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Editorial Books Media Book Reviews

US Military Commander's Suggested Reading List 51

Posted by Hemos from the read-all-about-it dept.
kcurtis writes "I realize this has nothing to do with technology, but I found this list of books (and related Boston Globe article) suggested by the US Chief of Staff of the Army fascinating. It is basically what General Peter Schoomaker thinks officers at different ranks should read. It includes classics like "The Art of War", and newer books like "Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest". It is also interesting for the changes made to the list. As noted in the Globe article, there is a new emphasis on the way the roles of an army may change."
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US Military Commander's Suggested Reading List More

US Military Commander's Suggested Reading List

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  • i wonder.. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by noodler ( 724788 ) on Monday August 23, 2004 @07:28AM (#10043115)
    ... why 'The Grand Chessboard' is not on the list since it clearly explains the US war plans for the comming time.,.,

    greets.,
    aka.,
    • Which war plan?

      The one for China? Korea(n)? Russia? Iraq? Iran? Saudi?

      Which war plan?
      • afaik these countries (excluding russia) are all part of the same US plan.,

        russia is not a world power anymore in that sense,
        focus is much more on china as an economic world power and controll in the middle east is key in aquiring leverage in that economy.,

        anyway, the oil motives dont seem to be that important at the moment since scientists say we have about 10 years of (reasonably) cheap oil in the ground .,
        also, alternative power sources are comming up big time.,

        so this at least leaves some questions u

  • Tom Clancy (Score:2, Funny)

    by eibhear ( 307877 )
    Where's Tom?

    I'd have thought he'd have been a primary resource for information on modern warfare.

  • Cool (Score:3, Interesting)

    by brsmith4 ( 567390 ) <brsmith4&gmail,com> on Monday August 23, 2004 @08:05AM (#10043390)
    That's a pretty good collection and the selected books definitely fit the pay grades. I'm just glad to see that Sun Tzu's The Art of War is still on the list. Any military leader who does not read this book is a fool.

  • Marine Corps Reading List (Score:4, Informative)

    by Moderator ( 189749 ) on Monday August 23, 2004 @08:08AM (#10043415)
    The Commandant of the Marine Corps puts out a suggested reading list [infantrymen.net] which is similar to the Army's. While the list is heavily dominated by books on the Marine Corps ("Semper Fidelis: The History of the United States Marine Corps" by Millett), it also includes a few Army books ("Patton: A Genius for War" by D'Este), books on warfare in general ("Mao Tse-Tung on Guerrilla Warfare"), and, oddly enough, Starship Troopers.
    • Ahh... I was hoping to see Ender's Game make it on one these lists. Its listed under Cpl and Sgt for the marines. A most fantastic read.

    • Starship Troopers (Score:3, Insightful)

      by dpilot ( 134227 )
      Ever read it? Very little to do with the movie, other than name and vague plot reuse.

      Being fiction, it's highly unlikely to have anything of strategic significance, but it does speak on essential differences between enlisted, NCOs, and commissioned officers. It also speaks to the balance between privilege and responsiblity, and military and civilian. Heinlein was a naval officer, so had at least some experience.

      Yet every time the book comes up in connection with the movie, someone shouts, "Facist!" I'm no
  • they are all about war.

    What about a few about peace?

  • ..has suggested some reading material:

    The canon [lewrockwell.com]
    The canon, continued [lewrockwell.com]

    and has also written much about 4th generation warfare [lewrockwell.com].

  • They are educated to see only violent solutions. (Score:4, Informative)

    by Futurepower(R) ( 558542 ) on Monday August 23, 2004 @08:55AM (#10043930) Homepage

    The U.S. government has been dominated for a long time by people who think that violence is the only way to solve problems. For example, see History surrounding the U.S. war with Iraq: Four short stories [futurepower.org]. See the heading, "The U.S. government has bombed 24 countries since the Second World War."

    U.S. military commanders literally do not have the social sophistication to see any other method than violence, and they are backed by similarly minded U.S. citizens, many of whom have never seen a war they didn't like.

    Also, there is an extreme conflict of interest. Weapons makers hire retired military leaders, so supporting violence supports getting a good job after military service. As former U.S. President General Dwight D. Eisenhower said in a famous speech [yale.edu], beware of the "military-industrial complex". Here's a quote:

    "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

    "We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes."

    Another quote:

    "The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present - and is gravely to be regarded."

    President George W. Bush operates under extreme conflict of interest, also. His family is heavily invested in The Carlyle Group [futurepower.org], which is a major owner of weapons manufacturers. That puts pressure on him to see only violent possibilities.

    United States citizens often have only 2 weeks vacation each year, and they work more than the people of other nations besides Japan. They simply don't have the time to try to understand their government. They can only hope that everything is all right. But it isn't. For example, see Unprecedented Corruption: A guide to conflict of interest in the U.S. government [futurepower.org].

