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"Forward in Africa: USAFRICOM and the U.S. Army in Africa" | by U.S. Army AfricaOn Oct. 1, 2009, U.S. Army Africa, formerly the U.S. Army Southern European Task Force became the Army Service Component Command for U.S. Africa Command. That designation reflects some modest, but significant, good news; a year earlier, USAFRICOM had no dedicated Army Service Component Command. Today, U.S. Army Africa embodies the U.S. Army’s commitment to the full spectrum of military operations.
What is What
"What is the What" | by Dave Eggers
Separated from his family when Arab militia destroy his village, Valentino joins thousands of other "Lost Boys," beset by starvation, thirst and man-eating lions on their march to squalid refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, where Valentino pieces together a new life. He eventually reaches America, but finds his quest for safety, community and fulfillment in many ways even more difficult there than in the camps.
The Fate of Africa
"The Fate of Africa" | by Martin Meredith
The Fate of Africa is a lively and accessible history of Africa over the last fifty years. Narrative histories of individual countries with a focus on people and key events make for interesting reading. Meredith's approach is broadly chronological and geographical, but not strictly so. Somalia, for example, is covered in a single chapter which focuses on the 1990s and is placed near the end of the book.
Journey Into Darkness
"Journey into Darkness" | by Thomas P. Odom
Odom draws on his years of experience as a defense attaché and foreign area specialist in the United States Army to offer a complete picture of the situation in Zaire and Rwanda, focusing on two U.S. embassies, intelligence operations, U.N. peacekeeping efforts, and regional reactions.
Africa Since 1940
"Africa since 1940" | by Frederick Cooper
This text will help students understand the historical process out of which Africa’s current position in the world has emerged. Bridging the divide between colonial and post-colonial history, it allows readers to see just what political independence did and did not signify and how men and women, peasants and workers, religious leaders and local leaders sought to refashion the way they lived, worked, and interacted with each other.
Civil Wars in Africa
"Civil Wars in Africa" | by Guy Arnold
Ever since the end of World War II, and even more so since 1960, when seventeen African colonies became independent of colonial rule, the African continent has been ravaged by a series of wars. These wars have ranged from liberation struggles against former colonial powers to power struggles between different factions in the aftermath of independence.
Understanding Contemporary Africa
"Understanding Contemporary Africa" | by Robert Calderisi
This new edition of Understanding Contemporary Africa treats the range of issues facing the continent in the first decade of the twenty-first century. The authors provide current, thorough analyses not only of history, politics, and economics, but also geography, environmental concerns, population shifts, family and kinship, the role of women, religious beliefs, and literature.
The Trouble With Africa
"The Trouble with Africa" | by A. and D. Gordon
After years of frustration at the stifling atmosphere of political correctness surrounding discussions of Africa, long time World Bank official Robert Calderisi speaks out. He boldly reveals how most of Africa’s misfortunes are self-imposed, and why the world must now deal differently with the continent. Drawing on thirty years of first hand experience, The Trouble with Africa highlights issues which have been ignored by Africa’s leaders but have worried ordinary Africans, diplomats, academics, business leaders, aid workers, volunteers, and missionaries for a long time.
China in Africa
"China in Africa" | by Arthur Waldron
China in Africa provides a fulsome, balanced examination spanning past to future of oil-thirsty, mineral-hungry China's potentially limitless constructive and disruptive, often high-risk, activities--some successful, others not. As to China's complex evolving motives in Africa, the book astutely probes beyond resource needs--seldom engaging in exaggeration and "China bashing." Many chapters are gems of clarity and brevity. Although rising China strategically uses economic and soft power, Beijing is seen subjecting itself to American and international criticism by persisting in short-sighted trade, investment, and aid practices that produce resentment.
China
Worthing, Peter M. A Military History of Modern China from the Manchu Conquest to Tian’anmen Square (Praeger Publishers, 2007, 240 pages)
Dr. Worthing examines the central roles of war and the military in shaping the modern history of China. Beginning with the 17th century Manchu invasion the book covers, among other topics, China’s defeat at the hands of Western powers in the 19th century; the revolutionary movement, the overthrow of the monarchy, and attempts to establish a democratic republic; the Japanese invasion; China’s civil war and the Communist takeover; the Chinese Communist role in the Korean War; border clashes with the Soviet Union, India, and Vietnam; changes in military doctrine, organization, and technology; the People's Liberation Army's violent suppression of the 1989 student demonstrations; and the military situation in the Taiwan Straits. The book also includes a section on modern military reform, acquisition of military technology, and relations with Taiwan. This is a good single-volume overview of 400 years of Chinese history and will increase the readers understanding of modern China.
DPRK
Oberdorfer, Don. The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History (Revised and Updated Edition, Basic Books (Perseus Books Group), December 2001, 521 pages)
Described as a “probing examination of historic events in one of the most dangerous and volatile places on earth,” The Two Koreas is a meticulous analysis of the intricacies of the Korean peninsula. Don Oberdorfer, a long-time journalist reporting on the Asia Theater, draws on his personal experience and nearly 450 interviews in North and South Korea and other countries. The result is a well-researched and informative work that reads with a first-person familiarity of important events and players.
