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| Section 3: Annotations of Recommended Books |
1. The Singapore Story: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew, 1998
680 p.
DS599.4 LEE
This book by Senior Minister (SM) Lee Kuan Yew needs little introduction. The first of a two-volume work, it has received rave reviews from leaders all over the world. In his memoirs, SM Lee recounts his early life, and his later struggles against the colonialists, the communists and the communalists as he attempted to forge a nation out of a society of many races. This is recommended reading for those who want to know about the making of modern Singapore, and the man who is its founding father.
2. Singapore: An Illustrated History, 1941-1984
Daljit Singh and V.T. Asaru (eds.), 1984
397p.
DS599.61 SIN
This book presents the history of Singapore from 1941 to 1984 in pictures and short accompanying narratives. It describes the main events and explains why things happened the way they did. The story begins in 1941 and covers major events that have been decisive in shaping the Singapore of today. These include the Japanese invasion and occupation of Singapore; the Communist United Front activities and insurgency in the 1940s and 1950s; constitutional developments leading to self-government; merger with Malaysia; and then separation and independence; the partnership and the struggle for power between the communists and the PAP; the communal conflicts of the 1960s; and the Indonesian Confrontation. Singapore's political evolution was also influenced by regional and international events, and the most important of these have been given their due place in the book. The last two chapters deal with the formidable problems that confronted an independent Singapore after 1965 and how these were overcome.
3. Defending Singapore (1819-1965), Pointer Supplement
Kwa Chong Guan (ed.)
151 p.
UA853 DEF
The late Professor Wong Lin Ken in a seminal address to the Command and Staff College on 23 November 1978 argued that "the fall of Singapore was more than a military defeat; it was a benchmark, signifying the end of an era, the visible death throes of Pax Britannica". The essays in this POINTER Supplement take their cue from the late Professor Wong's insight and explore the significance of Yamashita's victory within the longer time frame of defending Singapore between Sir Stamford Raffles' landing and Mr Lee Kuan Yew declaring Singapore's independence. Besides Professor Wong's article on the "The Fall of Singapore: A Wider Historical Perspective", there are seven other essays looking at different aspects of the defence of Singapore. As a whole, the essays in this volume attempt to show how military power and war, or the threat of war, have fundamentally shaped our world. A strategic approach to our history is essential so that we can visualise the world in terms of armed conflicts and how we have responded to these conflicts.
4. Malaysia-Singapore Relations - Troubled Past and Uncertain Future?
Andrew Tan
82p.
D5610.47 TAN
A range of bilateral issues has bedeviled relations since independence in 1965 between Singapore and Malaysia. There is evidence of a mutual deterrent relationship. These problems are symptoms of deep underlying mistrust and require astute political and conflict management. This monograph argues that the two countries cannot allow their relations to fluctuate from crisis to crisis. A troubled past need not and should not translate into an uncertain future.
5. Defending the Lion City: The Armed Forces of Singapore
Tim Huxley
335p.
UA853 HUX
This substantial and scholarly account of Singapore's defence forces and the policies under guiding them since the country's independence in 1965 is the first major study of the subject. The book outlines the background to Singapore's strategic outlook and to the policies that have led to its impressive military capability. The author also describes the roles, structures, training, procurement and logistics within the Armed Forces. He assesses the importance of politics, civilian administration, the defence-industrial capability and regional and international defence alignments.
6. Southeast Asia: An Introductory History
Milton Osborne
263 p.
DS525 OSB
A new edition of a survey of Southeast Asian modern history (previous edition, 1995). It does address the region's early history but concentrates on developments since the 18th century, including the impact of colonial rule, economic transformations, the emergence of independence movements, the impact of social change, and the role of religion, ethnic minorities, and immigrants.
7. From Third World to First: The Singapore Story, 1965-2000
Lee Kuan Yew
778p.
DS599.4 LEE
It makes evident the former Prime Minister's powerful mind; trenchant decisiveness and unique experience at home and abroad since Singapore started to go it alone as a nation in 1965. Character sketches personal asides and succinct observations illuminate the discussion of national and international events and strategies in the period, which included the Vietnam War, the decline of Maoism and many far-reaching changes in regional and global weightings. Whether or not the reader agrees with or approves of Mr Lee's priorities or policies, it will be impossible to ignore this book, which will remain a primary text and an interpretation of a personality whose influence has stretched well beyond the 'little dot on the map' that is Singapore.
8. Singapore: the Chain of Disaster
Woodburn Kirby
270 p.
D767.5 KIR
The book is an authoritative account by the British Official Historian on the loss of Singapore, in the war against Japan. In this incisive, forthright book, General Woodburn Kirby argues that the blame for this defeat, the greatest national humiliation ever suffered by Britain, must be placed squarely on the shoulders of successive British Governments, whose decisions from as early as 1919 built up the chain which led inevitably to disaster. Kirby allows that two major errors were made in the military conduct of the British campaign, but claims that at that stage nothing could have been done to save the gallant but ill-trained and ill-equipped garrison. The airforce was obsolescent and at barely half the strength agreed upon by the Chiefs of Staff; the mainland of Malaya was virtually without protection; the so-called fortress of Singapore had no defences on the landward side - in short, the naval base was lost even before the foundation stone of the great dry dock which was to make Singapore the keystone of British interests in the Far East was laid in 1928.
9. Japan's Greatest Victory, Britain's Worst Defeat
Masanobu Tsuji
271 p.
D767.5 TSU
The author of this book was the Chief of Operations and Planning Staff, of the 25th Japanese Army. Tsuji's greatest personal triumph, as well as that of the 25th Army, was to defeat the British army of twice as big as that of the Japanese. In this book Tsuji tells his deep-seated desire to free East Asia from European rule and a belief in the glorious destiny of Japan; the research and the planning for the capture of Malaya and Singapore, and the operations of the 25th Army Campaign. His account of the Japanese approach to war and their climatic victory over the British Empire provides a rare and fascinating view of Japanese military prowess.
10. Malaysia's Security Perspectives
Andrew Tan
54p.
UA853 TAN
A well-developed and informed understanding of Malaysia's security perspectives is necessary given the strategic importance of Malaysia to Singapore. This research project aims to examine the key factors which have affected the formulation of Malaysia's national security policy, and how Malaysia has attempted to realise these objectives. This study will demonstrate the complexity of factors that have given rise to Malaysia's broad strategy of comprehensive strategy, which incorporates political, military, economic, social, cultural and psychological dimensions.
11. Defence and Decolonisation in Southeast Asia: Britain, Malaya and Singapore 1941-1968
Karl Hack
341p.
DS596.3HAC
The 1941-68 process of British decolonisation from Malaya and Singapore is detailed in this substantially referenced monograph. The major issues and aims behind British military and political actions in relation to the communist insurgency, the rubber trade, anti-colonial political activity, the Indonesian "Confrontation" and many other events, are explored. New archival material and the passage of time enable a fresh focus on many events of this crucial period in Southeast Asian development.
12. Pacific Century: The Emergence of Modern Pacific Asia
Mark Borthwick
590 p.
DS518.1 BOR
The Asia-Pacific region is rapidly emerging as a global economic and political powerhouse. Looking at both Southeast and East Asia, this richly illustrated volume stresses broad, cross-cutting themes of regional history, with an emphasis on the interactions between cultures and nations. Borthwick begins his discussion with an overview of political evolution and cultural and economic trends from ancient times through the eighteenth century. He then considers more recent developments in Asia in their historical context, balancing national and international factors that underlie economic growth and political change in the region. The conclusion weighs the key domestic and international issues facing the nations of Pacific Asia and the probable interactions these nations will have with North America and with the global economy. This book is suitable as an interdisciplinary introduction to Asia and the Pacific.
13. The Singapore Mutiny R.
W. E. Harper & Harry Miller, 1984
254 p.
UB785 HAR
In mid-February 1915 half of the Fifth Light Infantry of the British Indian Army stationed in Singapore suddenly rose up in an unexpected and terrifying mutiny. Before the mutineers were finally suppressed, 40 Europeans had been killed and the colonial government of Singapore had received the shock of its life. The event took place at the height of the First World War and because colonial defence forces had been withdrawn for more urgent service in Europe, the Fifth Light Infantry had become the only regular unit left in Singapore for its defence from possible German attack. The book describes in detail the events which took place and how a desperate administration had to rely on the assistance of the marines on board Russian, Japanese and French warships patrolling the area to help local volunteer forces overcome the mutineers. The book also reveals the findings - kept secret for 50 years - of a court of inquiry into the mutiny. What emerges is that the Singapore Mutiny was more than just 'a local little disturbance' as it was officially passed off as at the time. It is a story of how weak military leadership in a racially sensitive situation led to a mutiny that could have been avoided.
14. Between Two Oceans: A Military History of Singapore From First Settlement to Final British Withdrawal
Murfett Malcolm, John Miksic, Brian Farrell, and Chiang Ming Shun
398p.
UA853 BET
In this scholarly and wide-ranging work, source material from UK, India, Singapore, USA and Australia are used to trace the geo-strategic development of Singapore since the 13th century. Some myths often regarded as factually correct are revised. The authors are academics connected to the National University of Singapore. An important study of largely unexplored area.
15. Singapore's Foreign Policy: Coping With Vulnerability
Michael Leifer
177p.
DS6107 LEI
This text examines the deep influence in Singapore's foreign policy of the government's perception of the island-state's domestic and international vulnerability.
16. Singapore: The Air-Conditioned Nation: Essays on the Politics of Comfort and Control, 1990 - 2000
George Cherian
223p.
DS599.64 GEO
The book presents a collection of stimulating essays that get to the very heart of the Singapore system and the dynamics shaping it, revealing many of the tensions and contradictions inherent in the "air-conditioned nation" and the factors accounting for the political success of the ruling People's Action Party.
17. Political Change in Southeast Asia: Trimming the Banyan Tree
Michael R. J. Vatikiotis
230 p.
JQ96 VAT
In the West, industrialisation and new-found wealth catalysed political enlightenment and participatory democracy. However, the experience of Southeast Asia has been rather different. Rapid economic growth has not resulted in an even distribution of wealth and progress towards participatory democracy has been slow. Strong governments hold sway over free markets supported by the middle class, seemingly content to sacrifice gratification for collective stability. Some now argue that the Western model of political change is not applicable in the Southeast Asian context.
