For the sake of posterity, the reading lists I made for military theory and war related literature. - ThreadSky

gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social • 220 days ago

For the sake of posterity, the reading lists I made for military theory and war related literature.

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gabrielrega.bsky.social•93 days ago

📌

subspaceteati.me•176 days ago

Finally I don't have to go on twitter to find the list again. Thank you!

sadarlo.bsky.social•164 days ago

Thanks for carrying this over to blooski!!!

gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social•164 days ago

It's important I do one useful thing a month

sadarlo.bsky.social•164 days ago

I’ve read a bunch of these books but they all deserve a reread. And besides, I’ve been wanting to read this whole list thx to @robisreading.bsky.social influence

robisreading.bsky.social•164 days ago

War and Peace is really long, but also really good. Hot take, I know.

sadarlo.bsky.social•164 days ago

Rob, how long did it take you to read the book? 😝

robisreading.bsky.social•164 days ago

Two months? Maybe Three?

gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social•164 days ago

Big if true!

sadarlo.bsky.social•164 days ago

I read it ages ago as a youngster and prolly will feel it on a different level as an older person if I read it now. 🥺

vycma1.bsky.social•52 days ago

I like that you complemented All Quiet on the Western Front by Storm of Steel. While the former tells the destructiveness of war, it also leaves out the appeal of it, something that the representative of heroic Soldatentum Jünger manages to transport well, biases aside.

elix87.bsky.social•220 days ago

You should put redeployment in the literature list

gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social•220 days ago

Yeah I mean it’s definitely up there tbh. But I didn’t want to go overly modern

elix87.bsky.social•220 days ago

Oh, and although I definitely wouldn't consider it a war novel, the section of Midnight's Children about the Bangladesh Liberation War is one of my favorite depictions of war in writing

grampa-mike.bsky.social•155 days ago

Better than other lists I've seen. 👍 Good to see that you included the classics plus Orwell, Larteguy, Marlantes, Mao & Glantz among others. But shame on ya for adding Kissinger.

catboss.bsky.social•18 days ago

this rules, i’m always looking for stuff like this. thx!!

cthelala.bsky.social•59 days ago

📌

bagatsen.bsky.social•220 days ago

Ivan's War by Catherine Merridale and/or Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman.

(Maybe Grossman's Stalingrad instead but I haven't read that yet so I can't say.)

artsierra.bsky.social•55 days ago

Why the Critique? Why not Perpetual Peace or What is the Enlightenment, if Kant had to be on the program? I'll take note of several titles, in any case.

gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social•55 days ago

I think it’s probably the most important in terms of Kant’s framework for his approach to thinking, which is important to understanding Clausewitz’s approach

artsierra.bsky.social•55 days ago

It's absolutely the most important in Kant's framework, but it sticks out like a sore thumb of abstraction in that context! 😂 I would have expected one of the others; lesser works, but more pertinent, maybe.

Any suggestions on secondary literature about Thucydides?

gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social•55 days ago

Kagan’s stuff if pretty well regarded, but that’s honestly all of the secondary lit I’ve ever read on Thucydides. I think he stands up fairly well without it.

artsierra.bsky.social•55 days ago

Yup, read some Kagan, very good, very fun reading. And, yes, Thucydides does stand on his own — I read him just about a year ago and he instantly became a favorite.

patrocles34.bsky.social•164 days ago

TY!

whetmoser.com•59 days ago

📌

mattycornfed.bsky.social•59 days ago

📌

birthba.bsky.social•192 days ago

You have to like to suffer if you want to put yourself through To The Lighthouse.

adjectivalnoun.bsky.social•59 days ago

📌

marnest.bsky.social•102 days ago

Do people actually finish Critique of Pure Reason? I've started it multiple times, and the reason I've only skimmed Schopenhauer's much more readable World as Will and Representation is because in the introduction he says not even to bother unless you've read AND UNDERSTOOD Critique of Pure Reason.

gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social•102 days ago

I did but it’s been forever tbh

compacflt.bsky.social•164 days ago

📌

chathamharrison.bsky.social•220 days ago

Ok I got a 23 what do I win

mrbtx.bsky.social•220 days ago

Chatham.

robisreading.bsky.social•220 days ago

Depends. With some of them you win your wife catching you staring off mournfully into the middle distance and she asks what's wrong and you say "nothing" but you were really thinking about Philippeville.

