12-18-2010, 07:28
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#616
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Georgetown, SC
Posts: 4,204
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Off Road
http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/jou.../628-thiel.pdf
This article looks at several key COIN readings and briefly discusses the emphasis of each. Most of our junior officers and NCOs are probably already tracking these books, so I think the real value of this article is the effort to articulate how the various texts may or may not relate to one another in regards to their application (theoretical vs operational) and method of implementation (B,W,T or Primary Counterinsurgent).
DOL,
Off Road
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I specifically enjoyed this part:
"Dr. Douglas A. Borer is Associate Professor and Associate Chair for Instruction in the Defense Analysis Department at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He teaches in the SOLIC and IO curricula and writes on the politics of legitimacy in war. He is a retired bear hunter from Montana. " 
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"I took a different route from most and came into Special Forces..." - Col. Nick Rowe
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ZonieDiver is offline
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12-18-2010, 17:05
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#617
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Auxiliary
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Midwest
Posts: 87
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Currently reading: The Places in Between by Rory Stewart and rereading Chosen Soldier and Get Selected (thank you Warrior-Mentor!)
Recently finished: A History of the Arab Peoples by Albert Hourani, Stones into Schools by Greg Mortenson, and Luka and The Fire of Life by Salmaan Rushdie.
Next on the list: Pity the Nation; The Abduction of Lebanon by Robert Fisk.
Always reading: Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-Arabiya... aka the bane of my existence.
I've seen a lot of great reads in this thread (I read all 42 pages), and a few head shakers as well (the politically incorrect guide to Islam comes to mind). If you're interested in Afghanistan or if you like adventure stories, The Places in Between is a great read. It gets a little bogged down at one point and becomes little more than a list of names and villages, but besides that the story is incredible. British dude showed up in Afghanistan in 2001 shortly after the Taliban fell and walked right across the middle of the country. In the middle of winter. If you want motivation for rucking: read this. If you want to get an idea of what it's like to deal with Afghan villagers who have known nothing but war their entire life: read this. If you want to develop an understanding of the tapestry of different ethnic groups and the inter and intra-village politics that dominate the middle of Afghanistan: read this. You get the idea. Next to Stones into Schools, it is the best book about getting things done and thriving as a foreigner in Afghanistan that I have encountered.
As for novels, I don't read a lot of them now, but I will read anything by Salmaan Rushdie. Midnight's Children (for adults) and Haroun and the Sea of Stories (for adults or kids) will be remembered as 2 of the greatest books written in the last half of the 20th century.
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silentreader is offline
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12-19-2010, 01:39
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#618
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Guerrilla
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Kansas
Posts: 243
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What are you reading now...?
Working on "Not a Good day to Die" by Sean Naylor.
Good read so far.
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Stingray
"In the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance, My head is bloody, but unbowed." William Ernest Henley
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Stingray is offline
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12-21-2010, 15:37
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#619
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Guerrilla Chief
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: DFW area
Posts: 861
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*
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"The difference is that back then, we had the intestinal fortitude to do what we needed to in order to preserve our territorial sovereignty and to protect the citizens of this great country, and today, we do not." TR
"I attribute the little I know to my not having been ashamed to ask for information, and to my rule of conversing with all descriptions of men on those topics that form their own peculiar professions and pursuits." John Locke
Last edited by dr. mabuse; 05-17-2011 at 22:20.
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dr. mabuse is offline
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12-21-2010, 17:28
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#620
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Guerrilla Chief
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Ft Benning
Posts: 707
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Quote:
Originally Posted by perdurabo
Shadow Factory by James Bamford
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Just finished James Bamford's latest, Shadow Factory. Great, great book that focuses on post-9/11 SIGINT.
Lots of meat to the book in terms of history, events, and places, as well as technical descriptions. Things are footnoted and bibliographed well. A bit scathing in parts in regard to Michael Hayden and the outsourcing of SIGINT to private industry.
If you're interested in this and haven't checked out his other books, do so: his first book Puzzle Palace was largely the public's introduction to the folks at Meade; his second book Body of Secrets covers a wide range of events, including pre-9/11 SIGINT.
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Had insomnia huh? Seriously though, did you really enjoy his books?
