Sam Liles
Selil Blog
Don't forget to duck Secret Squirrel
The scholarship of teaching and learning results in equal hatred from latte leftists and cappuccino conservatives.
All opinions are mine and may or may not reflect those of my employer depending on the chance it might affect funding, politics, or the setting of the sun. As such these are my opinions you can get your own.
Loyd Little wrote two novels that were particularly adept at walking between the worlds. Parthian Shot has been mentioned on the Council. In The Village Of The Man, about a somewhat burned-out CIA guy posing as a Catholic priest in Seventies Laos, is also excellent.
Loyd Little related links:
Loyd's Memories
Gia Vuc A Camp
Council related:
http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=2179
http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=1788
is also out as a movie. It had to be considerably trimmed back to make it to the screen in Egypt, but it is still pretty good and Adel Imam has a great performance as Zaki Bey.
Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series was pretty good.
While not focusing solely on the military aspects of the Late Republic (although she does go into some great deal about the Marian reforms), she does an excellent job in my opinion of detailing the campaigns of the renegade Quintus Sertorius as well as the pontic wars between King Mithridates and the Republic. The Social and Civil wars and the guerilla campaigns of the Samnites and Marsian tribes are also well done I think.
The First Man in Rome
Fortune's Favourites
Caesar's Women
Caesar
The October Horse
Good historical fiction that aims for realism as opposed to strict historical accuracy. When it comes to the minutae of wearing a toga or how to weaken the shaft of a pila though the author makes sure to get it right.
"I encounter civilians like you all the time. You believe the Empire is continually plotting to do harm. Let me tell you, your view of the Empire is far too dramatic. The Empire is a government. It keeps billions of beings fed and clothed. Day after day, year after year, on thousands of worlds people live their lives under Imperial rule without ever seeing a stormtrooper or hearing a TIE fighter scream overhead."
―Captain Thrawn
A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin (I never tire of recommending this book.)
Cross of Iron by Willie Heinrich
Goodbye to Some by Gordon Forbes (Navy patrol bombers in the SW Pacific. There was a reason they didn't drill procedures for losing an engine on takeoff.)
The Last Squadron by Gerd Gaiser (Things were pretty good for the Luftwaffe fighter squadrons until they had to try to hold back the tide coming out of Willow Run and Santa Monica.)
And Quiet Flows the Don by Sholokhov
The man-eater hunting books by Jim Corbett aren't fiction but they are great. I think it was Robert Thompson maybe who said if you want to understand what it is like to live where terrorists reign, read Jim Corbett's books.
"We fight, get beat, rise, and fight again." Gen. Nathanael Greene
I forgot to place theGrass Crown in between Fortune's Favourites and Caesar's women. It focuses almost exclusively on Sulla's administration and restructuring of the Republic during his dictatorship.
"I encounter civilians like you all the time. You believe the Empire is continually plotting to do harm. Let me tell you, your view of the Empire is far too dramatic. The Empire is a government. It keeps billions of beings fed and clothed. Day after day, year after year, on thousands of worlds people live their lives under Imperial rule without ever seeing a stormtrooper or hearing a TIE fighter scream overhead."
―Captain Thrawn
In the same vein as Pournelle's "The Prince", "1634" and anything else Drake:
THE STARFIST SERIES
http://www.amazon.com/StarFIST-David...m/MLSKSY9YW9WY
THE RAJ WHITEHALL SERIES
http://www.amazon.com/Forge-Raj-Whit...7838881&sr=8-2
"Hey, Leif?! Where'd we leave the boat?"
How about the Dune series of books by Frank Herbert? As it has good examples of leadership, the politics of waging a war in a far away land, a complicated situation both tactically and strategically, and even some COIN.
by George MacDonald Fraser -- you'll learn more...
Btw I guess many of the Tom Clancy novels are good also.
Larry Bond could also be added to the list, especially for Vortex and Red Phoenix.
Fiction is fiction and there's little to be learned from it. The more outrageous the premises of the book, the less of real benefit likely to be found. OTOH, if you read 'em for entertainment, cool.
I always liked Mccaffrey's Dragons of Pern for everything from long term societal development, conflict amongst groups, joint ops, and just plain old well developed characters with story-lines that could fit just about any third world country.
Also like a lot of Clancy and Brown but always with the caveat Ken mentioned.
Any man can destroy that which is around him, The rare man is he who can find beauty even in the darkest hours
Cogitationis poenam nemo patitur
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