Steven Leonard ( of Strategy Strikes Back)

Steven Leonard rated a book it was amazing Tell Me How This Ends: General David Petraeus and the Search for a Way Out of Iraq by Linda Robinson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The other day, I found myself quoting Linda Robinson, or at least citing the title of her 2008 book, 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘔𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘌𝘯𝘥𝘴. After a series of questionable decisions left the Iraq war spinning out of control, General David Petraeus was nominated to le ...more
9 hours, 37 min ago · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Tell Me How This Ends by Linda Robinson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Tell Me How This Ends by Linda Robinson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Steven Leonard rated a book it was amazing Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking \| Overcome Toxic Thought Patterns and Take Control of Your Mindset by Jon Acuff (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Every meet someone who just overthinks everything? Jon Acuff has, and he wrote a book about it. 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 is a deceptively practical book built on a a painful human tendency. Overthinking isn't a personality quirk. It's a way of giving into your in ...more
Jul 15, 2026 01:44PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Soundtracks by Jon Acuff. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Soundtracks by Jon Acuff <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Steven Leonard rated a book it was amazing What to Make of a Life: Cliffs, Fog, Fire and the Self-Knowledge Imperative by Jim Collins	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jim Collins's new book, 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦, has been holding a position on the corner of my desk since it was published in April. Collins, the author of 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 and 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵, gets a spot as close to the front of the line as it gets on ...more
Jul 08, 2026 12:40PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of What to Make of a Life by Jim Collins. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — What to Make of a Life by Jim Collins <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Steven Leonard rated a book it was amazing The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America by Timothy Egan (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Timothy Egan's 2009 book, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘯: 𝘛𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘺 𝘙𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘚𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢, is the story of the Great Fire of 1910, which believed to be the largest wildfire in United States history. But the fire is only part of the story. The rest belo ...more
Jul 01, 2026 11:02AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Big Burn by Timothy Egan. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Big Burn by Timothy Egan <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Steven Leonard rated a book it was amazing Son of the Morning Star: General Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn by Evan S. Connell	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
To read 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳 is to take a journey down the path of a storyteller. Evan Connell is not a conventional historian. In fact, he's one of America's great literary novelists. He's a storyteller. And a good one. He set out with a vision o ...more
Jun 25, 2026 04:57AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Son of the Morning Star by Evan S. Connell. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Son of the Morning Star by Evan S. Connell <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Steven Leonard rated a book it was amazing Fire on the Mountain: The True Story of the South Canyon Fire by John N. Maclean	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
One of the most impactful reads of my year in the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) was Norman Maclean's 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦, the incredible story that conveyed the lasting lessons of the 1949 Mann Gulch fire in Montana's Helena Nat ...more
Jun 19, 2026 05:55PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Fire on the Mountain by John N. Maclean. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Fire on the Mountain by John N. Maclean <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Steven Leonard rated a book really liked it God Forgives, Brothers Don't: The Long March of Military Education and the Making of American Manhood by Jasper Craven (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jasper Craven's new book, 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵, is a "barbed" exploration of military schools and their role in perpetuating a culture of hyper-masculinity. How toxic that can become is subject to interpretation. The book's title derives from ...more
Jun 10, 2026 07:08AM · 3 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of God Forgives, Brothers Don't by Jasper Craven. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — God Forgives, Brothers Don't by Jasper Craven <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Steven Leonard rated a book it was amazing War Without Humanity: Conflict in the Post-Human Era by Daniel M. Gerstein	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dan Gerstein's new - as in two weeks old - novel of future conflict, 𝘞𝘢𝘳 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺. Set at the crossroads of AI, biotech, and the Internet of Things, the book follows a "transhuman platoon" from the 82nd Airborne Division, U.S. Army holding a ...more
Jun 03, 2026 01:05PM · like · see review
Steven Leonard rated a book it was amazing Currahee!: A Screaming Eagle at Normandy by Donald R. Burgett	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
One of the first books I read after arriving at Fort Campbell in 1988 was 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘦!: 𝘈 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘢𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘺, Don Burgett's 1967 D-Day memoir. Burgett jumped with the 101st Airborne Division at Normandy and survived to tell the tale. His memoir ...more
May 27, 2026 11:31AM · like · see review
Steven Leonard rated a book it was amazing Parachute Infantry: An American Paratrooper's Memoir of D-Day and the Fall of the Third Reich by David Kenyon Webster	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
If you ask me what I remember most about reading David Webster's book, 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺, it's the tedium of combat. Webster, a veteran of the famous 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), U.S. Army, jumped into Normandy on D ...more
May 22, 2026 07:03AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Parachute Infantry by David Kenyon Webster. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Parachute Infantry by David Kenyon Webster <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Tell Me How This Ends: General David Petraeus and the Search for a Way Out of Iraq
by Linda Robinson

