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The Counterinsurgency Reading List

October 27, 2007 | Posted by Abu Muqawama - 7:01pm | 68 Comments
Abu Muqawama and Charlie put our heads together across the Atlantic Ocean and came up with this, the long-awaited Counterinsurgency Reading List. This list is not exhaustive, but the "essentials" and "intermediate" lists include all the books and articles the two of us think you should read. There's also some fiction and films -- and even a section on political Islam because while it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with COIN, it certainly has relevance to the operating environments in which some of our readership live and work. Click on the links, and they should -- with a few exceptions -- either take you to the article or to the link on amazon.com.

Wan to know what we think about specific books and articles? Check out our COIN Book Club entries, which review select offerings from this Reading List.

Counterinsurgency Reading List
October 2007
(updated November 2007)
(updated March 2008)
(updated May 2009)

The Bare Bones Essentials

David Galula, Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice
David Kilcullen, "28 Articles", Military Review, May-June 2006
Kalev Sepp, "Best and Worst Practices in COIN", Military Review, May-June 2005

Intermediate Reading

Colonial Era
Robert Bateman, "Lawrence and his Message"
C.E. Callwell, Small Wars
John Cann, Counterinsurgency in Africa: The Portuguese Way of War 1961-1974
Carl von Clausewitz, On War
Bernard Fall, The Street without Joy
David Galula, Pacification in Algeria: 1956-1958
Tony Geraghty, The Irish War
Charles Gwynn, Imperial Policing
Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962
Frank Kitson, Gangs and Counter-Gangs
Robert Komer, Bureaucracy Does its Thing
Andrew Krepinevich, The Army and Vietnam
John Nagl, Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam
Neil Sheehan, A Bright Shining Lie
Robert Taber, War of the Flea
Robert Thompson, Defeating Communist Insurgency
Roger Trinquier, Modern Warfare
Mao Tse-Tung, On Guerrilla Warfare
Bing West, The Village

Modern Day
Ralph Baker, "The Decisive Weapon", Military Review, May-June 2006
David Barno, “Fighting ‘The Other War’: Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan, 2003-2005,” Military Review, September-October 2007
Stephen Biddle, “Seeing Baghdad, Thinking Saigon,” Foreign Affairs, March-April 2006
Burgoyne & Marckwardt, The Defense of Jisr al-Doreaa
Peter Chiarelli, "Winning the Peace", Military Review, July-August 2005
Nigel Alwyn Foster, "Changing the Army for COIN Operations", Military Review, November-December 2005
Les Grau, The Bear Went Over the Mountain
T.X. Hammes, The Sling and the Stone: On War in the 21st Century
T.X. Hammes, “Fourth Generation Evolves, Fifth Emerges,” Military Review, May-June 2007
Hecker & Rid, War 2.0: Irregular Warfare in the Information Age
Chris Hickey, "Principles and Priorities for Training in Iraq", Military Review, March-April 2007
Frank Hoffman, "Hybrid Threats"
David Kilcullen, The Accidental Guerrilla
David Kilcullen, "Anatomy of a Tribal Revolt"
David Kilcullen, “Counterinsurgency Redux,” Survival, Winter, 2006
John Kizley, "Learning About Counterinsurgency", Military Review, March-April 2007
Sean MacFarland and Niel Smith, "Anbar Awakens," Military Review, March-April 2008
Marston & Malkasian, Counterinsurgency in Modern Warfare
H.R. McMaster, “On War: Lessons to be Learned.” Survival, February-March 2008
Steven Metz, Rethinking Insurgency
Elizabeth Rubin, "Battle Company Is Out There"
Rupert Smith, The Utility of Force
Various, FM 3-24, "Counterinsurgency"

