Republic of Folk

A book recommendation thread has been mentioned a few times so I thought I may as well make one.

I recently read If I Die in a Combat Zone by Tim O’Brien. It’s the memoirs of a college-educated Vietnam draftee and covers everything from basic training to walking through the rice paddies. It’s very easy to read and each chapter almost has its own story about a certain event. There is quite a lot of discussion about the morality of the war, which I found interesting, but may not be everyone’s cup of tea.

A friend (and fellow officer candidate) of mine told me to read The Junior Officer’s Reading Club by Patrick Hennessey. The author got his English Literature degree from Oxford then decided to join the army almost on what seems to be a whim. It goes through the officer selection process, albeit briefly. There’s quite a bit about his time at Sandhurst – I found this the most interesting part. There are operational tours in Iraq and Afghanistan there as well. It also highlights the periods of inactivity and boredom between the few moments of intense action. Another easy read, but I did find the book to be appallingly edited. This book has become something of a bible to officer candidates in the UK.

Sometime soon I want to read On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman. Sounds heavy but I’ve heard some interesting things about it – like changing from using a bull’s-eye type target to one that resembled a man in an attempt to condition people to shoot to kill.

A bit off topic, but I read War & Peace last year and absolutely loved it. I’d say there’s more peace than war, but I found both aspects enjoyable. I read the 2005 Anthony Briggs translation which I find hard to fault.

Looking forward to reading some of your recommendations and maybe discussing some of these with you!

Have to look into these. When i can read with a 18 month old running around my legs...

'On the Psychology of Military Incompetence' by Norman Dixon

A surprisingly accessible academic work written by a psychologist who was also a British Army officer in WW2. His horrifying case studies of disastrous authoritarianism will provide useful insights for the development of greater incompetence in future Folk sessions (maybe ST and MARSOC will find it too close to the bone though). Actually I found it useful for dealing with all kinds of idiocy in life in general (especially at work).

'War'
by Sebastian Junger

SJ is a journalist who was embedded with US forces in the Korengal valley in eastern A'stan for long periods during a year of intense combat. This is essentially the book that complements the documentary movie 'Restrepo' and IMO is well worth reading if you have an interest in the War on Terror.

On the Road to Kandahar: Travels through conflict in the Islamic world
Jason Burke

Essentially a travelogue, but of many journeys. Burke is an English journalist who, as a student, spent a summer 'fighting' with the PKK. Later on he became a professional correspondent living in and covering many countries in the Middle East / Asia, but particularly Islamic ones. So this book covers conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and others. Aside from some nice and often funny writing (the conversation with an Iraqi torturer is a keeper), what makes this book worth reading is the way Burke looks at the often apolitical grievances poor people in these countries have, and how those are exploited by extremists. I highly recommend this one.

Occupational Hazards: My Time Governing in Iraq
Rory Stewart

This guy's my age (mid-thirties), and now a sitting MP in the British Parliament. However, in his twenties he did some bonkers things: walked across Taliban-era Afghanistan alone, and then spent a year as Deputy Governor of Maysan Province in southern Iraq. This book is about the latter experience. Again, whilst it has a fair amount of combat in it, it's mostly about giving insights into the unreal nature of the early occupation years - and just how complicated it was trying to engage the local population when one day it's asking you for work, and the next day it's mortaring you, and the day after that it's asking you for work again. Readers of this book will probably want to make omg-our-compound-is-under-siege missions for weeks afterwards ...

'Taliban'

by Ahmed Rashid.

This is probably the 'seminal' work on the origins of the Taliban movement. I first read this just after 911 when the operation to bring down the Taliban and AQ in A'stand was underway. It was a very interesting read then and has since been updated to take account of more recent developments.

Fire Strike 7/9
Sgt Paul "Bommer" Grahame & Damien Lewis

Pretty well written and frank account of a JTACs deployment in Afghanistan. From calling in endless bombing runs from Harriers, Tornados, F-15's and the occasional Mirage, to being stuck on a FOB with no radio, no equipment and only a bunch of ANA. Describes the daily routines and interactions with other units too. Well worth the read.


Apache
Ed Macy

First hand account of the rescue from Jugroom Fort of LCpl Matt Ford by one of the Apache pilots who actually landed in the fort. Need I say more.


Hell Fire
Ed Macy

Book two from Ed Macy, this describes his entry into the Army Air Corps and his subsequent tours in Afghanistan on a mission-by-mission basis. Compelling reading, you can really sympathise with the pilots and aircrew how frustrating it can be at times, when you can clearly see enemy forces but cant engage.