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The other day, I found myself quoting Linda Robinson, or at least citing the title of her 2008 book, 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘔𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘌𝘯𝘥𝘴. After a series of questionable decisions left the Iraq war spinning out of control, General David Petraeus was nominated to le ...more

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Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking | Overcome Toxic Thought Patterns and Take Control of Your Mindset
by Jon Acuff (Goodreads Author)

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Every meet someone who just overthinks everything? Jon Acuff has, and he wrote a book about it. 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 is a deceptively practical book built on a a painful human tendency. Overthinking isn't a personality quirk. It's a way of giving into your in ...more

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What to Make of a Life: Cliffs, Fog, Fire and the Self-Knowledge Imperative
by Jim Collins

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Jim Collins's new book, 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦, has been holding a position on the corner of my desk since it was published in April. Collins, the author of 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 and 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵, gets a spot as close to the front of the line as it gets on Jim Collins's new book, 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦, has been holding a position on the corner of my desk since it was published in April. Collins, the author of 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 and 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵, gets a spot as close to the front of the line as it gets on my #reading list.

The book is organized around a single central question: How do we find our way in the world?

How do we make it past the cliffs — significant events that can radically change a life? How do we keep the inner fire burning bright, long and late? How do we keep pushing where others give up? We all face our cliffs in life — it's what we choose to do at those cliffs that change lives.

Three key themes run through the book. First, what he calls encodings — durable, intrinsic capacities built into your construction, waiting to be discovered through life's experiences — the individual equivalent of the Hedgehog Concept, applied to people rather than organizations. Second, the necessity of navigating fog without leaping — what he calls simplex stepping... taking the best step that's visible right in front of you. You don't need to know where you're ultimately going, just continue choosing the next best steps. Third — perhaps the most counterintuitive for high-achievers — the fire does not have to fade. You decide when your last chapter is written, no one else.

The most important #leadership lesson from the book is one that challenges the premise most high-performers bring to the question of success: the best #leaders don't ask what they are obligated to do or what will build their reputation. Instead they focus on what they're responsible for. That shift — from obligation to chosen responsibility — is the difference between a career and a calling, and between #leadership that exhausts and #leadership that sustains.

This is conveyed in the book as Collins channels Toni Morrison: "Freedom doesn't mean the absence of responsibilities. Freedom means you get to choose your responsibilities." That's the point where greatness starts. ...more

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The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America
by Timothy Egan (Goodreads Author)

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Timothy Egan's 2009 book, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘯: 𝘛𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘺 𝘙𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘚𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢, is the story of the Great Fire of 1910, which believed to be the largest wildfire in United States history. But the fire is only part of the story. The rest belo Timothy Egan's 2009 book, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘯: 𝘛𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘺 𝘙𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘚𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢, is the story of the Great Fire of 1910, which believed to be the largest wildfire in United States history. But the fire is only part of the story. The rest belongs to two of the most consequential figures in American conservation history: Teddy Roosevelt and his chief forester, Gifford Pinchot.

The partnership between Roosevelt and Pinchot spurred the audacious idea of public land held in trust for all Americans. Together they championed the concept of conservation and established the Forest Service as a guardian of those lands. But when Roosevelt left office, Congress all but defunded the Forest Service, leaving the agency without the necessary resources to manage the fires that ignited across the summer of 1910, sparked by an early spring, a dry summer, and increased industrial and railroad activity.

Roosevelt and Pinchot built something that had no precedent and powerful enemies, sustained by a conviction that the land belonged to the people, not the powerful. The Taft administration saw it differently, and Congress bowed to the whims of the Gilded Age corporate barons. The Great Fire of 1910 nearly destroyed the Forest Service but, paradoxically, saved it. As public support for the young agency surged in the aftermath of catastrophe, Congress reversed course on funding.

There's an important leadership lesson here: Roosevelt and Pinchot planted the institutional seed deep enough that even a political betrayal and a catastrophic fire could not uproot it. Leaders who invest in institutions during quiet times give those institutions something to stand on when the ground begins to shake.