India
Wolpert, Stanley. A New History of India (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008, Eighth Edition)
Emeritus professor of history at UCLA, Dr. Stanley Wolpert has artfully compressed 4000 years of complex social, political, and economic history into a single volume that is readable, informative, and engaging. A New History of India is almost unanimously considered the best single-volume history of that country. If you’re going to read one book on India, then this should be it.
Transnational Threats
Chaliand, Gérard and Arnaud Blin, eds. The History of Terrorism: From Antiquity to al Qaeda (University of California Press, 2007, 474 pages)
Translated from French, this book is not U.S-centric. It is divided into three sections: the prehistory of terrorism, especially by small, specialized groups such as the Zealots; the period from 1789 to 1968, as terrorism came into its own as a tool of radical political movements; and the recent uses of terrorism, especially by Islamic radicals including but not limited to al-Qaeda. The final section takes up slightly more than half the book. It sets a historical and moral context for today's conflicts as it delves into the evolution of the moral debates concerning the targeting of civilians in times of warfare. Two excellent essays entitled The United States Confronting Terrorism and Terrorism in Southeast Asia – Threat and Response are included. This is an interesting and useful book that offers a “clear-eyed, unsentimental and comprehensive look at terrorism.”
Vikziany, Marika, ed. Controlling Arms and Terror in the Asia Pacific: After Bali and Baghdad (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2007, 303 pages)
“Years after 9/11, the Global War on Terror is still not over. The deepening crisis in Iraq has been accompanied by rising violence in Asia, as the bombings in Indonesia show. The 18 specialists and policymakers who have contributed to this book assess how the security scenario in the Asia Pacific has changed in response to these events. The Asia Pacific is rent by communal conflicts that have generated local jihads, which fuel regional and global jihads. This book assesses state responses to terrorism, paying attention to neglected factors such as money laundering, the emerging role of the EU, the growing fear of the US, and increasing concern about the way anti-terrorist legislation curtails civil liberties. With the benefit of extensive fieldwork and access to unique sources in many languages, the contributors analyze key features of the local security scenarios. Pakistan's precarious situation is explored here from many angles, including Islamic militancy, the role of the military and the peace process with India. Again, domestic failures support regional and global terror. Regional anti-terrorist collaboration is also hampered by South-east Asia's counter-terrorism dilemmas, setbacks in the Philippine-US security relationship, the Asian arms race, and growing fears of the US National Missile Defence system and how this system will be perceived by China. The history of state sponsored terrorism and millenarian ideology are crucial to these regional scenarios. The latter, in the particular form of Japan's Aum Shinrikyo movement, reminds us that militant Islamists are not uniquely destructive. An important addition to the literature on terrorism and security, this in-depth and comprehensive analysis of a complex and increasingly unstable region will be welcomed by political scientists, scholars, policymakers, and those seeking a better understanding of whether the Global War on Terror has changed the security architecture of the Asia Pacific in a positive way.”
Jones, David Martin, ed. Globalisation and the New Terror: the Asia Pacific Dimension (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2004, 317 pages)
This is a collection of edited papers presented at an international conference held in Hobart, Australia (University of Tasmania), in 2002. “This rigorously analytical yet readable book examines trends in new terror - understood here to be the capacity of sub-state actors to secure religious or politically motivated objectives by violent means. The contributors argue that whilst the use of violence to achieve political ends is [scarcely] original, what distinguishes new terror is its potential for lethality. This, combined with its evolving capacity to draw upon the resources of globalisation, particularly the revolution in communications which has advanced global markets, has also rendered them, and the more developed core states in the international trading order, increasingly vulnerable to asymmetric threats.”
HAWAII
Daws, Gavin. Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands (University of Hawaii Press, 1968, 494 pages).
Although Hawaii is not one of the Command’s strategic focus areas, everyone living in Hawaii needs to understand and be sensitive to its controversial history. Shoal of Time is the best and most unbiased introduction to Hawaii’s history in print. Daws succeeds in providing us with a highly readable, well researched, dispassionate, and balanced survey history of Hawaii from it’s pre-history to statehood. Of particular importance is the overthrow of the monarchy and annexation by the United States—an as yet unresolved issue among the local community. This is a must read.
Allies and Partners
Welsh, Frank. Australia: A New History of the Great Southern Land (Overlook Press, 2006, 758 pages)
Frank Welsh traces Australia’s history from its origins as a penal colony to a highly successful and respected nation. While somewhat Leftist in his views of the Cold War and the Vietnam War, Welsh generally remains fair and balanced and it is a solid history of what is now the Commonwealth of Australia. Although coverage ends before Labor took over the government [in December 2007], it is described as “a must read for anyone interested in the political and economic history of Australia.”
Meyer, Milton W. Japan: A Concise History (fourth edition, Roman & Littlefield Publishers, 2009, 360 pages)
“This popular and accessible introduction to Japan offers readers an authoritative yet concise overview of two thousand years of Japanese history. Now fully updated to the present, this edition also includes an array of photographs and illustrations. The first half of the book explores the pre-Meiji era up to 1868. The second half traces domestic and relevant foreign events in the modernizing era launched by the Meiji Restoration. Milton W. Meyer's clear explanations of Japanese traditions, religion, history, economics, politics, and relations with the West provide an invaluable aid for understanding contemporary Japan.” (Google Books)
Oberdorfer, Don. The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History (Revised and Updated Edition, Basic Books (Perseus Books Group, 2001, 521 pages)
(See DPRK below)
Karnow, Stanley. In Our Image: America’s Empire in the Philippines (New York: Random House, 1989, 494 pages)
In Our Image is a Pulitzer Prize-winning history of the United States’ only major colonial experience. According to the author, he “seeks to answer three questions: What propelled the Americans into the Philippines? What did they do there? And what has been the legacy of their rule?” Karnow, a journalist, is an engaging writer and this book makes for interesting reading.
