip to Steve Coll, who has written a short commentary on new writing on the Taliban:http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/stevecoll/2009/11/decoding-the-new-taliban.html I have picked one sentence:
It is an outstanding and important collection—just the sort of locally specific, openly debatable, scholarly analysis about the diverse structures and leaders of the Taliban that will be required more and more if the international community is ever to understand the insurgents and divine how to prevent a second Taliban revolution.

Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/stevecoll/2009/11/decoding-the-new-taliban.html#ixzz0WgkGhQdS

The book's website is:http://cup.columbia.edu/book/978-0-231-70112-9/decoding-the-new-taliban

davidbfpo

PS Copied to the 'What are you reading' thread.

carl
11-13-2009, 03:11 AM
I finally got around to reading the Small Wars Manual, USMC 1940 version. It is the remarkable work it was cracked up to be. I kept thinking to my self "Gee, we knew all this stuff in 1940." In parts of it, each sentence seemed to deserve an essay unto itself. The Strongest Tribe was like that too.

Now I am interested in the various small wars that caused the Manual to be written. Does anyone have recommendations beyond the two listed in the SWJ reading list-Banana Wars and With the Old Corps in Nicaragua?

TT
11-13-2009, 05:11 AM
Carl,

I would recommend Keith B. Bickel, Mars Learning: The Marine Corp’s Development of Small Wars Doctrine, 1915-1940 (2000) as possibly of interest to you. Focus's more on the institutional learning than on the 'small wars' themselves, and lessons derived from those wars, though.

TT

slapout9
11-13-2009, 01:19 PM
I finally got around to reading the Small Wars Manual, USMC 1940 version. It is the remarkable work it was cracked up to be. I kept thinking to my self "Gee, we knew all this stuff in 1940." In parts of it, each sentence seemed to deserve an essay unto itself. The Strongest Tribe was like that too.

Now I am interested in the various small wars that caused the Manual to be written. Does anyone have recommendations beyond the two listed in the SWJ reading list-Banana Wars and With the Old Corps in Nicaragua?

carl, something I wanted to pursue but don't have the time to do was trying to find the operations log books that were kept per the recomendation in the Small Wars Manual. I believe these still exist because a while back I found a link at some Marine Corps history site that kept AAR's from past operations they went back a long time. Not all were online but many were. I don't have the link anymore but it had something to do with the Marine Corps Museum site as I remember.