Europe Books

the book is another example of Cornelius Ryan's superb research. A good read, too.

I can't say it much better than the previous reviews have already. I wanted to read something on this subject and was led to this book. I couldn't have asked for a better introduction to the topic. Broad in scope yet detailed in its descriptions of the soldiers, units, and battles in this massive offensive. This is an excellent jumping off point to begin studying the Battle of Arnhem. Well written and exciting to discover.

A Bridge Too Far: The Classic History of the Greatest Battle of World War II by Cornelius Ryan gives one of the best accounts of General Montgomery's ill-fated plan and operation to turn the German northern flank on the Western front during September 1944 of World War II. Montgomery hoped to push into the heart of industrial Germany. It was his plan for personal glory to end the war in 1944.

This narrative non-fiction work by Cornelius Ryan brings together the objectivity and insights of a historian with the narrative style of a novelist. Ryan brings historical events to life in a style like Stephen Ambrose. Ryan's writings keep your interest. He gives the experiences of the individual soldiers and Dutch resistance members. He tells the story from all sides. The roles and effects of these operations on the civilians unfortunate enough to be caught up in events are included. I was shocked to learn of the horrific communication issues among the British. I felt Ryan was placing blame for those problems at the feet of the Americans. From reading Ryan's work I found a dramatic lack of urgency on the part of the British. An example is after the 82nd had secured their main bridge objective which included tremendous sacrifice the British simply camped for the night brewing their tea while their fellow countryman were still encircled and dying in Arhen. I was disappointed that Montgomery was not slammed for this operation. From the account Montgomery is lucky he wasn't relieved of command or sacked on the spot.

I recommend the book, though at times I found the reading and story too slowly unfolding. It is one of the all time classics of World War II and should be in the library of every military history buff.

excellent book. i remember seeing the movie when it first came out and it blew me away. this book remains my favorite all-time military choice. if you can get your hands on the paperback, i suggest it. the paperback has more detail, but this book is truly remarkable even if it has been condensed a bit. cornelius ryan was a fantastic author. this book tells about a military campaign that is usually overlooked due to d-day and the battle of the bulge. i think this military campaign needs to be remembered due to the heroism of the men involved and cornelius ryan brings out that heroism as if you are actually seeing the battle unfold. great military literature.

One of the best-written WWII accounts of war, focusing on a disastrous Allied military operation near the end of WWII, I am absolutely flummoxed as to why this classic is now out of print. With millions sold, did no publisher think this great book might continue to generate interest?

As many here have already noted, this book is a must-read. Pick it up from a online seller or go to your local used bookstore, but don't miss this fine dissection of a huge strategic misfire.

I didn't find this book all that special. The style seemed stilted and awkward. Characters seemed emotionally flat and I didn't buy the romance in the story. Not a bad read, but half way through I was ready for the book to end.

One of the things I like about this book is that it manages to retain an archaic feeling without sounding fake (you know, the type of dialogue that sounds like a bunch of college students roleplaying). Pope's choice of using modern language for the dialogue doesn't spoil the setting at all, whereas trying to force readers to jump back and forth between Elizabethan dialogue and modern narration could be annoying, e.g. Patricia Wrede's version of "Snow White and Rose Red".

Overall, Pope's characters are really well fleshed out, and she's also a master at describing atmosphere. The supernatural terror that Kate is subjected to in the underground halls kept me up at night for a while after both times I read this.

I didn't know the plot of "The Perilous Gard" was related to an actual legend till I stumbled across the name "Tam Lin" elsewhere on the Internet. Now I'm fascinated...

This book is beautiful. The proud elves! The historical drama! Probably the best theory for where elves/fairies came from, oh, and the answer will suprise you!
This books haunts you in that though there are mystical, magical elements in this story when you done reading you have to admit that it really COULD have happened. This book made me cry, I love it when books have the power to make you feel that much emotion. Do yourself a favour and read the book!

The Perilous Gard

The Sherwood Ring

The Perilous Gard is a book I still reread as an adult. The Sherwood Ring is good also. I just wish that Ms. Pope had written MORE.