Vatikiotis examines the contrast between the assumptions on political change based on the Western experience and the Southeast Asian reality. He argues that traditional concepts of power, which stress authoritarian values and paternalism, have not simply survived but have thrived during the post-colonial period despite pressures to Westernise. He points out that while the desire to preserve power has prompted local the ruling elite to make exaggerated claims about 'Asian' values, the societies they govern are also finding ways of resisting tyranny.
18. The Undeclared War: The Story of the Indonesia Confrontation, 1962-1966
James Harold & Denis Sheil-Small, 1979.
201 p.
DS646.3 JAM
The Undeclared War tells, for the first time, the full story of Britain's most vital victory since the Second World War. The war in Borneo could easily have become another Vietnam. It was only leadership of a very high quality and troops of a very high standard of training and versatility, which prevented the conflict from growing into a full-scale war. This book tells how British, Gurkha and Commonwealth troops guarded a thousand-mile frontier against incessant Indonesian guerrilla attacks, and how they achieved near-total mastery of some of the most difficult fighting terrain in the world by playing and outwitting the enemy at his own game.
19. The Oxford Illustrated History of Modern War
Charles Townshend, 1977
354 p.
U21.2 OXF
This well illustrated book examines the techniques, technology, and theory of warfare from the 'military revolution' of the seventeenth century to the present day. The expert contributors explore major developments and themes, including the growth of modern military professionalism and mass armies; the extraordinary achievements of Napoleon's armies; the roles of nationalism in battle grounds as varied as the American Civil War and the former Yugoslavia, colonial wars; the concept and reality of 'total war'; guerrilla warfare and 'people's wars. The Oxford Illustrated History of Modern War offers a comprehensive overview of military conflict over several centuries. It is a fascinating thematic approach to the study of modern war on land, at sea and in the air.
20. The Art of War: War and Military Thought
Martin Van Creveld
244p.
U27 VAN
This work covers the history of military thought from the philosophy and doctrine of the pursuit and practice of warfare. Starting with the ancient Chinese writers, the book takes the reader through Greece, Rome, Byzantium and the Middle Ages to the moderns like Frederick the Great and Clausewitz.
21. The Second War in the East
Willmott, H. P
224p.
D767 WIL
Until its loss in World War II, Japan had not known failure in centuries of warfare. This record of the conflict goes beyond mere description to illuminate why Japan instigated a conflict with the only nation--the United States--capable of defeating her, as well as the crucial shifts in the nature of naval power and strategy that occurred during the fighting. Set off on the road to war, analysing the effects of the first world conflict; Japan's policies in China; the first victories, as Japan surges through Asia; the great battles of Midway and Guadacanal; and the final defeat, with the devastating launch of the first nuclear weapons.
22. The Gulf Conflict, 1990-1991: Diplomacy and War in the New World Order
Lawrence Freedman & Efraim Karsh, 1993
504 p.
DS79.72 FRE
This book provides the most authoritative and comprehensive account to date of Iraq's occupation of Kuwait, its expulsion by a coalition of Western and Arab forces seven months later, and the aftermath of the war. Blending compelling narrative history with objective analysis, Freedman and Karsh inquire into the fundamental issues underlying the dispute and probe the strategic calculations of all the participants. As seen by the authors, the conflict offers a remarkable "snapshot" of the international system at the start of the 1990s and an opportunity to explore the global impact of the break-up of the Soviet empire in Europe. Resisting the temptation to view the situation in the Gulf as a prize-fight between George Bush and Saddam Hussein, Freedman and Karsh analyse the war in relation to more general problems on the conduct of diplomacy and the role of military force in the "New World Order." They have produced what promises to be the standard work on the Gulf conflict.
23. The New Terrorism
Walter Laqueur
312p
HV6431 LAQ
In The New Terrorism, Walter Laqueur recounts the history of terrorism and examines the future of terrorist activity worldwide. Laqueur traces the chilling trend away from terrorism perpetrated by groups of oppressed nationalists and radicals seeking political change to small clusters of fanatics bent on vengeance and simple destruction. Coinciding with this trend is the alarming availability of weapons of mass destruction. Chemical and biological weapons are cheap and relatively easy to make or buy. Even nuclear devices are increasingly feasible options for terrorists. And with the information age, cyber terrorism is just around the corner. Laqueur argues that as a new quasi-religious extreme right rises, with more personal and less ideological motivations than their left-wing counterparts, it is only a matter of time before the attainability of weapons of mass destruction creates a terrifying and unstable scenario.
24. Soldiers: A History of Men in Battle
John Keegan & Richard Holmes, 1985.
288 p.
U21.2 KEE
Wars are conflicts between states and societies. Soldiers are the human means through which wars are fought. The book tells its story through the different types of soldiers who have fought each other since warfare began. Written by two leading British military historians, it recounts the rise of warfare from its origins as a clash between foot soldiers armed with primitive edged weapons to its present state of sophisticated confrontation between automated electronic systems. It also deals with how soldiers are motivated to fight which the authors believe is the responsibility of the commander, whose selection, training and character is perhaps, the nub of the subject to which this fascinating book is dedicated.
25. Acts of War: The Behaviour of Men in Battle
Also published as Firing Line
Richard Holmes, 1986
436 p.
U21.2 HOL
This book attempts to document Clausewitz's "fog of war" as experienced by the individual soldier. It explores the behaviour of soldiers at the front line under enemy fire, primarily, his conduct and ability to cope with the extreme physical and psychological pressure of combat. Holmes found that the soldier's threshold for stress and motivation to fight depended on several factors. These include the physical and psychological conditioning for combat; leadership quality, and group cohesiveness. Sources of Holmes' work came mainly from interviews with soldiers who fought in the World Wars, the Korean War, and Arab-Israeli Wars, the Vietnam War and the Falklands War. The basic underlying theme of this work is that despite the technical superiority of modern weaponry, the human elements such as higher morale, better esprit de corps and effective leadership are still the deciding factors in battle.
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26. Brassey's Air Combat Reader
Walter J. Boyne and Philip Handleman
359p.
UG630 BRA
An anthology of writing from around the world on the topic of air combat. Divided into six parts, it spans the history of military aviation, from World War I to the Persian Gulf conflict. The book concludes with a section on the science of warfare.
27. Battle at Sea: From Man-of-War to Submarine
John Keegan, 1993.
291 p.
V53 KEE
This book is a study on four major naval battles: Trafalgar, Jutland, Midway and the Battle of the Atlantic. It takes us into the very heart of the fighting while providing a remarkable panoramic view of naval warfare through the centuries. Indeed, as the author states, this book is about how men have fought at sea, from the heyday of the ship of the line to the coming of the submarine. Rich in unexpected facts and insights, Keegan's historical command is dazzling and the book proves to be a masterly survey of naval history. For those interested in unravelling the beauty of naval history, this book is strongly recommended.
28. On Infantry
John A. English, 1994.
201 p.
UD145 ENG
This book traces the development of the infantry combat arm from 1855 to the present. The scope covered by John English includes the role of the infantry in the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War and the Arab-Israeli Wars. Besides offering a fine summary of the major developments in infantry tactics and an overview of warfare during the past century, the argument that arise from this study is the fact that "small groups of foot soldiers remain to this day among the most powerful and influential forces on the battlefield, [and that] the overall operational effectiveness of the infantry arm is determined most fundamentally by the performance of its smallest units and their leaders".
29. SAS: The Jungle Frontier: 22 Special Air Regiment in the Borneo Campaign, 1963-1966
Peter Dickens, 1983.
248 p.
DS646.3 DIC
Britain's best camouflaged victory was won in 1966. It is not a victory often celebrated, because so little is generally known about it, even now. Less publicised than the war in Vietnam, which was fought out at the same time, the 'confrontation' with Indonesia provides a classic example of the use of force by a civilised nation. From 1963 to 1966 ,the new-born Federation of Malaysia was under constant threat. From within, Communist cells of terrorists and saboteurs worked to undermine the states' security; from without, Indonesia, striving to dominate the area, maintained a campaign of armed subversion and infiltration. In April 1963, the first Indonesian incursion was launched at the police station of Tebedu in Sarawak; thereafter, Indonesia strove to unsettle the border tribes and to establish her own military bases across the frontier
Initially called in to ensure the security of airfields threatened by Indonesian incursions, the Special Air Service (SAS) soon took on the awesome role of acting as Britain's eyes and ears along the ill-defined frontier. Then, as the conflict escalated, the SAS probed deep across the frontier into Indonesian territory, reconnoitring and disrupting potentially threatening enemy dispositions. The book brings vividly to life the danger, tension and elation of jungle fighting. It is the story of clandestine enterprise, extreme endurance and sudden, sharp action.
30. War of the Running Dogs
Noel Barber, 1989.
329 p.
DS597 BAR
It was shortly before 0800 hours on 16 June 1948 when three young Chinese Communists burst into the office of a large Malayan rubber plantation and shot the manager, Arthur Walker, at point blank range. Half an hour later at a 10 mile distance, John Allison, manager of Sungei Siput estate, and his twenty one year old assistant Ian Christian, were bound and killed by twelve armed men. So began the 'Malayan Emergency', Britain's polite euphemism for a bloody and costly struggle waged by Chinese-backed guerrillas against the British and their Malayan allies - known to the terrorists by the contemptuous title of 'running dogs'. This book is about the story of the first all-out struggle in Asia between Communism and the West, vividly told in an exciting and engrossing way.
31. A Rumor of War
Philip Caputo,1977.
346 p.
DS559.5 CAP
(Also available as an audio-recording read by Solfram Kandinsky
9 x 11/2 hour cassettes)
AC 0133
This is a true story of men at war, fighting within the environment of a low-intensity conflict. In March of 1965, as a young Marine infantry officer, Philip Caputo landed at Danang with the first U.S. ground combat unit sent to Indochina. Trained to peak combat readiness by the Marines, and overflowing with fighting spirit, Caputo and his comrades soon learnt the harsh realities pf fighting a war without a front. Not having the necessary will to fight in a war that was not theirs. Caputo soon wished he was out. This book is Caputo's personal memoir of the 16 months he spent in Vietnam.