    Brazil is a country of about the same land size as the U.S. (excluding Alaska). Brazil is dominated by people of European descent, as is the United States. However, it has been more than 100 years since the Brazilian government has been involved with aggression against its neighbors. (Brazil did support the Allies in the Second World War.) Somehow, Brazilians have found a way to live in the world without killing other people.

    • Re:They are educated to see only violent solutions (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Nimey ( 114278 ) on Monday August 23, 2004 @09:42AM (#10044505) Homepage Journal
      That's because violence is the military's job. Would you expect a baker to be a good butcher?
    • Your title reminded me of a line from Kieth Laumer's "Retief" books.

      "Gentlemen! The purpose of diplomacy is to maintain tensions at a level short of War!"

      It was meant as a joke, but I suspect it's the same justify-your-existence practiced by every level of management, and many workers.
    • However, it has been more than 100 years since the Brazilian government has been involved with aggression against its neighbors.

      Other than World War II, that's basically true. But it's convenient to omit that Brazil's civilian government was deposed in a military coup in 1964, civilian rule was only restored in 1985, and in the meantime death squads and terrorism were a fact of life in Brazil. And despite a return to civilian government, death squads and otehr violence sponsored by the Brazilian gover

      • Every story is more complicated than can be told in a Slashdot comment. The military coup happened because it was supported by the U.S. government.

        I agree, Brazil has a problem with police violence.
        • The military coup would have happened whether or not the US supported it. The US was prepared to send arms and other aid to the Brazilian military because they feared that without US aid the revolution would turn into a protracted and bloody affair. As it turns out, the military had broad support among the people and the coup was basically bloodless. The bloodshed came later when the military was in power.

          The point, in any case, is that Brazil is hardly a shining example of peace that the US should lear

          • The U.S. government is far more violent. Even conservative estimates show that the U.S. government has been responsible for the deaths of more than 3,000,000 people since the end of the 2nd world war. It killed an estimated 2,000,000 people directly in Vietnam.

            In Brazil, the present violence is the police, acting independently of the government.

            The U.S. government's violence is organized and directed from the top.
  • I was surprised not to see any books specifically about Guerilla Warefare. A couple of how-to manuals, such as Douglas Taber's "The War of The Flea", or Che Guevara's "Guerilla Warefare", wuold, I would have thought, be pertinent.

    Whether or not you agree with the guy's politics, I've got to reccommend Guevara's book. If you accept the broader definition of the word "hacker" as someone who cobbles together working solutions to problems by making tools do things that they weren't supposed to do, then Guevar
    • OK, I know there's no such word as "warefare", despite my having typed it twice. Please spare me the corrections.
    • If they cover guerilla warfare, then perhaps one of their own books should be on the list as well. "Afghan Guerilla Warfare" was put together by US Army officers who interviewed a large number of Afghans about their war against the Soviets.

      It is broken down into individual case studies, grouped by type of operation (ambush, etc.)

      The fact that they are now fighting against guerillas now, including Afghanistan, should make it required reading at pretty much all levels.

      On a side note, I can say that you get
    • I also like Asprey's "War in the Shadows", though it's a long slog (two volumes). He makes it clear that the only way to win against guerillas is to make sure the common people support you, not the enemy -- and that, of course, means you'd better be willing to treat the people well.

      I also concur with the other posters who recommended Liddell Hart. I'm unsurprised that the Army ignores him; his theory of the indirect approach is a huge mismatch for their love of fancy weaponry.

  • Obvious missing (Score:1, Interesting)

    by ben_degonzague ( 222715 )
    Ok, so they take an oath to defend the constitution of the united states and this isn't in the reading? No Thomas Paine, Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, Amendments?

    Course many think that the pentagon doesn't want soldiers to think for themselves, examples like this give them credit.

  • CSAF's Reading List (Score:5, Informative)

    by pmsyyz ( 23514 ) on Monday August 23, 2004 @01:32PM (#10047668) Homepage Journal
    Air Force Chief of Staff, General John P. Jumper
    http://www.af.mil/csafreading/ [af.mil]
  • All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
    Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
    The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hasek
    Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo
    Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
    Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

    All classics and all conspicuously absent! There are some good books on the Army's list, but it's rather... lopsided? And really, really dry.

  • marines, ooh yah (Score:3, Interesting)

    by WINSTANLEY ( 229048 ) on Monday August 23, 2004 @09:28PM (#10052490)
    I found the list of different services
    reading list on the Army War College
    site (I think). The interesting thing
    was that even the short ones had Clauswitz
    and only the Marines had "On Strategy" by Liddell Hart. This is interesting because L.-H. who is
    a respected 20C military theorist argues in
    "On Strategy" that Clauswitz was a raving nut case
    (and in fact Clauswitz asked, in a lucid moment LH would argue, that all his writings be destroyed
    after his death, but instead they were published
    posthumously). So much for the intellectual
    depth of the military.
    Oh yeah, Starship Troopers is on the Marine list
    as well.

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