The Perilous Gard is a wonderful rainy afternoon book. The characters seem real and the Elizabethan England that is described seems real and charming but none too easy to live in.

The best part of the story is the characterizations of the fairies themselves. Not the fluttery, glittery creatures beloved of Walt Disney, but a real, proud alien race at one with nature. The queen particularly is both admirable and cruel, pitiless and pitiable.

I enjoyed this book immensely once I got into it. The first chapter didn't impress me, but after that the book held my attention. The main character, Kate, was a great heroine that I enjoyed reading about and she had her own flaws, which I thought was great. Because most books in this sort of genre have the perfect, beautiful, strong, intelligent, courageous heroine, which I always found somewhat unbelievable. This book is adventursome, fantastical, and has some romance thrown in too. Its my kind of book! I plan on looking for more books by this author.

NOTE: My review does not regard the quality of the book, i.e., the writing, the plot, etc. Rather, the one star is strictly for PDF downloads from the book's publisher, iUniverse. Please be warned that iUniverse doesn't provide necessary info prior to ordering that could be used to decide on whether to buy the book or not. When I recently ordered a PDF download of a book from iUniverse, I was expecting an instant download. On the contrary, instead I got an e-mail from iUniverse saying my e-book would be coming eventually in an e-mail to follow. But after several days, that second e-mail never arrived, so I contacted customer service and they sent me a link to the book. (My complaint here is that iUniverse should say up front that their e-books are not instant downloads.) Next, upon getting the link, I downloaded the book to my work computer. That worked fine, but be warned that you can only view the book on the computer that it is downloaded to. You can't print the e-book, and you can't attach the e-book to an e-mail to send to your home computer. (So, my second complaint is that iUniverse should reveal this info up front, before a book is ordered.) I sure won't order any more e-books from iUniverse until they clean up their act. Spread the word!

Having been a reserve armed cavalry officer, I know little or nothing about submarines and destroyers. This novel was a fine education by somebody who clearly knows what he is talking about and, furthermore, very well written.
I join all before me in giving it my highest rating. If there is more where this came from, please let me know!

Jeff Edward's "Torpedo" is riveting! A great storyline mixed with an intricate knowledge of the subject matter gives the reader a real sense of "being there" as the story unfolds. I found the interjection facts regarding the historical development of the torpedo enhanced the gravity of the subject matter and made the story even more of a page-turner. I highly recommend "Torpedo" and congratulate Jeff Edwards on a torpedo-proof debut.

I recently discovered that Jeff Edwards has finished his next book, The Seventh Angel.
Put me in line for the first copy!

I have been waiting for Jeff's next book ever since I finished reading Torpedo. Scenes from the book often come to mind and I have at remind myself that Torpedo is book, not a movie. (Although it should be.)

The character development is so complete and action sequences so believable that I felt that I was on the ship with the crew while missiles launched from the enemy sub came flying at them from out of the sea.

Thanks for a great book. Give me more!

Byron Mettler, Author Speed Kills!

I stopped watching TV, stopped using my computer, and even found time to read before work. It's a page turner, you will enjoy this book. For all you quick readers out there you should read this book in a day.

This might end up on the big screen.

This book is very detailed but you have to be wary of the slants. Sugden writes witness Matthew Packer down and dismisses his important testimony, and he also leaves out an important section of a letter that was published in the Telegraph in November which alludes to the capture of the killer (the "hideous bellowing of the news boys" letter). He also gets the Hanbury Street writing wrong. This was "Five - another fifteen and I give myself up." Sugden has it has "Four - another sixteen and I give myself up" - an absurd message which gets the total right but has changed the compenents to fit the assumption that the Fairy Fay murder did not happen. I find the book fairly morbid and irksome to read, and this is not because of the fascinating subject matter but the way that it is written. This subject needs a sharp-eyed Daniel Defoe, or a Jack the Ripper A-Z with all the rubbish taken out.

There's not a lot I can add to the great reviews other people have given it except to say that this book, while not being released as recently as some others, is still essential reading for anyone with an interest in the facts about the Jack the Ripper case. Sugden is a historian with impeccable credentials and research skills whose insights are a welcome addition to Ripperology.

