Future Reading: Dhofar Rebellion

Future Reading: The Dhofar Rebellion As I've noted in detail elsewhere, I've spent much of the last four years - and most of my time in Aberdeen - working to become one of the world's foremost leading experts in a forgotten 1970's counterinsurgency campaign. I'm currently (sporadically) working on OGHAP, and that's going to require me to read (or reread) The Gordon Highlanders: A Concise History and Life of a Regiment, Volume 4. Once I finish my manuscript, I'll start work on a book about Dhofar. That's going to require me to read some books that I have yet to get to.

Coup D'état Oman by Ray Kane: In the last few years, several British veterans of the Dhofar Rebellion have published their memoirs of the conflict. Ray Kane actually commented on a prior post in which I mentioned his book as a future reading goal, so I'm excited to read his account and possibly get in touch with him.

Dangerous Frontiers: Campaigning in Somaliland and Oman by Bryan Ray: Whereas Ray Kane's book came out after I completed my dissertation, Bryan Ray's book seems to have come out before I arrived in Aberdeen. I'm looking forward to reading about his experiences in both Oman and Somaliland.

Oman and the World: The Emergence of an Independent Foreign Policy by Joseph A. Kechichian: Kechichian is one of the few scholars whose work focuses on Oman, and I'll be consulting his book (in digital form - thank God for my Kindle!) for context on the modern Sultanate and its post-Dhofar foreign policy.

Oman's Insurgencies: The Sultanate's Struggle for Supremacy by J.E. Peterson: I actually enjoyed the extended loan of Peterson's book, Defending Arabia, from the Director when CN Odin and I were working on our article. I haven't purchased this book yet because it's exorbitantly expensive, but it will probably have to join my slowly growing pantheon of sources in due course of time. I'm not sure whether I'll try to procure a copy of Arabia the Gulf & the West by B.J. Kelly, but as used copies appear to be quite reasonably priced, it may be worth the investment.

SAS Secret War: Operation Storm in the Middle East by Tony Jeapes: I actually have three different copies of this book and, I think, the two different versions. Along with John Akehurst's book, Jeapes' volume on the war is one of the two authoritative sources on the conflict. I consulted Jeapes' book while writing my dissertation, but I'll have to read the whole thing for my book.

The Rough Guide to Oman: Travel guides can be a good source of information about a particular country, and in addition to my own trip there in 2012, I plan to use this and other sources to paint a picture of the modern Sultanate.

The Secret War: Dhofar 1971/1972 by David C. Arkless: This is the first of two books written specifically about the role of aviation in the Dhofar Rebellion. I'll probably dedicate a chapter to aviation in Dhofar, so I'll utilize this source for that portion of my manuscript.

Storm Front: The Epic True Story of a Secret War, the SAS's Greatest Battle, and the British Pilots Who Saved Them by Rowland White: This is the second of two books written specifically about the role of aviation in the Dhofar Rebellion.

Warlords of Oman by P.S. Allfree: As I've noted previously, I've finished this book, which deals with the Jebel Akhdar War, which preceded the major combat phase of the Dhofar Rebellion by about a decade. I'll use it for a bit of pre-war context, in conjunction with Thesiger's Arabian Sands.

We Won a War: The Campaign in Oman 1965-1975 by John Akehurst: Along with Jeapes' book, Akehurst offers one of the two authoritative accounts of the conflict. I leaned on this book while writing my dissertation, but to write my book, I'll have to read the whole thing. I'll be reading many other books and shorter sources as I conduct my research, and at some point I may post a near-comprehensive list. However, these are at the top of the Dhofar docket once I'm finished with OGHAP.

More to come.

Future Reading: Leisure

As much time as I try to spend my time on professional or academic reading of one sort or another, I occasionally introduce something recreational into the mix - The Martian, to name but one. Here are some of the medium-term leisure reading options I've identified thus far.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Armor by John Steakley

Commando Country by Stuart Allan

Commando: Winning World War II Behind Enemy Lines by James Owen

For Your Eyes Only by Ian Fleming

Gurkhas at War: Eyewitness Accounts from World War II to Iraq by J.P. Cross and Buddhiman Gurung

Micro by Michael Crichton

Moby-Dick; or, The Whale by Herman Melville

Next by Michael Crichton

On Her Majesty's Secret Service by Ian Fleming

Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton

Prey by Michael Crichton

Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories by Ian Fleming

State of Fear by Michael Crichton

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton

The Man With the Golden Gun by Ian Fleming

The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne

The Spy Who Loved Me by Ian Fleming

The Terminal Man by Michael Crichton

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

Thunderball by Ian Fleming

Timeline by Michael Crichton

You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming

More to come.

Future Reading: Faith and Philosophy

It's time for another installment of my long-term reading list. While I was living in Hampton Roads, Virginia a few years ago, I went through a phase when I was doing pretty well at reading a chapter from the Bible, a few prayers from the Book of Common Prayer, and another book on faith or philosophy. Those included Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, Confessions by St. Augustine, and - unfortunately - Gifts of the Jews by Thomas Cahill. At some point in the foreseeable future, I hope to get back into that habit.

