The start of 2013 is very much like any new beginning. With the opportunity to reflect on the past and dedicate effort toward fresh resolutions, this year starts with a particular intellectual treat.
Authored by the prestigious Warlord Loop, led by Col. John Collins (ret.), the Warlord Loop’s 2012 Reading List offers a rare glimpse into the educational foundation of its membership. From all political affiliations, ages, and genders, representatives from the wider security community identified two books each that would aid in understanding diverse international threats and defending national interests. From Dr. Audrey Kurth Cronin’s selection of Beatrice Heuser’s The Evolution of Strategy to T.X. Hammes’ choice of Colin Gray’s The Strategy Bridge, the 2012 Warlord Loop’s Reading List delivers insight into what key strategists are reading and also provides for one ambitious Amazon wish list. In parenthesis is the name of the Warlord Loop member who submitted the publication referenced herein.
In keeping with the saying that those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it, a number of timeless works made the cut. Warlord Loopers journeyed across the deserts of Arabia in Thomas E. Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom (Crispin Burke) to the ancient lands of Sparta and Athens in Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War (Michael Clauser). To learn warfare strategies, they dove into the archives with Sun Tzu’s The Art of War (William Liam Murphy) and Carl von Clausewitz’s On War (Thomas Mahnken). Noting that knowledge comes from more than just military texts, members read George Orwell’s Animal Farm (Sean Barrett) and also Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea (Michael Shaler). And to guide actions, the Constitution of the United States (Janice Elmore) was added to the mix.
The influence of the strong leader or commander was evident in a myriad of Looper recommendations. Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince (Lin Todd) described the balance today’s leaders might emulate or rebut. The theme of a powerful statesman and advisors continued with: John Lewis Gaddis’s George F. Kennan: An American Life (David Maxwell); Robert Caro’s The Power Broker (Gary Bloomberg); Donald T. Phillip’s Lincoln on Leadership (James McPherson); David Halberstam’s The Best and the Brightest (John Nagl); Edmund Morris’ Theodore Roosevelt Trilogy; and Jean Edward Smith’s Eisenhower: In War and Peace (Paula Broadwell). Slightly more specific to military command, Lewis Sorley’s Westmoreland: The General Who Lost the Vietnam War (Charles Krohn); H.R. McMaster’s Dereliction of Duty (Zygmunt Dembek); and Thomas Ricks’ The Generals (Shawn Brimley) dissect wartime choices, from George Marshall through David Petraeus.
Taking the impact of individual choices one step further, a number of Loopers gravitated toward works with more of a psychology or sociology angle. The human nature of leadership is depicted in Richard Dawkin’s The Selfish Gene (David “Hubble” Cade); Aubrey S. Newman’s The Human Element in Leadership (Edward Donnelly); Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow (Richard A. Lacquement, Jr.); and Ernest R. May and Richard E. Neustadt’s Thinking in Time (Christopher Preble) for crisis situations. As a corollary, the social or group dimension is emphasized in Mario Diani and Doug McAdam’s Social Movements and Networks: Relational Approaches to Collective Action (Chris Arney); Eric Hoffer’s The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements (Mieke Eoyang); and Sidney Tarrow’s Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics (Ryan Evans).
Focusing on regions under the influence of these very individuals and social movements were many works specific to a particular geographic area or noting a particular topographical trend. The Middle East, Central Asia, and foremost East Asia were especially well-represented in the Reading List. Michael Oren’s Power, Faith and Fantasy (Janet Breslin-Smith) and Benazir Bhutto’s Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West (Sunset Belinsky) analyzed the complex nature of culture, politics, and religion. Pivoting to the East, many Loopers rely on texts about China or by the Chinese. A small selection include: Hugh White’s The China Choice (Patrick Cronin); Susan L. Shirk’s China: Fragile Superpower (Richard Halloran); Henry Kissinger’s On China (Joshua Kristenson); and Major Generals Peng Guangqian and Yao Youzhi’s The Science of Military Strategy (Dean Cheng). Two books reincarnated Sir Halford John Mackinder’s careful attention to geopolitics and geostrategy: Robert Kaplan’s The Revenge of Geography (Shawn Brimley) and Fareed Zakaria’s The Post-American World (Christopher Preble).
