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The Alternative U.S. Army Professional Reading List
I have a tremendous amount of admiration for Gen. Marty Dempsey, but his professional reading list for the U.S. Army (.pdf) leaves a lot to be desired. As a service to the readership, I am offering my own professional reading list. I have kept the general categories used by Gen. Dempsey but have replaced the "leadership" category with one on civilian-military relations. My reading list is automatically superior to Gen. Dempsey's because mine does not include one of the worst novels ever written. I have denoted those books on which Gen. Dempsey and I agree with an asterisk.
History and Heritage
The War for America, 1775-1783
Foote's The Civil War (YES, ALL THREE VOLUMES, DAMMIT)
The Killer Angels: A Novel of the Civil War*
With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa (YES, I KNOW HE WAS A MARINE)
Street Without Joy: The French Debacle In Indochina
Makers of Modern Strategy from Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age
Surprise, Security, and the American Experience
Civilian-Military Relations
The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations
Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime
The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War
Critical Analysis and the Global Context
(read alongside Michael Howard's Clausewitz: A Very Short Introduction)
Soldier's Heart: Reading Literature Through Peace and War at West Point*
The Culture of National Security
Bureaucracy: What Government Agencies Do And Why They Do It
Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy
Lol. I am still curious why
Lol. I am still curious why you hate the book so much though. There's worse. Unrelated, did you ever read Luke Larson's Senator's Son?
Also, curious as to why the Global Context doesn't have any info/tech. Good on the rest though (especially Street Without Joy).
And for insurgencies/small
And for insurgencies/small wars. "On Another Man's Wound" by Ernie O'Malley
Foote? Good story-teller,
Foote? Good story-teller, not so sound on his history.
And where's Marlantes'
And where's Marlantes' MATTERHORN?! That book could save a life!
Why the hate for Once an
Why the hate for Once an Eagle? And I second Charlieford's comment on Foote...vastly overrated and outdated.
Miller The Bridge at
Miller The Bridge at Dong-Ha
Leckie The Buffalo Soldiers: A Narrative of the Negro Cavalry in the West
Crane The Red Badge of Courage
Collins Common Sense Training: A Working Philosophy for Leaders
Fuller Grant and Lee: A Study in Personality and Generalship
Lind Maneuver Warfare Handbook
Sherrod Tarawa: The Story of a Battle
Moore & Galloway We Were Soldiers Once and Young: La Drang, The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam
Chasnoff The 188th Crybaby Brigade
Adams and Williams Buying National Security
Above all great books. Read and enjoy.
Have to ask the purpose of
Have to ask the purpose of the reading list.
What are you trying to teach them ?
Funny, I do not see the US Constitution on the list.
Think you need a purpose statement.
1. I just disagree with your
1. I just disagree with your vitriol on Once an Eagle. What is the reason? Is it because it is so trite to refer to it amongst the officer corps? Surely recommending Shaara falls into that category. Hell if that is a basis, how about Pressfield's Gates of Fire since everyone seems to think themselves the direct descendant of Leonidas. I like OAE for what it is; a blunt and accessible teaching tool to start a conversation about a useful topic (leaders who lead out of devotion to the profession of arms vs, leaders devoted to themselves). Furthermore, I like pretty much everything Anton Myrer wrote.
2. How about...
John M. Delvecchio The 13th Valley
James Webb Fields of Fire and/or William Turner Huggett Body Count
William Manchester Goodbye Darkness
Gordon and Trainer Cobra II
Evan Thomas The Very Best Men
Henry Kissinger Diplomacy
Anything Winston Churchill wrote
Infantry Attacks
Alistair Horne A Savage War of Peace
http://night-misfit-toys.type
http://night-misfit-toys.typepad.com/blog/2011/08/my-professional-readin...
The above is my link that I put up for professional reading list. I am a believer in expanding beyond just 'military' books and reading a wide array across many subjects, including political science, economics and anthropology. I think my list has kind of satisfied that personal need for me. I do share Abu's disdain for Once an Eagle. I happen to think it is a well-written and readable book but I am not a fan because the characters are archetypes, not realistic. Real people with real motives and real situations do many things including honorable things for dishonorable reasons and honorable things for dishonorable reasons. The book posits a very simplisitic outlook on human nature and the realities of combat leadership and there are much better explorations of human nature/leadership out there than this one if you are serious on the subject. I understand the appeal of the book. It is what many of us want the Army to be...we all want to serve a Damon...we all fear working for a Massengale. Because of that, I would never think less of someone who has read it (hell, I have read it). I would just look askance as making that a foundational leadership book for inclusion on the list.
