Reading Lists
I've decided to copy and paste some professional (and perhaps
otherwise) reading lists here. For the most part, they'll reflect my
professional interests: military history, leadership, and intelligence.
There's also a great deal of material on the Middle East here, since
that's where military history is being made today.
Please note that this is drawn from many different sources. I
haven't made much of an effort to standardize the style across the
different lists. Books with an asterisk (*) next to them appear on more
than one list.
Right now, I'm reading Fialka's War by Other Means. I've got Clausewitz On War as a backup, and Dorril's MI6
is in my backpack as a traveling book. (I could probably choose a
lighter book to travel with.) I want to read Vandiver's biography of
Pershing soon, but it's a hard book to find.
US Army Chief of Staff's Professional Reading List -- Sublist 1 - For Cadets, Soldiers, and Junior NCOs
This list is perhaps unique on this page, in that it's the only
prescribed program of reading. The other lists are "suggested reading;"
this list is meant to be read in full.
Read
- THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES*
I have a small copy of the Constitution, courtesy of the Cato Institute.
It is most successful when it does what a Constitution does: describes
the form and function of the government. It falters when it attempts to
make a Constitutional issue out of specific legislative issues, such as
the slave trade (a necessary compromise that solved one problem but
delayed another) or Prohibition.
- CENTURIES OF SERVICE: THE U.S. ARMY 1775–2004 / DAVID W. HOGAN, JR. (CMH PUB. 70–71–1)
The Army Center of Military History
always has something interesting to read. Hogan's pamphlet describes
the Army's many missions since its creation. While Secretary of War
Elihu Root may have said the, "real object of having an Army is to
prepare for war," and the current Army emphasizes the Warrior Ethos at
every opportunity, it is clear that the Army has been performing less
glorious SASO (Stability and Support Operations) almost since its
inception. Hogan also notes that, at the time of the Korean War, the US
public was used to total victory. I think the division of Korea, as
well as the failure at Vietnam and partial success of Desert Storm,
reversed that attitude. The public now expects nothing more than
partial victory; that is why so much of the chattering class seems
obsessed with pulling out of the "quagmire" that is Iraq. It is not
defeatism; it is merely the natural inclination of a people unused to
victory, unwilling to pursue it.
- IN THE COMPANY OF HEROES / MICHAEL J. DURANT
- PATTON: A GENIUS FOR WAR / CARLO D'ESTE
Unread
- THE FACE OF BATTLE / JOHN KEEGAN *
- FOR THE COMMON DEFENSE: A MILITARY HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / ALLAN R. MILLETT AND PETER MASLOWSKI
- BAND OF BROTHERS: E COMPANY, 506TH REGIMENT, 101ST AIRBORNE FROM NORMANDY TO HITLER’S EAGLE’S NEST / STEPHEN E. AMBROSE
- WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE … AND YOUNG: IA DRANG—THE BATTLE THAT CHANGED
THE WAR IN VIETNAM / LTG (RET.) HAROLD G. MOORE AND JOSEPH L. GALLOWAY *
- IF YOU SURVIVE: FROM NORMANDY TO THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE TO THE END
OF WORLD WAR II, ONE AMERICAN OFFICER’S RIVETING TRUE STORY / GEORGE
WILSON
- TOUCHED WITH FIRE: THE LAND WAR IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC / ERIC M.BERGERUD
- CLOSING WITH THE ENEMY: HOW GIS FOUGHT THE WAR IN EUROPE, 1944–1945 / MICHAEL D. DOUBLER
Army Chief of Staff Reading List for Military Intelligence
Read
- The U.S. Intelligence Community by Jeffrey T. Richelson. Westview Press, 1999.
This is a sort of encyclopedia of the US IC.
In addition to the civilian side of the house, it covers all branches
of the military, so it's a good way for an MI soldier to familiarize
himself with the other services' assets.
Unread
- Best Truth: Intelligence in the Information Age by Bruce D. Berkowitz and Allan E. Goodman. Yale University Press, 2002.
- Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker’s War 1941-1945 by Leo Marks. Free Press, 1999.
- Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security
Agency from the Cold War Through the Dawn of a New Century by James
Bamford. Anchor Books, 2002.
- The Code Book: The Evolution of Secrecy from Mary, Queen of Scots to Quantum Cryptography by Simon Singh. Doubleday, 1999.
- Fixing Intelligence: For a More Secure America by William E. Odom. Yale Univ Press, 2003.
- Fixing the Spy Machine : Preparing American Intelligence for the
Twenty-First Century by Arthus S. Hulnick. Praeger Publishers, 1999.
- For the President's Eyes Only : Secret Intelligence and the
American Presidency from Washington to Bush by Christopher Andrew.
Perennial Press, 1996.
- Inside the CIA: Revealing Secrets of the World’s Most Powerful Spy Agency by Ronald Kessler. Pocket Star, 1992.
- MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty’s Secret Intelligence Service by Stephen Dorril. Free Press, 2002.
In Progress (7%)
- Military Intelligence Blunders by John Hughes-Wilson and Colonel John Hughes-Wilson. Carroll & Graf, 2000.
- On Intelligence: Spies and Secrecy in an Open World by Robert David Steele. OSS International Press, 2002.
- Silent Warfare: Understanding the World of Intelligence by Abram N. Shulsky and Gary James Schmitt, Brasseys, Inc., 2002.
- The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret
History of the KGB by Christopher M. Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhim. Basic
Books, 2000.
- The Warning Solution : Intelligent Analysis in the Age of Information Overload
by Kristan J. Wheaton. AFCEA International Press, 2001.
Military Intelligence Officer’s Basic Course - Middle East Reading List
Read
- ISLAM, A SHORT HISTORY, KAREN ARMSTRONG
- WHAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT ISLAM, JOHN L. ESPOSITIO
Written in a question-and-answer format, this ends up being real 101-level information, neither particularly deep nor broad, and sometimes redundant. I suppose I was hoping for, "What the Smarter-Than-Average Person Needs to Know About Islam." Still, a good intro for those needing one.
Unread
- FROM BEIRUT TO JERUSALEM, TOM FRIEDMAN
- A PEACE TO END ALL PEACE: THE FALL OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND CREATION OF THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST, DAVID FROMKIN
- WARRIORS OF THE PROPHET, MARK HUBAND
- GOD HAS 99 NAMES, JUDITH MILLER
- JERUSALEM: ONE CITY, THREE FAITHS, KAREN ARMSTRONG
- THE BATTLE FOR GOD, KAREN ARMSTRONG
- MUHAMMED, A BIOGRAPHY OF THE PROPHET, KAREN ARMSTRONG
- MUHAMMAD, MAXIME RODINSON
- JIHAD: THE TRAIL OF POLITICAL ISLAM, GILLES KEPEL
- RELIGION AND STATE: THE MUSLIM APPROACH TO POLITICS, L. CARL BROWN
- EASTWARD TO TARTARY, ROBERT KAPLAN
- THE ENDS OF THE EARTH, ROBERT KAPLAN
- THE ARABISTS: THE ROMANCE OF AN AMERICAN ELITE, ROBERT KAPLAN
- SEVEN PILLARS OF WISDOM, T.E. LAWRENCE
- ORIENTALISM, EDWARD SAID
- COVERING ISLAM, EDWARD SAID
- THE MULTIPLE IDENTITIES OF THE MIDDLE EAST, BERNARD LEWIS
- THE MIDDLE EAST, A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE LAST 2000 YEARS, BERNARD LEWIS
