Wholehearted book recommendation

[solicitr]

The Strongest Tribe
Bing West

For the student (or dilettante) of military history, it usually is decaders before a really top-notch history of any conflict emerges from the fog of myth and misunderstanding which naturally acompanies contemporary or near-contemporary accounts. WWII scholarship really didn't reach that level until the 1960's, for instance.

But here is the exception that proves the rule: a brilliant (and unsparingly critical, even harsh) look at what went wrong in Iraq- and then what went right. For anyone who desires an understanding of military operations in Mesopotamia, or even an ability to discuss them intelligently, this brilliant volume should be at the center of the military bookshelf alongside Sgt Bellavia's searing, but limited-POV, Fallujah memoir House to House.

http://www.amazon.com/Strongest-Tribe-P ... pd_sim_b_2