One especially meaningful quote from the book comes from Roosevelt himself, rendered by Egan in the spirit that defined his presidency: "Better for a man to fail, he said, even 'to fail greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.'" It is a line that belonged to the Rough Rider long before the fire, but the fire gave it its fullest meaning. ...more

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Son of the Morning Star by Evan S. Connell

Son of the Morning Star: General Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn
by Evan S. Connell

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To read 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳 is to take a journey down the path of a storyteller. Evan Connell is not a conventional historian. In fact, he's one of America's great literary novelists. He's a storyteller. And a good one. He set out with a vision o To read 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳 is to take a journey down the path of a storyteller. Evan Connell is not a conventional historian. In fact, he's one of America's great literary novelists. He's a storyteller. And a good one. He set out with a vision of a book of collected essays on the American West. But, like many of us, when we start writing about Custer, we don't stop. Four years after he started, Connell closed the final chapter on 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳.

The title of the book is the name the Sioux gave to Custer — a detail that tells you immediately where Connell is standing: not on the ridge with the Seventh Cavalry, not in the war rooms of the Army, but in the full, contested, morally complex landscape of the Northern Plains in 1876. Where on June 25, an immense confederation of Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors converged on a grassy ridge above the Little Bighorn River and, in a battle that was entirely incomprehensible at the time, killed 262 troopers of the 7th Cavalry, including their controversial commanding officer.

The most important #leadership lesson from the book is one that applies to any leader operating at the edge of their knowledge and experience in an uncertain environment: confidence is no substitute for competence, and the gap between the two can be fatal. Custer was among the most confident cavalry commanders of any era. He was also operating against an adversary that had fundamentally changed tactics, and with an intelligence gap that systematically prevented him from accurately assessing the threat. The #decisions that compounded into catastrophe on June 25, 1876 were those of a man who had been right so many times before that he could no longer clearly imagine being wrong.

One especially meaningful quote from the book conveys a timeless truth about #war, even on the frontier: "The West was not dull, it was stupendously dull, and when not dull it was murderous. A man could get killed without realizing it."

𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳 is not the book you pick up for a detailed history of the battle. It's a work of art and a meditation on the American experience — one that rewards readers who already know the story and want to understand some of the deeper nuance surrounding the battle and the man. ...more

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Fire on the Mountain: The True Story of the South Canyon Fire
by John N. Maclean

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One of the most impactful reads of my year in the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) was Norman Maclean's 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦, the incredible story that conveyed the lasting lessons of the 1949 Mann Gulch fire in Montana's Helena Nat One of the most impactful reads of my year in the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) was Norman Maclean's 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦, the incredible story that conveyed the lasting lessons of the 1949 Mann Gulch fire in Montana's Helena National Forest. It's a book I've been giving out to friends for a quarter century... it's that good.

Maclean's son, John, proved to be an equally remarkable storyteller, and his book, 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯, follows a trail blazed by his father. The book is THE definitive account of one of the deadliest wildfire disasters in American history, and one of the most powerful examples of what happens when organizational failure, human error, and the indifferent violence of nature converge in the same terrible moment. In 1994, a wildfire on Colorado's Storm King Mountain was wrongly identified at the outset as occurring in South Canyon — an unintentional, seemingly minor human error that was the first in a string of mistakes compounded into one of the greatest tragedies in the annals of firefighting. Before the fire was extinguished, fourteen courageous firefighters — men and women, hotshots, smokejumpers, and helicopter crew — would lose their lives.

Three key themes run through the book with the relentless logic of the fire itself. First, the catastrophic compounding of small errors. No single mistake killed fourteen people on Storm King Mountain, but a sequence of individually survivable decisions, each one narrowing the margin for the next, produced an outcome that was ultimately unsurvivable. Second, institutional dysfunction. Interagency bureaucratic conflict allowed the fire to spread and become more deadly, which only compounded ongoing human error. Third, the raw human dimension of the story. Maclean paints a vivid portrait of the rugged firefighters who supply the most thrilling and saddest moments, men and women who displayed remarkable bravery against almost hopeless odds.

The most important #leadership lesson from 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 is a familiar one: complacency kills. It was a lesson Maclean's father explored in Mann Gulch and one that the younger Maclean would rediscover in the South Canyon.

𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 deserves a place alongside 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦 as essential reading for anyone who #leads people into dangerous work and wants to better understand the often narrow margin between survival and catastrophe. ...more

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God Forgives, Brothers Don't by Jasper Craven

God Forgives, Brothers Don't: The Long March of Military Education and the Making of American Manhood
by Jasper Craven (Goodreads Author)

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Jasper Craven's new book, 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵, is a "barbed" exploration of military schools and their role in perpetuating a culture of hyper-masculinity. How toxic that can become is subject to interpretation.