- WHAT WENT WRONG: WESTERN IMPACT AND MIDDLE EAST RESPONSE, BERNARD LEWIS
- THE IRON WALL: ISRAEL AND THE ARAB WORLD, AVI SHLAIM
- THE ARAB PREDICAMENT: ARAB POLITICAL THOUGHT AND PRACTICE SINCE 1967, FOUAD AJAMI
- BINT ARAB, EVELYN SHAKIR
- WATER WARS: COMING CONFLICTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST, JOHN BULLOCK AND ADEL DARWISH
- WATER IN THE MIDDLE EAST: GEOGRAPHY OF PEACE, HUSSEIN A. AMERY AND AARON WOLF
- THE MIDDLE EAST WATER QUESTION, HYDROPOLITICS, AND THE GLOBAL ECONOMY, TONY ALLAN
- RIVERS OF FIRE: THE CONFLICT OVER WATER IN THE MIDDLE EAST, ARNON SOFFER
- U.S. FOREIGN POLICY AND WATER RESOURCES IN THE MIDDLE EAST, JOYCE R. STARR (CSIS REPORT)
- OIL, GOD, AND GOLD: STORY OF ARAMCO AND THE SAUDI KINGS, ANTHONY BROWN
- THIS SIDE OF PEACE, HANAN ASHRAWI
- THE VEIL AND THE MALE ELITE: A FEMINIST INTERPRETATION OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN ISLAM, FATIMA MERNISSI
- PALESTINE AND THE ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT, CHARLES D. SMITH
- A POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE MIDDLE EAST, ALAN RICHARDS
- THE HAJ, LEON URIS
- ISLAM AND THE MYTH OF CONFRONTATION: RELIGION AND POLITICS IN THE MIDDLE EAST, FRED HALLIDAY
- A FURY FOR GOD: THE ISLAMIST ATTACK ON AMERICA, MALISE RUTHVEN
- THE MIDDLE EAST DILEMMA, MICHAEL C. HUDSON
- THE ISLAMIC THREAT, MYTH OR REALITY, JOHN L. ESPOSITO
- UNHOLY WAR—TERROR IN THE NAME OF ISLAM, JOHN L. ESPOSITO
- ISLAM: THE STRAIGHT PATH, JOHN L. ESPOSITO
- POLITICAL ISLAM—REVOLUTION, RADICALISM, OR REFORM, JOHN ESPOSITO
- UNDERSTANDING ISLAM: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE MUSLIM WORLD, THOMAS W. LIPPMAN
- AMERICA AND THE MUSLIM MIDDLE EAST, MEMOS TO A PRESIDENT, PHILLIP ZELIKO, AND ROBERT ZOELLICK
- POLITICS AND CHANGE IN THE MIDDLE EAST: SOURCES OF CONFLICT AND
ACCOMODATION, ROY R. ANDERSEN, ROBERT F. SEIBERT, AND JON G. WAGNER
- POLITICS IN THE MIDDLE EAST, JAMES A. BILL AND ROBERT SPRINGBORG
- THE LAST GREAT REVOLUTION—TURMOIL AND TRANSFORMATION IN IRAN, ROBIN WRIGHT (APPLICABLE ALSO TO A595)
- PERSIAN MIRRORS: THE ELUSIVE FACE OF IRAN, ELAINE SCIOLINO (APPLICABLE ALSO TO A595)
- PERSIAN PILGRIMAGES: JOURNEYS ACROSS IRAN, AFSHIN MOLAVI (APPLICABLE ALSO TO A595)
- ARABS, CHRISTAINS, AND JEWS: WHOSE SIDE IS GOD ON? JAMES MARTI HEFLEY
- ARAFAT, FROM DEFENDER TO DICTATOR, SAID K. ABURISH
- THE JANISSARIES, GODFREY GOODWIN
- ATATURK: A BIOGRAPHY OF MUSTAFA KEMAL, LORD KINROSS
- THE ARAB MIND, RAPHAEL PATAI
- INSIDE AL QAEDA: GLOBAL NETWORK OF TERROR, ROHAN GUNARATNA
- THE ISRAEL-ARAB READER, WALTER LAQUER AND BARRY RUBIN
- ARAB AND JEW, WOUNDED SPIRITS IN A PROMISED LAND, DAVID K. SHIPLER
- THE ARAB RADICALS, ADEED DAWISHA
- INSIDE THE MIDDLE EAST, DILIP HIRO
- AN INTRO TO ISLAM, FREDRICK M. DENNY
- THE RECKONING; IRAQ & THE LEGACY OF SADAAM HUSSEIN, SANDRA MACKEY
- A HISTORY OF THE ARAB PEOPLES, ALBERT HOURANI
- RELIGION AND THE STATE: THE MUSLIM APPROACH TO POLITICS. L. CARL BROWN
- GOD HAS NINETY NINE NAMES, JUDITH MILLER
- SACRED RAGE: THE WRATH OF MILITANT ISLAM, ROBIN WRIGHT
