Good Reads

Two books that are both good reads plus will both make you think and increase your world-view are by Robert Kaplan.

Imperial Grunts: The American Military on the Ground is fascinating from many perspectives, but with insights as to the "why" of things. The book is one I would hope anyone considering any aspect of the profession of arms would read because it speaks to the broadest rationale behind America's foreign policy for the last several decades.

Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts is the follow-up and stands on its own; the one above is fantastic (imo). Still a good read with the focus on Navy and Air Force. If you read the first one, you'll want to read the second.

You won't be disappointed. If I recall correctly, Kaplan taught at USNA for awhile.
 
We all read Amy Efaw's Battle Dress, which is intended for Young Adults so it is a fairly easy/fast read. It describes the Beast Barracks of a young girl from the Chicago Area at USMA. Good especially for people with no military experience.
 
I would echo: "Imperial Grunts" by Kaplan. I would also suggest "With The Old Breed" by E.B.Sledge- perhaps the best memoir of the Pacific War - EB Sledge was an Infantry Marine on Pelelieu and Okinawa with 3/5 Marines and it gives you a thoughtful grunts eye view of war and its effects on those fighting at the bayonet level. Two classic Novels that are great reads and great treatises on leadership - "Once An Eagle" By Anton Myrer, and "The Good Shepherd" by CS Forester.
 
I just finished "Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War" by Robert Coram. It's a biography. John Boyd was a Korean F-86 pilot who revolutionized the Fighter Weapons School at Nellis then taught himself calculus to better understand aerial maneuvering. The book is fascinating in that Boyd, credited with changing the F-15 from a "swing-wing" and the "father" of the F-16, refined his aerial work to impact design. He refined and developed the study of aerial maneuver into a study of maneuver and war that changed the Marine Corps and Army "war-fighting" doctrines. He was a lecturer at USAFA and his collection of writings and work now resides at MCB Quantico -- because the Marines thought more of it than the Air Force. Excellent read and made me want to further explore principles I had long thought I had left behind me!
 
My two cents worth - a great personal account of Iraq is Ally to Adversary by Rick Francona.
 
Also, my son was given a book from a West Point class of '86 Grad... Two Wars by Nate Self (also a USMA Grad)
 
kaullman said:
The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education
by Craig M. Mullaney
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My uncle sent me this book a short while back, when he found out I was accepted to USNA. I breezed through it! What a great read!
And it also addressed a lot of things I myself have thought/worried about. Very, very helpful.
 
frankski28 said:
Personally, I would recommend two books that have been published by commanders on the ground. (at one point)

American Soldier by General Tommy Franks

Wiser in Battle by Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez

Although they made grave mistakes in their times of command, I believe in always seeking the opinion of the men who were there, even though they are subject to some bias about their own command. Through these two books, I think that you are able to realize the serious mistakes that were made at the high level of decision making.

I would also recommend:

U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual

Based mostly on the influence of current Centcom Commander General David Petraeus. Through Odierno and Petraeus is the key strategy behind the so called surge and the only reason why success has been made in Iraq.

Also:

Fiasco by Thomas E. Ricks

This book is an overall good perspective of how things went wrong.
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The career path that led Tommy Franks from the dusty plains of Oklahoma to a military leadership role in three American wars has a familiar trajectory. As a youngster at the University of Texas he was mostly concerned with drinking beer, chasing girls and tooling around in fast cars. He joined the army in 1965 mostly to escape academic disaster --- and there began a steady rise in rank, self-discipline and patriotic fervor. He retired 38 years later with four stars on his uniform.

i personally like this book
 
hannah_mae said:
The career path that led Tommy Franks from the dusty plains of Oklahoma to a military leadership role in three American wars has a familiar trajectory. As a youngster at the University of Texas he was mostly concerned with drinking beer, chasing girls and tooling around in fast cars. He joined the army in 1965 mostly to escape academic disaster --- and there began a steady rise in rank, self-discipline and patriotic fervor. He retired 38 years later with four stars on his uniform.

i personally like this book
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Agreed!!! He is really a great and motivational leader!
 
hannah_mae said:
The career path that led Tommy Franks from the dusty plains of Oklahoma to a military leadership role in three American wars has a familiar trajectory. As a youngster at the University of Texas he was mostly concerned with drinking beer, chasing girls and tooling around in fast cars. He joined the army in 1965 mostly to escape academic disaster --- and there began a steady rise in rank, self-discipline and patriotic fervor. He retired 38 years later with four stars on his uniform.

i personally like this book
Click to expand...

Tommy Franks book should be a warning for all would be autobiographers about the danger of jumping into print too quickly. His book needs an addendum. The outcome of the war in Iraq clearly indicates that the generals on the CJCS who were pushing for a much larger troop committment for the invasion were right while Tommy Franks plan was clearly lacking the resources to sustain the mission- a point which took until the arrival of David Petraeous to resolve. Yet Franks derides the Cof SArmy as pariochial (actually he uses much harsher words) for arguing that the force structure was too small. Franks rode off into the sunset into retirement as a success about the same time that Bush landed on the carrier to "mission accomplished" banners. Neither was true. So while Franks has an interesting story- maybe you ought to combine reading it with reading Tom Rick's book : Fiasco.
 
bruno said:
Tommy Franks book should be a warning for all would be autobiographers about the danger of jumping into print too quickly. His book needs an addendum. The outcome of the war in Iraq clearly indicates that the generals on the CJCS who were pushing for a much larger troop committment for the invasion were right while Tommy Franks plan was clearly lacking the resources to sustain the mission- a point which took until the arrival of David Petraeous to resolve. Yet Franks derides the Cof SArmy as pariochial (actually he uses much harsher words) for arguing that the force structure was too small. Franks rode off into the sunset into retirement as a success about the same time that Bush landed on the carrier to "mission accomplished" banners. Neither was true. So while Franks has an interesting story- maybe you ought to combine reading it with reading Tom Rick's book : Fiasco.
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I look forward to reading Fiasco for my Scholar's capstone course next semester. Have to come back and write what I thought!
 
FM 3-24, Counterinsurgency is a good read. Quite remarkable in that it is an easy to read Field Manual that reads more like a textbook than do typical FM's. Doubly good in that it is available free as a pdf file at: http://www.usgcoin.org/library/doctrine/COIN-FM3-24.pdf

Another good read is Summons of the Trumpet by LTG (then COL) Dave Palmer. available at http://www.amazon.com/Summons-Trumpet-U-S-Vietnam-Dave-Palmer/dp/0891415505. How much smarts does it take to be the Superintendent? Perhaps lots.

Finally, an old classic. The Guns of August by Barbara S. Tuchman. Available a a lot of garage sales (grin). What I found most interesting about this book was the connections between the Franco Prussian War, WWI, WWII and the Cold War. Another interesting theme is Tuchman's style which served to remind me that decisions and choices are obvious in hindsight but much less clear without knowledge of the outcome.
 
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