32. Tarawa: The Story of a Battle
Robert Sherrod, 1973.
206 p.
D767.917 SHE
Sherrod tells what it felt like to wade toward the Tarawa beachhead through 700 yards of machine gun fire with men dropping all around; what men say under three days of unrelenting fire; how it feels to lean against a four-foot high seawall and watch 300 men killed as they wade ashore. He tells the story of Lieutenant William Hawkins of El Paso, Texas, who came as near to winning a battle single-handed as any first-lieutenant ever did, by the very inspiration his fearlessness instilled. Tarawa was a battle won by sheer courage. It lasted 76 hours and it left nearly 6000 dead on half a square mile of coral sand. Few books capture the experience of high-intensity combat as well as this.
33. The Mammoth Book of True War Stories
Jon E. Lewis (ed.), 1992
545 p.
D 25.5 MAM
This is a compilation of 50 short extracts from real life accounts of war by eminent authors and personalities such as Thucydides, Rudyard Kipling, Robert Graves, and Erwin Rommel. As these famous names suggest, the accounts range in time, from wars of the ancient world to wars of the 20th century. Although mostly short extracts of no more than 10 pages each, these stories provide gripping accounts of horror, heroism, and excitement in battles on land, sea and air.
34. Black Hawk Down
Mark Bowden , 1999
386p.
D7407 BOW
An account of the 1993 raid on Mogadishu, Somalia, when 140 elite US soldiers abseiled from helicopters into the city. Their mission was to abduct two lieutenants of a Somali warlord. Instead, they were trapped in a hostile city, fighting for their lives against thousands of heavily armed Somalis.
35. A Short History of Warfare
David H. Zook & Robin Higham, 1966
500 p.
U27 ZOO
This is one of the first general histories of Western military experience that accords academic importance to the subject of war. It provides the reader with the continuity which most general and military histories have neglected. Ranging from the ancient Greek and Persian wars to the present, it deals with a broad range of wars that are often excluded from historical surveys of this type, such as the liberation of Spanish South America. The consideration of limited wars since 1945 and the ever-changing role of the armed forces in what Liddell Hart refers to as a transitional age bring the reader to the conflict in Vietnam. Focusing on the strategic and grand strategic levels of military history, this volume supplements basic descriptive outline material with analytical interpretation. There is an integrated consideration of air and naval warfare and a group of maps pertaining to major areas and conflicts.
36. The Arab-Israeli Wars
Chaim Herzog, 1982
368 p.
DS119.2 HER
This book tells the story of Israel's struggle to exist, through the vicissitudes, mistakes, triumphs and tragedies of more than 35 years. It provides a blow-by-blow account of one of history's most bitter and enduring conflicts - Arab versus Jew. As well as describing each campaign in absorbing and incisive fashion-replete with desperate defensive actions against massive odds in outlying settlements, high-speed armoured battles and breath-taking strategy, with the human element of daring and self sacrifice - Chaim Herzog highlights the personal and political struggles that have determined the course of the Middle East conflict. Described by one reviewer as the best one-volume account of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
37. Sun Tzu: The Art of War
Ralph Sawyer,1994.
375 p.
U101 SUN
Sun Tzu's Art of War is almost certainly the most famous study of strategy ever written and has had an extraordinary influence on the history of warfare. The principles Sun Tzu expounded some 20,000 years ago continue to be relevant today. First translated into a European language two hundred years ago by a French missionary, the book has been read by Napoleon, the German General Staff, and even the commander for Operation Desert Storm. Many Japanese companies make this book required reading for their key executives. Increasingly, Western business executives and others are turning to it for inspiration and advice on how to succeed in competitive situations of all kinds. Unlike most editions, this new translation makes use of the best available classical Chinese manuscripts, including the ancient "tomb text" version discovered by archaeologists at Lingyi, China.
38. Guerrilla Strategies: A Historical Anthology from the Long March to Afghanistan
Gerard Chaliand (ed.), 1982
353 p.
U 240 GUE
Guerrilla warfare is a weapon of the weak against the forces of the strong. For this reason, it has featured in many conflicts throughout history. Since 1945, this method of waging war has proven decisive in determining the outcome of numerous conflicts; including the wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan, where superpowers were unable to defeat their guerrilla opponents. Gerard Chaliand, the editor, has had extensive experience with guerrilla movements in Asia (including Afghanistan), and has provided through this anthology, a concise yet panoramic overview of political and military strategies in guerrilla warfare.
39. War
Lawrence Freedman, (ed.), 1994.
385 p.
U21.2 WAR
This book is made up of the writing of great strategic thinkers as well as ordinary soldiers. It looks at the nature and character of war and argues that: other than making headlines and history books, war has shaped the international system; prompted social change; and inspired literature, art, and music. It has also engendered some of the most intense as well as the most brutal human experiences, and it raises fundamental questions on human ethics. The ubiquitous, contradictory, and many-sided character of war is fully reflected in this book. It addresses a wide range of questions: What are the causes of war? Which strategic as well as moral principles guide its conduct, and how have these changed? Has total war become unthinkable? How is war experienced by those on the front line? These and other key issues are examined through a variety of writings. Drawing on sources from numerous countries and disciplines, this book includes accounts by generals, soldiers, historians, strategists, and poets, who consider conflicts from the Napoleonic Wars to Vietnam and Bosnia.
40. Terrorism Today, 2000
Christopher Harmon
316p.
HV6431 HAR
Drawing directly on the words and ideas of terrorists themselves, this book is an examination of patterns, current trends and future threats in terrorism world-wide. It explores the ideology and psychology, the politics and policies, the strategies and operations, of many active small groups and major insurgencies. The terrorist leader emerges as a calculating, innovated and often well-educated person whose use of violence against the innocent is calibrated for maximum effects. The final chapter is a discussion of the problems of counter-terrorism, and makes several recommendations.
41. The Evolution of Modern Land Warfare
Christopher Bellamy, 1990.
314 p.
U41 BEL
In this book, Bellamy demonstrates that military history can be of immense practical help to the modern military analyst and professional. He argues that the study of military history and operations is essential to modern strategic studies and extremely valuable to those engaged in military policy-making and planning for the future. Extensively illustrated with 52 of the author's own detailed campaign maps, battle maps, and diagrams, the book surveys the evolution of warfare in Europe from Napoleon to the present. It also discusses the interaction of technology and warfare. Ranging very widely in his choice of examples, the author includes two long in-depth case studies - one on the Soviet Operational Manoeuvre Group and its predecessors in the Russian Imperial Army; the other on the long history of land warfare, including guerrilla warfare, in Asia.
Bellamy also argues that the Americans and Western Europeans should know more about the military experience and accumulated wisdom of Russia, China, and other Asian countries. In particular, he underlines the value of Asian campaigns as sources of universal lessons and principles of war. This original approach of looking at the military history makes the book of special interest and value to professional soldiers.
42. Strategy, Air Strike and Small Nations
Shaun Clarke
204p.
UG630 CLA
The key feature of conflicts in the Middle East and Central Europe in the past decade has been the overwhelming dominance of American-led aerospace power. Given that aerospace power is today's weapon of first choice for developed nations, a crucial question arises: to what extent can small-to-medium-sized defense forces realistically seek to acquire and exploit the necessary capabilities? Shaun Clarke provides an intelligent and incisive analysis of this subject.
43. The Air Campaign: John Warden and the Classical Airpower Theorists
David Mets
86p.
UG630 MET
In light of the age-old belief of Confucius that no idea is new, Dr. Mets examines the role of Col Warden in the Gulf War to determine if a revolution in military affairs had occurred. He relies on several twentieth-century antecedents to Warden, including Giulio Douhet, Hugh Trenchard, and Billy Mitchell to distil a pattern. Mets also addresses whether "the argument that antedated the Gulf War to the effect that such conflicts between states using conventional weapons and methods are a pressing phenomenon." Chapter 6, the concluding chapter, provides an overview of Mets's discussion.
44. Fleet Tactics: Theory and Practice
Jr Hughes, Capt Wayne
316p.
V167 HUG
The first American book on naval tactics to be published in fifty years, this landmark study emphasise history, tactical analysis, and fleet operations and provides an example of how modern battle fleet operations might be formulated and planned.
45. Command in War
Martin van Creveld, 1985.
339 p.
UB212 VAN
In this book on the nature of command, Van Creveld traces the development of command from ancient Greece to Vietnam, treating historically the variety of problems involved in commanding armies including staff organisation and administration, communications methods and technologies, weaponry and logistics. It analyses the relationship between these problems and military strategy. In vivid descriptions of key battles and campaigns, Van Crevald focuses on the means of command and shows how those means worked in practice. He also finds that technological advances brought commanders not only new tactical possibilities but also new limitations.
Van Crevald also argues that understanding the concepts of command and control is more important than any detailed knowledge of procedures, organisation, or equipment. Hence, our constant attempts to acquire and process more and more information in a quest for certainty are futile. Instead, commanders must accept and then learn to operate in an environment of great uncertainty. The author has marshalled more than enough historical evidence - and with great depth and richness - to support his arguments.
46.The Anatomy of Courage
Lord Moran, 1987.
202 p.
U22.3 MOR
This book by a medical veteran of the First World War explores in detail the subject of courage. It is based on personal observations of the behaviour of men under the stress of battle. Lord Moran, who was at one time the personal physician to Winston Churchill, explains in his book how courage is first born and sustained in a modern army of a free people, how it is spent in battle, and how it is to be cared for and managed. According to Lord Moran, "Courage is will-power, whereof no man has an unlimited stock; and when in war it is used up, he is finished." This book is strongly recommended for all who cherish the fighting spirit and the will to fight, both of which courage is an integral component. Also of interest to the SAF officer is the question whether the discipline that was designed for the illiterate is still suitable for an army with a considerable number of thinking soldiers. Lord Moran explores this and many other important and related issues.
47. Supplying War: Logistics From Wallenstein to Patton
Martin Van Creveld
248p.
UI68 VAN
Drawing on a very wide range of unpublished and previously unexploited sources, Martin van Creveld examines the 'nuts and bolts' of war: namely, those formidable problems of movement and supply, transportation and administration, so often mentioned - but rarely explored - by the vast majority of books on military history. In doing so he casts his net far and wide, from Gustavus Adolphus to Rommel, from Marlborough to Patton, subjecting the operations of each to a thorough analysis from a fresh and unusual point of view. The result is a fascinating book that has something new to say about virtually every one of the most important campaigns waged in Europe during the last two centuries.