Advanced Reading

Hannah Arendt, On Revolution
Hannah Arendt, On Violence
Robert Asprey, War in the Shadows
Robert Bates, Prosperity and Violence
Jarret M. Brachman and William F. McCants, "Stealing Al-Qaeda's Playbook," CTC Report, February 2006
Scott A. Cuomo and Brian J. Donlon, "Training a 'Hybrid' Warrior," Marine Corps Gazette
Loup Francart, Maitriser la violence
Robert M. Gates, "Beyond Guns and Steel: Reviving the Nonmilitary Instruments of American Power"
Antonio Giustozzi, Koran, Kalashnikov, and the Laptop: The Neo Taliban Insurgency in Afghanistan
John Bagot Glubb, War in the Desert
Daniel Helmer, "Flipside of the COIN: Israel’s Lebanese Incursion Between 1982-2000"
Stathis Kalyvas, The Logic of Violence in Civil Wars
Alan B. Krueger, What Makes a Terrorist
Mark Lichbach, The Rebel’s Dilemma
Yezid Sayigh, Armed Struggle and the Search for State: The Palestinian National Movement, 1949-1993
James Scott, Moral Economy of the Peasant
Frederic M. Wehrey, “A Clash of Wills: Hizballah’s Psychological Campaign Against Israel in South Lebanon.”
Jeremy Weinstein, Inside Rebellion: Politics of Insurgent Violence

Fiction

Graham Greene, The Quiet American
Rudyard Kipling, Kim
Jean Larteguy, The Centurions
Leon Uris, Trinity

Films

The Battle of Algiers
Go Tell The Spartans
The Wind that Shakes the Barley
, ,

68 comments

Comment by Lexington Green on June 1, 2009 - 4:45pm
Someone needs to reissue Larteguy's novels, The Centurians and The Praetorians, in a single volume.

And then someone needs to reissue Kitson's Gangs and Counter-Gangs.

A scholarly introduction updating each would be nice.

These three books are absurdly rare, given the current demand for them.
Comment by 61northak on May 17, 2009 - 4:54am
Someone asked about "Inside the Jihad: My Life with Al Qaeda"
by Omar Nasiri. I've read it and found it a good insight into the pre-9-11 world of jihad. It is the supposedly true story of a European muslim who becomes a spy and goes to the Al Queda training camps in Afghanistan prior to September 11. It describes in great detail how the camps worked and what was taught. The author later
Comment by Nathan Zimmermann on May 14, 2009 - 11:59pm
I was reading through your list and I noticed that Col. Edward Lansdale's In the Midst of Wars: An American's Mission to Southeast Asia. was not pn your list even though several countries still require their counterinsurgency forces to read it as part of their training.
Comment by Emily Astor on May 14, 2009 - 11:18pm
Another good book on the US Civil War - in Appalachia - is "Victims" by Philip Shaw Paludan. It covers the Shelton Laurel Massacre in far Western North Carolina. Think of it as a sort of true story behind Cold Mountain.
Comment by Emily Astor on May 14, 2009 - 11:17pm
You should consider some books from the US Civil War - especially re: Missouri and the war in Appalachia. The best book on guerrilla war is Michael Fellman's "Inside War." Not only does it deal with the psychology of surviving a guerrilla war, but it highlights the beginning of modern US counter-insurgency policy on Francis Lieber. The Lieber Code became one of the foundational documents behind
Comment by ThatGuy on March 28, 2009 - 8:37am
I was surprised to find this blog after so many years. Great list above. 4 Absolute "must reads" that aren't included:

1. The Other Side of the Mountain by Lester Grau and Ahmed Jalali
2. Al-Qaeda By Jason Burke
3.Imperial Hubris by Anonymous
4. The Sling and the Stone: On War in the 21st Century by USMC, Colonel Thomas X. Hammes




Comment by BW on March 24, 2009 - 2:04pm
Another great book... Says much of what Kilcullen says, but in a different way.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Development-Security-Unending-Mark-Duffield/dp/0745635806/ref=pd_sim_b_1

Comment by Anonymous on March 8, 2009 - 9:42pm
While this may not be COIN-specific, I would recommend Discourses of Global Politics: A Critical (Re)Introduction to International Relations by Jim George. This is the best overview of International Relations theory available and will arm any counter-insurgent with a better understanding of the global political environment they work in.
Comment by ransomenote on March 3, 2009 - 10:42am
I would also add, "Ten Ways to Lose at Counterinsurgency" by Kathy Greenhill and Paul Staniland. This is featured in the December 2007 issue of Civil Wars Journal.

