By Colin Steele, Modern War Institute: “In The Soldier and the State, Samuel Huntington famously adopted the phrase “the management of violence” to encapsulate the military officer’s art.”
From Modern War Institute: “Gen. Joseph Votel, commander of US Central Command, has released his 2018 reading list. With twelve books across five categories, Gen. Votel’s list makes for a great edition of our weekly War Books series.”
By Mick Ryan, Modern War Institute: “I have included several of my favourite science-fiction novels that feature military themes. I have written previously about why I think military officers should read sci-fi, and have collaborated on a sci-fi reading list. Given the small number of sci-fi books I included, this might be the most controversial aspect of the list—there is no Starship Troopers or Enders Game. I don’t think these are bad novels; I just think Old Mans War and The Forever War are better. And it is very hard to go past The Martian for a story of resilience, innovation, and pure greatness in storytelling.”
By James Stavridis, Bloomberg: “Novels about Syria, a jotting genius, Indian massacres and the return of George Smiley.”
By James King, Modern War Institute: “As with cutting my list to a top five, finding the one that shaped me the most is a difficult task. From a fiction standpoint, I first read Red Storm Rising at an age where I was too young to understand it ... ”
By Andrew Bacevich, Modern War Institute: “In my judgment, Niebuhr’s The Irony of American History, published in 1952, remains the most important book ever written about US foreign policy.”