What Are You Currently Reading?

Just finished Back in the Fight: The Explosive Memoir of a Special Operator Who Never Gave Up by Joe Kapacziewski and Charles W. Sasser.

Great book.
 
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The Moon's a Balloon by David Niven.
Read it as a kid, after reading the first couple of chapters I'm pretty sure kid me had no idea what I was reading.

I didn't know he'd written a book. I knew he was SAS (or attached to, Phantom SIGs or something like that) during WWII. I'll check that book out.
 
The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt. Excellent non-fiction reading on 15th century book hunting, and the results of re-discovering the literary works of Greek and Roman antiquity. Be mindful, it is quite condemning of the Church and religion in general within the period. Be that as it may, it is equally critical of the protagonist and his contemporaries, juxtaposing virtue and vice skillfuly. Furthermore, it deals with many facets of human thought and curiosity, including science, philosophy, religion, humanism, virtue, etc. It is a thrilling read.

Update: Finished it in four days, which is unprecedented for me. An excellent book indeed.
 
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Patton and Rommel: Men of War in the Twentieth Century: Dennis Showalter

This books is a parallel biography of both generals, starting from their childhood. It tales you through their early military education.... and that's as far as I am right now. It's a great read so far. I've read individual books on both, but this parallel account makes the compare/contrast much easier to see.
 
Some recent reads:

Level Zero Heroes by Michael Golembesky. It was very "real" and gave a no bullshit account of what goes on in Afghanistan. I enjoyed it and hope it is just the first of many Raider accounts to come out.

Always Faithful, Always Forward: The Forging of a Special Operations Marine by Dick Couch. Offers tremendous insight into the detailed training of A&S and ITC. Recommended for any who want to know more about the MARSOC training pipeline and what it takes to be a Raider. Anything by Couch, I think, is good.

Helmet for My Pillow by Robert Leckie. Story was used in the HBO series The Pacific. Truly amazing story and just goes to show how different things were back then in society and the Corps, but also, how some things never change. Great read and reinforces the idea of "the greatest generation."

Suffer in Silence by David Reid. It was a neat fiction that puts you through the thrill and hardships of BUD/S Phase 1 and Hell Week with a little dramatic spin.

Currently reading Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. Was recommended on some officer reading lists. Slow to start out but it's building. Very interesting to read about the god-like status of Spartans in Greek society. Very insightful to their way of thinking and discipline and ethos.

On deck to read is No Easy Day by Mark Owen (we'll see how that goes, I've heard good and bad), Fields of Fire by James Webb, and Generation Kill by Evan Wright. I like James Webb and if you like military fiction you'd like his work. I recommend A Sense of Honor and Something to Die For. I've read One Bullet Away by Nate Fick and I've seen the miniseries of Generation Kill but I'd like to see how Mr. Wright's POV compares to Nate Fick's.

Also recommend:
American Sniper by Christ Kyle. The real story is quite a bit different from the movie.
Lone Survivor and Service by Marcus Luttrell.
Brothers Forever by Tom Sileo and Col. Tom Manion.
Damn Few by Rorke Denver.
Joker One by Donovan Campbell.
War As I Knew It by Gen. Patton.
With the Old Breed by Eugene Sledge.
 
Patton and Rommel: Men of War in the Twentieth Century: Dennis Showalter

This books is a parallel biography of both generals, starting from their childhood. It tales you through their early military education.... and that's as far as I am right now. It's a great read so far. I've read individual books on both, but this parallel account makes the compare/contrast much easier to see.

I own a copy of that book. It is a terrific read. I ought to reread it sometime.
 
"The Art of Worldly Wisdom or The Pocket Oracle and the Art of Prudence, is a book of 300 maxims and commentary written by a 17th century Jesuit priest named Baltasar Gracián. Considered by many to be Machiavelli’s better in strategy and insight, Gracian’s maxims give advice on how to flourish and thrive in a cutthroat world filled with cunning, duplicity, and power struggles, all while still maintaining your dignity, honor, and self-respect. In many ways, The Art of Worldly Wisdom is a how-to book on fulfilling Christ’s admonition to his apostles to be “cunning as serpents and as innocent as doves.” "

Has anyone on here read this work?

I found it for free on a .pdf after reading about it on another site and thought it would be an interesting read.( http://www.artofmanliness.com/2012/07/08/the-art-of-worldly-wisdom/ )
 
"The Art of Worldly Wisdom or The Pocket Oracle and the Art of Prudence, is a book of 300 maxims and commentary written by a 17th century Jesuit priest named Baltasar Gracián. Considered by many to be Machiavelli’s better in strategy and insight, Gracian’s maxims give advice on how to flourish and thrive in a cutthroat world filled with cunning, duplicity, and power struggles, all while still maintaining your dignity, honor, and self-respect. In many ways, The Art of Worldly Wisdom is a how-to book on fulfilling Christ’s admonition to his apostles to be “cunning as serpents and as innocent as doves.” "

Has anyone on here read this work?

I found it for free on a .pdf after reading about it on another site and thought it would be an interesting read.( http://www.artofmanliness.com/2012/07/08/the-art-of-worldly-wisdom/ )
http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/aww/aww04.htm (free copy)
 
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