Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

I am pleasantly surprised to see that two of my books are on the Army’s reading list

Fiasco's relevance endures.

soldierreadinglist
soldierreadinglist

The new Army reading list, released in midsummer, includes two books of mine, which both pleases and surprises me. Fiasco was critical of an entire generation of Army generals, but sympathetic to battalion commanders, the people at the point where the illusions of top leaders met the realities of Iraq. Now some of those battalion commanders are the leaders of the Army.

The new Army reading list, released in midsummer, includes two books of mine, which both pleases and surprises me. Fiasco was critical of an entire generation of Army generals, but sympathetic to battalion commanders, the people at the point where the illusions of top leaders met the realities of Iraq. Now some of those battalion commanders are the leaders of the Army.

But that’s not the only reason I like the list. Of all the reading lists I’ve run in this blog, this is, I think, the one where I have read and liked the highest percentage. On the other hand, I’ve seen lotsa complaints that the whole list only has one book by a woman. I’m hoping someone will send me a list of “100 essential books by women on military and security issues.” I asked for one but haven’t yet received.

Photo credit: J-R Drahi/Armée Terre.

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1
Tag: Iraq

More from Foreign Policy

Keri Russell as Kate Wyler walks by a State Department Seal from a scene in The Diplomat, a new Netflix show about the foreign service.
Keri Russell as Kate Wyler walks by a State Department Seal from a scene in The Diplomat, a new Netflix show about the foreign service.

At Long Last, the Foreign Service Gets the Netflix Treatment

Keri Russell gets Drexel furniture but no Senate confirmation hearing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron speak in the garden of the governor of Guangdong's residence in Guangzhou, China, on April 7.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron speak in the garden of the governor of Guangdong's residence in Guangzhou, China, on April 7.

How Macron Is Blocking EU Strategy on Russia and China

As a strategic consensus emerges in Europe, France is in the way.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin greets U.S. President George W. Bush prior to a meeting of APEC leaders in 2001.
Chinese President Jiang Zemin greets U.S. President George W. Bush prior to a meeting of APEC leaders in 2001.

What the Bush-Obama China Memos Reveal

Newly declassified documents contain important lessons for U.S. China policy.

A girl stands atop a destroyed Russian tank.
A girl stands atop a destroyed Russian tank.

Russia’s Boom Business Goes Bust

Moscow’s arms exports have fallen to levels not seen since the Soviet Union’s collapse.