I made a note to check out this book by Kipling while I was reading Into the Land of Bones. The plot, two British travelers attempting to be kings in a remote part of Afghanistan, was intriguing.
The book is short, but pretty dry. Work left me tired in the evenings and I could barely get through a couple of pages before falling asleep.
I’m adding it to the list, if only to serve as another reminder to be humble in the graveyard of empires. All the guns and gold in the empire might add up to nil.
There is a movie version out there that I hope to see.
The End of War Reading List
Into the Land of Bones (gift from a friend) – done (Dec. 31, 2013)
The Man Who Would Be King (started after reading about it in Into the Land of Bones) – done (Feb. 3, 2014)
The Defense of Jisr Al-Doreea (recommended by a couple of friends)
The Massacre at El Mozote (recommended by Matthew Bradley)
Every War Must End (recommended by Jason Lemieux)
Black Hearts (recommended by “Jim”)
Can Intervention Work (recommended by “Lincoln”)
A Question of Command: Counterinsurgency from the Civil War to Iraq (recommended by Robert)
Blink: the Power of Thinking without Thinking (recommended by Laura and a friend)
Friend by Day, Enemy by Night: Organized Vengeance in a Kohistani Community (recommended by Laura)
War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning (recommended by Joao Hwang)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (recommended by Joao Hwang)
The Forever War (recommended by Shelly)
How Wars End: Why We Always Fight the Last Battle (recommended by Tim Mathews)
“On Deck”
The Operators (recommended by Nathalie)
The Liberation Trilogy (recommended by Allen)
The Village (recommended by Robert)
Koran, Kalashnikov, and Laptop (recommended by “Kyle”)
The Junior Officer’s Reading Club (recommended by “Kyle”)
The Enlightened Soldier – Scharnhorst and the Militarische Gesellschaft in Berlin, 1801-1805 (recommended by Laura)
Storm Troop Tactics: Innovation in the German Arm (recommended by Laura)
Utility of Force; Art of War in the Modern World (recommended by Laura)
The Sling and the Stone: On War in the 21st Century (recommended by Laura)
Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power (recommended by Laura)
Brave New World (recommended by a fellow infantry officer)
Sympathy for the Devil (recommended by Wesley Morgan)
Enjoy the posts? Subscribe to the monthly newsletter.
Carrying the Gun 