I got interested in this book knowing that I was soon going to see the JtR exhibit in London, so I started reading it before I left on my trip. Unfortunately, when I got to the actual exhibit in July of `08, there was little there that the book hadn't covered--although I got to see some of the original police reports, the Ripper letters, and an interesting timeline display of suspects (most recently added to in 2007). This book is organized in such a way that it gives an intimate profile of both the victims and the suspects and the crimes themselves--which were truly horrific. The author relies mainly on contemporary sources, yet certain references make you aware that he has pawed over other accounts proclaiming "evidence" in order to separate the wheat from the chaff. So what you get is real scholarship, of a sort, and the author's best guess at the end as to Jack's identity. The many photos in this book also help to tell this unhappy story. Will this mystery ever be solved? I doubt it, having read how many missing pieces there are . . .

First let me state the categories of people who should (please note the emphasis) study (not 'read') this book: -
1. Anybody who is interested in the any or all of the following: the Whitechappel killings, the subsequent frenzy, investigation into the murders, armchair investigations by "Mycroft" wannabes, and the literally literary withchhunt being carried out over the past century & more to "unmask" the killer;
2. Anybody who is interested in understanding the socio-economic dynamics of the world's largest, richest, proudest and yet ruthlessly exploitative (of its own citizens, esp. the young and the women) city at that point of time when the nails were finally being hammered into the coffin of the 19th Century that had experienced the pinnacle of British glory;
3. Anybody who, after being overfed on the serial killers (Hannibal et.al) produced by the "hot" American novelists, actually wishes to know how it is like to be chasing a black cat in an enormous dark cavern while blindfolded;
4. Anybody who actually thinks that "the truth" might have been out there at some stage, but even with a centuries old "cold" case something can be done (unlike some trashy attempt sub-titled: "CASE CLOSED").

This book is not only accurate and free from all the popular & obscure misconceptions, it is also a living proof that history can be made more attactive than fiction while staying rigorously free from falsehoods. Recommended to everybody belonging to the afore-mentioned 4 categories as well as to all who, after reading some new adventure pitting Sherlock Holmes against Jack the Ripper, start pondering over "what if.."-s.

Like many others, I have been interested in the story of Jack the Ripper. When I finally decided to read about the crimes, I wanted to read only the best, most definitive account. I believe that Sugden's book fits the bill. He sticks only to the facts; when he theorizes, he presents an opposing view as well. He does not claim to know who Jack the Ripper was, but he does put forth a theory. After having finished this book, I cannot imagine that there is much of anything else to know about the case. I would highly, highly recommend this book to anyone interested in reading an emotionless, fact-filled book about Jack the Ripper to pick this one up.

This was one of my favorite books as a child, and i just gave it as a gift to another child. It is an excellent book - a true story about a famous horse who had to overcome tremendous struggles and his faithful groom who managed to accompany him and assist him no matter the personal cost, as well as a look at prejudice and genuine kindness.

I first read this book when I was in elementary school. That was many, many years ago. The thought of this book somehow crossed my mind a few days ago. So I procured one and read it through in a couple of hours. The re-read reminded me of how great of a book this is.

This book speaks of hope, trust, perseverance, and especially of undying love. Yes, it's a children's book but adults will benefit greatly from reading it as well. It's one of those books which will forever remain a classic in the hearts and minds of those who have read it.

This is one of my favorite horse stories of all time. It is about a young boy who makes a bond with an increadible horse. A must read for any horse lover!!!!

This is my favorite horse story ever! This book stands above all others for me and I will always remember it. My mom read this to me when I was 9 years old and still to this day, I have never read it's equal. Henry's writing is so beautiful, the story so touching and the characters so real. A plot unfolds about a young stable boy in Morocco and his golden-bay stallion who would one day be known as the Godolphin Arabian, who's bloodline still runs in race horses of today. It's quite possible a lot of this book is based on fact. A simply amazing story in all respects! I must warn sensitive readers however, there are some very intense parts of this book, some sad parts which are sure to make most people cry and a few parts where there is fairly harsh abuse and neglect of animals. Maybe not the best choice to read to very young kids, especially if they are the type to get scared easily. Overall, I would say the book has an excellent balance of tragedy and triumph. The ending is a beautiful one, both happy and a little sad but satisfying and well worth reading the story.