48. Time to Kill : The Soldier's Experience of War in the West, 1939-1945
Paul Addison and Angus Calder (eds.), 1997.
472 p.
U21 TIM
Since the end of the Second World War, much have been written about the men at the top, but little attention has been given to the men on the ground. This work aims to close this gap. Time to Kill is a collection of talks given at Edinburgh University during the conference, "The Soldier's Experience of War, 1939-1945" held on 22-24 September 1995. The speakers included many respected authorities on military history.
The book analyses the many factors which determined what soldiering was like for private soldiers, NCOs, and junior officers of the major combatant armies in Europe and North Africa. Military factors as army organisation, strategy and tactics, weaponry and operational conditions are examined together with national traditions, and political ideology. A very stimulating collection of military history which explores the conditions in which soldiers from many different countries lived and died; their hopes and fears, and their experiences in battle. This work is a valuable contribution to the study of combat motivation and human factors in war.
49. The End of the Line: The Siege of Khe Sanh
Robert Pisor, 1982.
319 p.
DS557.8 PIS
It has been called the most spectacular battle of the entire Vietnam war. For the 6,000 US marines trapped for 77 days in the isolated, awkwardly positioned outpost, it was a nightmare--hand-to-hand fighting in the thick of the night, desperate sorties to retake hilltops, blasted beyond recognition by the B-52 bombers and heavy artillery, and the constant shelling of enemy mortars. For President Lyndon Johnson, who was haunted by the memory of the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu, Khe Sanh became an obsession. For General Westmoreland, it was to be the final vindication of technological weaponry - the American way of war. For General Giap, the architect of Dien Bien Phu, Khe San was a spectacular ruse, a gesture to catch the enemy's eye while his own troops moved south for the Tet offensive. Here the author sets forth the history, the politics, the strategies, and above all, the desperate realities of the battle that was the turning point of America's involvement in Vietnam.
50. Unrestricted Warfare
Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui 197p.
U21.2 QIA
As incredible as it may be to believe, three years before the September 11 bombing of the World Trade Centre-a Chinese military manual called Unrestricted Warfare touted such an attack-suggesting it would be difficult for the U.S. military to cope with. Now NewsMax.com is making the CIA translation of this shocking book available to all Americans. In reading China's military manual Unrestricted Warfare, you will learn that the events of September ll were not a random act perpetrated by independent agents. Instead, Chinese military planners believe that terrorism is just one of the many tools at the hands of nations and their terrorists allies to wage total war against the United States. The doctrine of total war outlined in Unrestricted Warfare clearly demonstrates that the People's Republic of China is preparing to confront the United States and our allies by conducting "asymmetrical" or multidimensional attack on almost every aspect of our social, economic and political life.
51. The Art of War in the Western World
Archer Jones, 1987
740 p.
U 27 JON
This work is one of the best single-volume accounts of war written by one of America's most respected military historians. It is the product of more than 35 years of study and teaching of military history in various institutions of learning in the United States. Archer Jones traces history from about 2,500 years ago, when the Greeks and Macedonians first supplemented their spears with missiles (slings, arrows, and javelins) and carries it to our time, where missiles are the ultimate weapon. Yet, Jones demonstrates that military tactics have changed very little although weaponry may have increased a thousand-fold since the Spartans battled the Thebans in the fourth century B.C. In his thorough description of the Israeli-Egyptian War of 1973, for example, he shows how tactics and strategy sometimes paralleled those employed by Caesar at Ilerda and by the Germans in their 1940 offensive. The Art of War in the Western World is a book that is likely to stand for a generation as the standard work on how men conduct war.
52. Makers of Modern Strategy: From Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age
Peter Paret, Gordon A. Craig & Felix Gilbert (eds.), 1986.
941 p.
U162 MAK
The essays in this volume analyse war, its strategic characteristics and its political and social function, over the past several centuries. The diversity of its themes and the broad perspectives applied to them make the book a work of general history as much as a history of the theory and practice of war from the Renaissance to the present day. The subjects addressed range from major theorists and political and military leaders. Machiavelli, Clausewitz, Marx, and Engels are discussed, as are Napoleon, Churchill, and Mao. Other essays trace the interaction of theory and experience over generations - the evolution of American strategy, for instance, or the emergence of revolutionary war in the modern world. Still others analyse the strategy of particular conflicts - the First and Second World Wars - or the relationship between technology, policy, and war in the nuclear age. Whatever its theme, each essay places the specifics of military thought and action in their political, social and economic environment. Together the contributors have produced a book that reinterprets and illuminates war, one of the most powerful forces in history and one that cannot be controlled in the future without an understanding of its past.
53. The Making of Strategy: Rulers, States, and War
Williamson Murray, MacGregor Knox & Alvin Bernstein, 1994.
680 p.
U162 MAK
This book focuses on strategy-making at its highest level, a level that frequently ranges beyond the military high command. It deals with the use of military power in the pursuit of national interests, but its authors are as interested in periods of peace as in periods of war. It operates from the premise that even stunning operational success cannot overcome defective strategic policy. The purpose of this book is not to impart doctrine, but to offer its readers an introduction to the wide variety of factors that influence the formulation and outcome of national strategies. Nothing can provide policy-makers with the right answers to the challenges that confront them. But history suggests the questions they should ask.
54.Strategy: The Logic of War and Peace
Edward Luttwak, 1987.
283 p.
U162 LUT
Edward Luttwak skilfully weaves together theory and historical experience to illuminate the nature of strategy. The result is perceptive work that reveals the complexity, the subtlety, or, as he would put it, the essentially paradoxical nature of strategy. The first part of his book explains the logic; the second part shows how it works at the various levels - from tactical to grand strategic - of war. Edward Luttwak's work is a major contribution to the understanding of strategy. The author's encyclopaedic yet discriminating knowledge of military science, military history, and international politics is impressive, insightful and informative, as well as captivating.
55. Clausewitz
Michael Howard, 1983.
79 p.
U21.2 HOW
Karl von Clausewitz is generally acknowledged to be the greatest of western writers on the subject of war. Although he wrote his book On War at a time when the range of firearms was 50 yards, much of what he had to say remains relevant today. Howard explains Clausewitz's ideas in terms both of his experiences as a professional soldier in the Napoleonic Wars, and of the intellectual milieu of his time. This book is recommended for those without the time to read Clausewitz's original book.
56.Strategy: The Indirect Approach
B. H. Liddell-Hart, 1967.
430 p.
D25 LID
Liddell-Hart's doctrine of the 'indirect approach' was first published in 1929. Ironically, it was accepted in Britain (and in France) only after the Germans had adopted it and used it with great success in the opening phases of World War II. The author's basic thesis is that the indirect approach is superior to the direct approach in war. This idea has since been studied in command and staff colleges all over the world. Interestingly, following the explosion of the world's first hydrogen bomb in 1954, Liddell-Hart predicted that the new development would not free the world from reliance on conventional weapons, although there would be a trend towards more unconventional methods of using them. Hence, the inclusion in this edition of the book, a chapter on guerrilla warfare.
57. The New Terrorism : Anatomy, Trends and Counter-Strategies
Andrew Tan and Kumar Ramakhrisnan, eds.
254p.
HV6431 NEW
This book explores the characteristics of the new terrorism, its root causes, terrorism trends in Asia, the relationship between religion and terrorism in Southeast Asia, the threat of nuclear, biological and chemical terrorism, information-age terrorism, and strategies in countering the new terrorism.
58. The Adaptive Military: Armed Forces in a Turbulent World
James Burk, ed.
227p.
VA11 ADA
Although the authors differ in their assessments about the current prospects for peace and ways to maintain security, the issues they address are as critical as they were at the end of the Cold War. Mobilising resources and political support for remote and difficult enterprises will always remain contentious, but if we recognise the hazard of letting violence run unopposed throughout the world, then we bear some responsibility to consider how it might be checked. This volume is an exercise of that responsibility.
59. The Art of Maneuver - Warfare Theory and Airland Battle
Robert Leonhard
315p.
VA23 LEO
This book shows how true maneuver-warfare theory has been applied in campaigns throughout history. With a genius for apt analogy the author shows how our obsession with fighting and winning set-piece battles causes us to overlook an enemy's true vulnerabilities. But as low-intensity conflicts promise to become the dominant warfare of the future, the importance of maneuver in attacking an enemy's critical vulnerability will render attrition approaches to warfighting ever more obsolete.
60. Sea Power and Strategy
Colin Gray & Roger Barnett (eds.), 1989.
396 p.
V25 SEA
This multi-authored volume is an important resource for professionals and students alike who seek information on the use of naval forces in wartime. It breaks new ground in theorising about seapower and in applying principles to historical examples. Individual essays provide general theories of maritime strategy, histories of seapower in action from the Peloponnesian wars onward, and contemporary views of the strategic uses of navies in both the West and East. Besides authoritative names in the field like Gary and Barnettt, the other authors include Wayne Hughes, John Gooch, Barry Strauss, Alvin Bernstein, Alberto Coll, Robin Ranger, Williamson Murray and Jeffrey Barlow. Together, their work not only captures the complexity of maritime strategies and operations but points to important constants useful to today's policymakers.
61.The Eagle in the Desert : Looking Back on U.S. Involvement in the Persian Gulf War
William Head and Earl H. Tilford, Jr. Eds., 1996.
350 p.
DS79.724 EAG
This collection of works provides up-to-date perspectives on the U.S. involvement in the Persian Gulf War. It begins by examining some geo-political questions about the war before examining U.S. military operations in the area of logistics, the campaign on land, at sea and in the air. The book ends with a re-examination of the Allied "victory" in the war. This book is a departure from most books on the Gulf War as it provides a more sober perspective in the light of new information and evidence revealed with the passage of time. Although it does not, as William Head writes in his Preface, presume to be the definitive work, it does seek to break significant new ground using the reams of new research and several fresh approaches to the analysis of the story. A good refresher for those with a preliminary knowledge of U.S. involvement in the Gulf War, and certainly recommended for those interested in more new lessons from that war.
