Five Books

This is something in the nature of a background post. Long ago and far away, I was er, chastised for having the audacity to suggest that entry level enlisted Military Intelligence specialists (96B, now 35F)should actually read five (Only five...) Non-Fiction books as an introduction to the field. Way too ambitious, I remember one of them was Military Misfortunes by Cohen & Gooch.

And every now and then I peruse the recommended "Professional" Reading lists; Most are WAY to ambitious.

So this is a "Package" of five books that are all in one way or another directly relevant to my "Skills Knowledge and Abilities"; At one point, I really hoped to get a job where I would have a desk where it would have been appropriate to display them. The goal being to "Impress" people, but I am so tired of the clueless people I deal with regularly, I would settle for "Intimidated" at this point. Credit to the "professional help" I received at the VA for clarifying my position on this issue.

Charles Perrow. "Normal Accidents." A very interesting work on the Sociology of Organizations.

Robert Serber. "The Los Alamos Primer: The First Lectures on How to Build an Atomic Bomb" University of California Press, 1992. I walked into Borders and plucked this one off the shelf. Let's be realistic about this technology transfer issue, even if according to wikipedia the physics in this particular title is obsolete.

David M. Glantz. "Companion to Colossus Reborn." The data appendix to his basic work, the latest word (In English) on the subject.

Christopher Bassford. "Clausewitz in English" A really cool book of Military Intellectual History. Anyone in the target audience should recognize the title. I found it surprisingly readable and accessible.

Roger Morris. "The Devil's Butcher Shop: The New Mexico Prison Uprising" All about one of the worst prison riots in American History, February, 1980 (No, I wasn't there at the time, but I did work there in 1991-92). There are worse places than the Sunni Triangle, and most of the members of my "target audience" will find this absolutely engrossing.

Extra Credit:

Ralph Peters. "Fighting for the Future" Stackpole, 1999. Unfortunately, the original (Thermal Paper) receipt for the purchase (Pre 9/11) faded to illegibility. See page 70.

"The Bully of Bentonville"

Evidence on why the American Economy is a shambles....