Required reading
 

Believe it or not in the past few weeks, I have cut down on the video games and started picking up some books I could start to feel my brain slipping and needed some intellectual stimulation beyond what you see on the internet and CNN. In this flurry of reading, I have come across some works that I feel need to be required reading in not only the U.S., but in education systems all over the world.

"Blackhawk Down", by Mark Bowden. I am sure you all have seen the movie, and don't get me wrong it's good. But the book is that much better. It studies the reasons behind the conflict, the culture of Somalia, and what affect those had on U.S. foreign policy. At the same time, it takes a in-depth look at the U.S. Command structure. But the core of the book is how men react to overwhelming odds, and why they fight. If you have not read this book, do yourself a favor and go buy, borrow, or steal a copy.

"From Beirut to Jerusalem", by Thomas Friedman. I am about two hundred pages into this book, and it has taught me more about the situation in Israel in those two hundred pages, then the countless pages I have read prior to that about the region. Friedman, who is Jewish, takes a no-holds-barred look at this conflict and it will open your eyes. He like Bowden in BHD, looks a the cultures, history and religion of the people involved and guides you to an understanding of why this region is so volatile.

Finally, "Dresden 1945, The Devil's Tinderbox", by Alexander McKee. McKee who is a British vet of WW II, examines the fire-bombing of Dresden Germany in eary 1945. He holds no punches on this one, and you will find it very interesting. It's a side of the war that has been hidden but needs to be looked at. Read this book and come to your own conclusions about the morality of the Allies.

Anyway, my short attempt to help stimulate some thinking out there. Enjoy. biggrin:

Want thinking ? Read Atlas Shrugged, Zero and Theories of Everything. You
might also like Reason and Responsibility, Godel Escher Bach, The Mind's
I, A New Kind of Science and The Selfish Gene.

Re: Required reading
 

And thats where you lost me...

Soli what are all those books about..my dad has read a few of them and is wanting me to read The Minds I and Reason and REsponsibility...what are they bout

They're Porn mags.

wow-your really funny.

I read blackhawk down too. I was looking for some books on the israel/palestine conflict history-does from beirut to jerusalem talk about any of that?

read any book by Chuck Palahniuk like Choke or Invisible Monsters or the newest one Lullyby.. any book by him is really addictive and you cant put it down until you finish it..by the way hes known for writing Fight club

Since September, i have read:

The Soviet-Afghan War: How a superpower fought and lost
If you are into military tactics, this is the book for you. It explains what the Russians used to fight, as well as the Mujahideen. It also gives you an insight on how the Taliban was formed.

Black Hawk Down
Basically what Toten said, very good read and very informative.

Right now i am reading:

Delta Force: The U.S. Army's elite Counter-terrorist unit
I am about 56 pages into the book of about 300. Col. Charlie Beckwith's novel gives you an inside look on Delta, and how he formed it. He was also the first commander of Delta. As you may know, Delta was a part of the Battle of the Black Sea, (BHD) but the book was publised in 1985 so it does not cover Somalia.

I'm reading a book about the life of Gebhardt Leberecht von Bluecher

[quote="CaP bUsTa":31990]Soli what are all those books about..my dad has read a few of them and is wanting me to read The Minds I and Reason and REsponsibility...what are they bout[/quote:31990]

Reason and Responsibility is a collection of philosophical essays by a
variety of philosophers. The Mind's I is a book on the problem of self
and self-consciousness. A New Kind of Science is Wolfram's masterpiece
and goes further into explaining cellular automata. Zero is basically a
biography of the number/place-holder and how it has evolved through
time. Atlas Shrugged is Ayn Rands masterpiece; basically 1000 pages
of filler for 70 that explain her philosophy, Objectivism. Theories of
Everything is a book about the problems we are and will encounter in
having this unified theory. I haven't read The Selfish Gene so I won't
say anything about it...

I already read Black Hawk Down.

For WWII stuff, the best thing I have ever read is the Screaming Eagle series by Donald R. Burgett. It's 4 books (Training/Normandy, Holland, Bastogne, post-Bastogne) and they are very quick and easy reads. It's very similar to Band of Brothers (which is also an excellent book), but it's much more first person. Very hard to put down.

I just finished reading War of the Rats, which is basically Enemy at the Gates. It's pretty good. I just started reading A Midnight Clear. Seems very good so far. There's actually a movie of it, with Gary Sinese. They show it on Bravo every now and then.