T.E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, A Triumph. This book is the longer, more melodramatic, and obtuse version of Evolution of a Revolt. Available on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/038...g=UTF8&s=books
Anthony Nutting, Lawrence of Arabia. This biography of Lawrence by a career British diplomat with long experience in the Middle East was published in 1961. Listed on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/045...g=UTF8&s=books
Critical Number 12 David Fromkin, A Peace to End All Peace: Creating the Modern Middle East 1914-1922. This is the best single book on how decisions made in WWI affect us everyday today. Available on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080...g=UTF8&s=books
Kenya
Robert B. Edgerton, Mau Mau, An African Crucible. A critical history of the British COIN campaign against the Mau Mau in Kenya. Listed on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/034...lance&n=283155.
Congo
Mike Hoare, Mercenary. This is Hoare's semi-historical account of the mercenary operation in the Congo in 1964. Available on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/070...lance&n=283155
Mike Hoare, The Road to Kalamata. This is a journal of Mike Hoare's first jaunt as a mercenary in the Congo. Available on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/066...lance&n=283155
Malaysia
Noel Barber, War of the Running Dogs: Malaysia 1948-1960. Malaysia as a success compared to Palestine greatly influenced British COIN thinking. Available on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/030...g=UTF8&s=books
Viet Nam
Bob Breen, First to Fight. This book relates the ANZAC experience in Viet Nam. Listed on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/004...g=UTF8&s=books
The Francophone Experience
General
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
Algeria
Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962. This book is a classic study of the war in Algeria. Available on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159...g=UTF8&s=books
Pierre Leulliete, The War in Algeria (also published as St. Michael and the Dragon). This is a soldier's view of the war in Algeria and it is not a romanticized one. The book was seized by French authorities when it was first published. Listed on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/055...g=UTF8&s=books
Pierre Sergent, 2eme REP. In French. Sergent covers Algeria, Chad, Zaire, and Beirut. Listed on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/225...g=UTF8&s=books
Pierre Sergent, Je Ne Regrette Rien, In French. This is Pierre Sergent's bittersweet history of the 1st Parachute Brigade/Regiment of the Foreign Legion. Available at Amazon at
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/225...lance&n=283155
Critical Number 3. Roger Trinquier, Modern Warfare: A French View of Counterinsurgency. Whenever counter insurgency is discussed, some one brings up Trinquier. You cannot understand the evolution of U.S. COIN doctrine without reading Trrinquier. Available on line for reading and download at
http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resour.../trinquier.asp.
Guy Vincent, Képi Bleu: Une S.A.S, Un Autre Aspect de la Guerre D'Algerie. This book relates the experiences of a province commander, much like a provincial reconstruction team leader in Afghanistan today.
Chad
Pierre Sergent, 2eme REP. In French. Sergent covers Algeria, Chad, Zaire, and Beirut. Listed on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/225...g=UTF8&s=books
Indochina/Viet Nam
Bernard Fall, The Siege of Dien Bien Phu, Hell in a Very Small Place Dien Bien Phu was French imperialism's Waterloo. The book is available on Amazon at
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/030...lance&n=283155
Critical Number 2. Bernard Fall, Street Without Joy Fall's broader work on the Indochina- Viet Nam War from the French through 1964. I place this work so high on the list because it demonstrates that the Viet Nam War was at once an insurgency, a civil war, and a conventional war. The book is available on Amazon at
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081...lance&n=283155
Pierre Sergent, Je Ne Regrette Rien, In French. This is Pierre Sergent's bittersweet history of the 1st Parachute Brigade/Regiment of the Foreign Legion. Available at Amazon at
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/225...lance&n=283155
Congo/Zaire
Colonel Erulin, Zaire: Sauver Kolwezi. In French. Erulin commanded 2nd REP in the 1978 operation. Listed on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/286...lance&n=283155
Colonel e r Vandewalle, L'OMMENGANG, Odyssée et Reconquête de Stanleyville 1964. In French. This book is the most authoritative sources on the Belgian role in putting down the Simba Rebellion in the Congo in 1964. It can be ordered at
http://www.livres-chapitre.com/-O1UQ...ILLE-1964.html
Thomas P. Odom, Leavenworth Paper #14 Dragon Operations: Hostage Rescues in the Congo 1964-1964. "The Dragon operations in the Congo-Dragon Rouge and Dragon Noir-were the first, and in many ways the most complex, hostage rescue missions of the cold war, Aimed at securing the release of nearly 2,000 European residents taken hostage during the Simba Rebellion in 1964, American aircraft projected a Belgian airborne unit thousands of miles into the heart of Africa. The planning and execution of this mission required the operational cooperation of three nations and their military forces in order to synchronize the arrival of airborne and ground forces to assault a hostile objective. At stake- as usual, and unfortunately- were the lives of innocent men, women, and children." This study though focused on the rescue of hostages in Stanleyville in is set in a counter insurgency war. It examines the rescue in political, military, and social terms against that COIN background. You can read it on line at
http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resour.../odom/odom.asp.
Thomas P. Odom, Shaba II: The French and Belgian Military Intervention in Zaire in 1978. This study covers the Zairian, French, and Belgian military responses to the Kolwezi Hostage Crisis in 1978 as part of the larger Shaba Wars. It also delves heavily into the diplomatic and military efforts of the United States in this crisis. You may read it on line at
http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resour...dom2/odom2.asp.
Pierre Sergent, 2eme REP. In French. Sergent covers Algeria, Chad, Zaire, and Beirut. Listed on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/225...g=UTF8&s=books
Pierre Sergent, La Legion Saute Sur Kolwezi. In French. This book covers the 2nd R.E.P.'s operation in Kolwezi in 1978. Available on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/225...lance&n=283155
Lebanon
Pierre Sergent, 2eme REP. In French. Sergent covers Algeria, Chad, Zaire, and Beirut. Listed on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/225...g=UTF8&s=books
Mexico
Pierre Sergent, Camerone. In French. The Legion's campaign in Mexico and how the organization came to venerate a wooden arm. Listed on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/221...g=UTF8&s=books
Rwanda
Gérard Prunier, The Rwanda Crisis: History of a Genocide. Prunier offers a first rate analysis of the French role in the genocide. Available on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/023...g=UTF8&s=books
Bookmarks