Over the Summer, Lady Jaye (who is Catholic) and I (who, like C.S. Lewis, am Anglican) visited the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and I walked away with a copy of C.S. Lewis and the Catholic Church by Joseph Pearce. I've started reading it, so this will probably the first one I'll read. Aside from that, I was assigned a number of books in a couple of my undergraduate history courses that focused on the relationship between science and religion. Those courses were pretty seminal for me, but I didn't have a chance to read most of the assigned textbooks, so I'd like to read the following texts at some point in the next couple of years: Christian Apologetics by Norman L. Geisler; The Galileo Connection by Charles E. Hummel; Reason in the Balance by Phillip E. Johnson; Science & its Limits by Del Ratzsch; and Science and Religion: A Historical Introduction, edited by Gary B. Ferngren. I'd also like to throw in some history, such as The Dead Sea Scrolls by Michael Wise, Martin Abegg, Jr., and Edward Cook; History of the Church by Eusebius; or Antiquities of the Jews and The Jewish Wars by Flavius Josephus. I may also include a bit more Lewis (maybe a reread of Mere Christianity, or a reading of The Great Divorce?), but that's yet to be determined.

More to come.

Great War Podcasts, Part 6: KCL WSD

It's been a long time since I posted some podcasts about the First World War. In the last few months, the Department of War Studies at King's College London has had a couple of good ones. The first is an interview with William Philpott about his book War of Attrition: Fighting the First World War. The second is more recent, and it features several speakers discussing the sideshows of the Great War - a topic which was also covered in an excellent podcast that I've linked to previously. Go check 'em out!

Future Reading: Strategic Studies

In early July, I posted about my potential 2016 reading goals. I've spent some time identifying categories of books that I want to read over the next few years, so I'll handle these various categories in a series of upcoming posts, starting with strategy.

As I've discussed in great detail, I spent some of 2012 and all of 2013 in Scotland and received my Master of Science (with Distinction) in Strategic Studies from the University of Aberdeen. I've always been interested in military topics, and that course of study helped me to simultaneously expand and focus that interest. While I ready very voraciously before, during, and after my courses of instruction, there were a handful of books I never got around to reading. There are a few more that I'd like to reread. Other books have come up either before or since that course of study. They're listed (and annotated) below.

Bleeding Talent: How the US Military Mismanages Great Leaders and Why It's Time for a Revolution by Tim Kane: This is actually on my 2015 reading list, so I'll let that entry stand.

Cables from Kabul: The Inside Story of the West's Afghanistan Campaign by Sherard Cowper Coles: The author was the British envoy to Afghanistan. This book was added to the 2012-'13 list after I'd already started reading, so I got a copy, but never had a chance to read it. My buddy, CN Constable, says that it's pretty dry material.

Grounded: The Case for Abolishing the United States Air Force by Robert M. Farley: This is also on my 2015 reading list. Parts of the author's case were flawless, and other parts were pretty pedantic and convoluted. If you're going to read this book, do yourself a favor and read it alongside Elinor Sloan's book, listed below.

History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides: I actually found my old Penguin Classic paperback of this book during a recent visit to my storage unit back home. This has been on my list for years due to my study of ancient history, and since it's considered the founding work of both history and strategy, it's time to read it. Once I finish my effort to read Clausewitz's entire volume, I'll transition to Thucydides.

The Influence of Sea Power on History by A.T. Mahan: This is considered the seminal work of naval strategy, and was recommended to me during my days as a Naval ROTC midshipman (and possibly in by my AP US History teacher in high school?).

International Law and the Use of Force by Christine Gray: This was one of the books that was assigned to familiarize students with the Strategic Studies and International Law option. I may or may not make it a priority to read this one.

MCDP 1-1 Strategy: The Marine Corps' MCDP 1: Warfighting is mostly a blatant (albeit liberally footnoted) condensation of Clausewitz. I suspect that this will be similar, but it's worth my time to read. The Marine Corps tends to do better than the Army, who don't even seem to have borrowed writing a doctrinal publication about strategy in the first place.

Modern Military Strategy: An Introduction by Elinor C. Sloan: I want to reread a couple of chapters of this book, particularly the chapter about the "Revolution in Military Affairs". Sloan has another book about precisely that topic that may be added to this list.

Modern Strategy by Colin S. Gray: I read Colin Gray's Another Bloody Century prior to my departure for Aberdeen, and I've quoted this particular book liberally in several items I've written, but it's worth my time to slog through the whole thing.

On War by Carl von Clausewitz: As I've noted elsewhere, I'm currently in the process of reading this epic work, which is the basis for modern strategic thought. Some of it has been difficult to digest, but much of it has been entirely relevant to the conduct of contemporary warfare.

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli: I read this in college, and since it's short, I want to reread it. Machiavelli is described as a notorious cynic, but his writings remain relevant to this day.

Strategic Studies: A Reader by Thomas Mahnken and Joseph A. Maiolo: This was the first book that I started reading back in early 2012 (late 2011?), but I only made it past the first few chapters. I think they have a new edition out, but I'm not sure how much was actually updated. It's a collection of essays, some of them pretty dated, but all of them relevant to the academic discipline of strategic studies.

Strategy in the Contemporary World by James J. Wirtz, Colin S. Gray, and John Baylis: This was meant to be our primary textbook in Aberdeen, but I never read more than a few pages of it. I'd like to remedy that.

The Evolution of Nuclear Strategy by Lawrence Freedman: I read this in 2012, and it was one of the more difficult books because Freedman divides it up by concept, rather than working chronologically. Now that I've completed my Strategic Nuclear Doctrine course, and given that I'm hoping to write about some nuclear issues in the Middle East, I think it would be good to review this one.

The Return of History and the End of Dreams by Robert Kagan: I have an audiobook of this one, and I'd like to give that audiobook a few evenings to refresh my memory. It's dated, but a lot of it is still relevant.

Thinking About Nuclear Weapons: Principles, Problems and Prospects by Michael Quinlan: This book was much shorter and easier to wrap my head around than Freedman's book. Again, my interest in strategic nuclear doctrine recommends a refresher read of this one.

More to come.