King of the Wind is a great book by Marguerite Henry. It is about a mute boy named Agba and his horse Sham. Agba goes with Sham on many adventures together. Agba goes with Sham from the royal stables in Morocco to Gog Magog. Sham also sires many winning foals and when he is gone, Agba goes back to Morocco.
I enjoyed this book very much. I liked it because it is about horses. I also liked it because it was full of adventure. It was sad and exciting and there were many parts where Sham and Agba were seperated. Agba was very brave for a young, mute boy and Sham kept him company with his firy spirit that only Agba could control.
My favorite part was when the cook tried to drive Sham. He wanted to show that he did not need Agba to drive Sham. He left Agba at the royal kitchens then set out. Sham bidded his time till the cart was groaning with goods and a young pig. Then "BAM!" He went wild and ran like the wind, sending the goods, the pig, and the cook into the air. The cook runs after first the pig, then Sham, then the pig, until he is so confused that he catched nither. In the end the apple woman cathes Sham and the cook is so fustrated that he sells Sham to a cruel man. I like this part best because it is so funny and shows Shams firy nature.

The book was great. I ordered it for my Dad's 87th Birthday, he's a WWII vet that was at the Battle of Bastonge With General Patton, so I wanted him to read about some of the 101st airborne he met there...well I ordered it with 2nd day air shipping, I got it almost 3 weeks later!!!!! So much for my Dad's birthday present...Thanks for making an old soldier feel wanted!!!!!! It took 4 contacts for these morons to realize it never left their shipping warehouse 40 MILES FROM MY HOUSE~~!!??!!! They eventually relented and credited the extra shipping...whooppeee!! by that time 2nd day shipping was being offered for free!!!! They wouldn't even gift wrap it....Very Cheap...
Again the book was great, but AMAZON SUCKED. I have been ordering from them since they were a really young and crappy website...no more, now they are a big and crappy website with their fingers in everything...

So long and thanks for screwing up an important event.

An excellent book written by two members of Easy Company, 506 P.I.R. The stories of Easy Company told by two members from D-Day to VE day. "Wild Bill" and "Babe" tell of their experiences in their own words. They said it all when they said "the heroes are still over there" and "the real heroes are the ones that didn't come home".

This book is a great "read".

Very frank, honest and interesting, as you would expect from Bill Gaurnere. The book is well written and hard to put down. The contrast in styles between Bill & Babe give an exellent perspective on thier stories and the little bit of banter between them is priceless. The post war approach to life adopted buy these guys is inspiring and positive. Thanks guys, great read.

The biography of Babe and Wild Bill fills in the picture of the heroes shown in the "Band of Brothers".
Having read Malarkey's, Compton's, and Winter's, I find it fascinating how each remembers the popular events differently.
Their life stories just add to the whole picture. They help to fill in the picture from the enlisted man's view.
The more you read about these ordinary men doing extraordinary tasks, you can not help come away with a sense of gratitude for their sacrifice.

Easy Company from Band of Brothers revisited. Two of the men who became lifelong friends relate their stories. Easy to read and gives you a sense of war from men who were there. They were indeed a Band of Brothers.

This is an eloquently told, often nearly heartbreaking story of what a young German boy endured as a refugee in the closing days and the years following WWII. Wolfgang Samuel tells his story with grace and heart. He dedicates the book to his mother, a major character in his story who, to keep her family alive, sacrificed nearly everything, even to the point of prostituting herself so her children could eat. As Samuel put it -

"People were hungry and would do whatever was necessary to put food on the table for their children ... We were the people who had nothing and lived from hand to mouth. We were the human debris of that evil war. We had no reserves of food, clothing or anything else that sustained life. We were desperate people, easy to exploit."