62.The Transformation of War
Martin van Crevald, 1991
254
U42 VAN
This work aims to address some of the most fundamental problems presented by war in all ages; by whom it is fought for, what it is all about, how it is fought, what it is fought for, and why it is fought. These questions are by no means new, and indeed merely to list the answers to them that have been given by various people at various times and places would be tantamount to a record of civilisation. This book also has a message - namely, that contemporary "strategic" thought about every one of these problems is fundamentally flawed; which, in addition, is rooted in a "Clausewitzian" world-picture that is either obsolete or wrong. We are entering an era, not of peaceful economic competition between trading blocks, but of warfare between ethnic and religious groups. Hence, this works aims at providing a new, non-Clausewitzian framework for thinking about war, while at the same time trying to look into its future.
63. The Human Face of Warfare: Killing, Fear and Chaos in Battle
Michael Evans and Alan Ryan
265p.
RC550 HUM
This book analyses the human face of warfare in the past, present and future. It contains essays by eminent Australian and international experts covering such issues as the psychology of killing in society and in the military; the past and future stresses on military commanders, from Douglas Macarthur to Norman Schwarzkopf; the making of war heroes such as Albert Jacka and Audie Murphy; and the role of women in combat.
64. Decisive Weapons: The Technolgy and Transform Warfare
Martin Davidson & Adam Levy, 1998
160 p.
U800 DAV
This is a book about six weapons that proved decisive in battle; the longbow at Agincourt (Oct 1415), the bayonet at Culloden (Apr 1746), the T-34 tank and the P-51 Mustang in World War II, the Bell UH-1 Huey helicopter at Ia Drang (1965) and the Harrier jump jet in the Falklands (1982). Although most of these weapons are now obsolete, the usefulness of the book lies in the point that technological surprise can bring about victory on the battlefield. For example, in 1941, the Germans were surprised by the new Soviet T-34 tank whose armour they initially found to be impenetrable.
65. The Weapons That Changed the World The Key Weapons of Modern HGistory, From 1860 - The Present Day
Ian Hogg, 1986.
159 p.
UF500 HOG
This book tells the dramatic developments of key armaments in technological, strategic, tactical and historical terms. Covering land, sea and air warfare, it explains the weapons, their development and impact on the battlefield, as with the birth of modern industry and the growth of nationalism in the 19th century, the whole nature of warfare was revolutionised. Fully illustrated with explanatory artwork, including specially developed illustrations demonstrating the significance of specific weapons in action - and photographs, The Weapons that Changed the World provides an invaluable insight into the great military events of the immediate past, it also brings to life the dramatic events which have shaped the world of today.
66. Introduction to Battlefield Weapons Systems and Technology
R.G. Lee, 1981
198 p.
UF 500 LEE
This is a very illuminating book on weapons systems and technology that every SAF officer should read. Each of its eight chapters treats a major system-group, and corresponds to a fuller and more detailed volume in the Brassey's series Battlefield Weapons Systems & Technology, which is edited by R.G. Lee. This book is therefore an introduction intended for those wishing to widen their professional military knowledge. The other volumes in the series then allow readers to indulge in the fields of interest to them. This concise volume does not require its reader to have any special mathematical or technical skills.
67. High-Tech Warfare: The Weaponary Explained
Robert Jackson, 1991
152 p.
UF 500 JAC
This book on air, land and naval weapons is lavishly illustrated with colour photographs and graphics. Besides giving a survey of the world's state-of-the-art weaponry, it also includes coverage of tomorrow's military technology. This is not a book about high-tech weapons and their characteristics; rather, it explains how they work, their performance in combat and how they are likely to evolve. Each class of weapons is explained in the light of historical experience. A concise but comprehensive survey.
68. Technology in War: The Impact of Science on Weapon Development and Modern Battle
Kenneth Macksey, 1986.
224 p.
UA10 MAC
A unique blaze of scientific creativity has in the past 150 years transformed the world's culture and the way we wage war. At the same time it has been the irresistible power of war that has proved to be the greatest stimulus to technological advance. War has concentrated the forces of science and industry as no peacetime event could and has provoked profound and rapid changes.
With the aid of outstanding artwork, Macksey first identifies the key developments, then by reference to specific battles discusses the tremendous impact on strategy and tactics of inventions as varied as Bessemer steel, the tank, submarine, jet engine, atom bomb, computer and laser. For those who are keen to learn more about military technology, this book is strongly recommended.
69. Armoured Warfare : A Guided Tour of an Armoured Cavalry Regiment
Tom Clancy, 1994.
325 p.
UE160 CLA
This book offers a tour of an armoured cavalry regiment and looks at the technology, the strategies and people behind it. It includes descriptions of the M1A2 Main Battle Tank and, the AH-64A Apache Attack Helicopter. It also discusses strategies behind the Desert Storm assault with exclusive photographs, illustrations and diagrams. The main source of information in this work is derived from the author's interview with West Point cadets, Operation Desert Storm commanders, and other combat cavalry officers on the rise. This book also provides detailed descriptions of the combined tanks-helicopters, and tanks-artillery operations. In addition, the author also discusses military life from the drama of combat and reveals the role and missions that have in recent years distinguished the fighting forces.
70. Weapons and Warfare: Conventional Weapons and Their Roles in Battle
MAJ Gen Ken Perkins (ed.), 1987
272 p.
UF 500 WEA
This book aims to explain the many complicated issues related to the development of military technology. The issues include the need to understand the many technical options available and the time lag between technological progress and enhanced capabilities. There is also the need to have a good grasp of strategic and tactical requirements, and an understanding of the varying influences of scientists, engineers and users. The editor draws on the opinions of various experts in weapons used on land, sea and air. For readers without a technical bent, the technical details - where they are provided - can be skipped without detracting from the book's aim.
71. Technological Change and Future Warfare
Michael O' Hanlon
208p.
VA23 OHA
Examines the hypothesis that the U.S. should reshape budgetary priorities, warfighting structures, and weaponry in the near future to achieve what is called a revolution in military affairs (RMA). O'Hanlon (senior fellow in foreign policy studies, Brookings Institution) describes the origins of the RMA debate and the various schools of thought within it, then proceeds to dispute arguments for RMA. While conceding that technology trends should be exploited, O'Hanlon wants less emphasis placed on modernising large weaponry such as ships, tanks, and planes, and argues against the possibility of ever verifiably eliminating nuclear and biological weapons from the earth.
72. The Future of Sea Power
Eric Grove
280p.
V163 GRO
This book reconsiders the whole of maritime strategy, relating it to the current situation. It traces the evolution of maritime strategic doctrine and considers the lessons of the twentieth century wars.
73. Brassey's Modern Fighters: The Ultimate Guide to In-Flight Tactics, Technology, Weapons and Equipment
Mike Spick
144p.
NG1242 SPI
Today's fighter aircraft are breathtaking in their capabilities. Speed, manoeuvring, firepower, and stealth combine to make these planes the ultimate in aerial combat. Modern Fighters expertly guides you through the evolution of fighter aviation--from the "stick and string" flying machines of the 1900's, through the throes of two world wars, to the sophisticated weapon systems of today.
74.Technology and War: From 2000 B.C To The Present
Martin van Creveld, 1989.
342 p.
U27 VAN
This book presents a comprehensive historical analysis of the relationship between technology and warfare over the past 4,000 years. It traces human conflict in an age of tools when adversaries used stone axes and flint blades, and slowly progressed to light chariots, bows and mechanical artillery. It examines the movement towards cavalry and foot soldiers over the centuries and analyses the emergence and triumph of machines from the year 1500 to the mid-18th century and beyond. Finally, Van Creveld probes the advent of automated warfare since 1945, which he argues has turned soldiers into technological experts and conventional battlefields into exercises in make-believe. Going far beyond the study of specific military weaponry and systems, the author considers the impact of technological changes not only on combat but on the totality of warfare; from everyday physical realities of roads, vehicles, communications, timekeeping, and maps, to the complex problems involved in strategy, technological management, innovation, and conceptualisation. An excellent work of synthesis and interpretation, this is essential reading for everyone interested in the history of warfare.
75. Digital War: A View From the Front Lines
Robert Bateman
299p.
NG478 BAT
Digital War discusses the potentials and pitfalls of the digital battlefield. Showcased in this anthology are essays from eight of the army's most prominent young lions of strategy and tactics, including Col. Daniel P. Bolgar. Lt.Col.Robert R. Leonhard, and Lt.Col. John Antal. The digital battlefield holds tremendous promise for America's military as fewer and fewer soldiers are able to effectively control larger and larger areas. Is there a price to pay, however, as our armed forces become microminiaturized along with their computers? Digital War provides a provocative look at this important issue from the front lines.
76. The Technology Trap : Science and the Military
Timothy Garden, 1989.
148 p.
U42 GAR
Over the past hundred years, new discoveries have transformed the battlefield. New methods of transport - the railway, motor car and aeroplane - made war possible over vast portions of the earth. The enormous range of new technologies available today may spawn weapons yet more devastating. This book examines each of the main areas of scientific research and assesses the military implications. It rejects those which lead to expensive toys of no practical value but highlights those which may become threats to future stability. It argues that the growth in new technologies is inescapable but it brings with it dangers to peace and stability. If scarce national resources are to be invested wisely and security enhanced, everyone needs to understand this technology trap.
77. The New Face of War
Bruce Berkowitz, 2003.
U163 BER
Defence strategist author Bruce Berkowitz presents a chilling picture of warfare in the Information Age. There are four key dynamics to how it has revolutionized combat: asymmetric threats, in which even the strongest armies may suffer from at least one Achilles' heel; information-technology competition, in which advantages in computers and communications are crucial; the race of decision cycles, in which the first opponent to process and react to information effectively is almost certain to win; and network organization, in which fluid arrays of combat forces can spontaneously organize in multiple ways to fight any given opponent at any time.
78. How To Make War: A Comprehensive Guide to Modern Warfare in the 21st Century
James Dunnigan, 2003.
U102 DUN
James F. Dunnigan's classic text on how wars are fought is a reading guide for professional soldiers and journalists alike. This edition has been revised to include an array of new subjects. From the cutting edge of cyberwar to the current concern about terrorism, How to Make War presents a clear picture of complex weapons, armed forces, and tactics.