This piece takes a critical look at COIN theory/doctrine, and would be useful for soldiers and scholars alike.

Comment by Gio on February 12, 2009 - 3:20pm
Check out Robert Pape's book "Dying to Win: The strategic logic of suicide terrorism"

an interesting theory as to why suicide bombing happens and for what ends it happens.

Comment by Tom Copeland on January 9, 2009 - 3:46pm
Notice that David Galula's book is also on the Marine Corps reading list.
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Comment by BritPara on November 2, 2008 - 8:12am
I note that somebody suggested "The Forgotten Soldier" by Guy Sajer (spelling?) I hate to say it people but it's a work of fiction!
I would reccoment "Low Intensity Operations" by Frank Kitson. History of the Rhodesian SAS by Barbara Cole (her husband an ex brit Para was in the unit) Selous Scouts, Top secret war (I forget the author, published in UK by Galago pub- incredible story of counter
Comment by Anonymous on September 11, 2008 - 10:16am
On "modern day" you really need Arreguin-Toft's "How the Weak Win Wars: A Theory of Asymmetric Conflict" (it's a journal article--2001--and a book--2005. On "colonial era," you should add T.E. Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom (a long read, but a good one, with both cultural and strategic relevance to the subject at hand).
Comment by Ellis Weinberger on September 8, 2008 - 2:35pm
Any thoughts on "Terrorist Recognition Handbook", by Malcolm Nance?
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An excellent buy tramadol short read that covers tactical, operational, and strategic aspects of COIN is Roger Trinquier’s buy tramadol Modern Warfare: A French View of Counterinsurgency.
Comment by buy tramadol online on August 24, 2008 - 8:57am
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Comment by Anonymous on July 16, 2008 - 3:16am
Has there been any British reviews of the new Field Manual 3-24? I'd be interested in British Army comment on it.
Colin Robinson
NZ doctoral student
Defence College of Management & Technology


Comment by Anonymous on July 5, 2008 - 10:10pm
I would also suggest the original Marine CORPS "Small Wars Manual". Still available...
Comment by vimothy on June 18, 2008 - 6:22am
Afghansti by Peter Kosminsky was on TV last night. It would be worth adding to the film list. Documentary on the Soviet soldiers experience of Afghanistan follwoing their withdrawal. Not cheering, but often instructive (e.g., "after every operation, more people opposed us").
Comment by Anonymous on May 25, 2008 - 2:33am
Did you omit Martin van Creveld by design? "Transformation of War" won't be a revelation to a serious student or (hopefully) experienced soldier, but reading it as a junior officer on my first Afghanistan tour was invaluable. I'd also nominate "The Rise and Decline of the State." I haven't managed to read "The Changing Face of War" yet, but I'd be curious to know if anyone has, and what they
Comment by Anonymous on May 15, 2008 - 12:47pm
Traded emails with General Kitson and he said he is not interested in republishing Gangs and Countergangs at this time. says he has plenty of copies. not sure why, as i publish "low intensity operations", but it is his book. i will keep you posted.

Jamie
Hailer Publishing


Comment by Joshua Foust on April 21, 2008 - 8:15am
How about Les Grau's followup, "The Other Side of the Mountain?" I've found it quite useful to read things from the other side, so to speak.

And if you're going to have a section on politicized Islam, why not include "The Failure of Political Islam" by Olivier Roy?

Comment by dalyter on March 31, 2008 - 11:07pm
Whoops. In my recent comment I forget to include TX Hammes, THE SLING AND THE STONE to be moved up to "Bare Bones" status. TX tells us what is coming and with Colin Gray, Galula and Sir Robert Thompson are the Four Evangelists of War in the 21st Century.

