2nd Tranche

General Studies
Ché Guevara, Guerrilla Warfare. This too is one of those books that comes up when the subject of COIN is raised. The irony is that Ché was not a very successful "insurgent" after he left Cuba. Available online on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080...lance&n=283155
Critical Number 6 Franz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth. If you wish to understand the recent riots in France (2006) then you need to read this book. I do not offer this book as an acceptance of Fanon's views but a window inside his mindset, a mindset still very much in play in the Third World. This book makes an excellent companion to Hoffer's True Believer. Available on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080...lance&n=283155.
Critical Number 1 Eric Hoffer, The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements. Counter insurgency operations target the population. I read Hoffer's book in 1981 as a graduate student in the Middle East Area studies program at the Naval Postgraduate School. Hoffer--a self-educated longshoreman--published this book in 1951 and it remains available today. In it he examines the fanatic who seeks significance through a cause. It is as applicable today as it was when it first appeared. You cannot hope to understand an insurgency --especially an insurgency built on fanaticism--without reading this book. You can read more about Hoffer at http://www.erichoffer.net/. The True Believer is offered on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/006...lance&n=283155.
Otto Heilbrunn, Warfare in the Enemy's Rear This book centers on irregular warfare but offers insights into use of guerrilla tactics as they apply to insurgency and counter insurgency. Available online at Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...lance&n=283155
Christian Jennings, Mouthful of Rocks, Modern Adventures in the French Foreign Legion I put this one on the COIN list as a "bucket of cold water" for those that get too enamored of the Legion. I do not mean that the Legion is not a great fighting force; it is but it does have its own "religion," one acceptable to few. I met Chris Jennings in Rwanda where he was freelancing as a reporter. His description of himself in this book is quite accurate.
Available on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/074...lance&n=283155
Douglas Porch, The French Foreign Legion, A Complete History of the Legendary Fighting Force. Dr. Porch is the authority on the Legion; he is balanced and measured in his study. Available on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/006...g=UTF8&s=books
Brian Urquhart, A Life in Peace and War. In many ways, Urquhart was a primary architect of UN peacekeeping operations in the Middle East and Africa. Listed on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/039...g=UTF8&s=books