Thursday, January 01, 2004

Street Without Joy


Author:  Bernard Fall

Bernard Fall was the world’s preeminent expert on the French colonial period in Indochina.

Street Without Joy tells of the French efforts in Vietnam in the post-WWII period, eventually culminating with the French withdrawal from Indochina and the introduction of U.S. forces.

      His work presents both a strategic and tactical view of the French war with the Viet-Minh, and provides a graphic example of the hazards of fighting a land war in Indochina against a determined foe. Street Without Joy was originally published in 1961, and in hindsight, its stark warnings to the Americans who were then beginning to get involved in Vietnam are dead on accurate.

As a companion, his other seminal work, Hell in a Very Small Place details the French military debacle at Dien Bien Phu. 		             


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Posted by Jed at 0009 hrs
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Seven Pillars of Wisdom


Author:    T. E. Lawrence

In this work, T. E. Lawrence, or “Lawrence of Arabia,” describes his work with the Arab army against the Ottoman Empire during World War I.  This tale is close to my heart since I lived in Riyadh for 9 years.  I grew up hearing many of the names in this book.  As a history, this book lacks a great deal.  Lawrence was an egoist who was very mindful that he was writing for posterity, so he tends to exaggerate the good and pass through the bad with a wave of his hand and a quick “inshallah” under his breath.  As a story, this book is in a league of its own.  Lawrence manages to harness the storytelling force of an Arab chronicle with the old leather of the English language.  You will know more about Arab culture from reading this book than you will learn in a thousand Newsweek articles.  As usual, the book is better than the movie, but the movie did the book justice. 		           


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Posted by Owen at 0008 hrs
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The Federalist Papers


Authors:    Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay

Our republican form of government in several of the founding fathers’ own words.  All of our current political leaders would do well to pick this one up and give it a read.  If you’ve never read The Federalist Papers, you should, because they’ll change the way you look at government and its role in our lives.                                                            		 


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Posted by Jed at 0008 hrs
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A People’s Tragedy


Author:  Orlando Figes

This is a clear-eyed history on the Russian Revolution of 1917.  Too many histories of the Russian Revolution come from people with Marxist sympathies to outright communists.  Figes provides all of the details of the Russian Revolution while keeping his eye on the fact that it resulted in the subjugation of a people for 5 generations.  The Russian Revolution was also another classic example of a revolution that cannibalized its leaders.  		                   


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Posted by Owen at 0007 hrs
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The Last Battle


Author:  Ralph Wetterhahn

On 12 May 1975, the Khmer Rouge seized the U.S.S. Mayaguez and took the 40-man crew hostage. During the poorly planned rescue attempt, 41 U.S. servicemen were killed in action, thus becoming the last names listed on the Vietnam Wall.

      In this book, Wetterhahn tells of his journeys with the Joint Task Force-Full Accounting to excavate the battle site and attempt to identify the remains of the MIAs. In the process he, gives a very detailed recreation of the battle. Of special interest is his focus on three young Marines who were inadvertently left behind and subsequently captured and executed by the Khmer Rouge.

      Wetterhahn’s book is a superb tale of the political and military blunders which continued to occur in the weeks and months following the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam. 		 


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Posted by Jed at 0007 hrs
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Adolf Hitler


Author:    John Toland

This is actually the book that got me reading history as much as I do.  I read this for the first time in 1993 and haven’t stopped reading history since.  Sure, I read history before this book and I’ve read a little fiction since, but this book brought out my love for the genre.  I’ve read other biographies of Hitler since this, but I have never found another one as complete and thorough as this one.  A must read. 		               


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Posted by Owen at 0006 hrs
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The Long Gray Line


Author:  Rick Atkinson

Another modern classic by Atkinson.

      The United States Military Academy Class of ‘66 graduated 579 second lieutenants, of whom 30 would give their lives in Southeast Asia. Atkinson’s book follows the men from their arrival at West Point, through Vietnam, and eventually to the present day.

      Atkinson does an excellent job of allowing the reader to build a connection with the young men, and the result is a compelling story which make the reader appreciate the sacrifices and hardships the young men had to endure. He also spends a significant portion of the book in the post-Vietnam era, highlighting the Class of ‘66’s role in the struggle to fund the Wall. 		           


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Posted by Jed at 0006 hrs
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Himmler


Author:    Peter Padfield

Himmler is a man that often gets overlooked when studying the Third Reich, yet as head of the dreaded SS, he was a key figure in all of the Nazi atrocities.  This is a very complete biography that tries to discover how this mousey, shy, and docile man managed to rise to the top of a brutal organization and engineer the murder and subjugation of millions. 		             


