 | The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World by Rupert Smith
Buy new: £7.64 / Used from: £4.90 Rupert Smith's views on the changing of the old guard and the coming of a new way of fighting are a good introduction to 21st Century Warfare
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 | The U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual by United States
Buy new: £8.69 / Used from: £9.21 FM 3-24 is available through the Military Intranet, and can be a bit dry, but this is doctrine to be familiar with
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 | The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One by David Kilcullen
Buy new: £15.40 / Used from: £20.69 An outstanding book by the man who was senior Counterinsurgency expert to Gen Petraeus during the 2007-08 'surge' in Iraq. Relevant and essential reading before any Operational Tour.
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 | The Bear Went Over the Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics in Afghanistan (Soviet (Russian) Study of War)
Buy new: £19.36 / Used from: £20.32 Operational vignettes from the Soviet Army in Afghanistan that provide good context for Operations in Afghanistan. Not always relevant, but useful nonetheless.
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 | Afghan Guerrilla Warfare: In the Words of the Mujahideen Fighters by Alli Ahmad Jalali
Buy new: £10.95 / Used from: £11.99 The other side of the coin. Vignettes of Mujahadeen tactics in the Afghan-Soviet war, many of the TTP's are still relevant today. Lacks the detail of the above, and the translation can be awkward
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 | Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam by John A. Nagl
Buy new: £8.93 / Used from: £7.48 A key modern counterinsurgency text, that helped inform FM3-24, which draws good lessons and conclusions. It can be quite specific when addressing Malaya/Vietnam.
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 | Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice (PSI Classics in the Counterinsurgency Era) by David Galula
Buy new: £16.95 / Used from: £22.10 Another classic counter insurgency text. It stands up to scrutiny better than some of the other 'classic' texts in my opnion.
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 | Counterinsurgency in Modern Warfare (Companion) by Daniel Marston
Buy new: £12.59 / Used from: £3.25 Written by ex-RMAS Academics, this book is ideal for a Sandhurst Cadet looking for an easy route into Counterinsurgency study. The Afghan chapter also provides a good overview for NCOs
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 | Koran, Kalashnikov and Laptop: The Neo-Taliban Insurgency in Afghanistan 2002-2007 by Antonio Giustozzi
Buy new: £11.92 / Used from: £9.26 An excellent study of the Taliban et. al. this book is quite academic, but is a far more intelligent study than 99% of other books on the subject.
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 | Low Intensity Operations: Subversion, Insurgency and Peacekeeping by Frank Kitson
Buy used from: £19.80 If you can find a cheap used copy, go for it. A classic work on Counterinsurgency lessons learned from the end of the colonial era.
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 | Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America by Qiao Liang
Buy used from: £46.95 Don't be put off by the title; this text embodies all that modern, hybrid warfare is about, and shows the invalidity of our 'uber-blitzkrieg' doctrine, by looking at full spectrum warfare. A must.
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 | On Guerrilla Warfare by Mao Tse-tung
Buy new: £4.73 / Used from: £4.63 A no-brainer, although I'm not a big fan of this translation.
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 | Guerrilla Warfare by Ernesto 'Che' Guevara
Buy new: £7.19 / Used from: £3.99 As above, another manifesto of insurgent ideals.
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 | The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia by Peter Hopkirk
Buy new: £7.31 / Used from: £4.67 Don't read 'Flashman', read this! THE classic account of Anglo-Russian intrigue during the 19th C in C Asia. And my bible during my thesis!
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 | The Relief of Chitral by George John Younghusband
Buy new: £15.29 A gritty account of Operations on the North West Frontier over 100 years ago. Read it and marvel at the similarities to 2009.
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 | Younghusband: The Last Great Imperial Adventurer by Patrick French
Buy new: £6.93 / Used from: £0.07 An excellent biography of an intriguing man who had huge sway in shaping South/Central Asia. The later life isn't that relevant though!
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 | Information Operations: Warfare and the Hard Reality of Soft Power (Issues in Twenty-First Century Warfare)
Buy new: £17.00 / Used from: £8.33 A little dated now -doesn't cover Internet 2.0 etc - but a good introduction to something we do pretty badly.
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![Ross Kemp: Return to Afghanistan [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BU4ifPzGL._SL75_.jpg) | Ross Kemp: Return to Afghanistan [DVD]
Buy new: £7.88 / Used from: £5.00 Pretty 2D, but I found it useful to increase the situational awareness of private soldiers prior to MST.
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 | On the Road to Kandahar: Travels Through Conflict in the Islamic World by Jason Burke
Buy new: £5.80 / Used from: £2.49 A much lighter read than some of the above, this flows like reportage and addresses AQ as an intellectual, not physical construct.
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 | Arabs by Mark Allen
Buy new: £5.98 / Used from: £3.73 Not quite so useful now TELIC has finished, but I found it useful when working in Iraq and the UAE
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 | Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph (Penguin Modern Classics) by T.E. Lawrence
Buy new: £7.69 / Used from: £1.35 Finishing on a high, our most famous 'unconventional' operator describing the Arab Revolt in a beautiful fashion.
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