79. The Ultimate Weaponry: What it is and How it will be Used - Now and in the Future
Paddy Griffith, 1991
217 p.
UF 500 GRI
This is a well-illustrated review of the present state of the art in conventional weaponry. It also surveys the future of some of the weapons and concepts including the tank, helicopter, land battle, and airpower. In addition, it explores the nature of the future battlefield, one reshaped by engineers in which systems fight systems with minimum human involvement. An interesting and enlightening book on weapons and military technology, it is written in simple, non-technical terms by practitioners of the art of war. Hence, it is not a book on weapons and their characteristics, but a book on modern weapons presented in relation to their tactical and operational environments. One of the more thought-provoking books on the subject.
80. Regional Political and Security Implications of the Terror Attacks in the United States
Derek Da Cunha, Seng, KS Nathan & Farish Noor
26p.
HV6432 RUT
This paper is derived from presentations made at a panel-like seminar held at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), jointly organised by ISEAS and the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS) on 9 October 2001, two days after the United States and Britain commenced military strikes against terrorist and Taliban targets in Afghanistan in response to the terror attacks on New York City and Washington, D. C., on 11 September 2001.
81. United Nations Peacekeeping: A Decade of SAF Participation
Pointer Journal of the SAF Supplement, 1999.
53 p.
This supplement commemorates a decade of the SAF's involvement in UN peacekeeping. It is a tribute to all the SAF officers, past and present, who have donned the blue helmet to serve a noble cause for world peace and done Singapore and the SAF proud. Beginning with an overview of the SAF's active involvement in Singapore's peacekeeping efforts and the wide range of missions undertaken since 1989, the MINDEF Defence Policy Office also details the experiences of the SAF in UNIKOM. The contribution of essays by the participants themselves - from taking on the role of Military Adviser in Afghanistan, to the provision of medical support in Operation Nightingale in the Gulf and Operation Blue Cross in Guatemala, deployment of the SAF Medical Corps at the Medical Support Unit of the UN DPKO to the training of peacekeepers at the United Nations Headquarters - testifies to the operational and other challenges of peacekeeping, and reflects the professionalism and commitment of the SAF.
82. The International Politics of the Asia-Pacific, 1945-1995
Michael Yahuda, 1996
298 p.
DS518.1 YAH
The two major conflicts of the Cold War era were fought in Asia - Korea and Vietnam - pointing to the economic and political importance of the region to the competing superpowers. In recent years, the area has emerged as a force in international politics in its own right and has acquired a new self-confidence that has found expression in astonishing economic achievement, Yahuda analyses the complex development of international politics in the region from 1945 to 1995, focusing on the influences that have shaped its political geography. Examining the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam against the backdrop of the Cold War, this study highlights how superpower relations were reflected in local struggles for independence and shows the interplay between international, regional and local political consequences. The book concludes with an assessment of the post-Cold War uncertainties that have eroded Asia-Pacific's self-confidence, such as the possible threat from China and doubts about the United States' desire to continue its stabilising role in the region.
83. Southeast Asian Perspectives on Security
Derek Da Cunha ed.
204p.
VA853 SOU
The conventional understanding of strategic issues in the modern world has been very much a Western-driven phenomenon. That is to say, Western strategists, thinkers and writers have tended to establish the principles of strategic concepts, and to develop theories around them. While there is utility in much Western strategic thought, it is also apt to note that some of it does not have full relevance or validity when applied to a regional setting that is far removed from the geographical boundaries of the Western world. In that connection, this volume is partly intended to serve as an antidote to much of the Western commentary on Asia-Pacific security issues by providing a range of perspectives on those issues from the Southeast Asian point of view. It offers a range of Southeast Asian perspectives on the multifaceted security issues that confront the Asia-Pacific region in the post-Cold War era. That there is no unitary perspective emanating from the region is symptomatic of the very fluid geopolitical situation that characterises Asia-Pacific security, and, of equal import, the different schools of thought that analysts in the region have chosen to subscribe to.
84. The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror and the Future of Warfare
Benard Lewis, 2003
BP182 LEW
The best-selling author of What Went Wrong? looks at the history of conflicts between Islam and the West to answer the key question the US has grappled with since 9/11: Where did this come from? Based on his George Polk Award-winning article for "The New Yorker, " this primer provides the historical roots of anti-Americanism in the Islamic world.
85. Blue Helmets: The Strategy of UN Operations
John Hillen, 2000
320p.
JX1981 HIL
International security expert John Hillen presents in this critically acclaimed book a comprehensive review of the military force and organizational operations of the United Nations since 1948, answering important questions about the UN's competency to handle complex future operations. It takes an in-depth look at the role of the United Nations in global security and includes recent and possible new peacekeeping missions in East Timor, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Kosovo, and elsewhere. According to Ambassador Robert Oakley, this book will "contribute significantly to the understanding of how the UN actually functions in strategically managing of military activities, what its true capabilities are, what military tasks and resources it should and should not be given by its member states, and how these factors related to the political objectives".
86. The Security Environment in the Asia-Pacific
Tien Hung-mao and Cheng Tun-jen, eds.
355p.
JX1952 SEC
This volume presents a survey of major issues confronting the Asia-Pacific region as it enters the new millennium: ASEAN's role in collective security; concerns over China and the disputed territories in the South China Sea; conflict on the Korean peninsula; Japan's role in the post-Cold War security order; U.S. interests in Pacific security; and the relationship between Asian and European countries and government organisations.
87. A Fury For God: The Islamist Attack on America
Malise Ruthven
324p.
HV6432 RUT
In A Fury for God, Malise Ruthven traces the religious and intellectual background behind the terrorist attacks on the United States. He investigates the hijackers' motives, particularly those of their leader, Mohammed Atta. The author exposes the crucial importance of the Saudi Arabian connection: it is an authoritarian regime responsible for the massive sponsorship of "fundamentalism"; the birthplace of Osama bin Laden, head of al-Qa'ida; and the home of fifteen of the hijackers. At the same time, Saudi Arabia remains America's closest ally in the Arab world, armed and tolerated for its oil. Though Ruthven rejects the thesis that the Western and Islamic worlds are heading inevitably for a clash between "civilisations," he concludes by suggesting that if left unchecked, pressures from religious fundamentalists (both Christian and Jewish) in the United States and Israel, added to the religious forces at work in the Muslim world, might well conspire to produce just such an outcome.
88. Threat and Response: Terrorism in the Asia-Pacific
Rohan Gunaratna, 2003
HV6433 TER
This collection of essays explores the evolution of terrorism in the post 9/11 environment in the Asia Pacific region. Edited by terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna, the book examines the multi-dimensional character of terrorism, as well as the general and specific responses of regional states. It covers information on terrorist organizations that are active in this region, their modus operandi and the threat they pose in the future. A must-read for political, business, military and academic leaders interested in the region and the threat of terrorism.
89. China As A Great Power: Myths, Realities and Challenges in the Asia-Pacific Region
Stuart Harris & Gary Klintworth (eds.), 1995
382 p.
DS 33.4 CHI
Notwithstanding the regional economic crisis, China continues to grow, and remains on track to becoming the world's biggest economy sometime within the first half of the next century. This, together with China's size and geographical proximity, is naturally a security concern for countries in the region. Whether this concern has any validity will not be known with absolute certainty. To help in our assessments, this book containing the views of many Chinese specialists, provides a balanced analysis of China's relations with countries in the region, and China's perception of its place within the new international order.
90. Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror
Rohan Gunaratna
271p.
HV6431 GUN
"Inside Al Qaeda" examines the leadership, ideology, structure, strategies, and tactics of the most violent politico-religious organisation the world has ever seen. This book sheds light on Al Qaeda's financial infrastructure and how the organisation trains combat soldiers and vanguard fighters for multiple guerrilla, terrorist, and semiconventional campaigns in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, the Caucasus, and the Balkans. In addition, the author covers the clandestine Al Qaeda operational network in the West.
91. Peace Operations Between War and Peace
Erwin Schmidl, (ed.), 2000.
173 p.
U270 PEA
Peace missions range from unarmed civilian observers to police advisers, military observers and inter-position troops, to fighting forces. This volume highlights the more 'robust' and often difficult and demanding tasks of peace enforcement that soldiers face, with in-depth comparisons of Srebrenica and Somalia. These tragic case studies show that peace interventions often resemble counter-insurgency operations of the past than the 'blue helmet' type of peacekeeping missions. This book, the result of two international conferences, is an attempt to clarify the types of mission involved as well as relate the diplomatic objectives to the complex task of the individual in the field. The papers look at different aspects of peace operations, combining findings from history, political science, and sociology. These studies "will stand the peacekeepers of the twenty-first century in good stead" even as peace maintenance under the trying circumstances of recent events is still one of the most important and urgent challenges around the globe. Also included is a photographic essay by the Editor portraying over a century of peace operations starting with Crete in 1897.
92. Towards Responsibilty in the New World Disorder: Challenges and Lessons of Peace Operations
Manwaring, Max G. and Fishel, John T, eds.
269p.
UA23 MAN
This volume commends itself to the reader to provoke thought about what governments and international organisations ought to do when faced with the responsibilities of a given peace operation. Equally important, it suggests what we as citizens in the world community ought to demand of our governments and that community in the current world disorder.
93. The New Millenium: Challenges and Strategies for a Globalizing World
Krishna-Hensel, Felicia Sai, ed.
329p.
JX1391 NEW
Comparative and comprehensive in concept, this series is designed to explore the relationship between transnational and regional issues through the lens of interdisciplinary methodologies and analytic models that can be widely applied. The series consist of innovative monographs and collections of essays representing the best of contemporary research. It is a pioneering effort to transcend disciplinary boundaries in seeking to understand a globalizing world.
94. POINTER MONOGRAPH 1: Creating the Capacity to Change: Defence Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century
Choy Dawen, Kwek Ju-Hon, Lai Chung Han, Lee Seow Hiang, Joseph Leong, Roland Ng, Frederick Teo
Pointer Monograph No. 1, 2003.
UA853 CRE
This monograph represents an attempt by a group of young officers to chart out the necessary first steps in creating and sustaining a capacity to change within a larger defence establishment more focused on current operational requirements. They contend that traditional structures must coexist with a more loosely-defined "C2C" space', created to harbour the elements of transformation. Their objective is to generate continuous innovation and the capacity to adapt to, if not pre-empt, change.
