Why Is The SWJ Recommended Reading List Devoid of Fiction?

[CPT Foley]

The Yacoubian Building (Arabic: عمارة يعقوبيان ʿImārat Yaʿqūbīān) by Egyptian author Alaa el-Aswany is more insightful on the appeal of the Islamic extremism than anything on the list.

[jcustis]

Why Is The SWJ Recommended Reading List Devoid of Fiction?

It doesn't have to be...just seems to have turned out that way. But now we have a recommendation for a new book. Do you have any other info to add, like a brief review or layout of the book's themes?

[Old Eagle]

Check out the "what are you reading now" thread. There is a broader inventory there.

[120mm]

I vote for he first three books of the "Ender's" series by Orson Scott Card.

Each one embodies a key element of Small Wars. The first is about leadership, the second is about cultural relevance and the third is about ethics.

Must read fiction for COIN afficianadoes.

[Van]

"The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" by Robert A. Heinlein.

An outstanding work of fiction that describes an insurgency from inception to independence, loosely based on the American Revoltion (or the Irish-German-Presbyterian Uprising for our British readers). The roles of media, communications, lethal force, cell structures, and financing are discussed intelligently.


"The Prince" by Jerry Pournelle and S.M. Stirling.

A compilation of the Falkenberg's Legion background and stories in a single volume. The last half is about an insurgency with the full range of insurgent and counter-insurgent activities.

[CPT Foley]

(From Amazon) The Yacoubian Building holds all that Egypt was and has become over the 75 years since its namesake was built on one of downtown Cairo’s main boulevards. From the pious son of the building’s doorkeeper and the raucous, impoverished squatters on its roof, via the tattered aristocrat and the gay intellectual in its apartments, to the ruthless businessman whose stores occupy its ground floor, each sharply etched character embodies a facet of modern Egypt -- where political corruption, ill-gotten wealth, and religious hypocrisy are natural allies, where the arrogance and defensiveness of the powerful find expression in the exploitation of the weak, where youthful idealism can turn quickly to extremism, and where an older, less violent vision of society may yet prevail. Alaa Al Aswany’s novel caused an unprecedented stir when it was first published in 2002 and has remained the world’s best selling novel in the Arabic language since.

About the Author
Alaa Al Aswany was born in 1957. A dentist, whose first office was in the Yacoubian Building, Al Aswany has written prolifically for Egyptian newspapers across the political spectrum on literature, politics, and social issues.

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It's flat-out disturbing, it paints the portrait of multiple sectors of Egyptian society and it's rotten to the core.

-The aspiring police candidate who turns to the mosque after he is rejected from the academy simply because his father works as a doorman

-His ex-girl friend who finally gives in and starts giving her boss what he wants, because that's the only way a woman in Egypt can hold a job outside the home

-The gay journalist living in fear the police will raid his meeting place

-"The Big Guy" aka, Mubarak, who gets a 25% cut of any significant commerce

Etc., etc.

Disturbing, but insightful.

[Culpeper]

Heart of Darkness: J. Conrad

[Tom Odom]

Heart of Darkness: J. Conrad

Excellent pick!

[William F. Owen]

All for this thread. Though there are many esteemed writers on this board, there are few novelists

...now I just have to write another one!

[Backwards Observer]

Back in the mid-seventies, an "old" Sea Dog (or he may have been a Devil Dog) noticed me reading F. Spencer Chapman's, The Jungle Is Neutral. The next time our paths crossed he handed over a copy of Robert Roth's, Sand In The Wind, "Here ya go." I never did finish Chapman's book. Go figure.

The Jungle Is Neutral

Sand In The Wind

[Umar Al-Mokhtār]

The Quiet American

Gardens of Stone

The Ugly American

Better Times Than These

The Lords of Discipline

and of course: The Great Santini

[J Wolfsberger]

By Jean Lartéguy:

Yellow Fever
The Centurions
The Praetorians

"I'd like to have two Armies -- one for display, with lovely guns, tanks, little Soldiers, staffs, distinguished and doddering Generals and dear little regimental officers, who would be deeply concerned over their General's bowel movements or their Colonel's piles; an Army that would be shown for a modest fee on every fairground in the country."

"The other would be the real one, composed entirely of young enthusiasts in camouflage uniforms, who would not be put on display but from whom impossible efforts would be demanded and to whom all sorts of tricks would be taught. That's the Army in which I should like to fight."

Jean Larteguy
French Commando/Soldier/Journalist

[ODB]

IMO Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield should be required reading for everyone in the military.

Gates of Fire

[patmc]

For general, good-time, fun Army fiction, try the "Brotherhood of War" series by WEB Griffin. Starts with "The Lieutenants" and follow a group of officers and their families through their careers. Starts in WWII and ends with Vietnam, if my memory serves me. There are a dozen or so books in the series, and this group of guys always seem to be in combat and at the forefront of any new Army trend (ie: tanks, aviation, Special Forces, helicopters, etc...). The series is very entertaining, and you really get to love the characters. Leadership and Army / military history more than any particular small wars, though Vietnam and Congo play key rolls in the later book. I read the series while deployed in Iraq, and they were a good escape. Worth the time if you have it.

For our Marine brothers, Griffin also has "The Corps" series. I got about half way through those, but got sidetracked. Focuses on pre-WW2 - WW2 Marines. Also great reads, especially if you're a WW2 buff.

[selil]

For our Marine brothers, Griffin also has "The Corps" series. I got about half way through those, but got sidetracked. Focuses on pre-WW2 - WW2 Marines. Also great reads, especially if you're a WW2 buff.

I have everything WEB Griffin ever wrote except for his behind the badge series. For some reason I don't read police fiction.

I just bought blackfoot. I don't read much military fiction beyond hammers slammers, and WEB Griffin. I did read the "Net" series by Clancy but though it has elements of military it is sideways to the topic.

[Culpeper]

The Man Eaters of Tsavo

Considered nonfiction but the colonel did embellish quite a bit to make it fiction enough and much later a great fiction movie.

BTW, did anyone recommend The Killer Angels yet?

There is also this really thick book titled, Once an Eagle.

America's fighting men have turned to Once an Eagle as a sourcebook for the military's core values since its publication at the height of the Vietnam War. The novel, following the careers of virtuous Sam Damon and opportunistic Courtney Massengale, is required reading for all members of the United States Marine Corps and frequently taught in leadership courses at West Point.

[Marble Model]

I vote for he first three books of the "Ender's" series by Orson Scott Card.

Each one embodies a key element of Small Wars. The first is about leadership, the second is about cultural relevance and the third is about ethics.

Must read fiction for COIN afficianadoes.

Agree; the Ender's series could serve as a refreshing change of pace for those that only read non-fiction warfare literature. Many parallels to leadership that could be applied in modern business or Small Wars in the first title--Ender's Game...just a great book.

[marct]

"The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" by Robert A. Heinlein.

"The Prince" by Jerry Pournelle and S.M. Stirling.

Add in the Draka series by Sterling, Starship Troopers (BOOK, not movie) by Heinlein and Count Belisarius by Robert Graves.

Of course, I also have a major weakness for Eric Flint's 1632 series, and Rob Thornton introduced me to the John Scalzi Old Man's War series which is pretty good.

[J Wolfsberger]

The Dogs of War by Frederick Forsyth

The rest of you have already mentioned most of the SciFi. Except for Dune.

[marct]

The rest of you have already mentioned most of the SciFi. Except for Dune.

Never really liked Worms in a Sandbox much . Of course, there's always the Aldenata series by John Ringo .