What are you reading now...?

[Badger52]

COL Shackleton's un-redacted treatise on the Village Defense Program at Buon Enao. A phenomenal piece of history, but there is a very elegant economy of word. It needs to be read.

[ScubaNinja]

After being a student of military history for many years, and from my own experiences in war it seems to me that our greatest enemies are often our own chain of command's instead the enemy we're supposed to be fighting. Thoughts, anyone... Anyways....

Currently reading Horse Soldiers about the first soldiers(who happen to be special forces) in Afghanistan. Obviously an amazing topic, but I don't like the way the book is written just yet. I think good military books should accomplish one of several things. Give good historical information, an overview of the conflict, sum-up the issue at hand, or make you feel like your there with the soldiers, this book does none of the above IMHO.

Just finished reading The Only Thing Worth Dying For by Eric Blehm, and Hero by Michael Korda. They are about the SF soldiers who fought with Hamid Karzai, and a biography of none other than TE Lawrence, respectively. Both amazing must read books for any SF or would be SF guy.

Next up is a biography on Teddy Roosevelt, then Mao Zedong's On Guerrilla Warfare. Then after I will treat myself to book 4 of Game of Thrones

[craigepo]

Just read "The Soul of Battle" by Victor Davis Hanson. In-depth look at how three generals from different time periods took armies from democratic societies and used them to conquer tyranny/slavery (Patton, Sherman, and Epaminondas).

An interesting snip from the book:
"The great danger of the present age is that democracy may never again marshal the will to march against and ultimately destroy evil. In the era of television, the image of war's brutality in our living rooms may stop the attack; the education system of the present, with its interest in self-esteem, sensitivity, and the therapeutic, may not turn out sufficiently idiosyncratic, audacious-and well-read-leaders; and instant communications may serve to bridle a mobile column at its moment of victor. But even a greater peril still in present-day democratic society is that we may simply have forgotten that there finally must be a choice between good and evil, that the real immorality is not the use of great force to inflict punishment, but, as the Greeks remind us, the failure to exercise moral authority at all. When men like Epaminondas, Sherman, and Patton go to war to stop evil and to save lives, there is a soul to their battle that lives on well after they are gone.
This tradition of democracy's mustering quickly huge armies, to be led by eccentric fighters, on a moral trek into the heart of slavery, is not the stuff of romance and it is not a fantasy from our past, but rather a rare and hallowed tradition as old as the beginning of the West itself. In the West epic marches for freedom across time and space have liberated us from our own worst enemies. Armies of liberation are the precious dividends of democracy, and we abandon the memory of Epaminondas, Sherman, and Patton and what their hoplites, Westerners, and GIs did only at our great peril."

[MtnGoat]

Reading of 3336 ill-fated 2008 mission. Great read! Easy reading.

[MR2]

Just finished Countdown: H Hour by Tom Kratman (2012). This is the third in the Countdown series of SOF Porn where the M Day Corp. conducts a hostage rescue in the Philippines during a time of continuing global economic collapse. Next stop Mexico due in 2013.

Started rereading Under Fire: An American Story by Oliver North (1991) and started listening to Service: A Navy SEAL at War by Marcus Luttrell (2012).

[MtnGoat]

This is a great book on SF during Vietnam conducting some great covet operations during Vietnam. I was looking for another book on the same topic when I found this electronic copy. I read through the book in a weekend


The Secret War Against Hanoi: The Untold Story of Spies, Saboteurs, and covert warriors in North Vietnam. By Richard H. Shultz Jr.


http://books.google.com/books?id=mGX...tput=html_text

Another great boon in this topic is Project Alpha: Washington's Secret Military Operations in North Vietnam. By Sedgwick Tourison

[afchic]

I just started reading The Amateur. Much like the movie 2016, I think this should be a must read for anyone voting in this year's election.

I have only gotten through the chapter on Valerie Jarrett and why she has such influence over the Obamas. She has been Michelle's BFFsince they worked in Mayor Daley's office. She has dinner with the family just about every night. She "reports" to the Chosen One and Michelle what the rest of the staff is doing and saying. The rest of the staff is scared shitless of her, because they know if she wants them gone, they will be gone, so they toe the line. It also talks about how the rest of the Cabinet can't stand her, and how most of them have a low opinion of Michelle.

I will be finishing it this week.

[Inflexible Six]

CHINA, A History by John Keay

Through China's ancient past to the Last Emperor. A big, fascinating, inciteful book and a foundation piece for any serious student of China and the Chinese character. Excellent maps and appendices.

[MtnGoat]

Pakistan on the Brink: The Future of America, Pakistan, and Afghanistan By: Ahmed Rashid

Pakistan is a very certain focus of this third part of the trilogy, because it is impossible to discuss Afghanistan without extensive excursions into the history of Pakistan. The focus of Rashid's two other books, "Taliban" and "Descent into Chaos" was Afghanistan focus. It was made clear in both books that the ISI, Pakistan's all-powerful intelligence service, had allowed the Afghan Taliban safe havens in Pakistan to which it could retreat after it was ousted in 2001,where it could regroup, and from where it could stage its increasingly successful comeback from 2003 till today. At least a third of the book is more of a continuation of Rashid's earlier books on Afghanistan than it is an analysis of what is wrong with Pakistan.

For me I think every leader going to Afghanistan should read all 3 these books. Great history, dialogue in subject in all 3 of these books.

[Tweeder11]

Fight Your Fear and Win by QP Don Greene. It was a great read and I feel the centering excersizes are a great mental training tool

Tweeder

[Requiem]

Currently reading, "The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science," by Norman Doidge.

Fascinating stories of people who have overcome brain disorders and brain injuries by retraining their brains. The accepted belief of the immutability of the brain is being replaced by the idea of neuroplasticity - that the brain can change itself - and the examples in this book are astounding.

S.

[craigepo]

Just finished this book. Well-documented and logical account of why the current president has acted in so many ways that seem to be contrary to the best interests of the United States.

http://www.amazon.com/Roots-Obamas-R...nesh+d%27souza

[CA_TacMedic]

Reading it for the second time....great book with some impressive insight into ODA 574.

"How eleven Green Berets Forged a New Afghanistan"

By: Eric Blehm

Wallace

[njmiller26]

The Only Thing Worth Dying For by Eric Blehm - Absolutely fantastic book. The story of ODA-574's being the first SF team in Afghanistan, linking up with Karzai, and all the efforts that led up to the fall of the Taliban and Karzai taking power. Extremely valuable lessons for a potential 18A.

In Queue:

1. Coming Back Stronger: Unleashing the Hidden Power of Adversity - The Drew Brees autobiography (To be read at SFAS)

2. Mastars of Chaos
3. Lions of Kandahar
4. Gentlemen Batards

[MR2]

Just finished two books today.

Thor, Brad - Scot Harvath 11 Black List (Armand Schultz) 64kb (2012) is a typical thriller that starts off Tommy Gun slow and switches to a MG-42 towards the end. Deals with the pervasive amount of scrutiny and intrusion into peoples personal lives - with the resulting consequences of such power being wielded by a malicious state or corporation.

Recommend that you be familiar with some of the previous Scot Harvath series and the new Athena Project novel by Brad Thor.


Owen, Mark - No Easy Day (2012) was an easy, quick read. Covers the mission to get UBL fairly well with some interesting SEAL side trips into Iraq and Afghanistan. There are obvious omissions as well as plenty of new stuff for this FOG. The only SEAL book to discuss training after BUD/S, let alone Green Team that I've seen to date. If any of it can be believed...

Recommend that you have read a book describing BUD/S before this.