LTCOL Terence J. Daly USAR

Comment by dalyter on March 31, 2008 - 10:59pm
To provide clear and comprehensive insight on today's outstanding COIN issue, whither the American Way of War in the wars of the 21st century, I suggest adding to the top, must read, category Colin S. Gray's March 2006 SSI
monograph IRREGULAR ENEMIES AND THE ESSENCE OF STRATEGY: CAN THE AMERICAN WAY OF WAR ADAPT? In a nod to the First Rule of Manageable Lists, "If you add something you must
Comment by Andreas on March 29, 2008 - 11:49am
Outstanding work. I was just starting to build a reading list/bibliography on counterinsurgency (for my research on COIN in New Spain) and this list, along with other works suggested in various comments, gives me a great start. Thanks for compiling the list!
Comment by Teflon Don on March 16, 2008 - 9:12pm
Resistance and Control in Pakistan
by Akbar S. Ahmed

was a very interesting read on the NWFP of Pakistan from the perspective of a Pakistani PA who served there.


I'm curious to know if you have read and have an opinion on

Inside the Jihad: My Life with Al Qaeda
by Omar Nasiri








Comment by Dan Ford on March 14, 2008 - 11:24am
Since you include a few novels, and also the splendid Burt Lancaster flick Go Tell the Spartans, you might add Incident at Muc Wa. That's the story upon which the movie was based, and a very fine story it is, if I do say so myself. Blue skies! -- Dan Ford
Comment by ashley on March 13, 2008 - 10:48am
curious as to how kim by kipling is on the list? i read it while at airborne and found it to be more about kim trying to find enlightenment with the espionage thrown in. of course i am just an uneducated airman and may have missed something.
Comment by Matthew on March 5, 2008 - 11:14pm
A late addition to the already lengthy list: John Hersey's "A Bell for Adano."
Comment by BostonMaggie on February 20, 2008 - 10:21pm
Yeah.......I've seen two of the three films........

Thanks for adding to my never-ending reading list. I will never catch up. You have made me feel more inadequate than ever.

Comment by Mark Pyruz on January 20, 2008 - 3:12am
Consider the firsthand observations of COIN from infantry elements of the German Army and Waffen SS, fighting partisans during the Second World War:

The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer
The Black March by Peter Neumann


Comment by vimothy on January 14, 2008 - 4:34pm
Charlie,

Why don't you tell us what we all want to know and do a post on Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and the outer reaches of Game Theory? I think it would be only fair...

Comment by Patrick Walsh on December 7, 2007 - 11:07pm
Hi again, didn't see this on the list: Ride With Devil directed by Ang Lee. It is the story of the Missouri Bushwackers on the Confederate side. It is very good at showing the complex social and cultural arrangements that lead people to join an insurgency and that support the ongoing insurgency. And also how the insurgency ends. It does this in a context that Americans can relate to and
Comment by Patrick Walsh on December 7, 2007 - 9:42pm
Hi, Only one commenter mentioned this so I will recommend 7 Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence. I think the whole book is worthwhile because it deals with the whole set of cultural, pyschological and moral issues of people from one culture "embedding" with an other to fight a brutal war. If you don't have time to read the whole thing then read the chapter where Lawrence is lying sick in his
Comment by Thanos on December 2, 2007 - 1:42am
If you wish to understand Political Islam, you should go to source - Said Qutb, start with Milestones.

This is also a good read if you can find a copy

http://www.antiqbook.de/boox/aub/342264.shtml



Comment by Heraclitus on November 30, 2007 - 12:22am
On the tactical level, I would recommend Hackworth’s Steel My Soldiers Hearts. Not totally about counterinsurgency, but a great read to give to the LTs.