In a passage startlingly reminiscent of Gone with the Wind, the classic novel of the US Civil War and its aftermath, Samuel tells of how for many years immediately after the war, his mother had no new clothes. "The nicest looking dress she had owned ... she had made herself from curtains which hung in our barracks apartment ..."

And this is not just a book about being refugees and the awful conditions after the war; it's also a universal coming-of-age story, about a boy grappling with the physical changes of puberty and having no one to talk with about what's happening to him. It's about a boy left to take care of himself at the tender age of 14. It's also an homage to his grandparents, who helped sustain him through these worst of times. In other words, there's an awful lot of stuff in here that so many people will relate to, regardless of their own backgrounds.

I know I'm several years late in discovering this book, but I plan to recommend it highly to everyone, particularly history buffs and humanists interested what the human spirit can endure and still rebound. Because after his eventual emigration to the U.S. in 1950 at age 15 (where German Boy ends), Samuel went on to complete college and made a distinguished career for himself in the US Air Force for 30 years. The next book to go into my Amazon cart will be the sequel to this memoir, called Coming to Colorado. This guy can write! And I want to know the rest of his story. But start here, folks. READ THIS BOOK! - Tim Bazzett, author of Soldier Boy

I have always been interested in WWII history and this book is excellent as it deals with the consequences of war. Wolfgang was blessed with an incredible memory and this book tells the story of the time from 1945 to 1950 in Germany and how things were. I will not recap the story since others have done it so well, but this is in the top 10 of the hundreds of books I have read.

This is a great book. I gave the book to a few German friends who lived in Germany during the war. They could identify with the author's experiences.

The author became a U.S citizen and fought in Vietnam. I would have liked to read about the author's experience in this country, and his experience, as a pilot in our Air Force.

A well written book and interesting too.

Wonderful and descriptive first hand account of living through WWII in Germany and the life there afterwards.

The author, who was 10 years old and living in eastern Germany when WWII came to an end, has an amazing memory for telling details and an irresistibly engaging personality. His memoir of that dreadful time is framed as a tribute to his mother, who certainly deserves it, and an unforgettable lesson in history as it is really lived. Once you start reading this book, you will be unable to put it down and you will never forget it.

You will not find a more diffinitive book on the Luftwaffe's activites in
operation Blau. I was happy to see that the siege of Sevastopol was well covered, I have found so little information in other books about that epic siege. The book does a very good job in explaining the terrible conditions at the outlying airfields trying to supply the 6th army,the lack of fuel,spare parts and the horrific weather conditions.
Hitler decided to try and take the Caucausas oil fields as well as Stalingrad. They had forces to take one,not both. They would have had much
greater success if they had just bombed the oil fields especially Baku which represented 80% of Russia's oil. Army group A and B could have bypassed Stalingrad,cutting the Volga river traffic and with a pincer movement, enveloped the Russian armies coming to the aid of Stalingrad.
Field Marshal's von Bock and List did all they could and were treated unfairly by Hitler. This book is great in showing the leadership qualities of Wolfram von Richthofen,clearly the most outstanding Lutwaffe commander of World War2.

This is a very good description of Luftwaffe Operations on the Eastern Front. It has good background information speciffically about the economic side of it. Decisions made based on oil supply's rather than military objectives. Very interesting material.
The only bad thing about this book is that the editing comes across as very sloppy. German names are often misspelled or incorrect. It is not Manstein, but von Manstein, not Bock, but von Bock, not Kluge, but von Kluge.
Also it is not Count von Sponneck but Graf von Sponneck. If you overlook those issues, it is a very good book

Very thoroughly researched book. Could have explained infantry operations in a little more detail after all most of the movements of the Luftwaffe happened in direct support of infantry movement. Could have given a little bit more weightage to characteristic traits of leaders involved in action. But all in all a very lucidly written book a definite buy for anyone interested in eastern theater of WWII

This book is a treasure. Saying it deals with just the Luftwaffe effort does not really address the scope of the book. In addition to the author's fabulous treatment of air operations, it has some great stuff on naval operations in the Crimea. This book is an absolute MUST for your WWII library. This guy is a lecturer at some college in New Zealand. Get him to some University in the USA!!