The book's title derives from Jasper Craven's new book, 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵, is a "barbed" exploration of military schools and their role in perpetuating a culture of hyper-masculinity. How toxic that can become is subject to interpretation.

The book's title derives from the motto adopted by West Point's football team in 1996. What may have been missed by the players at the time was not lost on the author. The phrase was first coined by the Aryan Brotherhood: "It was their omertà code," a strict code of honor and silence where secrecy is enforced through intimidation and retaliation.

With that inauspicious factoid behind you, the book continues down a disturbing path of initial military education gone wrong. Breaking down individualism to forge an identity built around a sense of team is a necessary part of that experience; how we achieve that has changed significantly over time. Institutionally, we've come a long way from the days of being drawn and quartered. Individually, we sometimes still cope with people who bring sociopathic tendencies to that experience.

But Craven's book — which can take the reader down a pretty dark rabbit hole — raises a key point that is worth exploring. Can we instill the tenacity, grit, and strength of character necessary to rise to the challenge of military service without allowing our methods to turn toxic?

That question sent me back to Camp Toccoa. Rereading the parts of 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 that described the paratrooper experience there was revealing. While most people who either read the book or watched the HBO series agree that Herbert Sobel was a sociopathic *sshole, the men understood later that his methods — however flawed they were — forged them into a team that cemented their place in history.

In my opinion, that's the greatest value of the book and made reading it worthwhile. It forced me to stop and consider the methods we use to get to the type of leader or soldier we need. The answer is a crucible experience... what goes into that remains the question. ...more

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War Without Humanity by Daniel M. Gerstein

War Without Humanity: Conflict in the Post-Human Era
by Daniel M. Gerstein

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Dan Gerstein's new - as in two weeks old - novel of future conflict, 𝘞𝘢𝘳 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺. Set at the crossroads of AI, biotech, and the Internet of Things, the book follows a "transhuman platoon" from the 82nd Airborne Division, U.S. Army holding a ...more

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Currahee!: A Screaming Eagle at Normandy
by Donald R. Burgett

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One of the first books I read after arriving at Fort Campbell in 1988 was 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘦!: 𝘈 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘢𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘺, Don Burgett's 1967 D-Day memoir. Burgett jumped with the 101st Airborne Division at Normandy and survived to tell the tale. His memoir One of the first books I read after arriving at Fort Campbell in 1988 was 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘦!: 𝘈 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘢𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘺, Don Burgett's 1967 D-Day memoir. Burgett jumped with the 101st Airborne Division at Normandy and survived to tell the tale. His memoir vividly portrays the chaos of war through the lens of a paratrooper — the blood and sweat, the glory and tears. Like David Webster's memoir that I posted about last week, 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘦! was a key source for Stephen Ambrose as he penned 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴.

"Currahee" is a Cherokee for "We Stand Alone Together," the battle cry and motto of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Burgett was a "Toccoa Man," one of the original paratroopers who endured the punishing physical training at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, where the regiment was forged. Currahee was also the name of the mountain at Toccoa that prospective paratroopers had to run regularly. "Three miles up; three miles down" was a common refrain.

Key themes run through the book with a consistency that makes it more than a personal war story. First, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗼𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲. Paratroopers were dropped behind the beaches, and in the next seven days fought some of the most ferocious close-quarter combat in all of World War II — largely without coordinated command, improvising constantly, winning through sheer aggression and adaptability. Second, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹. Burgett's almost dispassionate tone sheds a dark light on the psychological defenses necessary for the paratroopers to survive with their sanity intact. Third, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹-𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻. The paratroopers fought for each other, in conditions of total physical and psychological extremity, bound by a loyalty forged in Camp Toccoa.

The most important lesson? One that's still relevant today? No plan survives first contact with the enemy. The force that prevails is the one whose leaders can think, decide, and act when the plan disintegrates.

Eisenhower offered what is probably the most meaningful endorsement of the book — the only World War II memoir he ever endorsed — calling it "a fascinating tale of personal combat" that "portrays the courage, endurance, initiative and fighting qualities of an American soldier on a European battlefield of World War II." ...more

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Parachute Infantry by David Kenyon Webster

Parachute Infantry: An American Paratrooper's Memoir of D-Day and the Fall of the Third Reich
by David Kenyon Webster

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If you ask me what I remember most about reading David Webster's book, 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺, it's the tedium of combat. Webster, a veteran of the famous 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), U.S. Army, jumped into Normandy on D ...more

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