Call for Professional Reading Lists

[ericmwalters]

You can find the Marine Corps Director of Intelligence (DIRINT) Recommended Reading List for 2006 here. I'll be coordinating the 2009 revision over the next several months.

The Marine Corps Professional Military Education Reading List is here. A number of us are writing discussion guides for the works on this list--some are available under "Key Documents" in a zip format.

The U.S. Navy Reading List is here.

[Van]

Jedburgh,
Now that I've read Clark, I would not put on a 'short list' (Krizan or Richelson are on the short list). Clark is for someone who has been around a while, or has the time and wherewithal to look up everything that is not explained.

Don't get me wrong, it is worth the effort to read, and mostly I agree with him (my disagreements are mostly based on places where he seems to be having trouble making the jump from 'bureaucrat' to being the analyst he describes). The "Target-centric" concept is a fresh coat of paint on an old idea, and his vision is clearly shaped by his Air Force time, but it is a great book for someone with even a year of experience in analysis.

If you have the time to look up every single reference you don't understand, this book could be a heck of an education. For example, he cites Shannon and The Theory of Information, and Maslow's Hierarchy, but takes some liberties with both. Used as a study guide, by chasing down references like this, it would make for a super education.

Now is Clark would write a 'dummed down' version with politicians as the target audience, that would be excellent.

[jenniferro10]

I have an extensive list that is growing in the last few weeks that I would love to share, and actually host somewhere else.

[ANNEX]

hi,

i'm new to this forum, this subject and with only a little naval experience, i don't think i can add very much to the debate. also please forgive me if my terminology is off. i do read quite a bit. so here's my list if it helps.

pre-counterinsurgency-variations of it was practiced before it had a name

Seven Pillars of Wisdom- T.E. Lawrence
Cyrus the Great (Illustrated Edition)-Jacob Abbott(one of the most amazing leaders but it wasn't his conventional wars that got him 50 references in the old testament)
On War- Carl Von Clausewitz(still valid today)

colonial counterinsurgency- its good to know where we've been to know where we're going

The Pacification of Algeria- David Galula
A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962- Alistair Horne
Modern Warfare: A French View of Counterinsurgency​- Roger Trinquier
Counterinsurgen​cy Warfare: Theory and Practice- David Galula
The Australian Centenary History of Defence: Volume 7: An Atlas of Australia's Wars (v. 7)-Lieutenant-General John Coates (has battle maps of the Malaysian emergency and the peace keeping mission in East Timor that Kilcullen was a part of.)

The Conduct of Anti-terrorist Operations in Malaya aka ATOM
A Handbook on Anti-Mau Mau Operations(these republished military manuals can be ordered from Hailer Publishing-http://www.hailerpublishing.com/biglist.html)

The Art of War - Mao Tse-Tung
Guerrilla Warfare- Ernesto Che Guevara

COIN AND THE NEW GENERATION
The Army and Vietnam-Andrew F. Krepinevich Jr.
the accidental guerrilla- David Kilcullen
FM 3-24 -counterinsurgency manual- U.S Army
FM 3-07- stability operations- U.S. Army
Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam- H. R. Mcmaster
Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam-John A. Nagl and Peter J. Schoomaker
The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World-Rupert Smith
Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia-Ahmed Rashid
Baghdad at Sunrise: A Brigade Commander's War in Iraq-Peter R. Mansoor

EXTRA READING

The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World-Ronald A. Heifetz(Petraeus mentioned this in several interviews and the authors are the most respected in the field)
The Anthropology of the State: A Reader-Aradhana Sharma(Kilcullen mentioned the need to know this subject and it involves tribal cultures involved with globalization)
Rules For Radicals- Saul Alinsky( its a realistic primer for people who want to change the system)
Anything by Al Qaeda(we must know our enemy after all)
48 laws of power- Robert Greene
33 stratagies of war- Robert Greene

http://abumuqawama.blogspot.com- this website had the best reading lists, it even includes great articles from military review

[ANNEX]

also a great read is

Shake Hands with the Devil : The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda- Romeo Dallaire(this story reinforces the need for unity of command)

[John T. Fishel]

Here are a bunch of things I have used in several courses I teach. They range from classics to journalism, theory to practice, policy to tactics, etc. And, of course, I toot my own horn.