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Posted by Owen at 0005 hrs
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The Rise And Fall of the Third Reich


Author:    William L. Shirer

William Shirer was a journalist covering Germany during the Third Reich era. His account of the rise of the Nazis to power and their eventual downfall is as thorough as you will ever find on the topic.

Shirer does an excellent job of not straying into the military aspect of the Third Reich any more than necessary. He avoids allowing the military situation at the time to dominate his narrative, allowing it only as necessary to highlight the political situation at the time. By sticking to the political aspect of the Third Reich, he presents a side of the Third Reich which is rarely studied, and of which most military history scholars or buffs are ignorant.

This book is also a must read for those interested in seeing how a representative form of government can go bad very quickly when accountability is lost and emotions are allowed to rule the day. 		           


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Posted by Jed at 0005 hrs
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Ordinary Men


Author:    Christopher R. Browning

This is an extremely disturbing story that follows the German Police Reserve Battalion 101 as they leave their homes and head out East to murder Jews.  These are middle-aged men with families who are called to duty by their nation, Germany, during World War II to help the army to subjugate the newly conquered lands of Poland.  They gather together and board the trains as ordinary men.  They land in Poland and brutally murder Jews by the score.  The psychology of it is absolutely diabolical as peer pressure, cultural biases, and rage all combine to make these ordinary man toss Jewish babies out of a hospital window onto their bayonets. 		         


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Posted by Owen at 0004 hrs
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We Were Soldiers Once… And Young


Authors:    Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.) and Joseph L. Galloway

In the fall of 1965, the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry engaged the NVA in a massive battle in Vietnam’s Ia Drang Valley.

      Joe Galloway was a UPI reporter along for the story, and Gen. Moore (then a Lt. Col.) was the battalion commander.

      Their account of the fight which ensued at LZs X-Ray and Albany is the best account of small unit warfare ever written. The authors do an excellent job of describing unit movements down to the platoon level, and on occasion individual soldier level, without turning the narrative into a convoluted mess which loses the reader. The overall effect is to give the reader a much better personal understanding of the tactical elements of the battle.

      The book was made into a movie, but the movie didn’t come close to doing justice to the excellent narrative. 		       


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Posted by Jed at 0004 hrs
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Red Storm Rising


Author:    Tom Clancy

IMHO, Tom Clancy has really fallen off since the Cold War ended. It’s just a lot more fun to read about kicking Commie ass than drug dealers, terrorists, etc.

Red Storm Rising is Clancy’s stab at World War III. The Soviets need oil, but don’t dare invade the Middle East without first neutralizing NATO forces in Europe. So, the Soviets invade, and WWIII is on. Looking back at it, the Reds wouldn’t have done nearly as well in real life as they did in the novel, but the good guys still win in the end.

      Red Storm Rising was originally published in the mid-80s, so it is a little dated, but it’s still my favorite Clancy novel. 		         


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Posted by Jed at 0003 hrs
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Dune


Author:    Frank Herbert

This is one of the classic science fiction novels.  Science fiction is a genre that can be very good that takes the reader into another universe, and it can be butchered.  This is one of the best of the best.  All of the Dune novels are good, but the original is the best.  		           


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Posted by Owen at 0003 hrs
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Starship Troopers


Author:    Robert A. Heinlein

When Heinlein originally published Starship Troopers, it was a very controversial book. The book follows a young man through training and combat as a soldier in the Mobile Infantry.

The book was very controversial because it featured a militaristic society where citizenship was not inherent, but had to be earned. Along with citizenship came great responsibility, and the book was not so subtly critical of those who seek to enjoy the benefits of citizenship both without earning them and without accepting the accompanying responsibility.

      Though the society featured in the book seems far fetched and radical, the ideas espoused by the society do challenge the reader to think about the nature of citizenship and the citizens role in society.

    The book is like the movie of the same name in that they are both fiction, but that’s about it. Watch the movie to ogle over the awesome rifles and prodigious use of tactical nuclear weapons. Read the book to enjoy a good story. 		         


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Posted by Jed at 0002 hrs
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Les Miserables


Author:  Victor Hugo

I fell in love with this story after my wife took me to the musical (which is fantastic).  It traces the trials of Jean ValJean as he is released from a French Prison, only to find himself captive to his past.  He jumps parole and leads a good life until the past catches up to him in the form of the policeman, Javert.  This is a truly fantastic tale.  Hugo does tend to go off on tangents where he rants about the various parts of the French government or French society that piss him off, but he meanders back to the story eventually.  Hey, who among us could place a story in France and not rant a little?  		                 


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Posted by Owen at 0002 hrs
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