What Are You Currently Reading? 2007

[SteveMetz]

Just finished Anthony James Joes' Urban Guerrilla Warfare. Interesting book, but he seemed to say, essentially, that urban guerillas can cause a lot of damage and headaches, but in the end are doomed to fail, as they violate too many of Mao's cherished tenets on insurgency. He even claimed, in the end, the Chechens were defeated in Grozny, because the Russians took the city.

I felt he focused too much on who won the battle instead of who won the "war" - the political dimension and context, so critical in insurgency/COIN ops, was seemingly entirely omitted. Interesting but flawed read. Short, though.

Just started Michael C. Fowler's "Amateur Soldiers, Global Wars." Has anyone read this? If so, what do you think of his arguments? In essence, he takes Hammes' 4GW concept to the extreme - really to a 5GW - in challenging the traditional concepts of political power, armed forces, and victory. It's an interesting and provocative read, so far, but is so nontraditional in its concepts and arguments that I'd be very interested in what any other SWC members have to say about it.

Also, if could be so bold, can I suggest (if only for my own benefit) that posters write a quick blurb about the books they read in addition to identifying it, so that we can get an idea of whether it is worth tracking down or not?

Matt

We need to get Tony on here if he's not already. I'm going to email him.

[SWJED]

Abu Muqawama's counterinsurgency reading list to include bare bones essentials, intermediate reading (colonial and modern), advanced reading, political Islam and Islamist violence, fiction and films can be found here. Recommended additions to the list by site visitors can be found in comments.

One that I would add is The Village by Bing West.

[MattC86]

We need to get Tony on here if he's not already. I'm going to email him.

So he can shred my probably misinformed and half-as*ed review of his book? Uh-oh.

Thanks for the link, SWJED.

Matt

[MattC86]

MattC86 - Is he referring to the First Chechen War?

He should remember that in 1996 the Chechens retook the city from the Russians in one of the most amazing examples of an insurgent force defeating a modern military that I know of. Some 3,000 Chechens infiltrated Grozny, immobilized a garrison of 11,000 or so Russians, and destroyed Russian attempts to relieve the city. The defeat brought about the negotiated settlement and ultimate Chechen victory. Certainly an outstanding example of the guerrillas' ability to "swim" in the "sea" of the population of Grozny.

Of course, the Second Chechen War showed what happens when critical political splits occur in the insurgency itself.

I'm still not up on my history with regard to the Chechen Wars. Joes was referring to the first war and talked only briefly about the second. He did describe the Chechen retaking of Grozny, but still categorized the Chechen urban insurgency as a failure, along with his other case studies. I think he thought of the battles in Grozny as less of a true urban insurgency and more of a more-or-less conventional, Hue-like urban fighting.

Matt

[SteveMetz]

So he can shred my probably misinformed and half-as*ed review of his book? Uh-oh.

Thanks for the link, SWJED.

Matt

LOL. He's pretty thick skinned. Anyone who writes has to be.

[Alex Alderson]

From my comfortable position in Wiltshire, Abu Muqawama's list hits the right notes except one. Any student of the classics, and I thought that Abu Muqawama, from my dealings with him was one, one with a refreshing radicalism, would put Bunch of Five ahead of Gangs and Countergangs. If anyone wants the distilled truth of the undispute British master, Bunch of Five has to be near anyone's bedside table - to pick up on the back cover of the Chicago Press edition of 3-24.

[tequila]

I've always been a bit suspicious of T. E. Lawrence, especially after reading David Fromkin's take on the man.

For similar readings from the insurgent's vantage point, I'd recommend Milovan Djilas' WARTIME.

Mao's On Protracted War and On Guerrilla Warfare are fine distillations of Maoist guerrilla theory.

[Paul McLeary]

I just finished Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore, and there's a lot more to young Koba's early terrorist/criminal enterprises than we had previously thought. It's a great look into how terrorism relies on simple robberies, heists and shakedowns to finance itself. He doesn't draw any larger lessons from this, but it's very nicely done.

[skiguy]

I've always been a bit suspicious of T. E. Lawrence, especially after reading David Fromkin's take on the man.

Interesting link, tequila. I find the man very intriguing. Just watched 'Lawrence of Arabia' for the first time. Great movie. Started reading 'Revolt in the Desert', but with school and all it will be a while before I finish it.

[SabreXray]

The Battered Bastards of Bastogne by George Koskimaki

Book Description
The Battered Bastards of Bastogne is the product of contributions by 530 soldiers who were on the ground or in the air over Bastogne. They lived and made this history and much of it is told in their own words.

The material contributed by these men of the 101st Airborne Division, the Armor, Tank Destroyer, Army Air Force , and others is tailored meticulously by the author and placed on the historical framework known to most students of the Battle of the Bulge.

Pieces of a nearly 60 year old jigsaw puzzle come together in this book, when memoires related by one soldier fit with those of another unit or group pursuing the battle from another nearby piece of terrain.

George Koskimaki is a noted historian of the 101st Airborne Division. His other books include D Day With The Screaming Eagles and Hell's Highway. He lives in Northville, MI.

Talk about soldiering. Modern warriors are soft compared to these guys.

[SabreXray]

Finished the BBB.

Now reading FM 3-24.

JP

[Mktennis]

I am currently reading The Guns of August. I'm really enjoying it.

[tequila]

I am currently reading The Guns of August. I'm really enjoying it.

One quibble I've had with that book, which I also enjoyed, is that it is somehow sold as a great treatise on how the Great Powers blundered into the First World War, when I found that its treatment of how the war came about was quite short and incomplete. Much better was its treatment of the initial battles and the depiction of the popular cultures in France and Belgium that led up to the war, and Tuchman's fine writing style.

[goesh]

Vedic Ecology/Practical Wisdom for Surviving the 21st Century - I'm planning a 10+ character post on Karma Yoga and shock n' awe warfare

[SteveMetz]

Vedic Ecology/Practical Wisdom for Surviving the 21st Century - I'm planning a 10+ character post on Karma Yoga and shock n' awe warfare

Is that like Zen and the Art of Waterboarding?

[goesh]

The Tao and Sensory Deprivation Tanks: the Subtle Nuance of Pax Americana - Mukasey will want to read it once I've finished the Karma Yoga monograph

[Waterman]

Christopher Hitchens's Blood, Class and Empire and God Isn't Great: How Religion Poisons Everything; Matt Simmons's Twilight in the Desert; Michael T. Klare's Blood and Oil; Scahill's Blackwater.

[Waterman]

Tuchmann was a hottie, too.

[patmc]

Finishing "American Orientalism" by Douglas Little. It was an assigned reading from a course on "Americans, Israelis, and Arabs" back in school. We only read the chapters on the peace process. I wish I had read the whole thing back then, it gives a pretty good summary of all the major US policies and interests in the Middle East since 1945.

[Xenophon]

I'm reading Britain and the Arabs by John Bagot Glubb since I can't find his Story of the Arab Legion