I am pleasantly surprised to see that two of my books are on the Army’s reading list
Fiasco's relevance endures.
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.
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.
More from Foreign Policy
Actually, the Russian Economy Is Imploding
Nine myths about the effects of sanctions and business retreats, debunked.
The Taliban Detained Me for Doing My Job. I Can Never Go Back.
FP’s columnist on a harrowing return to Kabul, almost one year after the United States left Afghanistan.
Russian Sanctions Are Working but Slowly
Moscow’s military capabilities are being ground down, piece by piece.
Ghana’s ‘Success’ Exposes the West’s Toxic Development Model
Standard theories of global progress continue to be largely limited to raw extraction.
Sign up for Morning Brief
Foreign Policy’s flagship daily newsletter with what’s coming up around the world today from Foreign Policy’s newsletter writer Colm Quinn.
By signing up, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to occasionally receive special offers from Foreign Policy.