- MILESTONES, SAYYID QUTUB ISLAM
- REVOLUTION, RUH ALLAH KHOMEINI
- SANDCASTLES, MILTON VIORST
- THE DREAM PALACE OF THE ARABS, FOUAD AJAMI
- BAGHDAD WITHOUT A MAP AND OTHER MISADVENTURES IN ARABIA, TONY HOROWITZ
- A HISTORY OF IRAQ, CHARLES TRIPP
- REPUBLIC OF FEAR, KANANMAKIYA
- TERROR IN THE NAME OF GOD: WHY RELIGIOUS MILITANTS KILL, JESSICA STERN
USAIC Commandant’s Reading List for MI Professionals
Read
- The Art of War by Sun Tsu
I confess to being unimpressed by this. It may have been
revolutionary for its time, but now it strikes me as filled with
aphorisms that are either obvious (spies save money) or useless (the
cost of moving chariots and leather-covered wagons). Sun Tsu's
statements do not include citations to historical events, so they come
off as unproven assertions. However, given the age of the text, I
suppose it has great historical value as the first fairly rigorous
treatment of war.
- What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam by John L. Esposito
Unread
- The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization by Thomas E. Friedman
- Unleashing the Killer App by Chuka Mui & Larry Downes
- Next: The Future Just Happened by Michael Lewi
- In Athena's Camp - Preparing for Conflict in the Information Age by John Arquilla and David Ronfeldt
- Stray Voltage: War in the Information Age by BG (Ret) Wayne M. Hall
- The Age of Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil
- War and Antiwar by Alvin and Heidi Toffler
- Complexity -- The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos by M. Mitchell Waldrop
- The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukav
- Being Digital by Nicholas Negroponte
- The Social Life of Information by John Seely Brown & Paul Duguid
- Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric
- Yugoslavia - Death of a Nation by Laura Silber and Allen Little
- An Introduction to Islam by Frederick M. Denny
- The Islamic Threat: Myth Or Reality? Ibid.
- Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam. Ibid.
- A Peace to End All Peace by David Fromkin
- The Reckoning; Iraq and the Legacy of Saddam Hussein by Sandra Mackey
- On War by Carl von Clausewitz
I got to chapter five of book two and put it down. This one is a slog. I'm giving it another shot.
- The Transformation of War by Martin Van Creveld
- The New Face of War: How War Will Be Fought in the 21st Century by Bruce Berkowitz
Intelligence Literature -- General Interest and War on Terror (CIA)
I have removed reference works from these lists. They may be a valuable addition to one's bookshelf, but seem incongruous here.
Read
It's been a while since I've read Black Dispatches or Intelligence
in the War for Independence. I really should skim over them again
before saying anything about them. Notes on the U-2 Program are coming
soon. In fact, notes on all of these are coming "soon."
Unread
Congressman Ike Skelton's National Security Book List
Read
- Constitution of the United States *
- The Art of War, Sun Tzu *
Unread
- On War, Carl von Clausewitz *
- Masters of War: Classical Strategic Thought, Michael I. Handel
- The Book of War, John Keegan (ed.)
- Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: From Marathon to Waterloo, Edward Sheperd Creasy
- Alexander the Great, Peter Bamm
- Hannibal, Sir Gavin De Beer
- The Face of Battle, John Keegan *
- Crucible of War: The Seven Years War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1755, Fred Anderson
- Daniel Boone: The Life and Legend of an American Pioneer
- Washington, Richard Barksdale Harwell and Douglass Southall Freeman
- Tecumseh: A Life, John Sugden
- Undaunted Courage, Stephen Ambrose
- Napoleon Bonaparte: An Intimate Biography, Vincent Cronin
- The Military Maxims of Napoleon, translated by George C. D'Aguilar
- Nelson: A Personal History, Christopher Hibbert
- The Price of Admiralty: The Evolution of Naval Warfare, John Keegan
- The Washing of the Spears: The Rise and Fall of the Zulu Nation, Donald R. Morris
- Lee, Douglass Southall Freeman
- Personal Memoirs: Ulysses S. Grant
- Gray Ghosts of the Confederacy: Guerilla Warfare in the West, 1861-1865, Richard S. Brownlee
- Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, James M. McPherson
- Son of the Morning Star, Evan S. Connell
- A Message to Garcia, Elbert Hubbard
- Yanks: The Epic Story of the American Army in World War I, John Eisenhower
- Black Jack: The Life and Times of John J. Pershing, Frank Everson Vandiver
- Churchill: A Biography, Roy Jenkins
- A War to be Won, Allan R. Millet and Williamson Murray
- Reminisces, Douglas MacArthur
- Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, William L. Shirer
- Combined Fleet Decoded: The Secret History of American Intelligence and the Japanese Navy in World War II, John Prados
- Ghost Soldiers: The Forgotten Epic Story of World War II's Most Dramatic Mission, Hampton Sides
- Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle, Richard Frank
- The Victors: Eisenhower and His Boys: The Men of World War II, Stephen Ambrose
- Black Knights: The Story of the Tuskeegee Airmen, Lynn M. Homan and Thomas Reilly
- Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Rendezvous with Destingy, Frank Freidel
- Women in the Military: An Unfinished Revolution, Maj. Gen. Jeanne Holm, USAF, Retired
- Defeat Into Victory, William Slim
- Truman, David McCullough
- This Kind of War: The Classic Korean War History, T. R. Fehrenbach
- Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War, Robert Coram
- We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young, Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway *
- Gulf War: The Complete History, Thomas G. Houlahan
- Warrior Politics: Why Leadership Requires a Pagan Ethos, Robert D. Kaplan
- Yellow Smoke: The Future of Land Warfare for Americas Military (Role of American Military Power), MG Robert H Scales, Jr.
- The American Way of War: A History of United States Military Strategy and Policy, Russell Frank Weigley
- Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen and Leadership in Wartime, Eliot Cohen
- From Vietnam to 9/11: On the Front Lines of National Security, John P. Murtha with John Plashal
- Making the Corps, Thomas E. Ricks
My Lists
Journals
Others
Read
- Decision for Disaster: The Battle of the Bay of Pigs, Grayston L. Lynch
Here a CIA officer and veteran of the Bay of Pigs describes the
battle and how he thinks it went wrong. He makes a convincing case that
Kennedy was not committed to the operation, micromanaged at the
operational and tactical echelons, and failed to make his intentions
known to his own forces until the last minute. Michael Warner wrote an
article on the CIA's internal investigation of the Bay of Pigs disaster
here.
- Delta Force: The Army's Elite Counterterrorist Unit, COL Charles A. Beckwith and Donald Knox
After training with the UK's SAS,
Beckwith perceived a need for a similarly-trained unit in the United
States Army. Thus began a grueling bureaucratic campaign, during which
Special Forces created a competing counterterrorist unit. Ultimately,
Delta prevailed. Beckwith also describes much of Delta's training, some
of the day-to-day life of its operators, and the ill-fated Operation
Eagle Claw.
- The Operations SMARTbook - Third Revised Edtion, Norman M. Wade
This handbook digests FM 3-0 and concisely describes the seven battlefield operating systems.
Unread