What Are You Currently Reading? 2008

[Old Eagle]

Picked up Rick Atkinson's The Long Gray Line at a yard sale. Since I knew/know many of the protagonists, thought it might be interesting to see how they fared under Atkinson's pen nearly 20 yrs ago.

1. The human interest I was looking for is certainly there.

2. Personalities aside, there are very interesting insights into COIN, the war in Vietnam, and how big Army dealt w/the challenges.

3. Check out the insights on force generation, troop rotations, tactics and a host of other topics.

In short, I encountered a depth of information I had not anticipated.

Word of warning -- I believe that this was RA's first major book. Full of factual or contextual hiccups. Work your way through them.

It is heartening to see that the Army has in fact learned some valuable lessons. Flip side -- you know...

[Tom Odom]

I put a review on the SWJ blog on this one.

"A Thousand Hills: Rwanda's Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed It"
Stephen Kinzer

If you want an opportunity to peer inside the mind of a brilliant practioner of small wars, this is your book. Kinzer uses extracts of Kagame's responses during 30 hours of interviews. They are fascinating.

Kagame Bio highlights:
Born in Rwanda 1957.
Driven out in 1960 during Tutsi massacres
1979 Joined Museveni's 40 man National Resistance Army with his friend Fred Rwigyema (who had already fought with Museveni against Idi Amin)
Same time frame co-founded the Rwandan Patriotic Front with Rwigyema
1986 Museveni takes control of Uganda. Rwigyema is his Army Chief of Staff; Kagame is his Director of Intelligence
1990 Kagame goes to Ft Leavenworth as a Major to cover Rwigyema's preparations to invade Rwanda with the RPF.
Oct 1990 RPF invades. Rwigyema killed in opening phase. Kagame leaves US and inflitrates Rwanda. Rebuilds RPA and in moths attacks to seize Ruhengeri
Forces acceptance of Arusha accords with old government in 1993
1994 Former President shot down on 6 April triggering genocide. War resumes.
July 1994 RPF wins war. Former milittary and hardliner Hutu government in exile. Kagame named Vice President, Defense Minister as the only Major General in the RPA.
Fall 1996 Kagame mounts operations in Zaire to clear the camps.
1997 Covert invasion of Zaire to overthow Mobutu succeeds
1998 2nd Invasion of Congo starts 2nd Congo War
1998 Kagame defeats the Hutu insurgency inside Rwanda
2000 Named President by RPF


Tom

[Van]

Not an obvious choice, but "Unholy Business" by Nina Burleigh.

How it relates to the forum; the use and misuse of archeology and history in support of political objectives, and political pressure on scholars to produce results that support the national strategy.

This one has some fairly good (not stellar) journalism, but is a lightning rod for all sorts of agendas.

[Andrew Steimer]

For MiTT
- Margaret K. Nydell "Understanding Arabs" 5th Edition
- LTC Nagle "Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife"
- wading through "Seven Pillars of Wisdom"
- rereading "The Ugly American"

[patmc]

Just finished Steve Coll's "On the Grand Trunk Road," a book about his travels through South Asia. He later wrote "Ghost Wars." Book dates to 1990's, but many of the events he discusses are still relevant and the locations are still full of conflict. His focus is mainly on India and Pakistan, but he discusses Sri Lanka at great length as well. His chapter on COIN in Sri Lanka against the Maoist guerillas is great. The Tamil Tigers were the minor players at that point. If you can find a copy, great read.

Up next, Robin Wright's Sacred Rage. Her "Dreams and Shadows" was very well done.

[Van]

Pat, "Grand Trunk Road"? the one that runs through Pakistan and North India? I have to look into that one. Ever since I read "Kim" I've wanted to take a trip down that road. Thanks for the tipper.

V

[selil]

Well that new book by Steve Metz finally shipped.

[Tom Odom]

I pulled Thomas Packenham's The Boer War off the shelf last week and started reading it again after 23 years. Published in 1979, I bought it at the Bell Hall bookstore and read it in 1985. Really interesting then considering I had just done a 6,000 mile road trip across southern Africa that included both Ladysmith and Kimberly.

Amazing reading today in the light of OIF and OEF, wrnagling over strategy, tactics, force size, and just plain old politics jump out at me as I come across the passages.

On switching rifles from the Lee Medford to the Lee Enfield, the Brits failed to adjust the sights, meaning the weapons shot 18 inches to the right at 500 yards...

Colonel Long's suicidal deployment of a battery of 12 guns on open ground within a 1000 yards of the Boer lines at Colenso...

General Hart's march of the Irish Brigade into the bottleneck of the Tugela River at Colenso even though the "loop" was obviously covered by the Boers within 400 yards on three sides.

Colonel Rawlinson a veteran of Omdurman where the Anglo_Egyptian forces has killed 15,000 Sudanese remarked after a battle at Ladysmith costing 52 Boers and 175 British dead (plus 249 wounded), remarked in his diary, "White corpses are ...far more replusive than black." Another observer remarked, "Civilized war is awful."

More later,
Tom

[Cavguy]

Just finished COL(R) Peter Mansoor's "Baghdad at Sunrise" and the final version of Bing West's "The Strongest Tribe".

I can highly recommend both - COL Mansoor's is an accurate depiction of OIF 1, the mistakes made, the unheard successes, and the problems during 2003-2004 through the first Sadr rebellion. His insights and conclusions on what the Army and nation did right and wrong in that period are solid. I'll put something more substantial together later.

Bing's book has been reviewed elsewhere, but Bing, in his slightly Marine centric view, accurately chronicles how mid and junior level officers, NCO's, and enlisted began transformation in Iraq prior to Petraeus' arrival. There are some minor errors in the text, but the narrative is largely accurate and his analysis spot on.

