What are you reading?

[villanelle]

If the above was the danger of conventional warfare, asymmetrical warfare is shown below:

One Second After by William R. Forstchen, PhD

New York Times best selling author William R. Forstchen now brings us a story which can be all too terrifyingly real...a story in which one man struggles to save his family and his small North Carolina town after America loses a war, in one second, a war that will send America back to the Dark Ages...A war based upon a weapon, an Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP)

I was just looking at this yesterday after someone else recommended it.

In the same conversation, someone mentioned The X-Events: The Collapse of Everything, which apparently has a section on an EMP attack. I haven't read it and can't personally recommend, but if you like the subject matter and since EMPs are getting a lot of press thanks to a series of R candidate mentions, I thought I'd through it out there.

 

[Homer J]

Some great historical fiction. C.S. Forester's Hornblower Saga.

https://www.goodreads.com/series/49812-hornblower-saga-chronological-order


I'm on book #9.

A&E had a great video series out several years ago based on books 1 thru 3. I highly recommend it.

 

[Flash]

If the above was the danger of conventional warfare, asymmetrical warfare is shown below:

One Second After by William R. Forstchen, PhD

New York Times best selling author William R. Forstchen now brings us a story which can be all too terrifyingly real...a story in which one man struggles to save his family and his small North Carolina town after America loses a war, in one second, a war that will send America back to the Dark Ages...A war based upon a weapon, an Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP)

I was just looking at this yesterday after someone else recommended it.

In the same conversation, someone mentioned The X-Events: The Collapse of Everything, which apparently has a section on an EMP attack. I haven't read it and can't personally recommend, but if you like the subject matter and since EMPs are getting a lot of press thanks to a series of R candidate mentions, I thought I'd through it out there.

EMP can be a very nasty weapon that can have a dramatic affect on our lives if ever used but the apocalyptic scenario outlined in 'One Second After' is likely a bit too much.

 

[Hammer10k]

Devotion by Adam Makos was a great read.

 

[Recovering LSO]

The Accidental Superpower; The Next Generation of American Preeminence and the Coming Global Disorder.

It's imperfect, and pure research scholars may take exception with some of his interpretations and conclusions, but it certainly serves as a good companion piece to The Revenge of Geography.

 

[Brett327]

Started Revenge of Geography today, enjoying it quite a bit thus far.

 

[danpass]

Command of the Seas, John F Lehman Jr., former SecNav.
Even if only half true the Navy senior leadership bureaucracy, and 'the system' overall, was disgusting. Little of what I've seen publicly today seems to contradict Lehman.

 

[Recovering LSO]

Just finished Bob Gates' new book A Passion For Leadership. A little more prescriptive than I prefer for a "leadership" book, but a good read, if not a little dry in places.

Finished Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, a week or two ago. Pretty good book if you're looking to try and learn a little more about a guy who thinks/believes he can fly to Mars

Heard about this book, Resiliency, on the Art of Manliness podcast a few weeks ago. The author also wrote the Heart and the Fist. So far a pretty good read, pulling ideas from Aristotle to Yogi Berra.

Another recommendation from an interview on Art of Manliness podcast, The Kill Switch. It's a Kindle Single, not in print. If you enjoyed/appreciated Karl Marlantes (What It's Like To Go to War), or Sebastian Junger (War), then you may want to give The Kill Switch a try.

Also just started this one, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House From Truman to Obama. Still a little early to tell, but I have some concerns that the former Naval officer who wrote it might end up letting his political biases get in the way of decent analysis.

This is next up on the shelf, The Lion's Gate: On the Front Lines of The Six Days War.

 

[danpass]

I've been reading Bob Gates' 'Duty' on kindle.

My hardcover version just arrived. I still prefer physical media

The Amazon 'Used' retailers have sent good stuff. I have a first edition Red Storm Rising hardcover now that came in mint condition.

The prices on the used stuff simply cannot be beat.

 

[robav8r]

Just finished . . . . . . . . . Finished . . . . . . . Heard about this book . . . . . . . Another recommendation . . . . . . . Also just started this one . . . . . . . . . . This is next up on the shelf . . . . . . .

Dude, what is your day job ???? I would love to have the opportunity to read as much

 

[nittany03]

Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World. Great intro to the religion as it actually exists in the world, as opposed to in the fevered brains of left- or right-wing idiots in the United States. I've always found it strange that there's this undercurrent to a lot of DoD and USG policy of "all Muslims think this way because they're Muslims," like they're the freaking Borg or something. We understand that Christianity over here is a mishmash of contradicting and sometimes adversarial viewpoints. God forbid you offer a beer to a Mormon or a conservative Baptist, but it's an old joke that wherever four Episcopalians are gathered together, you will also find a fifth. But we can't make that leap that members of any religion are like that too, because we're all people. Somewhere there's the Muslim equivalent of the Catholic Irish roughneck from Boston, the type of guy who's at Mass on Easter Sunday after drinking and fighting away Saturday night. And we don't seem to be able to engage with the culture with that level of understanding.

The downside is what happens from time to time after the author makes a point. It's like a switch is flipped, and he uses that point as a springboard to spend a paragraph spouting off liberal multicultural pieties like some kind of religious invocation at best tangentially related to how he got there. But the book still doesn't beat you over the head with ideology.

 

[Recovering LSO]

Dude, what is your day job ???? I would love to have the opportunity to read as much

Ahhhhh, shore duty at a civilian dominated agency.... i.e., close the door, read books; check in with dirty contractors from time to time to make sure they're not spending too much money while wasting too much time.

 

[Brett327]

I've always found it strange that there's this undercurrent to a lot of DoD and USG policy of "all Muslims think this way because they're Muslims," like they're the freaking Borg

Having spent a few years in the policy side of things, I would say that your statement is the exact opposite from the reality of how the Muslim world is thought of by DoD and USG. The people advising decision-makers are steeped in the nuance of Islam and all of its component demographics. That said, there are certainly some puzzling examples of policy decisions in the last 2 or 3 administrations that are somewhat detached from reality (certainly in hindsight), so I can see how someone might draw that conclusion.

 

[squorch2]

So, it's the gap between advisers and the resultant policy?

 

[Brett327]

Depends on the policy maker.