Quite pressing is the rise of transnational crime and how to defeat it. To understand and beat this curious nexus of crime, insurgency, and terrorism, Loopers start with an understanding of classical guerrilla warfare: Robert Taber’s War of the Flea (Paul Tompkins and David Duffy); Robert B. Asprey’s War in the Shadows (David Dilegge); and David Kilcullen’s The Accidental Guerrilla (Noel Koch). Specific to terrorism are two works: Seth Jones’ Hunting in the Shadows (Kimberly Dozier) and Mark Perry’s Talking to Terrorists (Robert Gard). Meanwhile, Max G. Manwaring’s Gangs, Pseudo-Militaries, and Other Modern Mercenaries and Moisés Naím’s Illicit (Michael Burgoyne) raise awareness of additional multi-faceted global challenges.
The plethora of other suggested reading items by the Warlord Loop hit upon military strategy, economics, lessons from history, how wars end, and the legal implications of military or state action. By far the most selected writer was military strategist Colin S. Gray. With more than 180 works included, the twelve months ahead should be filled with some excellent reading.
The full 2012 Warlord Loop Reading List is available online at Small Wars Journal.
Kathryn H. Floyd lectures on international security at the College of William and Mary. She has been researching confict and consulting on strategic communications over the course of the past decade, and is a member of the Warlord Loop. Colonel David Gurney, USMC (Retired), is a former Harrier squadron commander, J3 of Joint Task Force-Panama. He was later Editor of Joint Force Quarterly, and now is Vice President of Tropic Oil Company and Deputy Warlord.
This article was originally published in the Diplomatic Courier's January/February 2013 print edition.
Photo: Moyan Brenn (cc).
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Warlord Loop’s 2012 Reading List
January 25, 2013
The start of 2013 is very much like any new beginning. With the opportunity to reflect on the past and dedicate effort toward fresh resolutions, this year starts with a particular intellectual treat.
Authored by the prestigious Warlord Loop, led by Col. John Collins (ret.), the Warlord Loop’s 2012 Reading List offers a rare glimpse into the educational foundation of its membership. From all political affiliations, ages, and genders, representatives from the wider security community identified two books each that would aid in understanding diverse international threats and defending national interests. From Dr. Audrey Kurth Cronin’s selection of Beatrice Heuser’s The Evolution of Strategy to T.X. Hammes’ choice of Colin Gray’s The Strategy Bridge, the 2012 Warlord Loop’s Reading List delivers insight into what key strategists are reading and also provides for one ambitious Amazon wish list. In parenthesis is the name of the Warlord Loop member who submitted the publication referenced herein.
In keeping with the saying that those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it, a number of timeless works made the cut. Warlord Loopers journeyed across the deserts of Arabia in Thomas E. Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom (Crispin Burke) to the ancient lands of Sparta and Athens in Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War (Michael Clauser). To learn warfare strategies, they dove into the archives with Sun Tzu’s The Art of War (William Liam Murphy) and Carl von Clausewitz’s On War (Thomas Mahnken). Noting that knowledge comes from more than just military texts, members read George Orwell’s Animal Farm (Sean Barrett) and also Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea (Michael Shaler). And to guide actions, the Constitution of the United States (Janice Elmore) was added to the mix.
