General FAO Reading List

I have a much broader FAO reading list broken down by location/themes here.

GENERAL

A Force More Powerful by Peter Ackerman and Jack Duvall.

A Prince of Our Disorder: The Life of T. E. Lawrence by John E. Mack

Arts of Power: Statecraft and Diplomacy (Cross-Cultural Negotiation Books) by Charles W. Freeman

Exporting security: International Engagement, Security Cooperation and the Changing Face of the U.S. Military by Derek S. Reveron

Force and Statecraft by Gordon A. Craig and Alexander L. George

Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher

Guide for Participants in Peace, Stability and Relief Operations edited by Robert M. Perito

Guns, Germs and Steel by Diamond.  Posits the strong influence of geography on development.

How Wars End: Why We Always Fight the Last Battle by Gideon Rose

Making War and Building Peace: U.N. Peace Operations by Doyle and Sambanis, 2006.   Statistical analysis of trends leading to success and failure in Peace operations.

*Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes.  My review on Amazon is available here and my full FUUO review is available here.  My two sentence summary:  We spend a disproportionate amount of time studying the facts, tactics, techniques and history of wars. I add this novel to my "must read for FAOs" list because it adds something missing: CONTEXT and TEXTURE.

Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph by T. E. Lawrence

Stillwell and the American Experience in China by Barbara Tuchman.  Recommended by Hoyawolf:

Perhaps the consummate soldier/diplomat who went from Attaché to Theater Commander in WWII.

Strategy for Sustainability: A Business Manifesto by Adam Werbach

The Admiral: The Memoirs of Albert Gleaves, Admiral by Albert Gleaves

*The Diplomat’s Dictionary by Chas W. Freeman, Jr.

The Future of Power by Joseph Nye, 2011.  

The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything by Stephen R. Covey

*The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell

The Ugly American by William J. Lederer

*The Ultimate Weapon is No Weapon: Human Security and the New Rules of War and Peace by Shannon D. Beebe and Mark Kaldor

United States Protocol: The Guide to Official Diplomatic Etiquette by Mary French

What I Read Last Week: Pro-life means pro-gun control, a missile's aftermath, Yakuza photos, Contempt in Marriage and Politics in Madagascar

How one evangelical activist changed his mind on gun violence
A preacher's journey toward an expansive understanding of pro-life the grew from one focused on protecting the unborn to also protecting life in general through gun control.  Personally, I tend to agree that protecting the unborn goes hand in hand with fighting gun violence from a consistency aspect.


In Yemen, Death From Above, Grief Below
While we're reading about the value of life, this is a sober account of what the aftermath of a missile strike looks like for civilians.  So often, the actuality of these events are masked behind passive headlines--it's important to remember that a person's value is independent of their country of origin and that government's relationship to another.

This Photographer Was Given Access Inside One Of Japan’s Yakuza Crime Families
An intriguing and frightening glimpse into the seedy underworld of Japan's crime world.  The depth to which the photographer seems to have been lulled into its pull speaks to families' power--he glosses over the deleterious aspects of their existence quickly--ignoring the implications of prostitution, bribery and corruption.

Easier Said Than Done On the elusive quest for political stability in Madagascar
While Soamiely may be pretty much the only person writing in English on Malagasy culture and politics, he's also an incredible talented and interesting writer.  He's on my weekly reading list.  This article is a great example from June this year in which he dissects the (in)efficacy of the government in Madagascar to make concrete progress.

Couples Who Stay Together Follow This One Rule
I will just give you the rule: "If an argument crosses over from anger to contempt, it needs to stop immediately."

What I Read Last Week: Lonely Rats, the Libya Novel You Never Knew About, BMX in Mada, Blind Hikers and an Age 18 List for Your Kids

The War on Loneliness
A great post related to the exploding heroin addiction problem in the United States.  Turns out addiction is less pronounced and powerful when people are in community.  People crave relationships...we were made for them.

A LIBYAN NOVEL YOU SHOULD READ

It was only recently translated from Italian into English.  It's billed as a multi-generational fictional history of Libya beginning from the 1900s in the vein of the epic The Cairo Trilogy: Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, Sugar Street --one of my favorites.  I just started it and am adding it to my 2015 Reading List.  

A Stage Across the Sea An unjustly-neglected Libyan novelist captured the twisted logic of colonialism, past and present. 
In which a very intelligent writer named Ursula Lindsey lays out exactly why The Confines of the Shadow is such an important book.

DADA | The Malagasy Trialist
Cool little video about a Malagasy stunt bike rider named Dada up in Nosy Be.

The blind hiker who takes on the wilderness
Don't need to say much more than the title.   The hiker described has started a cool charity called The Far Sight Foundation .  He was the first blink hiker to complete the Appalachian Trail--check out his website.

CASH FAMILY “AGE 18 LIST” FOR OUR KIDS
A great post from the Chaplain for Mercy Ships that is here in Madagascar right now.  In it he offers a template to write out your hopes for your children by the time they turn 18.  Working backward from that then gives you an ability to build up those characteristics in your children.

What I Read Last Week: Mada Photo Museum, Ode to Sommeliers, Mondavi Crush, Post-prison meals, El Chapo and Hemingway's Writing process

Construction of Large Buildings in Madagascar
An online photo museum of Madagascar.  This has some great photos of original construction of many of the buildings around town...from the 50's and 60s.