Why people make fun of Once
Why people make fun of Once an Eagle: It takes about 400 pages before Myrer remembers to give his protagonist ANY flaws in character/faith/physique, but he does take pains to describe the inexplicably evil Massengale's sexual dysfunctions in detail, just in case we weren't sure which man we were supposed to like.
If it's worth reading, it's as a case study (maybe a manual?) about the balance between career and personal relationships. Between Damon's ubermensch Army adventures, Once an Eagle is the story of a man who slowly destroys his family.
Any war that used conscripts
Any war that used conscripts instead of professional soldiers shouldn't be used. Both the World Wars, Vietnman, Civil War, Revolutionary War are all wars that put civilians into the fray and they stayed civilians. The United States current military are professsionals and therefore don't share the same heritage and shouldn't share the same mindset. This would also help to create better understanding and cooperation between contractors and uniformed personnel because this is where the future lies not with our history of conscription.
I think the purpose of the
I think the purpose of the reading list has been overlooked. It is not intended to be a compendium of ultimate wisdom. It's merely there to open the apertures for people to expand their horizons. No list is perfect but at least the attempt has been made. As a book nerd, I plan to try some books that I have overlooked and both Exum's and the CSA list. I will ponder what they contain and decide on the relevance-- That is the purpose of a reading list-- Thought.
What?!?! No Starship
What?!?! No Starship Troopers?
Oh right. This is an ARMY list, no Marines allowed.
JT on August 26, 2011 -
JT on August 26, 2011 - 8:59am
Thought ? Why not just surf the Intranet.
That purpose is so broad spectrum that it would take a life time to get through and you still would not have a clue as to why you are standing in Afghanistan, Yemen, or Libya.
If we are going to leave it open ended, why not.
Under Fire: An American Story. By Oliver North.
.......Exum, if you have not read it, you should. I am reading it now just for grins. Libya comes to mind.
There ought to be a good
There ought to be a good one-volume history of WW2 on the list. In my opinion, Weinberg's A World At Arms remains the best such history.
McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom is better than Foote.
Fehrenbach is dated. Blair's Forgotten War is better.
Charles Parker's Vietnam: Strategy for a Stalemate is indispensable.
Comment by What ? on August
Comment by What ? on August 26, 2011
What?
I hear what your saying but gathering knowledge should be a lifelong pursuit that is open ended. A reading list is not a prescriptive way to get answers but to provide information that will lead a reader to their own independent conclusions. I also feel there could be better book choices included. Yet, this list must appeal to a broad demographic. For example, some of the Soldiers that have an interest may just be starting their careers-- this can provide them a good place to start.
My only point is: Does the reading list provide access to professional information that others may not have? -- yes.
Does it suck? That depends on where an individual is in their own pursuit of knowledge.
I think having a Professional reading list is still better than none at all and I'm glad that there is at least something out there, imperfect as it may be.
I will absolutely concede the
I will absolutely concede the point that Damon/Massengale are wooden, unrealistic, archetypes. With that said, I think that is what makes them useful. I've gotten young Marines to read and discuss OAE (a major accomplishment for some guys who've never read more than Maxim magazine or Tucker Max books) because the stereotypes create clearly understandable bookends from which to spark professional discussion. Young Marines love to identify the Massengale's in their ranks.
I also think taken in light of Myrer's own perspective (Harvard dropout, infantry Marine in the Pacific campaign) some of his perspectives are interesting.
How about Song of the
How about Song of the Nightingale? I thought it was phenomenal.
Wartime, by Paul Fussell
Wartime, by Paul Fussell
JT on August 26, 2011 -
JT on August 26, 2011 - 1:15pm
When you reach Nirvana, let us know. Enjoy your pursuit.
We can only hope to apply our experience and the future has never been written in a book. Usually the times have a way of providing a solution if the willing can see.
Once an Eagle appealed to a
Once an Eagle appealed to a generation (those who re-built the Army after Vietnam) that saw too many Massingills in its ranks and not enough Damons. The current generation faces a similar challenge with the drawdown (which could be worse than the post-Vietnam drawdown), but which has a more united Army to build from. This war may yield a more literary and truer-to-life story that my resonate with the people who fought the GWOT and now have to pick up the pieces (or not).
OK enough on my magic wind!!
OK enough on my magic wind!! It was the Hummus...
Add Colin S. Gray's Another Bloody Century: Future Warfare. I particularly like the Chapter on War in Space (yes, really).
What ever would cause you to
What ever would cause you to "replace" the Leadership category? You have stripped out the heart of what we ask our officers to do.... Lead.