chathamharrison.bsky.social•220 days ago

Not an option. As a civilian, this technically constitutes stolen valor

gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social•220 days ago

Absolutely nothing

chathamharrison.bsky.social•220 days ago

Putting this down as "coming out ahead"

edenofthew.bsky.social•158 days ago

I'm surprised once an eagle isn't here, considering how popular it is. Is it not good enough? (I haven't read it)

edenofthew.bsky.social•193 days ago

I created a Goodreads tag list including all the books from your military theory list. Planning on making a war literature one as well

gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social•193 days ago

You shouldn’t encourage this

edenofthew.bsky.social•193 days ago

( ͡⁠°⁠ ͜⁠ʖ⁠ ͡⁠°⁠)

tequila0341.bsky.social•220 days ago

Achtung Panzer? C'mon man

gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social•220 days ago

It’s an essential piece of understanding the development for nothing else if not it’s level of subsequent influence for the use of mechanized forces even if it was Guderian’s personal promotion piece.

tequila0341.bsky.social•220 days ago

Could just read James Corum's Roots of Blitzkrieg instead.

gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social•220 days ago

I mean you can, I just tried to use primary sources when I could. I was between that or DeGaulle, but his writings were too scattered to be all that useful.

swolecialism.bsky.social•220 days ago

Army of The Future has good insight into degaulle's prewar theory imo

gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social•220 days ago

I mean I read a good bit of it forever ago as part of a seminar.

But honestly, I think you could pick anyone that embraced mechanized forces in that period from a hat and get the point. The people who figured it out were all generally on the same track

muhammedmustafa.bsky.social•4 days ago

Freedom for Ekrem İmamoğlu

avishaybsg.bsky.social•59 days ago

📌

robisreading.bsky.social•220 days ago

This should come with a warning that it will ruin your life.

gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social•220 days ago

Everything will ruin your life. It’s a choose your own adventure kind of thing

robisreading.bsky.social•192 days ago

I used this at this school I'm at to explain why I was there and everyone was very impressed by how good it was and they asked me who made it and I said "a military writer at a think tank" because "some insane person on the Internet" would probably have not helped my credibility.

gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social•192 days ago

I mean given the field, there's a solid chance that "insane person on the internet" would actually have more credibility depending on the think tank

robisreading.bsky.social•192 days ago

We're all cranks. Some of us just get promoted to hack.

ed3d.net•192 days ago

and thennnnn there’s lindybeige

rimaanabtawi.bsky.social•59 days ago

📌

northstarnomad.bsky.social•47 days ago

I’ve read most on the theory list & it’s a strong grounding in historical theory, underpinning WHY we fight but I do think it could benefit from a selection of HOW we fight.

Brasidas & Categorical Imperatives aren’t enough to consult w/ a 21st C practitioner or states-person on a meaningful level.

hicarolbutler.bsky.social•132 days ago

📌

leoneow.bsky.social•78 days ago

@havocsix.bsky.social I have a whole bunch of these and then some more: 🙃
https://wiprmm.blogspot.com/2013/09/mijn-boekenlijst-over-militaire.html

havocsix.bsky.social•78 days ago

Wow!

leoneow.bsky.social•78 days ago

factorone.bsky.social•59 days ago

📌

urbanzoo.bsky.social•92 days ago

Which are best for this particular moment, week 2 of $trumpistan?

geekyoldman.bsky.social•147 days ago

I love this list. I just couldn’t find Sun Szu’s “The Art of War” there or why it wasn’t recommended.

terriresists.bsky.social•92 days ago

I’ve read most in the first list and many of the second. Saved to read more.

shuffleosint.bsky.social•59 days ago

James do you have any recommendations for air operations in Afghanistan?

gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social•59 days ago

Air operations? Nah that’s like way out of my lane

craigjoseph.bsky.social•220 days ago

Love Homage to Catalonia. So important for understanding not only war but more importantly the craziness of internecine politics

craigjoseph.bsky.social•220 days ago

Also, may I suggest

gravitysra1nbow.bsky.social•220 days ago

No no. Already too much naval content

craigjoseph.bsky.social•220 days ago

Fair enough

moha195.bsky.social•35 days ago

James💔🥺How are you? I hope you are well ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹
Can you donate to me and my family in Gaza? I swear I am asking you and I am ashamed that we have come to this situation 🙏Please donate to me here🔻

subsourian.bsky.social•30 days ago

Rounding Machiavelli on your military theory list but I don’t have a super firm grounding in philosophy and heard without it, Kant’s Critique is a wall. Do you recommend checking out other philosophy books first or just diving in?

mc2x.bsky.social•59 days ago

📌

suriar.net•66 days ago

📌

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