Anthony Beevor's wife and publisher (the well-connected Hon. Artemis Cooper, no less) had her publicity machine whip his good book on Stalingrad into a huge international best-seller. That's perfectly okay. I liked Beevor's book very much, and do commend it to readers. But Beevor's isn't the most authoritative and analytical book on Stalingrad, that frightful, turning-point battle. Joel Hayward's book is! I'm pleased that, while it has never sold as many copies, Hayward's uniquely-conceived book has earned fantastic reviews and been quoted and acknowledged as highly-influential (and mandatory reading) by almost every subsequent writer on the eastern front, including Glantz, Erickson etc.

Hayward's book masterfully explains why, strategically, Hitler planned a major campaign in 1942 after not winning in the east during the previous year. It superbly elucidates why, even though the city of Stalingrad was never one of that major campaign's goals, Hitler then became distracted by it, to the point whereby its capture mattered more than the Caucasus oilfields he was originally, and very rationally, committed to seizing and exploiting.

Hayward's book also analyses air power and joint-service matters but always relates these in a seamless way to ground battles and operations. His book is therefore strikingly-different to all previous, army-focused books on Stalingrad (including Beevor's) which barely mentioned air power despite it dominating all successful battles during 1942, in and around Stalingrad itself, and during the air-lift.

Hayward's analysis of that increasingly-futile and tragic air-lift, and its highly skilful defeat by the Red Air force and Red Army, is by far the most original, complete, meticulously-researched (all from unpublished archival sources) and informative ever written.

I cannot recommend this original, insightful book highly enough. Buy Beevor's journalistic book, of course. But you must buy this volume if you want a thorough, analytical, scholarly work that explains why things happened and what it all meant.

Great book, with great photos. Vladislav Tamarov writes in a simple style, but conveys the inner-thoughts, comraderie, fear and terror that a foreign soldier experiences in a war in Afghanistan. Despite being on different sides of the Cold War, and fighting for two totally different Afghan governments, I can identify with Tamarov's experience. A great book if you want a better understanding of a soldier's life in Afghanistan, with no in-depth analysis of the strategic or operational side of the Soviet-Afghan War.

I don't think anybody really supported the Soviets when they invaded Afghanistan in 1979-1980. Most Westerners thought the Soviet action was barbaric. Tamarov in his picture book makes us aware of the human side with the Russian soldiers. Most were following their duty and doing their "international duty". Many were killed in the low grade guerilla war that followed the invasion. Tarmarov was a mine sweeper, and he was constantly exposed to danger. Several of his friends paid the price of their occupation. One wonders about the similarities with American verterans of the Vietnam War. In fact, Tamarov meets some of these verterans at the end of the book, and they have a lot in common.

There is some writing in this large picture book. The writing did not flow smoothly, but the pictures were great. They show the guerrilla war in Afghanistan from the Russian perspective.

An excellent book! Lots of powerful pictures. Purchased the book from Amazon while serving in Afghanistan. Lots of flash backs/forwards in the story line, which I could have done without. But all together it's a well written, interesting book, which depicts a Soviet Solders tour of duty in Afghanistan.

This is the most amazing book I have read all year! It's not just a story, in his own words, from a young Russian soldier in that terrible place, but it is a photo book full of the most beautiful but tragic black and white photos. You see the haunted faces of Vladimir Tamarov (the author and photographer) and his brother soldiers, many of which did not make it back. And as you read his haunted words, how he came back and could not ever be the same, how his friends who died there visit him in his dreams. They were eighteen and nineteen but they look sixteen. The title "Soviet Vietnam" is quite haunting. I believe if I met the author now I would be reminded of our own boys who were damaged by Vietnam. They also were just draftees (conscripts) in a place where they did not want to be. As for our soldiers who are now in Afghanistan, it's true they are fighting the same vicious enemy as Vladimir did! But, don't our men look ever so much better fed, and organized, and equipped, and trained, then those poor Soviet conscripts? I reccommend this book so highly, I would personally buy a copy for all my friends.