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"I see that you notice that I wear glasses. Well, it was to be. I've not only grown old and gray, I've become almost blind in the service of my country." - General George Washington
"There are times in your life you'll be required to perform an exceedingly difficult task to the best of your ability, regardless of your perceived capability. Mental toughness is what will carry the day during these times. In other words, you suck it up and do what you have to do." - Razor
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lindy is offline
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12-28-2010, 04:16
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#621
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SF Candidate
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: CA
Posts: 67
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Finished:
Operation Dark Heart by Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer
Delta Force by Charlie A. Beckwith
Robert's Ridge: A Story of Courage and Sacrifice on Takur Ghar Mountain, Afghanistan by Malcolm MacPherson
Chosen Soldier by Dick Couch
Currently reading:
Inside Delta Force by Eric L. Haney
The Guts to Try by Col. James H. Kyle
Guests of the Ayatollah by Mark Bowden
I very much enjoy this particular thread. Thank you all for the book referrals.
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“It is not the young man who misses the days he does not know. It is us, the living, who bear the pain of those missed days" -Marcus Aurelius
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Big Boss is offline
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12-28-2010, 08:23
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#622
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Midwest City, Oklahoma
Posts: 190
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"THE MAKING OF OUR WARRIOR" by Jeff Falkel, a Gold Star Father
I know there has been a couple of mentions of this book on this venue. 'Disregarless' I wanted to revive the conversation, perhaps generate some talk about this book.
I won't clutter this venue with a long drawn out review so if you would please go to my blog and check out the review I wrote. Feel free to post comments on there or in conjunction with this thread.
As many have stated already. "THE MAKING OF OUR WARRIOR" is a must read.
Thanks!
http://thenighteaglessoared.blogspot.com/
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S. B. Newman is offline
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12-28-2010, 08:39
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#623
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SF Candidate
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: FT Bragg
Posts: 22
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Currently reading JFires and The Only Thing Worth Dying For. On deck is SOG and Bringing up Boys
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The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance. -Socrates
If you find yourself alone, riding in the green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled. For you are in Elysium, and you're already dead!- Maximus
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Guntry Kong is offline
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12-28-2010, 13:08
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#624
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Asset
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: the heartland USA
Posts: 16
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Currently reading The Secret History of the Mossadby Gordon Thomas also reading - A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World by William J. Bernstein.
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Vincere vel mori
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TrueBeliever is offline
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12-28-2010, 13:21
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#625
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: NorCal
Posts: 15,370
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War Plan Orange: The US Strategy to Defeat Japan 1897-1945 by Edward S. Miller
Richard 
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“Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of (another)… There are just some kind of men who – who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.” - To Kill A Mockingbird (Atticus Finch)
“Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.” - Robert Heinlein
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Richard is offline
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12-28-2010, 14:48
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#626
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Asset
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Clarksville, Tn (Currently residing in Afghanistan)
Posts: 0
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Currently reading:
Leading with a Limp by Dan B. Allender
Up next:
The Ugly American by Eugene Burdick and William J. Lederer
(I get crap from my wife because I keep rereading this one. *lol*)
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chaosjackal is offline
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12-29-2010, 09:30
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#627
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SF Candidate
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Raeford, NC
Posts: 18
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Currently reading:
The Ugly American
The Fate of Africa
The Accidental Guerrilla.
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deepheart is offline
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12-31-2010, 12:12
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#628
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Asset
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: City of Presidents
Posts: 1
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Currently reading: Chosen Soldier
On Deck:
The Unforgiving Minute, by Craig Mullaney
If Not Now, When?, by Col. Jacobs
The Day of Battle (Italy 43-44), by. Atkinson
I was hoping for some feedback from anyone who has read any of these pieces, thank you and have a safe, prosperous 2011.
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Spmack9 is offline
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12-31-2010, 21:37
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#629
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SF Candidate
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SC
Posts: 3
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Last month:
Engaged Surrender: African American Women and Islam by Carolyn Moxley Rouse
An Enchanted Modern: Gender and Public Piety in Shi'i Lebanon by Lara Deeb
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham
Just finished The Gun by C.J. Chivers. This book should be owned. Chivers progresses through the development and evolution of modern machine gun and assault rifle technology and implementation from their earliest American visionaries. The bulk of the book focuses on the Avtomat Kalashnikova and all its dastardly variants. In addition to the history of tactical significance and progeny, Chivers addresses the social, political, and economic repercussions of a true weapon of mass destruction.
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slownugly is offline
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12-31-2010, 21:53
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#630
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Area Commander
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: USA-Germany
Posts: 1,573
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The Autobiography of Theodore Roosevelt
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"Men Wanted: for Hazardous Journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.” -Sir Ernest Shackleton
“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” –Greek proverb
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