{"id":2027,"date":"2009-03-18T17:01:03","date_gmt":"2009-03-18T17:01:03","guid":{"rendered":"0"},"modified":"2009-03-18T17:01:03","modified_gmt":"2009-03-18T17:01:03","slug":"this_months_rea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/marcdanziger.com\/?p=2027","title":{"rendered":"This Month’s Reading"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m reading my way through the Counterinsurgency Reading List<\/a> over on Abu Muquama’s site<\/a>, as well as some other books that catch my eye, and thought I’d make quick comments on this month’s reading.<\/p>\n

The Lost Revolution<\/a>, by Robert Shaplen<\/p>\n

I have a litmus test for books about Vietnam; if they suggest that the 1956 elections were put off because of corruption in the South and don’t at least equally emphasize the brutal repression in the North, I don’t think much of them. This is one of those books. The most interesting thing about it is that it was written by a leading Asia journalist and staff writer for the New Yorker. His core point is much better made in Rufus Phillips’ book below.
\n
Prosperity & Violence<\/a>: The Political economy of Development by Robert Bates<\/p>\n

Interesting book, but I think he’s missing a few key points. I’ll do a longer review when I get some time. Don’t rush out and buy it, but it you trip over it and are interested in this stuff it’s an interesting read.<\/p>\n

Koran, Kalashnikov and Laptop<\/a> by Antonio Giustozzi<\/p>\n

GREAT BOOK ON AFGHANISTAN. Did I say it was great? I bought a copy and loaned it to Biggest Guy. Buy and read this book.<\/p>\n

This Man’s Army<\/a> by Andrew Exum (abu muquama himself)<\/p>\n

We’re about to see an interesting stream of memoirs by young, well-educated veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. This book, and ‘The Unforgiving Minute’ below are two great examples of them. They give a real sense of what today’s military is like and when it’s like to step off a plane in Kabul and go into combat. Also sent this to Biggest Guy.<\/p>\n

Dark Star Safari<\/a> by Paul Theroux<\/p>\n

Depressing. The ruins of Africa, after all that hope and aid. All the cynical NGO’s. Just depressing.<\/p>\n

The Terrorist Identity<\/a> by Michael Arena and Bruce Arrigo<\/p>\n

Interesting specialist book. Tells more about the origins of the IRA, RAF, and other terrorist organizations than I’d known – so pretty good history and sociology of these groups. Worth the read, for sure.<\/p>\n

On Suicide Bombing<\/a> by Talal Asad<\/p>\n

A key ‘Bad Philosophy’ book. I’ll also have a longer review on this. Don’t read it unless you enjoy Baudrillard.<\/p>\n

The Unforgiving Minute<\/a> by Craig Mullaney<\/p>\n

Like Andy Exum’s book, it gave me a window into my son’s life. Well-written, smart, really interesting. I’d strongly recommend it as well – and a copy went out to BG as well.<\/p>\n

Why Vietnam Matters<\/a>, by Rufus Phillips<\/p>\n

I saved the best for last. If you read any book on this list, read this one. In fact, if you’re planning on reading a book and care at all about American foreign policy, read this book. A clear-eyed look at the history of American involvement in Vietnam from someone who was there (he was Lansdale’s protege and Richard Holbrooke’s boss). I’ll be writing – a lot – about this book, and encourage you all to go and get a copy.<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Armed Liberal suggest some books<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/marcdanziger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2027"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/marcdanziger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/marcdanziger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/marcdanziger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/marcdanziger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/marcdanziger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2027\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/marcdanziger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/marcdanziger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/marcdanziger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}