Wyatt, David K. Thailand: A Short History (Edwards Brothers, Inc., 1984, 351 pages)
This is a concise, well-written, and entertaining one-volume, comprehensive history of Thailand covering the period from the early centuries A.D. to the early 1980’s. Maps, photographs, and an extensive bibliography make this a valuable resource for those interested in Thai history.
Friend, Theodore. Indonesian Destinies (Harvard University Press, 2003, 628 pages)
A rich and informative introduction to Indonesia’s post-colonial history written by Theodore Friend, Ph.D., a highly respected historian, novelist, teacher, former president of Swarthmore College and a longtime observer and participant in Southeast Asian affairs. Indonesian Destinies combines scholarly analysis and vivid personal recollections in a comprehensive, yet not-too-hard-to-read glimpse into the complexity of Indonesian society. This is an excellent source for those wanting to understand the world’s largest Muslim country.
Turnbull, C.M. A History of Modern Singapore: 1819-2005 (Revised Edition, National University of Singapore Press, 2009, 488 pages)
Turnbull is well known for her work that captures Singapore's history in a readable and concise style. Turnbull first went to Malaya in 1952 as an administrative officer in the Malayan Civil Service and was probably the first woman to serve in the overseas colonial service. She left civil service and began teaching at the University of Malaya in 1955 and taught in Malaysia and Singapore until moving to the University of Hong Kong in 1971 where she eventually became head of the Department of History. Many of her works have become key references for the study of Singapore’s history and A History of Modern Singapore 1819-2005 is Turnbull’s most notable work. Originally published as A History of Singapore 1819-1975, it was updated regularly before her death in 2008. It is the key reference on Singapore's modern history and is used as the definitive guide for Singapore’s National Education program.
Wolpert, Stanley. A New History of India (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008, Eighth Edition)
(See INDIA below)
http://www.pacom.mil/web/PACOM_Resour...COMMANDER USPACOM READING LIST (18 August 2010)
The Commander USPACOM Reading List offers a election of books that provide historical context and insight to the Commander's five strategic focus areas: Allies and Partners, China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), India, and Transnational Threats. An excellent history of Hawaii is also included. This professional reading list will enhance readers' understanding of and appreciation for key countries and issues in the USPACOM area of responsibility.
GENERAL/MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS
Mark J. Plotkin
Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice: An Ethnobotanist Searches for New Medicines in the Rain forest
Enthralled by the mysteries of the Amazon and its peoples, Plotkin explores the rainforests of the Amazon and studies its diverse flora and fauna, which—in the manner that quinine from trees defeated malaria--may be the source for many lifesaving drugs. However, the encroachment of “civilization” threatens both these potentially irreplaceable plants and the people who best know their properties.
Rusty Young and Thomas McFadden
Marching Powder: A True Story of Friendship, Cocaine, and South America’s Strangest Jail
Thomas McFadden, a confessed drug dealer, is arrested by Bolivian authorities and ultimately lands in La Paz’ San Pedro prison, a parallel society in which prisoners “buy” their cell like any other real estate and pay for their food in a bizarre economy where the rich have everything—including sex, drugs, luxury items, etc.—and the poor struggle to survive. One of McFadden’s profit making schemes involves giving guided tours of the complex, which is how he met Young. Fascinated, Young bribes guards to spend three months in the prison, gathering information that became this book.
FICTION/HISTORICAL FICTION:
Isabel Allende
Inés of My Soul: A Novel (Inés del alma mía: una novela)
This historical novel—set in Spain, Perú, and Chile—describes the time of the Spanish conquest of the Americas through the eyes of Inés Suárez, the real-life wife and widow of one conquistador and later lover of another. Inés writes of her humble beginnings as a seamstress in Spain; her marriage to a conquistador who spent most of his time away from his family in search of the New World’s treasures; her journey to Perú; and, following her husband’s death, her long affair with one of Pizarro’s officers charged with carving out “civilization” in Chile.
Jorge Amado
Gabriela, cravo e canela (Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon)
In 1925, the provincial port of Ilheus in the Brazilian state of Bahia was a boomtown driven by the distribution and ýexport of cacao, the region’s primary product. One one level, this novel tells the story of an improbable romance between Nacib Saad, an Arab bar owner, and Gabriela, the title’s mixed-race native who out of desperation takes a job as a cook at the bar. This tale is interwoven with a second theme: the social, political, and economic ýstruggle between rural cacao growers and the city elites promoting competing visions of development.
Miguel Angel Asturias
Men of Maize (Hombres de Maíz)
This novel, which earned its author the 1967 Nobel Prize, addresses the clash of cultures seen among Guatemala’s Ladinos, Mestizos, and Indians as they interact during the early 20th century. Central to this is the role of maize—corn—in the lives of each of these groups. The Maya see themselves as “men of maize,” almost literally one with the land, while others are further removed from this communion. Asturias depicts this distancing as the root cause of their social conflict and an indictment of many post-colonial changes accomplished in the name of progress.
