OT - Book (Non Fiction) Review/Recommendations Thread

[JHart]

I finished reading The Gun by C. J. Chivers a couple of weeks ago, which is a history of the AK-47. It offers a good history about the development of automatic guns and the effect of the AK on the world stage.

[dragoon500ly]

Here's a couple of more titles...

"The Last Hundred Yards", this one is a intro guide for USMC NCOs, useful since it breaks down a lot of the leadership tasks into easy to digest blocks. Very useful for non-military players to get a feel for how things work.

"The Myth of the Great War, How the Germans Won the Battles and How the Americans Saved the Allies." By John Mosier. Title says it all, its a well researched book by an author who took the time to research the German, French, and Italian military archives. His conclusions will certainly send any Anglophile into near-earth orbit. Everything from the Allied High Command lying to the civilian government, to mislabeling maps as to exactly where the front lines are. Take the time to set down and read it, then research his sources.....it certainly leaves you questioning some of the popular myths of WWI....

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by JHart

I finished reading The Gun by C. J. Chivers a couple of weeks ago, which is a history of the AK-47. It offers a good history about the development of automatic guns and the effect of the AK on the world stage.

I have a similar-concept book, AK-47: The Grim Reaper, by Frank Iannamico, which I intend to read in more detail in the near future, especially with an eye towards what I can add to my T2K pages.

[TiggerCCW UK]

Keeping the AK theme going I'd also recommend 'AK-47 The weapon that changed the face of war' by Larry Kahaner.

[Raellus]

There's been a glut of books on the AK over the past 5 years or so. I guess a bunch of authors realized that the 60th anniversary of the Kalashnikov assault rifle '47 was coming up and they all started working on books to hit stores at around that time.

[Sanjuro]

For anyone who enjoyed Once a Warrior King, I can also recommend Chickenhawk, by Robert Mason. It is an excellent account of a novice helicopter pilot learning his trade with the 1st Cav in Vietnam, with some very revealing stuff later on about the effects of combat fatigue.

[Rainbow Six]

Just finished Dead Men Risen by Toby Harnden (ISBN 9781849164214),

There are a number of books now available about the British Army in Afghanistan and this one is, in my opinion, one of the best I've read. It covers the Welsh Guards 2009 tour, during which they lost their Commanding Officer and a Company Commander to IED's.

Highly, highly recommended.

[Adm.Lee]

The wrong war: grit, strategy and the way out of Afghanistan by "Bing" West.

West is also the author of the classic The Village, about a Combined Action Platoon in Vietnam. This is his book about hanging around Marines and soldiers in 2009 and 2010, and his recommendations as well. I thought the patrol reporting was well done, and the suggestions clear.

He does not over-hype the "Well, when I was in Vietnam, we did this..." angle, but he does draw parallels when they can be seen. In fact, he spends a fair amount of time on the places where classic Counterinsurgency prescriptions won't work, such as where the locals are deeply hostile, and the local government is too corrupt or incompetent to deliver meaningful services.