The influence of the strong leader or commander was evident in a myriad of Looper recommendations. Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince (Lin Todd) described the balance today’s leaders might emulate or rebut. The theme of a powerful statesman and advisors continued with: John Lewis Gaddis’s George F. Kennan: An American Life (David Maxwell); Robert Caro’s The Power Broker (Gary Bloomberg); Donald T. Phillip’s Lincoln on Leadership (James McPherson); David Halberstam’s The Best and the Brightest (John Nagl); Edmund Morris’ Theodore Roosevelt Trilogy; and Jean Edward Smith’s Eisenhower: In War and Peace (Paula Broadwell). Slightly more specific to military command, Lewis Sorley’s Westmoreland: The General Who Lost the Vietnam War (Charles Krohn); H.R. McMaster’s Dereliction of Duty (Zygmunt Dembek); and Thomas Ricks’ The Generals (Shawn Brimley) dissect wartime choices, from George Marshall through David Petraeus.
Taking the impact of individual choices one step further, a number of Loopers gravitated toward works with more of a psychology or sociology angle. The human nature of leadership is depicted in Richard Dawkin’s The Selfish Gene (David “Hubble” Cade); Aubrey S. Newman’s The Human Element in Leadership (Edward Donnelly); Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow (Richard A. Lacquement, Jr.); and Ernest R. May and Richard E. Neustadt’s Thinking in Time (Christopher Preble) for crisis situations. As a corollary, the social or group dimension is emphasized in Mario Diani and Doug McAdam’s Social Movements and Networks: Relational Approaches to Collective Action (Chris Arney); Eric Hoffer’s The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements (Mieke Eoyang); and Sidney Tarrow’s Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics (Ryan Evans).
Focusing on regions under the influence of these very individuals and social movements were many works specific to a particular geographic area or noting a particular topographical trend. The Middle East, Central Asia, and foremost East Asia were especially well-represented in the Reading List. Michael Oren’s Power, Faith and Fantasy (Janet Breslin-Smith) and Benazir Bhutto’s Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West (Sunset Belinsky) analyzed the complex nature of culture, politics, and religion. Pivoting to the East, many Loopers rely on texts about China or by the Chinese. A small selection include: Hugh White’s The China Choice (Patrick Cronin); Susan L. Shirk’s China: Fragile Superpower (Richard Halloran); Henry Kissinger’s On China (Joshua Kristenson); and Major Generals Peng Guangqian and Yao Youzhi’s The Science of Military Strategy (Dean Cheng). Two books reincarnated Sir Halford John Mackinder’s careful attention to geopolitics and geostrategy: Robert Kaplan’s The Revenge of Geography (Shawn Brimley) and Fareed Zakaria’s The Post-American World (Christopher Preble).
Quite pressing is the rise of transnational crime and how to defeat it. To understand and beat this curious nexus of crime, insurgency, and terrorism, Loopers start with an understanding of classical guerrilla warfare: Robert Taber’s War of the Flea (Paul Tompkins and David Duffy); Robert B. Asprey’s War in the Shadows (David Dilegge); and David Kilcullen’s The Accidental Guerrilla (Noel Koch). Specific to terrorism are two works: Seth Jones’ Hunting in the Shadows (Kimberly Dozier) and Mark Perry’s Talking to Terrorists (Robert Gard). Meanwhile, Max G. Manwaring’s Gangs, Pseudo-Militaries, and Other Modern Mercenaries and Moisés Naím’s Illicit (Michael Burgoyne) raise awareness of additional multi-faceted global challenges.
The plethora of other suggested reading items by the Warlord Loop hit upon military strategy, economics, lessons from history, how wars end, and the legal implications of military or state action. By far the most selected writer was military strategist Colin S. Gray. With more than 180 works included, the twelve months ahead should be filled with some excellent reading.
The full 2012 Warlord Loop Reading List is available online at Small Wars Journal.
Kathryn H. Floyd lectures on international security at the College of William and Mary. She has been researching confict and consulting on strategic communications over the course of the past decade, and is a member of the Warlord Loop. Colonel David Gurney, USMC (Retired), is a former Harrier squadron commander, J3 of Joint Task Force-Panama. He was later Editor of Joint Force Quarterly, and now is Vice President of Tropic Oil Company and Deputy Warlord.
This article was originally published in the Diplomatic Courier's January/February 2013 print edition.
Photo: Moyan Brenn (cc).
