It must be almost two weeks since
I posted a military history reading list. I apologize for the delay. Here is a
compilation I came across by Army Col. Bob Cassidy, author of Counterinsurgency
and the Global War on Terror: Military
Culture and Irregular War. The highlight in each section denotes an
essential pick in that category. It is idiosyncratic, but so are we all. I have
read almost every book here, and I don't see a bad pick in the bunch. The only
worries I have are V.D. Hanson, who seems to me to be a bit of a blowhard (see
John Lynn's devastating critique
of his work), and the Churchill selection -- I love him, and have read almost
everything by him, but I've never been able to finish The River War.
For those who finish the list, test is on Monday.
WARRIOR
ETHOS, WAR, AND STRATEGY
GATES
OF FIRE,
STEPHEN PRESSFIELD
ONCE
AN EAGLE,
ANTON MYRER
WARRIOR
POLITICS,
ROBERT KAPLAN
PROFESSION
OF ARMS,
SIR JOHN WINTHROP HACKETT
THE
SOLDIER AND THE STATE,
SAMUEL J. HUNTINGTON
STARSHIP
TROOPERS, ROBERT HEINLEIN
THE AMERICAN WAY OF WAR, RUSSELL F. WEIGLEY
A HISTORY OF WARFARE, JOHN KEEGAN
WAR IN EUROPEAN HISTORY, MICHAEL HOWARD
ART
OF WAR,
SUN TZU
STRATEGY, B.H. LIDDELL HART
AMERICA'S
FIRST BATTLES,
CHARLES E. HELLER AND WILLIAM A. STOFT
DIPLOMACY, HENRY KISSINGER
THE SHIELD OF ACHILLES, PHILIP BOBBITT
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LONG WAR AND
COUNTERINSURGENCY
GHOST
WARS,
STEPHEN COLL
THE
LOOMING TOWER,
LAWRENCE WRIGHT
INSIDE
AL QAEDA,
ROHAN GUNARATNA
STONES
FROM BLOOD,
DOUGLAS FARAH
INSURGENTS,
TERRORISTS, AND MILITIAS, R. SHULTZ AND ANDREA DEW
WAR FOR MUSLIM MINDS, GILES KEPPEL
THE
ASSASSINS' GATE,
GEORGE PACKER
THE
CRADLE OF CONFLICT,
MICHAEL KNIGHTS
IMPERIAL
GRUNTS,
ROBERT KAPLAN
THE
SAVAGE WARS OF PEACE,
MAX BOOT
THE
SLING AND THE STONE,
THOMAS X. HAMMES
WAR
OF THE FLEA,
ROBERT TABER
WAR
IN THE SHADOWS,
ROBERT ASPREY
ON
GUERRILLA WARFARE,
MAO TSE-TUNG
AMERICA
AND GUERRILLA WARFARE,
ANTHONY JAMES JOES
THE
STRONGEST TRIBE,
BING WEST
POST-VIETNAM TO LONG
WAR
NIGHTINGALE'S
SONG,
ROBERT TIMBERG
THE PRODIGAL SOLDIERS, JAMES KITFIELD
SAVAGE PEACE, DAN BOLGER
BLACKHAWK DOWN, MARK BOWDEN
CRUSADE, RICK ATKINSON
CERTAIN VICTORY, ALEX SCALES
VIETNAM
SUMMONS OF THE TRUMPET, DAVE PALMER
FIELDS
OF FIRE,
JAMES WEBB
WE
WERE SOLDIERS ONCE, AND YOUNG, H. MOORE AND J. GALLOWAY
THE
ARMY AND VIETNAM,
ANDREW KREPINEVICH
A BRIGHT SHINING LIE, NEIL SHEEHAN
A
BETTER WAR,
LEWIS SORLEY
THE
LONG GRAY LINE,
RICK ATKINSON
AMERICAN COIN AND CONOPS DOCTRINE 1942-1976, ANDREW BIRTLE
KOREA, INDOCHINA, AND
ALGERIA
THIS
KIND OF WAR,
T.R. FEHRENBACH
THE
CENTURIONS,
JEAN LARTEGUY
STREET
WITHOUT JOY,
BERNARD FALL
THE TWO VIETNAMS, BERNARD FALL
A SAVAGE WAR OF PEACE, ALISTAIR HORNE
WORLD WARS
RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH, WILLIAM SHIRER
AN ARMY AT DAWN, RICK ATKINSON
DAY OF BATTLE, RICK ATKINSON
A BRIDGE TOO FAR, CORNELIUS RYAN
CITIZEN SOLDIERS, STEPHEN AMBROSE
HISTORY OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR, JOHN KEEGAN
DEFEAT INTO VICTORY, WILLIAM SLIM
EAGLE
AGAINST THE SUN,
RONALD SPECTER
GUNS OF AUGUST, BARBARA TUCHMAN
THE
GENERAL,
C.S. FORESTER
PHILIPPINE WAR, BOER
WAR, AND SUDAN
THE
PHILIPPINE WAR, 1899-1902, BRIAN MCCALLISTER LINN
THE
BOER WAR,
THOMAS PAKENHAM
THE RIVER WAR, WINSTON CHURCHILL
CIVIL WAR AND INDIAN
WARS
A STILLNESS AT APPOMATOX, BRUCE CATTON
BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM, JAMES MCPHERSON
FRONTIERSMEN IN BLUE, ROBERT UTLEY
FRONTIER REGULARS, ROBERT UTLEY
AMERICAN COIN AND CONOPS DOCTRINE 1865-1941, ANDREW BIRTLE
REVOLUTIONARY
WAR
THE WAR FOR AMERICA, PIERS MACKSEY
THE
WAR OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, DON
HIGGINBOTHAM
1776, DAVID MCCULLOUGH
OTHER
CARNAGE
AND CULTURE,
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON
THE MARCH OF FOLLY, BARBARA TUCHMAN
DOCTRINE
THE EVOLUTION OF US TACTICAL DOCTRINE
1946-1976,
ROBERT DOUGHTY
FM 1, THE ARMY
FM 3-0, OPERATIONS
FMI 3-24, COUNTERINSURGENCY OPERATIONS
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