Gabriel García Márquez
The General in His Labyrinth (El general en su laberinto)
Simon Bolivar’s founding role in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela is an unprecedented achievement. But by 1830, the 46 year old Bolivar is portrayed as bitter and disillusioned. He embarks on what turns out to be his final voyage on the Magdalena River, contemplating his legacy, what might have been, and his own decline.
Gabriel García Márquez
Love in the Time of Cholera (El amor en los tiempos de Cólera)
The novels of Colombian Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez paint a fascinating, complex view of South American society. In Love, the story of a now-elderly man and woman who may have a second chance at romance after the death of the woman’s husband of 50+ years, Garcia Marquez uses flashbacks to illustrate the power of love in its various forms, while at the same time providing insights into the people of the region.
Ernest Hemingway
The Old Man and the Sea
The author’s classic novella about Santiago, a world-weary Cuban fisherman struggling against real, metaphorical, and imagined adversity, earned him the 1954 Nobel Prize. It is a short read but its powerful imagery conveys a timeless message on the strength of the human spirit.
Joshua Marston
Maria Full of Grace (Film)
Seventeen-year-old Maria ekes out a subsistence life with her family in rural Colombia. Feeling trapped in a dead-end job at a rose plantation, Maria accepts a high-pay, high-risk offer to smuggle heroin into the U.S. as a “mule”—swallowing packets of the drug. Her subsequent ordeal provides insight into this very human side of the illicit drug trade.
V.S. Naipaul
A Way in the World
Naipaul, the 2001 Nobel laureate in literature, weaves a series of nine linked narratives joined by the common theme of colonialism in the Americas. Although technically a novel, the main character and narrator, an ethnic Indian from Trinidad, is a thinly-disguised version of the author who frames his introspection using historical events ranging from the journeys of Columbus and Raleigh to Trinidad’s post-WW II movement toward independence.
Lawrence Thornton
Imagining Argentina
During Argentina’s 1976-1983 military-led dictatorship, thousands of persons believed or suspected to oppose the government were seized and held in a network of detention centers. Many disappeared without a trace. Carlos Rueda, a playwright and spouse of one of those arrested, finds himself able to conjure visions of missing persons and see their fate. This book is a classic example of magical realism in Latin American writing.
Lily Tuck
The News From Paraguay
A historical novel of nineteenth-century Paraguay told largely through Ella Lynch, an Irishwoman who, in Paris, met Francisco Solano Lopez, the son of Paraguay’s dictator. Ella was a real 19th-century courtesan. She became his mistress and, after Lopez (known as Franco) succeeded his father, she was the most powerful woman in the country. As an Irishwoman in Paraguay, Ella is an outsider. But so, in a way, is Franco, a megalomaniac who builds a theatre modeled on La Scala and wages a disastrous war against Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina.
Mario Vargas Llosa
Fiesta del Chivo (The Feast of the Goat)
The “Goat” in the title refers to the nickname of Dominican dictator Gen. Rafael Trujillo, known (and reviled) for his excesses. Vargas Llosa’s story chronicles the leader’s faltering state of mind—his rage and paranoia—while his assassination is imminent. The people’s perspective is seen through the eyes of Urania, a onetime teenage Trujillo victim who returns to the island years later.
ECONOMICS/GLOBALISM
Thomas H. Becker
Doing Business in the New Latin America: A Guide to Cultures, Practices and Opportunities
Intended as a primer for businesspeople, Becker describes the “people, places, and possibilities” of Latin America—as well as the U.S. Hispanic populace—with an eye to illustrating cultural and other factors that impact business dealings.
Albert Fishlow and James Jones
The United States and the Americas
The shared social, political, cultural and economic ties that bind the nations of the Americas are stronger than those of any other region in the world. The Western Hemisphere is also increasingly challenged by drugs, illegal immigration, natural disasters, environmental issues, and other regional topics that demand cooperative solutions.
Franklin Foer
How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
In a series of ten essays, Foer explores the power that soccer has over the inhabitants of various countries around the world, linking these nations’ domestic and international politics to the local flavor of the sport. In doing so, he uses soccer as a metaphor to explain several globalization trends.
Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza, Carlos Alberto Montaner and Alvaro Vargas Llosa
Guide to the Perfect Latin American Idiot
Three former members of the old Left dissect and examine the character (the Latin American idiot) in a cultural critique that combines analysis with humor and a relentless self-criticism. The authors challenge the populist ideologies of both the Left and the Right and argue that much of what is wrong with Latin America is not the fault of the U.S., but rather the result of Latin Americans’ own mismanagement.
Andrés Oppenheimer
Saving the Americas
Miami Herald author and Pulitzer Prize winner Andrés Oppenheimer compares and contrasts the challenges and opportunities faced by the developing nations of Latin America and their counterparts elsewhere in the world. Oppenheimer’s position is that the region is at risk of political and economic irrelevance if its nations do not act decisively to address their concerns. He also discusses key issues linking (and dividing) the U.S. and its neighbors--to include immigration, trade, and the environment—and proposes strategies for addressing these topics
POLITICAL/MILITARY SCIENCE
Kyle Longley
In the Eagle’s Shadow: The United States and Latin America
Originally written as a college textbook, this book by a professor of foreign relations at Arizona State University outlines the history of Latin America from its colonization by European powers to the present day and highlights key points and issues in U.S. – Latin American relations along that timeline.