Spoken from the Front
Edited by Andy McNab

Don't worry about McNab in the title, all he's doing is compiling the various interviews, letters, emails and diary accounts of Soldiers from their tours of Afghanistan. Another compelling read, because there are a lot of diary entries and excerpts from letters home, you really feel like you're living the story.

fer wrote: Occupational Hazards: My Time Governing in Iraq
Rory Stewart

This guy's my age (mid-thirties), and now a sitting MP in the British Parliament. However, in his twenties he did some bonkers things: walked across Taliban-era Afghanistan alone, and then spent a year as Deputy Governor of Maysan Province in southern Iraq. This book is about the latter experience. Again, whilst it has a fair amount of combat in it, it's mostly about giving insights into the unreal nature of the early occupation years - and just how complicated it was trying to engage the local population when one day it's asking you for work, and the next day it's mortaring you, and the day after that it's asking you for work again. Readers of this book will probably want to make omg-our-compound-is-under-siege missions for weeks afterwards ...

I saw him on Question Time a while back, it was just after the Libya intervention began, and he was very impressive. Seemed measured in his support of the mission, clearly aware that we should avoid being sucked in at all costs. He referred to his time in Iraq, I was interested, might have been an idea to read some more about him.

mort wrote:'Taliban'

by Ahmed Rashid.

This is probably the 'seminal' work on the origins of the Taliban movement. I first read this just after 911 when the operation to bring down the Taliban and AQ in A'stand was underway. It was a very interesting read then and has since been updated to take account of more recent developments.

He also wrote this article about Karzai and his relationship with Obama. Very illuminating, turns out he's a personal friend of his. I didn't realise that Karzai had actually tried to invade Afghanistan himself. The CIA had to rescue him in Helmand, unsurprisingly. Its a real shame that everything about CIA operations is classified, they constantly crop up in unexpected places in history books on Vietnam for example. CIA reports and articles written by ex-CIA types about the issues of the day are unfailingly interesting too.

Joseph-Sulphur wrote:He also wrote this article about Karzai and his relationship with Obama. Very illuminating, turns out he's a personal friend of his. I didn't realise that Karzai had actually tried to invade Afghanistan himself. The CIA had to rescue him in Helmand, unsurprisingly. Its a real shame that everything about CIA operations is classified, they constantly crop up in unexpected places in history books on Vietnam for example. CIA reports and articles written by ex-CIA types about the issues of the day are unfailingly interesting too.

Thanks for the link - it's a super article (and unsurprisingly so, given its author). Rashid is great, but I think the key here is that he's not Western. If you're not already doing this, I'd urge you to add Al Jazeera English to your news sources for anything about the Middle East and North Africa - not because it's unbiased (it is), but because it's striking how AJE covers the same stories as the BBC and often draws slightly different conclusions. Good debate is informed debate, and it is one of the great paradoxes of the interwebs that at a time when so many sources are within easy reach, increasingly people read only what they know will affirm their existing views. Oh God, I am lecturing now. Shut up, comrade Fer, you are not doing Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4.

fer wrote:

Joseph-Sulphur wrote:He also wrote this article about Karzai and his relationship with Obama. Very illuminating, turns out he's a personal friend of his. I didn't realise that Karzai had actually tried to invade Afghanistan himself. The CIA had to rescue him in Helmand, unsurprisingly. Its a real shame that everything about CIA operations is classified, they constantly crop up in unexpected places in history books on Vietnam for example. CIA reports and articles written by ex-CIA types about the issues of the day are unfailingly interesting too.

Thanks for the link - it's a super article (and unsurprisingly so, given its author). Rashid is great, but I think the key here is that he's not Western. If you're not already doing this, I'd urge you to add Al Jazeera English to your news sources for anything about the Middle East and North Africa - not because it's unbiased (it is), but because it's striking how AJE covers the same stories as the BBC and often draws slightly different conclusions. Good debate is informed debate, and it is one of the great paradoxes of the interwebs that at a time when so many sources are within easy reach, increasingly people read only what they know will affirm their existing views. Oh God, I am lecturing now. Shut up, comrade Fer, you are not doing Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4.

Al-Jazeera is excellent. For some reason I grew up thinking they were propagandists who aired all those Jihad videos with the shitty music, but since the Tunisian revolution I've been using their site more and more. Their liveblogging is especially awesome.