I agree and I would submit that many people, maybe even most, are not good at assessing their own needs. Many officers think they *need* to read about war at the expense of reading other things. My argument here is that, for officers who have a good grasp of the basics, additional reading of books not directly related to war will have a higher payoff on average.
Dec 26, 2023·edited Dec 26, 2023Liked by Austin Caroe
“This is why when I do read about military history, I prefer to study failures and blunders.”
Not a professional military officer or enlisted men myself. Nonetheless, I’ve spent my entire life for the military history. I agree with this. I also think studying smaller wars and lesser known wars and mostly forgotten wars, to the extent you can find material about them is also helpful. The battle of Gettysburg is over studied and over theorized. But what the hell was happening in Paraguay in the 19th century? There’s not that much in English, it’s a very strange conflict. There have to be lessons there. Memoir literature from older wars is also helpful. Getting people’s thoughts right after the conflict, before the official narrative has hardened into place, is helpful. For example, the memoirs about World War I written immediately afterward did not suggest that the conflict was futile and pointless and that the British leadership were incompetent, and that their men were slaughtered for no reason. There was some of that, certainly. But they did after all win the war. And also their army was the only one that did not crack. They must’ve been doing something right. Good post.
Totally agree, studying the standard promoted cannon of war material can limit your understanding of war to the standard promoted cannon of war material. I'd fiction can lead to good insights also, no one would argue science fiction has led some military innovation. Taking a break and NOT reading, but sitting with your own observations and engaging with them will almost certainly lead to innovation and understanding. Hard for me to find people who argee with giving not reading a chance though, haha.
I’ve always found it useful to go beyond professional reading by immersion in classic literature or, for that matter, almost any type of fiction. Both the heavy hitters of world literature and the run of the mill folk will provide useful insights into human nature that you’ll not find anywhere else
I agree and I would submit that many people, maybe even most, are not good at assessing their own needs. Many officers think they *need* to read about war at the expense of reading other things. My argument here is that, for officers who have a good grasp of the basics, additional reading of books not directly related to war will have a higher payoff on average.
“This is why when I do read about military history, I prefer to study failures and blunders.”
Not a professional military officer or enlisted men myself. Nonetheless, I’ve spent my entire life for the military history. I agree with this. I also think studying smaller wars and lesser known wars and mostly forgotten wars, to the extent you can find material about them is also helpful. The battle of Gettysburg is over studied and over theorized. But what the hell was happening in Paraguay in the 19th century? There’s not that much in English, it’s a very strange conflict. There have to be lessons there. Memoir literature from older wars is also helpful. Getting people’s thoughts right after the conflict, before the official narrative has hardened into place, is helpful. For example, the memoirs about World War I written immediately afterward did not suggest that the conflict was futile and pointless and that the British leadership were incompetent, and that their men were slaughtered for no reason. There was some of that, certainly. But they did after all win the war. And also their army was the only one that did not crack. They must’ve been doing something right. Good post.
Totally agree, studying the standard promoted cannon of war material can limit your understanding of war to the standard promoted cannon of war material. I'd fiction can lead to good insights also, no one would argue science fiction has led some military innovation. Taking a break and NOT reading, but sitting with your own observations and engaging with them will almost certainly lead to innovation and understanding. Hard for me to find people who argee with giving not reading a chance though, haha.
The needs will vary from individual to individual, the important thing is to keep reading and sharing the lessons
I’ve always found it useful to go beyond professional reading by immersion in classic literature or, for that matter, almost any type of fiction. Both the heavy hitters of world literature and the run of the mill folk will provide useful insights into human nature that you’ll not find anywhere else