John Lynch
Simon Bolivar: A Life
As the “Liberator of South America,” Bolivar presided over the independence of his native Venezuela and five other nations: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Perú. Lynch’s biography portrays Bolivar as shaped by exposure to Europe’s enlightenment while living in Paris, and honed during a visit to the U.S. The key to his multiple successes, Lynch argues, was his pragmatism and flexibility in selectively applying those lessons learned—sometimes in paradoxical ways--to the varying circumstances in each country.
Jennifer McCoy and David Myers
The Unraveling of Representative Democracy in Venezuela
Having failed to take power in an abortive 1992 coup, then Lt. Colonel Hugo Chávez Frías absorbed his lessons learned and was ultimately elected president of Venezuela in 1998. Since then, he has worked to dismantle one of Latin America’s most stable representative democracies with varying degrees of success. Thirteen scholars debate the implications of “Chavismo” in Venezuela and throughout the region.
David Pion-Berlin (ed. )
Civil-Military Relations in Latin America: New Analytical Perspectives
In the post-Cold War period, Latin American armed forces no longer directly rule many of the region’s countries, but they remain a powerful influence on their governments and societies. These nations’ politicians and civilian institutions face many challenges as they work to build a properly balanced role for their militaries.
Fareed Zakaria
The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad
Dr. Zakaria’s controversial thesis is that “democracy,” when defined as a form of populism, is not proving up to the task as a framework for dealing with major domestic and foreign policy issues. He posits that institutions of “Illiberal democracy”—public entities at least one step removed from the ballot box—are the most effective precisely because they work in an undemocratic manner.
Tony Zinni
The Battle for Peace: A Frontline Vision of America’s Power and Purpose
Retired Marine General Anthony Zinni, former commander of the U.S. Central Command and special envoy to the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, gives his assessment of the state of the world’s security and what the U.S.’ role should be. He calls for a renewed emphasis on soft power as the primary tool by which the U.S. should support shared goals of social / political stability and economic prosperity.
NON-FICTION: MEMOIRS
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
The Accidental President of Brazil: A Memoir
This memoir from former two-term Brazilian president (1995-2003) Cardoso provides rare insight into political developments in Brazil in the last half of the 20th century. It is a candid reflection on his successes (replacing a military dictatorship, curbing hyperinflation) and failures (his problematic relationship with his successor) that also provides a context for studying Brazil’s political evolution in recent years.
Nicholas Coghlan
The Saddest Country: On Assignment in Colombia
Canadian diplomat Nicholas Coghlan spent three years on assignment in Colombia. While there, he took every opportunity to tour the nation, with emphasis on its remotest and most conflicted regions. His reflections capture the stunning extremes of the country, juxtaposing its beauty and diversity with the horrors of its internal conflict and its illicit drug trade.
Carlos Eire
Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy
The citation for this 2003 National Book Award winner reads, “Noted religion scholar Carlos Eire’s idyllic and privileged childhood in Havana came to an end in the wake of Castro’s revolution. In this memoir, he reveals an exotic, magical Cuba and an eccentric family: his father – a municipal judge and art collector – believed that in a past life he had been King Louis XVI. In 1962, Carlos Eire’s world changed forever when he and his brother were among the 14,000 children airlifted off the island, their parents left behind. In chronicling his life before and after his arrival in the U.S., Eire’s personal story is also a meditation on loss and suffering, redemption and rebirth.”
Jamaica Kincaid
My Brother
A heartfelt reflection on family, culture in Antigua, and a brother’s affliction with AIDS. Through a poetic and candid narrative, Kincaid illustrates her sibling’s life as both a Rastafarian and a brother. Although the work centers upon the dying of Devon Drew, it gives a compelling account of growing up on the poverty-stricken island of Antigua.
Armando Valladares
Against All Hope: A Memoir of Life in Castro’s Gulag
One morning, twenty-three year old Armando Valladares, an employee of the Cuban Postal Savings Bank, was handed a propaganda sign to display at his desk: “If Fidel is a communist, then put me on the list. He’s got the right idea.” Valladares didn’t agree and turned down the sign. This and subsequent refusals to embrace regime dogma and renounce his religious beliefs cost him 22 years in prison under continuous torture; a fate ended only when his smuggled writings drew worldwide attention.
NON-FICTION: HISTORY
Bernal Díaz del Castillo
The Conquest of New Spain (Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España)
Before his death in 1584, Díaz wrote this eyewitness account of Cortez’ first interactions with and subsequent conquest of the Aztecs. It provides an unvarnished look at all aspects of the conquest—good and bad—as well as of the parties involved.
Dr. Marshall Eakins (Audio Course - The Learning Company)
Conquest of the Americas
In a series of lectures, UCLA and Vanderbilt University Professor Marshall Eakin discusses the history of the Americas from the arrival of the conquistadors onward, with emphasis on the confluence of Native American, European, and African cultures.
Carlos Fuentes
The Buried Mirror: Reflections on Spain and the New World
Mexican author Carlos Fuentes looks at the key actors that shaped the New World--Spain and others—from their own roots, through their colonial periods, to the Latin America of today. As a result of this exploration, Fuentes posits that Latin America’s escape from fragmentation and underdevelopment lies in developing and sustaining the social, political, and economic institutions that can build on its rich and diverse heritage.