As a paratrooper currently serving my second tour in Afghanistan (and third in the desert overall), I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Soviet conflict of the 1980s. The photographs provide insight into Afghanistan's terrain and climate, and I used this book to illustrate several points to my subordinates as we were preparing for this deployment. The author's writing is heartfelt.

I own an original first edition (and did not realize its value until recently), but in searching for this book to add a link from within my new book on Irregular Warfare: Waging Peace, I realized the reader is faced with two choices today, one costing $4 more than the other. I believe I found the explanation in the less expensive version, which is described as "severely abridged." So all things being equal, buy this version instead.

There is no finer summary of this work that I have encountered in my literature search than "T.E. Lawrence And the Mind of An Insurgent" by James J. Schneider, Ph.D., a professor of military theory at the School of Advanced Military Studies, U.S. Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Previously published in 2005 in varied works, it can be easily found online by searching for the author and title.

My preliminary research for the new book shows that the Lieutenant Colonels/Commanders and some Colonels/Captains of the Navy get it, but the flags do not. Even the vaunted counterinsurgency handbook avoids dealing with three realities:

1. Absent a moral legitimizing strategy that includes a commitment to sufficiency of presence, no occupation will succeed.

2. Absent a national intelligence community willing and able to jump deep into Multinational, Multiagency, Multidisciplinary, Multidomain Information Sharing and Sense-Making (M4IS2), no commander will succeed.

3. It costs asymmetric irregular warriors $1 for every $500,000 they force us to spend with our present idiotic emphasis on technology as a substitute for both thinking and human presence. They can keep this up forever, we cannot.

IMHO, Dr. Schneider's distillation is utterly brilliant, and if the publisher issues a new edition, I urge the publisher to obtain permission to include Dr. Schneider's distillation as a new professional preface.

Although I have a very very large personal library (photo at oss.net), here are the books I bought today as part of my homework. In the comment I provide the URLs for the pieces I have had printed locally.

Modern irregular warfare: In defense policy and as a military phenomenon
The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism
Counterinsurgency and the Global War on Terror: Military Culture and Irregular War (Stanford Security Studies)
Asymmetric Warfare: Threat and Response in the 21st Century
Guerrilla Warfare: Irregular Warfare in the Twentieth Century (Stackpole Military History Series)
The U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual
Never Surrender: A Soldier's Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and Freedom
Kill Bin Laden: A Delta Force Commander's Account of the Hunt for the World's Most Wanted Man

Two other books I already own within my ten link limit:
War of the Flea: The Classic Study of Guerrilla Warfare
Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam

And everything written by H. John Poole, but especially Tactics of the Crescent Moon, Phantom Soldier, One More Bridge to Cross, and Tiger's Way. Also Col Hammes on Sling and Stone, Mao and Che, Max Manwaring's various works including Search for Security, Uncomfortable Wars, and Environmental Security....and on, and on, and on....IRWF is finally "in" now we just have to spend ten years waiting for the current flags to retire.

Although a bit confusing in his presentation of dozens of key characters unfamiliar to the reader, Lawrence paints an extraordinary sketch of a time and people otherwise just a footnote to World history. The richness of the text and word pictures were worth the time spent laboring through massive amounts of detailed narrative.

TE Lawrence (1888-1935) the British soldier, poet and scholar wrote this insightful personal account of the Arab Revolt based on his war journals which is as confronting as it is poetic and beautiful. How could one not be enthralled by the writings and perspectives of a fine intellectual mind tormented by the reality of war and hypocrisy? What makes this book unique and powerful is Lawrence's sensibility as a poet and a soldier. Even if you are not into war history, this is a riveting book you can't afford to miss.