95. Churchill's Generals
John Keegan (ed.), 1992.
368 p.
D736 CHU
#AC0120
Churchill's reputation as Prime Minister during the Second World War fluctuated according to the successes and failures of his generals. Most of them were household names, and often heroes, "all of them were prey to the intolerance, irascibility - and the inspiration - of the man who wanted to be both the general in the field and the presiding strategic genius". This collection of essays by eminent historians is a study of twenty generals whose reputations were made (and some of them broken) by Churchill and the Second World War. The work also provides discussions of issues that caused dissension among the allies. Churchill's own political career and strategic is reviewed in the introduction.
96. Military Mavericks: Extraordinary Men of Battle
David Rooney
251p.
CT10 JROO
What makes a maverick? This study of heroes who broke the rules shows how often the day is won by sheer determination to succeed, despite the odds, despite the criticism of peers and elders. It is invariably the maverick who turns every challenge to an opportunity and wins the unwinable.
97. The Challenge of Command
Roger H. Nye, 1986.
187 p.
UB210 NYE
This book is not about military leadership but rather the importance of reading, and the books a commander needs to achieve military excellence. In it, Roger Nye recommends books to suit various purposes. There are books that discusses the Military Personality, the nature of Command, the concept of Duty; there are others meant for commanders who are Tacticians. Strategists and Moral Arbiters. This useful book by Nye complements this SAF Professional Reading Programme.
98. Small Unit Leaderhip: A Common Sense Approach
Dandrige Malone
170p.
UB210 MAL
What does it take to get a job done? How do you get the men of your unit to do what you say? To follow you into battle and shoot to kill? How do you build the confidence that spurs men on to do their job, to stand by their leader and each other? Colonel Malone answers these questions in forthright and explicit detail, with precise directives and vivid examples. He lays it on the line to the captain, the lieutenant, and the sergeant, telling them how to turn on individual into a good soldier, then how to make a good teamwork effectively. Required reading for all present and future leaders, this classic is for those who have to "get the job done"--military or not.
99. The Heights of Courage: A Tank Leader's War on the Golan
Avigdor Kahalani
198p.
DS123.14 KAH
Kahalani, commander of a tank battalion on the Golan Heights during the Yom Kippur War, describes this experience in The Heights of Courage. Beginning with a description of the initial Syrian offensive, he recounts the personal endeavours of his men, their fears and their ambitions, as well as their emotional and physical hardships. His stark account traces the efforts of the Israel Armoured Corps as they struggle to overcome extreme difficulties and setbacks. The author describes their ultimate penetration into enemy territory and their approach to within forty kilometres of Damascus.
100. GIAP: The Victor in Vietnam
Peter Macdonald
368p.
DS560.72 MAC
Here, for the first time, is the full story of the general who humbled both the French and the Americans in Vietnam. In 1990 Peter Macdonald went to Hanoi at the invitation of the Vietnamese government to interview General Vo Nguyen Giap, the legendary commander of the Vietnamese Army who had crushed the French at Dien Bien Phu and stymied the Americans at Khe Sanh. Never before had a western writer been offered the opportunity to study the Indochina and Vietnam wars from the Vietnamese point of view, to examine in detail how an army so poor in material resources accomplished such miracles. In addition to his interviews with Giap, Macdonald spent time with Vietnamese Army serving officers, interviewed many veterans and civilians, and had access to a wealth of written and photographic sources. Subsequently, he interviewed General Marcelle Bigeard, the only senior French officer to survive the great battle at Dien Bien Phu, and General William C. Westmoreland, the American commander in Vietnam from 1964 to 1968. Out of this research comes a balanced, fascinating portrait of one of the greatest military commanders of all time - from his early days as a resistance fighter against the Japanese through the brilliant campaigns against the French and Americans that established his reputation. Giap: The Victor in Vietnam tells the story of the longest - and perhaps strangest - war of the twentieth century, as seen through the eyes of its brilliant, enigmatic, and ultimately triumphant commander. This biography of the general focuses on his role as a commander in the wars of independence waged by the Vietnamese against the Japanese, French and Americans.
101. The Bridge of Dong Ha
John Grider Miller, 1989.
186 p.
DS557.8 MIL
Also available as an audio-recording read by Terence Aselford 2 x 11/2 hour cassettes AC 0305 Few have heard of John Ripley and that day in April 1972 when he braved intense enemy fire to destroy a strategic bridge and stall a major North Vietnamese invasion of the South. Now, at last, his story unfolds as it actually happened, recorded by a fellow Marine who lays bare Ripley's innermost thoughts. By any standard, this is a riveting tale of adventure that engages the reader to the very last page. In his desperate attempt to blow up the bridge at Dong Ha and keep some 30,000 men and 200 tanks at bay, Ripley endured three hours of direct fire to rig more than 500 pounds of explosives. Handwalking from the beams beneath the bridge, crimping detonators with his teeth, and racing the burning fuses back to shore, he saved his comrades from certain death. Such a compelling story of raw courage and personal resolve is rarely encountered, and this book is all the more remarkable because it does not resort to the histrionics common to so many war memoirs.
102. The Springboard: How Storytelling Ignites Action in Knowledge Era Organisations
Stephen Denning
223p.
HD30.3 DEN
The book explains how organisations can use certain types of stories ("springboard" stories) to communicate new or envisioned strategies, structures, identities, goals, and values to employees, partners and even customers.
103. Lateral Thinking
Edward de Bono, 1970
260 p.
BF 408 DEB
This is a book on creative thinking from the man who gave lateral thinking its name. A leading writer on the subject of thinking, De Bono shows the need and how we can use lateral thinking to complement the 'vertical' thinking that we normally use everyday. He shows how lateral thinking enables us to think 'outside the box', to challenge assumptions, to 'suspend judgement', to brainstorm, etc., with the view of generating new ideas. De Bono, who conducts workshops on lateral thinking, locally and elsewhere, also provides techniques to assist the reader to acquire the habit of lateral thinking.
104. RAMAYANA: The Journey
Retold by Ranchor Prime, 1997
160 p.
PR 9499.3 PRI
This is an abridged version of the much-loved Indian epic composed by the sage Valmiki some 4,000 years ago. Re-told by Ranchor Prime, the book relates the story of Rama, heir to the throne of Ayodhya, who was exiled for 14 years by his father upon the instigation of a step-mother who wanted her own son on the throne. Valmiki tells us about Rama's struggles as he lived in exile with his wife, Sita, and a bosom brother, Lakshmana. The story culminates with Rama's triumph over the evil Ravana, ruler of Lanka, who had kidnapped and courted Sita, and ends with Rama's return to Ayodhya where he assumed his rightful place on the throne.
105. Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime
Eliot A. Cohen, 2002.
288 p.
JF195 COH
The tension in civil-military relations is often exacerbated by wartime conditions. When the chips are down, who should run the show -- the politicians or the generals? In Supreme Command, Eliot Cohen examines four great democratic war statesmen -- Abraham Lincoln, Georges Clemenceau, Winston Churchill, and David Ben-Gurion - all of whom were without military experience, to reveal the surprising answer: the politicians. He contends that "great states-men do not turn their wars over to their generals, and then stay out of their way. Great statesmen make better generals of their generals" and can be brilliant commanders in times of war. The challenges and complexities that they faced were immense, and how each leader overcame them is the important issue in this study. Cohen stresses key individual traits rather than the totality of these men's experiences, showing that selective and skillful intervention is needed to keep the military on track. In doing so he reveals fundamental aspects of leadership and provides not merely a historical analysis but a study of issues that remain crucial today.
106. The Challenge of Change: Military Institutions and New Realities, 1918 - 1941
Edited by Harold R. Winton, David R. Mets, 2000.
UA11 CHA
The Challenge of Change is a good study of the reformation of five major countries' armed forces in the interwar years. Researchers have contributed in each chapter of the book important information and key facts on where five major countries stood from the Treaty of Versailles to the beginning of World War II. It is of interest to historians, military professionals, and even politicians who want to know exactly what happened during this tumultuous time in history.
107. Days of Infantry: Military Blunders of the 20th Century
Michael Coffey
188 p.
U 27 REG
This volume details the causes and effects of events that range from basic errors of human judgement to massive miscalculations of men and machines, all of which have changed the course of modern history.
108. Band of Brothers
Stephen Ambrose
12 Video Discs
#VD 0041
A description of life in the Easy Company, 506th Airborne Division, US Army, from the time of their rigorous training in Georgia in 1942 to D-Day and victory. Drawing on interviews, journals and letters, the author tells - often in their own words - the story of these American heroes.
109.Havard Business Review on What Makes a Leader
210p.
HD57.7HAR
The Harvard Business Review Paperback Series is designed to bring today's managers and professionals the fundamental information they need to stay competitive in a fast-moving world. From the pre-eminent thinkers whose work has defined an entire field to the rising stars who will redefine the way we think about business, here are the leading minds and landmark ideas that have established the Harvard Business Review as required reading for ambitious businesspeople in organisations around the globe. The latest thinking in the field of leadership is collected in this volume. With all-new articles published in the last three years and two articles from leadership guru, Daniel Goleman, this collection is a must have for CEOs and top level managers. The volume also pays special attention to leadership succession issues. Originally published in the Harvard Business Review between 1998 and 2001, these eight articles present the thinking of management professionals and academics on the successful qualities of top management in business organizations.
110. Working Knowledge: How Organisations Manage What They Know
Thomas Davenport and Laurence Prusak
199p.
HD58.82 DAV
The definitive primer on knowledge management, this book will establish the enduring vocabulary and concepts and serve as the hands-on resource of choice for fast companies that recognize knowledge as the only sustainable source of competitive advantage. Drawing on their work with more than 30 knowledge-rich firms, the authors-experienced consultants with a track record of success-examine how all types of companies can effectively understand, analyse, measure, and manage their intellectual assets, turning corporate knowledge into market value. They consider such questions as: What key cultural and behavioural issues must managers address to use knowledge effectively?; What are the best ways to incorporate technology into knowledge work?; What does a successful knowledge project look like-and how do you know when it has succeeded? In the end, say the authors, the human qualities of knowledge-experience, intuition, and beliefs-are the most valuable and the most difficult to manage. Applying the insights of Working Knowledge is every manager's first step on that rewarding road to long-term success. A Library Journal Best Business Book of the Year. Named a Library Journal Best Business Book of 1997.