A broad overview of America’s Sisyphean effort in COIN can be found in A.J. Birtle's U.S. Army Counterinsurgency And Contingency Operations Doctrine, 1860-1941. and U.S. Army Counterinsurgency And Contingency Operations Doctrine, 1942-

Comment by Bob on November 26, 2007 - 2:40pm
Forgive me if this seems too basic, but for those who don't understand warfare at all, starting with COIN is a bit much. So, let's reach into the way back machine, and find:

Sun Tzu, The Art of War. There's a reason this is considered a basic, must read book. Almost anything written by anyone else later is a refinement of the general principles laid out here.

Niccolo



Comment by Anonymous on November 26, 2007 - 2:39pm
I'd recommend, as a sort of 'beginning' book on COIN, the pair of Pournelle Sci-Fi novels Go tell the Spartans and Prince of Sparta. In essence, they outline a lot of the basic concepts of fighting a counterinsurgency with a well-paced and satisfying plot. I understand they were rolled into a compilation volume titled The Prince:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prince_%

Comment by Anonymous on November 26, 2007 - 12:17pm
If you can find it, I would recommend Phillip Davidson, Vietnam at War. He was the MAC J-2 and if you can forgive the self-serving portions of his book (much as you must forgive Fall his Francophilia in Hell in a Very Small Place) it offers a useful discussion of how the North Vietnamese used psyop / media operations to break the U.S. will to continue fighting.
Comment by Crimson Ghost on November 20, 2007 - 7:54am
Any good recommendations for COIN PSYOP?

I’m re-reading Douglas Valentine’s, “The Phoenix Program.” There is some good insight on the workings of the bureaucratic mess that crippled Viet Nam. However, I'm not too sure about the agenda of the author.

Comment by Anonymous on November 18, 2007 - 12:29pm
Will you be updating this reading list at the same web address, i.e. http://abumuqawama.blogspot.com/2007/10/great-counterinsurgency-reading-list.html ??

I ask because I'd like to permalink it to our website.

Thanks
-HSAT

www.headspaceandtiming.com






Comment by Anthony Cormack on October 31, 2007 - 1:32pm
There's an argument that T.E. Lawrence should be on the list. Personally, I think Taber's "War of the Flea" is heavily overrated.

Perhaps more provocative, I'd argue that the following should be on the list:

M.L.R. Smith - Guerillas in the Mist: Reassessing Strategy and Low Intensity Warfare (Review of International Studies, Vol.29, no.1 2003)



Comment by Jorge Aspizua Turrión on October 30, 2007 - 5:37pm
Good shots. From Spain, in Spanish, a current commentary regarding your "The Counterinsurgency Reading List". I suggest in it the review of the 1965's French-Spanish movie "La 317éme Section" regarding the times of Dien Bien Phu.

Best

http://laharkadeaspizua.blogspot.com/2007/10/dia-de-memoria-viva-dia-de-lectura-y.html



Comment by Charlie on October 30, 2007 - 4:47pm
Another popular recommendation (that I can't believe I omitted) is Robert Asprey's encyclopedic "War in the Shadows." Great resource on nearly all modern insurgencies and guerrilla campaigns.

A more academic rec is Jeremy Weinstein's "Inside Rebellion: The Politics of Insurgent Violence."

I also 2nd the Packenham nomination. His book on the Boer War is a great coda to his



Comment by Abu Muqawama on October 30, 2007 - 8:44am
Really good suggestions, David. I have not read The War for Muslim Minds -- just Jihad -- so that explains that omission.

Also, several readers have suggested 'The Village.' Both Dave at SWJ and Phil Carter over at Intel-Dump mentioned this book, and Phil is correct in saying we should have included 'A Bright Shining Lie' as well:

http://www.intel-dump.com/archives/archive_2007_



Comment by David J. Betz on October 29, 2007 - 4:12pm
A further thought. Others have pitched Habeck's Knowing the Enemy and Roy's Globalized Islam which I agree are very worthwhile. And you already have Gilles Kepel's Jihad... on your list. I would suggest Kepel's War for Muslim Minds (2006) instead.
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