Robert H. Holden and Eric Zolov
Latin America and the United States: A Documentary History
An encyclopedic collection of documents, with explanatory material, spanning approximately 200 years in the history of the Americas. It includes 124 treaties, speeches, essays, and other documents from the early 1800’s through the beginning of this century. Its coverage of the 20th century and the interaction of U.S. and Latin American policies during that time is particularly thorough.
Brian Latell
After Fidel: The Inside Story of Castro’s Regime and Cuba’s Next Leader
Latell, a veteran Cuba analyst, provides valuable insights into the backgrounds of the Castro brothers, how their experiences have shaped their actions, and the implications for the inevitable transition of power that is already underway.
David McCullough
The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914
This is a definitive account of the over four-decade long struggle to build the Panama Canal. It details the French and U.S.-led efforts behind perhaps the greatest engineering challenge of its time, and the politics behind it. The financial, sanitation, and public health elements of the story are interestingly told and clearly explained.
Candice Millard
The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey
After his crushing 1912 electoral defeat at the hands of Woodrow Wilson, “Teddy” Roosevelt’s idea of therapy was to accept a spot on an expedition down an unexplored branch of the Amazon so treacherous as to be called the “River of Doubt.” Poor preparation and non-stop danger combined to turn the trip into a series of near-death experiences. A great character study, and a great look at the South America of that time.
William Hickling Prescott
History of the Conquest of Peru: With a Preliminary View of the Civilization of the Incas
Embroiled in a bloody civil war pitting two Inca factions against one another, Peru fell to a small group of Spanish conquerors led by the Pizarros. This did not bring an end to the factional fighting, however, as the conflict then shifted to competing groups of conquerors. This sweeping study captures the drama and detail of the events that shaped the region.
Stephen Schlesinger and Stephen Kinzer
Bitter Fruit: The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala
When Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz was overthrown in a 1954 coup, it ultimately led to a 36-year civil war in that Central American nation. Bitter Fruit focuses on the role that U.S. intervention—driven by a variety of political and economic factors—played in Arbenz’ overthrow.
Thomas E. Skidmore and Peter H. Smith
Modern Latin America
Skidmore and Smith’s volume is one of the classic textbooks on Latin America. It features clear and concise accounts of the people, cultures, and nations of the region.
Jaime Suchlicki
Cuba: From Columbus to Castro
In this one-volume tome on Cuba, Suchlicki provides a concise history of Cuba’s past and present. The insights into the Cuban people and their leadership’s mindset help illuminate the issues affecting the island and its relationships with the world.
Hugh Thomas
Rivers of Gold
A richly detailed and eloquently written account of the conquest of the Americas, Thomas concentrates on the two generations of Spanish explorers that followed Columbus’ journey to the New World.
Amy Wilentz
The Rainy Season: Haiti Since Duvalier
Haiti’s “President for Life,” Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, had his grandly-named tenure cut short by a military coup in 1986. During the brief window between his fall and the ascent of an elected (but no less controversial, and later to be deposed) president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the author took the opportunity to capture the flavor of Haiti, its people, and the political and economic movements that make up and drive the country’s turbulent history.
United States - Southern CommandRecommended Reading List 2008
http://www.tecom.usmc.mil/MCU/lli/arc...
http://www.dean.usma.edu/history/web0...TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
USING THIS GUIDE TO DEVELOP YOUR OWN READING PROGRAM
UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY: 200 YEARS OF HISTORY
THE MILITARY CLASSICS
NATURE AND PRACTICE OF WAR
THE FACE OF BATTLE: MAN, WAR AND SMALL UNIT ACTIONS
MEMOIRS AND BIOGRAPHIES
MILITARY HISTORIES
THE PROFESSION OF ARMS
SURVEYS OF MILITARY HISTORY
SURVEYS OF AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY
HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY
HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY
HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD
HISTORY OF AMERICAN WARS
THE COLONIAL WARS
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
THE WAR OF 1812
THE MEXICAN WAR
THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
THE INDIAN WARS
THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR
WORLD WAR I
WORLD WAR II
THE KOREAN WAR
THE VIETNAM WAR
POST -VIETNAM ERA
THE GULF WAR
HISTORY OF WARS AND WARFARE ANCIENT TO WORLD WAR II
ANCIENT
MEDIEVAL (C. 500-1500)
EARLY MODERN (C. 1500-1650)
AGE OF LIMITED WARFARE (C. 1650-1790)
NAPOLEONIC WARS
NINETEENTH CENTURY WARS
REGIONS AND WARS OF PARTICULAR INTEREST
THE MIDDLE EAST
GENERAL MIDDLE EASTERN MILITARY HISTORIES
EARLY ISLAMIC WARFARE
THE CRUSADES
MONGOL INVASION AND STEPPE WARFARE
OTTOMAN WARFARE
AFGHANISTAN
ALGERIA
ARAB-ISRAELI WARS (1948-1973)
EGYPT AND SUDAN
IRAN-IRAQ WAR
LEBANON
FALKLANDS WAR
INDOCHINA
ASIA/CHINA
LATIN AMERICA
THE SOVIET UNION
THE BALKANS
SPECIAL TOPICS
BRANCH HISTORIES
TYPES OF MILITARY OPERATIONS
COMMAND, LEADERSHIP, AND GENERALSHIP
ECONOMICS OF NATIONAL SECURITY
FORTIFICATIONS
LOGISTICS
REVOLUTIONARY & UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE, &LOW-INTENSITY CONFLICT
MILITARY TECHNOLOGY
MILITARY EDUCATION
THE MILITARY STAFF
MOBILIZATION
SPECIAL AND ELITE UNITS
TRAINING AND DOCTRINE
LITERATURE AND REFERENCE
LITERARY WORKS ON WAR
REFERENCE WORKS
http://smallwarsjournal.com/documents...Supplemental Reading for Majors and Lieutenant
Colonels Deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan
bookshelf: (usmc-supplemental)
a number of these reports that are not available as books, although many are available online
History/ General Area Studies:
1. Helen Chapin Metz, ed., Iraq: A Country Study (Washington, DC: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1990)
2. Regarding Afghanistan, the most up-to-date work is Sir Martin Ewans, Afghanistan: A New History
3. Michael Barry, A History of Modern Afghanistan (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004)
4. Peter R. Blood, ed., Afghanistan: A Country Study (Washington, DC: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1997)