Bias Disclaimer: I was cross-attached with 2-37 AR from COL Mansoor's BCT in OIF 1 - under 2d ACR. After returning from OIF , he was my BCT CDR my first year in company command and later helped me land my current position at the COIN center. In Bing West's book, I was featured in the first four pages of chapter 6, regarding company ops in Tal Afar. Doesn't change my opinion of either book, but I feel obligated for truth in advertising.

[reed11b]

Just finished "The Long Road Home" by Martha Raddatz. Fantastic book, highly recommended. Currently reading "Boots on the Ground" by Karl Zinsmeister. I DO NOT recommend this book. Book seems to be more about the auther and his political views and his fan boy love affair with the 82nd. "These brave men of danger can shoot LAZER BEAMS...FROM THERE EYES!!"
LINK

[Cavguy]

Just finished "The Long Road Home" by Martha Raddatz. Fantastic book, highly recommended.

"Long Road Home" is a good read. However, I think it glosses over the decisionmaking to sending out a QRF in LMTV's into Sadr City, which no one has ever dealt with. I still don't undertstand that decision.

The book has other strengths. Like "We Were Soldiers", it also tells the story back at Ft. Hood and the struggles of the casualty notification in the age of instant messaging.

Disclaimer: I was part of 2-37 AR, and our C Company rescued the 2-5 CAV soldiers, as is well described in the book.

[bourbon]

Currently reading "Boots on the Ground" by Karl Zinsmeister. I DO NOT recommend this book. Book seems to be more about the auther and his political views and his fan boy love affair with the 82nd. "These brave men of danger can shoot LAZER BEAMS...FROM THERE EYES!!"
LINK

Oh man, that guy, real piece of work. I'm surprised you could find a copy of his book, I thought they were all in the basement of AEI:

"According to a former AEI employee, it was widely known at the think tank that "Karl was in it for Karl," and his use of the magazine to promote his own books was "sort of like a running joke." The books were shipped to Zinsmeister's home in Cazenovia and mailed to subscribers from there. Over three years,according to an e-mail David Gerson would later send to Zinsmeister after he had announced his plans to step down, AEI purchased 13,700 Zinsmeister books at a cost of $131,000. And what a gift that proved to be for Zinsmeister, as AEI's purchases wound up accounting for 45 percent of the total sales of Dawn Over Baghdad's hardcover edition--and more than half its paperback sales."

- The Enterprising American, by James Kirchick. The New Republic, Monday, May 21, 2007

[reed11b]

Oh man, that guy, real piece of work. I'm surprised you could find a copy of his book, I thought they were all in the basement of AEI:

Not surpisingly, I found it in a used book store. If I had taken the time to even read the text under the pictures I would have known to stear clear. My favorite was a referance to "The 82nd, being an elite unit, all have expensive laser pointers on there rifles. They rarely miss". The laser pointer was an AN/PAQ-4 which even my NG BCT had equiped in 2000 or earlier.
RD

[Tom Odom]

Not surpisingly, I found it in a used book store. If I had taken the time to even read the text under the pictures I would have known to stear clear. My favorite was a referance to "The 82nd, being an elite unit, all have expensive laser pointers on there rifles. They rarely miss". The laser pointer was an AN/PAQ-4 which even my NG BCT had equiped in 2000 or earlier.
RD

well being a broken body retiree and long ago member of that EELEAT unit, I have a laser pointer on my pellet rifle...

The possums approach my house at their own risk...

Tom

[Rifleman]

Currently reading "Boots on the Ground" by Karl Zinsmeister. I DO NOT recommend this book. Book seems to be more about the auther and his political views and his fan boy love affair with the 82nd. "These brave men of danger can shoot LAZER BEAMS...FROM THERE EYES!!"
LINK

You're right. It is bull. Of course, it's true for the 325, but certainly not true for the 82nd as a whole.

[patmc]

Just finished West's "The Village." Wow, all company grade officers, NCO's, and Soldiers should read that one for a perspective on sacrifice and how to win the people.

Now halfway through West's "The Strongest Tribe." Angry at all the missed opportunities and ineffective strategies. I was there for the 2005-2006 Super FOB's, and every convoy saw the realities of few boots on the ground. I have not read Rick's "Fiasco," but from the reviews I've read, West seems to share his disgust with the early management. At least "Tribe" appears to be building to some welcome positives.

[Culpeper]

Has anyone read this book? Picked it off the shelf at the library and I'm about a third of the way through it. If someone handed me this book without the cover or any information I could swear some of the ideas were stolen from the screenplay of Platoon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/031...pr_product_top

[selil]

Just finished "Black Swan" by Nassim Taleb. It was interesting book the review is located here http://selil.com/?p=438 .

Next up is a binder of journal articles on land warfare, and tactics.

[jkm_101_fso]

Just finished West's "The Village." Wow, all company grade officers, NCO's, and Soldiers should read that one for a perspective on sacrifice and how to win the people.

Now halfway through West's "The Strongest Tribe." Angry at all the missed opportunities and ineffective strategies. I was there for the 2005-2006 Super FOB's, and every convoy saw the realities of few boots on the ground. I have not read Rick's "Fiasco," but from the reviews I've read, West seems to share his disgust with the early management. At least "Tribe" appears to be building to some welcome positives.

There are, both literally and in the author's frustration, many similiarities between Fiasco and Tribe.
Both awesome books. It was amazing how many times I mumbled under my breath, "I couldn't have said it better" when reading them.

I need to read "The Village". I asked Santa for it.

[Ron Humphrey]

Just finished "Black Swan" by Nassim Taleb. It was interesting book the review is located here http://selil.com/?p=438 .

Next up is a binder of journal articles on land warfare, and tactics.

think Im gonna get a copy to read on the road