I agree with Chris Otero on
I agree with Chris Otero on the need to expand the list. Initially, I think it should be broken into a DIME approach with subcategories where needed. I think the list needs to start with the fundamentals then get to the nitty gritty. If I am going to present a list to get people to start reading philosophy, I'm not going to start them on Delueze and Guattari. Once they finish the initial list, they'll either know that they don't want to continue or they'll have done the research and have already picked up "A Thousand Plateaus." Anyway, along with the DIME reading, I think it is essential to include books from other categories. I have TBI and a host of other issues so my thoughts may not be straight but listed below are some the other stuff I like: (please excuse bad grammar above and below, I refuse to edit in cyberspace)
Like at least one other person mentioned, the US Constitution. Then, other books I'll randomly mention as they come to me: Some of the best Just War theorists like Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, Grotius, the stuff put out by the Catholic Church recently (forget the name); Philosophy like Plato's "Republic", Mill's "On Liberty", etc; Psychology like Grossman's "On Killing" and "On Combat", Zimbardo's "Lucifer Effect"; Ideas counter to our own like "The Communist Manifesto", Mao's "Little Red Book"; or science/business/sociology/cultural books like Kuhn's "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions", any great business book...maybe "Barbarians at the Gate" or more sciencey (dang, not real word) like "Emergence" or "The Starfish and the Spider", any of Diamond's books like "Guns, Germs and Steel" or the latest, "Collapse", and finally current stuff, maybe something by Fareed Zakaria's newest book (The Post-American World 2.0?) or Thomas Friedman's "Hot, Flat and Crowded". Well, that's my too long of a rant.
Oh, I forgot to add my
Oh, I forgot to add my worthless thoughts on Once an Eagle...yeah, okay, good book for 18 to 22 year olds. Never mind, anything else I just deleted (not too much) just read some guy's big toe comment and I'll add my concur.
Everything by Jean Larteguy,
Everything by Jean Larteguy, esp. The Centurions. About French in Vietnam but highly relevant still.
Also, Alistair Horne's A Savage War of Peace, about French in Algeria. Also highly relevant to North Africa/Mideast
Ex, Puzzled by the hatred of
Ex,
Puzzled by the hatred of OAE. Miniseries, I can understand, but the book does not paint a black and white portrait of two cardboard archetypes if you read it close enough. Damon has many flaws, e.g. basically destroys his family-slowly as noted previously, commits adultery, and sells out to Massengale just so the 55th can get a Distinguished Unit Citation. Massengale has redeeming qualities.
It needs to be read as a conversation starter, foundational frame of reference on leadership. Plus it presents some useful snapshots of the Army as an institution over many decades and how we got here from there and there, and way back there. I think it is a book that should be read every 7-10 years in your career and then reflected on by the reader as to who he is now. Everyone likes to think they are the Cliff Notes version of Sam Damon, and most start out that way, but many if not most, start making career decisions versus command decisions at some point. When does that happen? Why? Sam was not without ambition, but was his to be promoted to do more for the Army and nation or was it for the power, prestige, and position? Or some of both?
Larteguy recommendation is spot on, especially for THE CENTURIONS.
Anything by Colin Gray is worth the time and money.
Pressfield never really captured me, but Wallace Breem's EAGLE IN THE SNOW sure did.
I agree with many above that
I agree with many above that Shelby Foote's Civil War trilogy and Anton Myrer's Once An Eagle most definitely don't belong on the list. I also think The Killer Angels is tired, and recommend a fine nonfiction book about Gettysburg -- Edwin Coddington's The Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command, which pays a lot of attention to the oft-neglected aspects of staff work and communications. & Bernard Fall's Street Without Joy is a fine book but less coherent than his later masterpiece, Hell In A Very Small Place.
Speaking of Gettysburg . . .
Speaking of Gettysburg . . . let me recommend "Gettysburg: A Meditation on War and Values" by Kent Gramm.
You will likely either hate it or love it to death. It mixes memoir and history, political economy and theology, battles and poetry. Very strange, and for me, a very good book.
conquest and culture- thomas
conquest and culture- thomas sowell
soliders, statecraft, and history- james nathan
the ethics of war and peace- paul christopher
honor, a history- james bowman
a question of command- mark moyar
war: ends and means-angelo codevilla
Blood Meridian by Cormac
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy? If we're going to be battling child soldiers and / or mercenaries in the foreseeable feature, this book provides a better window into their lives than any other fiction I've read.
Can you give a reading
Can you give a reading recommendation for the 2006 Israel Lebanon war (34 day war)?
Looking more at the military tactics side rather than political build up/aftermath...
Thanks
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