111. Full Leadership Development: Building the Vital Forces in Organisations
Bruce Avolio
234p.
HD57.7 AVO
The author approaches the concept of leadership as a system, not only as a process or a person. His framework is based on what he defines as the full range of leadership: people, timing, resources, the context of interaction, and the expected results in performance and motivation. He contends that when a leadership system is optimised, it in turn optimises the vital force of each individual, thereby enhancing the collective force of the entire organisation.
112. Emotional Intelligence
Daniel Goleman, 1995
352 p.
BF 561 GOL
Everyone knows that a high IQ is no guarantee of success or happiness, but until Daniel Goleman wrote this best seller, we could only guess why. Goleman's brilliant report from the realms of psychology and neuroscience offers new insight into our 'two minds' - the rational and the emotional - and how they together shape our destiny. Goleman shows the factors at work when people of high IQ flounder and those of modest IQ do surprisingly well. Through vivid examples, he delineates the crucial skills of emotional intelligence, and shows how they determine our success in relationships, work, and even our physical well being. Goleman also shows how emotional intelligence can be nurtured and strengthened in all of us.
113. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Stephen R. Covey, 1989
358 p.
BF 637 COV
Stephen Covey is a renowned speaker and author on the subject of leadership and personal effectiveness. In his book 7 Habits, he argues that the 'success' literature of the last 50 years was based on what he regarded as the Personality Ethic where success became more a function of personality, of public image, and of attitudes and behaviours, skills and techniques. Covey prefers the literature of the preceding 150 years where the emphasis was on what he called the Character Ethic with its focus on values like integrity, humility, courage, industry, etc. These values are internal to the individual, and using this 'inside-out' approach, Covey identifies seven character traits that set the effective individual apart from the others. 7 Habits is a book that SAF officers can read with profit.
114. The Mahabharatha
Retold by William Buck, 1973
249 p.
PS 3552 BUC
This is an abridged version of a great Indian epic. Composed over a period of some 400 years between the second century B.C. and the second century A.D., the Mahabharatha is about a bitter, generation-spanning conflict between two great ruling families - the Kurus and the Pandavas - for the fertile and wealthy land near Delhi. It is enhanced by peripheral stories that provide a social, moral, and cosmological background to a climactic battle. William Buck retells this classic in a language and at a length to accommodate the contemporary reader.
115. The Water Margin
Shih Nai-An
Translated by J.H. Jackson, 1963
2 volumes, 917 p.
PZ 3 SHI
The stories of the Water Margin were originally folk tales that appeared in the late Yuan dynasty as a novel. Created mainly by Shih Nai-an and Lo Kuan-chung, Water Margin is about the peasant revolts that took place during the Northern Sung Dynasty. It is about conflicts between two classes in a feudal society; one side comprising an incompetent royalty, corrupt officials and local tyrants, and the other comprising the revolting masses. The work elevates the heroes' personalities and ethics to a sublime level, and creates the first batch of heroes who truly relate to the masses in the history of Chinese novels.
116. The Three Musketeers
Alexandre Dumas, 1844
Revised and Updated translation by Eleanor Hochman
628 p.
PQ 2228 DUM
Written in 1844, this is a thrilling adventure set in the court of King Louis XIII. D'Artagnan, a young nobleman joins three Musketeers - members of a legion of heroes highly favoured by the king - to protect and fight for him. He proves himself equal to the task and earns a place for himself amongst the members of the legion. Besides carrying us back to the days of swordplay, gallantry and romance, this book conveys the comradeship of the four musketeers, as epitomised by their rallying cry: "One for all and all for one!"
117. POINTER MONOGRAPH NO. 2: Realising Integrated Knowledge-Based Command and Control: Transforming the SAF
Jacqueline Lee, Melvyn Ong, Ravinder Singh, Andy Tay, Yeoh Lean Weng, John J. Garstka, Edward A. Smith, Jr. (Contributors)
Pointer Monograph No. 2, 2003.
UA853 REA
This monograph is an attempt to describe IKC2 as the cornerstone of military transformation, interpreting it in terms of organisational change, technological opportunities, experimentation, and innovation and application in effects-based operations. IKCs is discussed as the "critical enabler" that will give the armed forces an overwhelming edge over an adversary.
118. Armed Servants: Agency, Oversight and Civil-Military Relations
Peter D. Feaver, 2003.
381 p.
JK330 FEA
In this book, Peter Feaver proposes a "new theory of civil-military relations in which the civil-military connection is best conceived as a principal-agent relationship, with the civilian executive directing and monitoring the actions of military agents", the "armed servants" of the nation-state. This model challenges Samuel Huntington's 1957 classic study and professionalism-based model, and provides an innovative way of making sense of the U.S. Cold War and post-Cold War experience - especially the heated debates and contentious issues during the distinctively stormy civil-military relations of the Clinton era, not least about whether and how to use military force in the decade after the Cold War ended. These episodes, as interpreted by Feaver's agency theory, contradict the "conventional wisdom that civil-military relations matter only if there is risk of a coup". On the contrary, "military professionalism does not by itself ensure unchallenged civilian authority". The book is a timely contribution to the current concern about national security in the wake of September 11.
119. The Innovators Dilemma
Clayton M Christensen, 2000.
HD53 CHR
At the heart of this book are examples of disruptive technologies that helped to redefine the competitive landscape to one's advantage. A wide range of industries are analyzed in this book to provide managers with a new perspective on their customers and products. The author explains how research development, resource allocation and innovation can make the critical difference in success or failure.
120. Combat Motivation
Antony Kellett, 1982
362 p.
U 22 KEL
In this remarkable book, Anthony Kellet explores the various factors that motivate a soldier to fight. He uses a historical approach with many interesting case studies and anecdotes. These real-life examples enable commanders to find their own solutions to issues such as morale, unit cohesion and fighting spirit when they lead their men in combat. This book is highly recommended reading for all commanders and trainers.
121. Thinking In Time: The Uses of History for Decision-Makers
Richard Neustadt and Ernest R. May 1986.
329 p.
E743 NEU
This book deals with making practical use of history in day-to-day decision-making and management. While the methods, which the authors have developed, are based on decision processes in government, their techniques can prove valuable in the upper echelons of business and industry as well. This book offers easily remembered rules that decision makers can follow to use history more extensively and to better effect. Drawing on nearly 30 in-depth case illustrations, including the Bay of Pigs disaster, it explains how to draw sound historical analogies and how to spot false ones in order to clarify problems and isolate core concerns; how to inspect the history of an issue so that decision objectives can be defined and likely results of specific actions foreseen; how to "place" relevant people and organisations - that is to take into account the central historical events and circumstances that shape their character and outlook; and how to think in "time-streams" by looking at the present as part of an unbroken continuum between past and future. This book is suitable for senior officers who are, or soon will be, in positions making important decisions.
122. The Extraordinary Leader: Turning Good Managers Into Great Leaders
John Zenger & Joseph Folkman
296p.
HD57.7 ZEN
This book identifies the competencies necessary for effective leadership, not by guessing or postulating but by analysing the responses of tens of thousands of workforce members as they describe, in effect, "What makes a great leader?" Jack Zenger and Joseph analyse the answers and provide a broad and universal model for achieving exceptional results.
123. The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization
Peter M. Senge, 1990
424 p.
HD 58.9 SEN
Unlike the past, the success of an organisation can no longer depend on one or a few of its members. While it was previously possible to have a chief executive learning for the organisation, and directing it to achieve its goals and vision, the most successful corporation of the future is the learning organisation where the commitment and capacity to learn is tapped at all levels. This, in brief, is Peter Senge's argument. Senge suggests that there are five 'disciplines' that are gradually converging to build organisations that can truly learn, and to continually enhance their capacity to realize their highest aspirations. These five disciplines - Personal Mastery, Mental Model, Shared Vision, Team Learning, and System Thinking - are as critical to each other as the instruments in an ensemble. They are also relevant to the SAF as to any other organisation.
124. Knowledge Management Handbook
Jay Liebowitz ed. IV
(Various Pages).
HD30.2 KNO
The Knowledge Management Handbook provides an essential reference, integrating perspectives from researchers and practitioners on knowledge management. It outlines a sound foundation of the methodologies, techniques, and practices in the field. Advanced topics include knowledge discovery, data warehousing, data mining, web-based technology, and intelligent agents.
125. War and Peace
Leo Tolstoy
Translated by Constance Garnett, 1967.
First published in 1904, and reprinted numerous times.
1146 p.
PG 3366 TOL
In Russia's struggle with Napoleon, Tolstoy saw a tragedy that involved all mankind. While his historical vision ranged beyond national frontiers, his imaginative vision focused, with extraordinary intensity, on the lives of individuals, on the physical reality of human experience and its bewildering complexity. Greater than a historical chronicle, War and Peace is an affirmation of life itself, "a complete picture", as a contemporary reviewer put it, "of everything in which people find their happiness and greatness, their grief and humiliation".
126. Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Lo Kuan-Chung
Translated by C. H. Brewitt-Taylor, first published in 1925, reprinted in 1959, 1970
2 volumes
PL2690 LO
#C0056
This book is regarded by many as one of the greatest Chinese novels. Its perennial allure, by no means diminished in the China of today, springs mainly from its exciting historical facts and its telling portrayal of human ambition against a background of adventure and intrigue. No less fascinating are its accounts of human nature in reaction against the arbitrary restraints imposed by a conformist society. Through its pages, passes a continuous spectacle of striking scenes and events, each completely absorbing in itself but at the same time playing its part in the grand over-all design. Theses scenes are peopled with hundreds of colourful characters that bring to the novel its dramatic power and its frequently astonishing realism. Its enduring popularity, stems more from its remarkable characterisations than from its wealth of theatrical incident. It is hardly surprising to note that the book is the ultimate source for hundreds of spine-tingling plots in the modern Chinese "opera" repertoire. Truly a book to be read for its cultural richness and artistic values.
Last updated on 24 Apr 2010
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