5. Philip Hitti, The Arabs: A Short History (revised, 10th edition) (much better, I think, than Albert Hourani's work)
6. Iraq: An Introduction to the Country and the People, Marine Corps Institute, 2004
7. David Fromkin, A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East, Henry Holt Press, 2001.
8. Samir Al-Khalil, Republic of Fear: The Inside Story of Saddam's Iraq, California Press, 1990
9. A. J. Barker, The Bastard War: The Mesopotamian Campaign 1914-1918, The Dial Press, 1967.
10. Anthony Cordesman, The Iran-Iraq War and Western Security, 1984-1987, Rusi Military Power Series, 1987.
11. Michael Gordon & Bernard Trainor, The General's War" The Inside Story of the Conflict in the Gulf, Little, Brown and Company, 1994.
12. Williamson Murray and Robert Scales, The Iraq War: A Military History, Harvard University Press, 2003.
13. W. Andrew Terrill, Nationalism, Sectarianism, and the Future of the U.S. Presence in Post-Saddam Iraq (Carlisle Barracks, PA: SSI, July 2003)
URL: http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute....
14. Center for Strategic and International Studies
URL: http://www.csis.org/index.php?option=...
Washington-based think tank, which issues periodic research, reports, including on insurgency, Iraq, and the general Middle East.
15. U.S. Institute of Peace: Focus on Iraq
URL: http://www.usip.org/iraq/
U.S. government-funded think tank’s website, provide Iraq-related resources and reports.
16. International Crisis Group
URL: http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index...
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index...
Independent think tank, which produces analyses of crisis areas—in this case of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Stability/ Interagency Studies:
1. Sean Naylor, Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda (New York: Penguin, 2005)
2. W. Andrew Terrill and Conrad C. Crane, Precedents, Variables, and Options in Planning a U.S. Military Disengagement Strategy from Iraq (Carlisle Barracks, PA: SSI, October 2005).
URL: http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute....
Examines war termination options in Iraq.
3. Steve Coll, Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 (New York: Penguin, 2004)
4. Andjela Jurisic, “Humanitarian-Military Relationship Moving in Reverse?” Small Wars and Insurgencies, vol. 15 (Winter 2004), 170-188
5. Richard Russell, “Tug of War: The CIA’s Uneasy Relationship with the Military” in Roger Z. George and Robert D. Kline, eds., Intelligence and the National Security Strategist: Enduring Issues and Challenges (Washington, DC: National Defense University Press, 2004), 479-491
6. Jonas L. Blank and L. Erik Kjonerrod, “Interagency Capabilities,” in Hans Binnendijk and Stuart Johnson, eds., Transforming for Stabilization and Reconstruction Operations (Washington, DC: National Defense University Press, 2004), 107-113
7. CSIS, “Beyond Goldwater-Nichols: U.S. Government and Defense Reform for a New Strategic Era, Phase 2 Report,” July 2005
8. Martin J. Gorman and Alexander Krongard, “A Goldwater-Nichols Act for the U.S. Government,” Joint Forces Quarterly, no. 39 (Autumn 2005), 51-58
9. Larry Diamond, Squandered Victory: The American Occupation and the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq, Times Books, 2005
10. George Parker, The Assassin's Gate: American in Iraq, Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 2005
11. Jt Pub 3-57 (Civ-Mil Ops)
12. FM 3-07 (US Army SASO doctrine)
13.Other Useful Joint and Service Pubs:
JP 3-07.1 (JTTP for FID. The MOOTW doctrine (3-07) is also helpful, but not a TTP)
FM 3-06 (Urban Ops)
FM 3-07.21 (the Army's tactical manual for COIN, and very, very good)
FM 31-20-3 (Army TTP manual for FID)
FM 90-8 ("counter-guerrilla" ops)
FMFM 8-2 ("counter-insurgency" ops, which is not the same as counter-guerrilla ops)
Also highly recommend a new Joint SOF University pub by Joe Celeski:
Operationalizing COIN (JSOU Report 05-2)
Terrorism/ Counterinsurgency:
Tier One
1. H. John Poole, Tactics of the Crescent Moon; Militant Muslim Combat Methods (Emerald Isle, NC: Posterity Press, 2004).