Cheers

JohnT

From my course on National Security Policy:
John T. Fishel & Max G. Manwaring, Uncomfortable Wars Revisited, OU Press, 2006 ISBN 0-8061-3711-8*

Bob Woodward, The Commanders, Simon & Schuster (Touchstone) ISBN 0-7732-3475-8
--------, Bush at War, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0-7432-0473-5
--------, Plan of Attack, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0-7432-5548-8
-------, State of Denial, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0-7432-7223-4
--------, The War Within, Simon & Schuster, ISBN – 13: 978-1-4165-5897-2
Linda Robinson, Tell Me How This Ends, Public Affairs Books, ISBN 978-1-58648-528-
3

From my course, Small Wars:
William R. Meara, Contra Cross, Naval Institute Press 2006, ISBN 1-59114-518-X

C. E. Callwell, Small Wars Publisher: University of Nebraska Press; 3rd edition (May 1996)
ISBN-10: 080326366X
ISBN-13: 978-0803263666


USMC, Small Wars Manual Publisher: University Press of the Pacific (June 30, 2005)
ISBN-10: 1410224821
ISBN-13: 978-1410224828


Thomas A. Marks
MAOIST PEOPLE'S WAR IN POST-VIETNAM ASIA Bangkok, White Lotus, 2007
ISBN: 978-974-480-106-7 (pb)

From a Capstone course on War from Ancient Times to the Present taught in 2008:
Required Titles

1. Iliad (Paperback)
by Homer (Author), Stanley Lombardo (Author), Hackett, ISBN 0-87220-352-2 pbk

2. The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories (Hardcover)
by Herodotus (Author), Robert B. Strassler (Editor), Rosalind Thomas (Introduction), Andrea L. Purvis (Translator), Touchstone

3. The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War (Paperback)
by Thucydides (Author), Robert B. Strassler (Editor), Victor Davis Hanson (Introduction), Richard Crawley (Translator), Touchstone, ISBN 0-684-82790-5 pbk

4. The Art of War (Paperback)
by Sun Tzu (Author), B. H. Liddell Hart (Foreword), Samuel B. Griffith (Translator), DaCapo, ISBN 0-306-81076-y

5. On War (Paperback)
by Carl von Clausewitz (Author), Michael Eliot Howard (Translator), Peter Paret (Translator, Princeton, ISBN 0-691-01854-5 pbk

6. Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power (Paperback)
by Victor Hanson (Author), Anchor ISBN 0-385-50052-1

7. The Art of War (Paperback)
by Niccolò Machiavelli (Author), Ellis Farneworth (Author), Da Capo, 0-306-81076-x

8. The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia (Kodansha Globe) (Paperback)
by Peter Hopkirk (Author), ISBN 1-56836-022-3


9. Ike: An American Hero (Hardcover)
by Michael Korda (Author), Harper-Collins, ISBN 0-06-075665-9

10. Stalking the Vietcong: Inside Operation Phoenix: A Personal Account (Mass Market Paperback)
by Stuart Herrington (Author), (original title: Silence Was a Weapon), Presidio, ISBN 0-345-47251-9

11. First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan (Mass Market Paperback)
by Gary Schroen (Author), Presidio, ISBN 0-89141-872-5


12. Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq (Paperback)
by Thomas E. Ricks (Author), Penguin, ISBN 1-59420-103-x

Recommended Titles

1. The Trojan War: A New History (Paperback)
by Barry Strauss (Author), Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0-7432-0441-x

2. The Battle of Salamis: The Naval Encounter that Saved Greece -- and Western Civilization [BARGAIN PRICE] (Paperback)
by Barry Strauss (Author), Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-4450-8

3. A War Like No Other: How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War (Paperback)
by Victor Hanson (Author), Random House, ISBN 1-4000-6095-8

4. The Peloponnesian War (Paperback)
by Donald Kagan (Author), Penguin, ISBN 0-670-03211-5

5. Crusade in Europe (Paperback)
by Dwight David Eisenhower (Author), Johns Hopkins, ISBN 0-8018-5668-x

6. On Strategy: A Critical Analysis of the Vietnam War (Paperback)
by Harry G. Summers (Author), Presidio, ISBN 0-89141-561-7

7. Vietnam: A History (Paperback)
by Stanley Karnow (Author), Penguin, ISBN 0 02.6547 3

8. American Soldier [BARGAIN PRICE] (Paperback)
by Tommy R. Franks (Author), Harper-Collins, ISBN 0-06-075714-0

9. Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander [BARGAIN PRICE] (Hardcover)
by Gary Berntsen (Author), Ralph Pezzullo (Author), Three Rivers Press, ISBN 0-307-35106-8


Additional books:
Max G. Manwaring, Insurgency, Terrorism, & Crime, U of Oklahoma Press, 2008

And, of course, Kilcullen.

* Required in both National Security Policy and Small Wars

[ANNEX]

that was a great list, i also like summers. although he got some stuff wrong, his observations are still of great intrest to me. his historical atlas of the vietnam war is amazing as well. heres the isbn 0-395-72223-3

also heres a link to the recommended reading for FSO-
http://search.state.gov/search?q=rea...&site=careers&
x=0&y=0

also some great reading can be found here
http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/coin/index.asp