This is one of the great books of the 20th century. That it could be written at all is almost a miracle in itself. Take a brilliant Oxford student trained in the old classical tradition, place him in the Arabian desert as advisor to the wild Bedouin tribesmen during their revolt against the Turks and have him write with an acute sensitivity and unparalleld insight into what was transpiring before him and you may have some notion of what the book is like.
It's a long book. You will learn a great deal about blowing up a railroad bridge in the desert, about camel rides, thirst, and hunger and the heroism and brutality of war. The portraits of Sheik Auda, Sherrif Ali and Prince Faisal of the two Arab boys who Lawrence takes under his wing are masterpieces in and of themselves. The nobility and savagery of the desert tribesmen contrasted with the cold stoicism of the British and the inculcated cruelty of the Turks are just some of themes addressed during the course of the work. There are brilliant passing insights as to the Semitic inspiration for all the revealed religions and their relation to the desert beautiful descripitions of the terrain the weather and the obstacles encountered. When Lawrence says that from the beginning he believed the Arab revolt would succeed because it grew out of a sympathetic population was opposed by a modern army that could not garrison the territory occupied one wishes that President Bush had read it instead of just seeing the movie. Read it yourself.

Rightfully regarded as a modern classic, this book is nevertheless not light reading. This is a result of the density of information, as well as Lawrence's writing style, which often makes a re-reading of passages necessary to fully grasp them, besides his use of some unusual vocabulary. But by the time one has completed the journey to Damascus with Lawrence and his Arabs, one has almost got a taste for his own peculiar style, even if one cannot always agree with his views, which however, were pretty progressive for a man who grow up at the height of imperialism.

There are, however, many contradictions in the man. At the start of the book, for example, he sympathizes with the unwilling Turkish conscipts, illiterate Anatolian peasants who really wished to be back home, led by a militaristic officer caste fresh from the Armenian genocide. Later in the book though, little sympathy is shown, and on one occasion when Lawrence was angered by the Turks, he did nothing to stop their massacre on their defeat, and left all their wounded where they fell - every one of hundreds froze to death in the cold winter night...

But when one considers that he lost both brothers in 1915 in France, his father in 1919 of the Spanish influenza, and his closest friend, and probably boyfriend, Salim Ahmed, shortly before his entry into Damascus, one can be more forgiving of his attitude. And who can forget his botched execution of Hamed, who'd killed another man? To avoid a blood feud, Lawrence suggested that he execute the man, which was insisted on by the Arabs. 3 shots with his pistol, one of which hit the man on his wrist. No wonder he said he couldn't sleep that night. Or his having to shoot long-time compatriot Farrah in the head as he was too seriously injured to move, and wanted to avoid the inevitable torturing to death of Arab prisoners. Enver Pasha, the Turkish commander, had thrown so many men live into his furnace that he knew just how long it took before you heard the sound of their heads popping. Considering this background of brutality, Lawrence comes across as positively humane.

The book has it's lighter moments though. Who can forget the tribe of the Ageyl, who were so poor they used to go into battle stripped to their loin cloths, both in the belief that it reduced their chances of infection if they were hit, as well as to protect their clothing from bullet holes or blood stains...the young Arabs urinating on others' wounds as the only antiseptic treatment in the desert...the Howeitat treatment of snake-bites - bind up the part with snake-skin plaster, and read chapters of the Koran to the sufferer until he died. Life was hard, and luxuries were few, something which seemed to attract Lawrence even more towards his mission of reaching Damascus and driving out the Turks, even if his conscience continued to bother him that the British Govt's promises to the Arabs were unlikely to be fulfilled.

Finally, Lawrence claimed he left the original manuscript on the train, and had to rewrite the entire book from memory, an amazing feat considering the wealth of detail here. Actually, it would be a superhuman task, and Robert Graves, one of his best friends, believes the story was a lie. The implication is that Lawrence made out that he'd had to rewrite the book by recalling his memories as a cover for the fact that parts of the book are invented, and many facts changed, and that this would be the perfect excuse should his information later be found to be inaccurate. But why claim to have blown up over 70 bridges when the real number was around 20 or so?

The answer is that this is a work of literature, and not a military textbook. We'll never be really sure of which parts are exactly true, and which merely invented as representing what typically happened. It's not always light reading, so set some time aside for this one, but when you get to the end, you'll be glad of having made the effort.