Good overview of TTP employed by extremist Islamicmotivated
movements.
2. James Corum and Wray Johnson, Airpower in Small Wars
(the only book on the subject of aviation in COIN of any worth and currently being used by 1 MEF in planning for their return to al-Anbar: the intro chapter and chs. 5, 7, and 10 are must reads; the others can be passed over)
3. Bard O'Neill, Insurgency and Terrorism
(a simple framework for analyzing insurgencies, using Jominian technique to achieve a Clausewitzian result)
4. Russian General Staff, The Soviet-Afghan War: How a Superpower Fought and Lost (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2002)
5. Lester Grau, ed., Bear Went over the Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics in Afghanistan (Diane Publishing, 1996)
6. Bing West, No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah (New York: Bantam Books, 2005)
7. Olga Oliker, Russia’s Chechen Wars 1994-2000: Lessons from the Urban Combat (Rand Corporation, 2001)
8. Williamson Murray and R. H. Scales, Jr., The Iraq War: A Military History (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 2003)
9. Roger Trinquier, Modern Warfare: A French View of Counterinsurgency (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1964)
10. Bard O’Neill, Insurgency and Terrorism: Inside Modern Revolutionary Warfare (Washington, DC: Potomac Books, 2001)
11. Max Boot, The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power (New York: Basic Books, 2002)
12. John J. McCuen, The Art of Counter Revolutionary Warfare (Harrisburg: Stackpole Books, 1965)
13. Douglas Blaufarb, The Counterinsurgency Era: U.S. Doctrine and Performance, 1950 to Present (London: Free Press, 1977)
14. C. E. Callwell, Small Wars: Their Principles and Practice: A Tactical Textbook for Imperial Soldiers (London: Lionel Leventhal, 1990)
15. Alli Ahmad Jalali, Afghan Guerrilla Warfare: In the Words of the Mujahideen Fighters (MBI Publishing: 2002)
16. T.E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, Anchor Books, 1926.
17. Andrew Feickert, U.S. Military Operations in the Global War on Terrorism: Afghanistan, Africa, the Philippines, and Colombia (Washington, DC: CRS Report to Congress, August 2005).
URL: http://fpc.state.gov/c4763.htm
Tier Two
1. Frank Kitson, Low Intensity Operations (the modern British outlook on the subject)
2. Nathan Leites and Charles Wolf, Rebellion and Authority: An Analytical Essay on Insurgent Conflicts
(an in-depth systems analysis approach that's still useful)
3. Thomas Marks, Maoist Insurgency Since Vietnam
(how to understand the origins and development of an insurgent movement, and their "operational art")
4. Andrew Molnar, et. al., Human Factors Considerations of Undergrounds in Insurgencies
(Vietnam-era but still useful look at why people join insurgencies)
5. Sir Robert Thompson, Defeating Communist Insurgency: The Lessons of Vietnam and Malaya
(old (1966) but definitive, and much better than the Nagl book so popular now)
6. Wray R. Johnson, Vietnam and American Doctrine for Small Wars
(explains why we do so badly at this business of small wars)
7. Gérard Chaliand, Guerrilla Strategies: An Historical Anthology from the Long March to Afghanistan
(nice, concise history) [a nice substitute for this book would be John Ellis, From
the
8. Barrel of a Gun: A History of Guerrilla, Revolutionary and Counter-Insurgency Warfare, from the Romans to the Present
(a short, easy to read history)]
9. Roger Trinquier, Modern Warfare: A French View of Counterinsurgency
(still useful: examines the structure of clandestine groups and how to turn the tables on them using their
TTPs)
10. John Akehurst, We Won a War
(the successful British effort in Oman and good insight into the relationship between COIN and counter-guerrilla ops)
Middle East Culture:
Tier One
1. Raphael Patai, The Arab Mind [current edition]
2. Strategic Studies Institute, The United States and Iraq’s Shiite Clergy: Partners or Adversaries?
3. Margaret K. Nydell, Understanding Arabs: A Guide for Modern Times (Boston: Intercultural Press, 2005).
A practical, sophisticated guide to values and cultural norms in the Arab world, acknowledging the variety of experiences by region and social class.
Tier Two
1. Philip Hitti, Makers of Arab History (1968)
(It's short and very good)
2. Philip Hitti, Islam: A Way of Life (1970)
(Useful companion to his book on "makers" of Arab history)
3. Peter Mansfield, The Arabs
(a newer and equally straightforward history)
The PressBraestrup, Peter. Big Story: How the American Press and Television Reported and Interpreted the Crisis of Tet 1968 in Vietnam and Washington. 2 vols. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1983, c1977.
Braestrup writes a thorough, accurate, readable study of the Tet 1968 offensive and the U.S. press.
Knightley, Phillip. The First Casualty: From the Crimea to Vietnam-The War Correspondent as Hero, Propagandist, and Myth Maker. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975.
An outstanding narrative history of war correspondents, Knightley's account is excellent reading that provides valuable historical perspective.
Sims, Robert B. The Pentagon Reporters. Washington, DC: National Defense University Press, 1983.
In this handy information source, Sims identifies and describes current (1982) media defense correspondents.
