The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, with special attention to "Screwtape Proposes a Toast" which is a good skewering of many of the ills of our modern culture.
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, with special attention to "Screwtape Proposes a Toast" which is a good skewering of many of the ills of our modern culture.
--Josh
“Formerly we suffered from crimes; now we suffer from laws.” - Tacitus.
+ 1Originally Posted by LOKNLOD
Praise be to the LORD my Rock,
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.
-Psalm 144:1
This is a weird connection for my brain to make, but Screwtape Letters made me think of Screw-Jack by Hunter S. Thompson and thus Fear and Loathing: On The Campaign Trail '72, which I honestly feel should be required reading for anyone with any interest in American politics, even if you disagree with the good doctor's personal politics. Many of the things Hunter observed as being broken in our political system 40 years ago remain equally so today. It's the American political system laid out as only HST could.
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand- follows an Olympic runner who probably would have been the first 4 minute miler if WW II hadn't started. He was stranded on a life raft for 40-something days, and it went downhill from there. A great mindset moment- when the sharks start actually trying to get in the boat he decides they've broken the deal so f@ck 'em, they're now on the menu.
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Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
Leadership and Training for the Fight by Paul Howe
The official USMC reading list has some good ideas.
http://www.marines.mil/unit/tecom/mc...ages/mcrl.aspx
Among others, I read "The last stand of Fox Company", the story of a brutal small-unit action during the retreat from the Chosin reservior.
On the lighter side, some of Terry Pratchett's Discworld stuff is great fun. I'd start with "Guards! Guards!", the first book in the City Watch plotline.
"Structures: Or why things don't fall down" by J.E. Gordon. A fun introduction to basic structural engineering. Reads like being in a pub with a mildly eccentric British professor.
"Here if you need me" by Kate Braestrup. The author is a chaplain for the Maine (game)Warden Service, and writes about dealing with death and loss in that capacity, as well as the death of her state-trooper husband. It may sound like an Oprah book, but it gave me some useful perspective for my volunteer EMT work.
Rudyard Kipling. Sure, he romanticized war, but he's a great storyteller. "The Day's Work" and "War Stories and Poems" are good collections. And if you only know the Disney version of "The Jungle Book" you should read the original -- there's far more about death and honor than jokes and games.
Anything by Peter Egan, who writes for Road & Track and Cycle World. The "Leanings" collections are about motorcycling, the "Side Glances" are about cars and driving. "Peter Egan on the Road" is a collection of great road-trip stories.
In the Zone by Peter Petterfield - Several true stories of survival following mountaineering accidents. Good discussion of the kind of mindset and determination it takes to make it out when you are way past screwed.
If you have not read any of P.J. O' Rourke's books, you are missing out on some fun. Easy and entertaining reading. If you don't like potty mouth, pass on these.
"Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War" by Robert Coram - The story of the man who gave us the OODA loop - why speed and training matter
"Training at the Speed of Life" by Kenneth R. Murray - THE guide to reality based training
"Terror at Beslan: A Russian Tragedy with Lessons for America's Schools" by John Giduck
Plus one for "With the Old Breed" and "Principles of Personal Defense"
"Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History" by S.C. Gwynne - great analysis of the effects of mindset, tactics and equipment on the course of history.
Fiction: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" by B.T. Traven - The film is great, but the book is better.
I'll repeat, or really bump, Todd's recommendation of Jeff Cooper's Principles of Personal Defense. Further, I like Gregory Morrisson's Modern Technique of the Pistol; Jim Cirillo's Guns, Bullets, and Gunfights; and Combat Handgunnery by Chuck Taylor (not of the shoes).
The Book of Five Rings - Miyamoto Musashi.
I've read B5R at least four times, and I'll get something new out of it every time.
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