The House of Mondavi: How an American Wine Empire Was Born

An intriguing excerpt from Julia Siler's The House of Mondavi.  It reads like a soap opera and tickled my interests enough to add it to my Amazon wish list for Christmas.  

Why the sommelier watches how you attack the bread basket
An ode to the joys of of sommeliers.

You Just Got Out of Prison. Now What?
An inspiring look at the re-entry program headed by the Anti-Recidivism Coalition that focuses on relationships and which is led by former prisoners.

Ernest Hemingway, The Art of Fiction No. 21

In which Hemingway says the "Racing Form" (with regard to the subject of going to the races) is the true art of fiction.

A working habit he has had from the beginning, Hemingway stands when he writes. He stands in a pair of his oversized loafers on the worn skin of a lesser kudu—the typewriter and the reading board chest-high opposite him.

‘There's No Real Fight Against Drugs’ Discussing El Chapo’s escape with an ex-cartel operative, a Mexican intelligence official, and an American counternarcotics agent
Yikes.  The Mexican government complicit in El Chapo's escape?!! This is a movie waiting to be made.  

What I Read last Week: Language Learning, Cobblers, South Sudan and Academics Fear of Actually Being Read

Prison Revolt A former law-and-order conservative takes a lead on criminal-justice reform.

An unlikely story about a sector that sorely needs reform.

A Labor Day look inside a Naval Academy tradition - the cobbler shop 

I've got mad respect for cobblers, much like the disappearing shoeshine stand, they are a dying breed. If you invest in nice dress shoes, a good cobbler is a godsend.  I've had several shoes resoled through the years and I personally preferred them in their repaired state to when I first bought them.  

Everyday Life in a Fragile State
Eye opening read on life in South Sudan.  

Citations are not enough: Academic promotion panels must take into account a scholar’s presence in popular media.
I like the disruption suggestion of making academic literature more relevant...and more widely read.

On Learning & Losing Language: A Reading List
Six fascinating articles on learning languages.

Culture Shock: You Can Answer Your Phone Anywhere--Presidential Ceremonies no less

I arrived in Madagascar almost two years ago to open up an Office of Security Cooperation here in Antananarivo.

I had 10 years experience as a naval aviator, a fresh national security affairs master's degree and six weeks of the DoD specialized security cooperation training--I was screwed ready.

What none of this training prepared me for was the casual nonchalance military officers here will answer their phones.  I've been in meetings with the Minister of Defense, at Presidential ceremonies, seminars--neither the place nor the occasion matter.  If you get a phone call in Madagascar you are welcome to answer it.  

Even after two years this still catches me off guard.  In the American military the sacrilege of not having your phone silenced or turned off in a meeting, ceremony or seminar is so inculcated into one's DNA that the mere bumblee-ing cellular vibration in one's pocket can send shivers of psychological terror up one's spine.  

Here often time the officer won't even leave the table or room, he will just cup his hand over the phone and carry on a conversation with nary a side glance from the general or minister.  

I am still trying to figure out why this is acceptable.  Potential hypotheses include the fragility of life (i.e., life here is much more precarious so any phone call could literally be a life or death situation), lack of a real Plebe summer, lack of reverence for authority, etc.

Any other FAOs/FSO with similar experiences in their countries?

IR Hypotheticals: If Biggie Smalls Were to Grade Qaddafi Using the 10 Crack Commandments

I started the post below about 5 years ago but never finished it.  Within the world of International Relations there's always a good amount of discussion on counter-factuals and hypotheticals which can be downright gloomy.  If I have the good fortune to get my doctorate one day, I think this type of comparison below would liven up the classroom atmosphere.

Now I think my motivation level with regard to Q has passed the time has passed with regards to Qaddafi so I offer my incomplete post below just to, you know, get my brilliant ideas out there in the universe (warning some foul language below because, you know, this is a rap song by a drug dealer).

------

In honor of Biggie Smalls day, I have decided to grade Qaddafi by the most gangster of grading mechanisms: Notorious' 10 Crack Commandments (video link is at the end of this post).   An interesting fact is that prior to his timely demise, he was a prolific hotelier in Africa.  If you stayed at a hotel on the continent it was likely one that he built and owned.  


1. Never let no one know, how much, dough you hold.  Q has definitely done a bang up job here.  All anyone can do is guess.  CBS News reports on it here.


2. Never let 'em know your next move. Q has been surprising the world for 40 years now.  He's a stalwart disciple in this respect.  Especially when it comes to wardrobe choices:


3. Never trust no-bo-dy.  Woops.


 4. Never get high, on your own supply.  I don't think anyone who has watched his speeches has any doubt about this one.  


5. Never sell no crack where you rest at.  


6. That god damn credit, dead it.


7. Keep your family and business completely separated.  Q fails big time here.  Nepotism is the rule not the exception.  


8. Never keep no weight on you.  Q fails.  Fails. Fails. Fails.

9. If you ain't gettin bags stay the fuck from police.  For the uninitiated, this means don't snitch. 


10. A strong word called consignment.  

You can listen to the 10 Crack Commandments here.

More fun stuff:
The Madmen of Africa