Book list

[Frank S.]

Roight. You lot fawning over modern tales of war, some with flames and daggers on the cover, expand yer horizons a bit.
Quit fretting over yer timed runs, press-ups, sit-ups and the like, and work up the greyish muscle in yer skull.
Consider these, an incomplete list:

"the serpent's teeth" by Ovid
"metamorphoses" by Ovid
"the Aeneid" by Virgil
"the destruction of Troy" by Virgil
"Alexander" by Plutarch - Quintus Curtius Rufus - Arrian - Tania Gergel
"letters from a Stoic" by Seneca
"meditations" by Marcus Aurelius
"selected poems and letters" by Arthur Rimbaud
"democracy in America" by Alexis de Toqueville
"the plague" by Albert Camus
"the damned" by Joris-Karl Huysmans
"nausea" by Jean-Paul Sartre
"words" by Jean-Paul Sartre
"on love and barley" haiku of Basho
"twilight of the idols" by Friedriech Nietzsche
"beyond Good and evil" by Friedrich Nietzsche
"essays and aphorisms" by Arthur Schopenhauer

Gon on, then.

[Ghost]

Great list, Frank.

I'd like to add:

Homer - The Iliad and, to a lesser extent, The Oddysey
Leo Tolstoy - War and Peace (a right big'un)

[pablo]

Fair list, mate. You're missing all of McNab's work though.

In honesty, a few of them seem a bit deep for me. Might give a couple a go, though.

Rich.

[Frank S.]

Just as you push yourself physically, you gotta challenge yourself intellectually.
This won't make you mentally tougher, but you'll definitely gain from it.
Start with something you can relate to in style and/or substance and expand the circle from there.

[sophiebutty]

If you can get hold of it read the Iliad verse translation by Alexander Pope. It's phenomenal

[Frank S.]

"The prince" by Niccholo Machiavelli
"Purgatory", "inferno" and "paradiso" by Dante
"the republic" by Plato
"being and time" by Martin Heidegger
"Critique of pure reason" by Emmanuel Kant
"ethics" by Benedictus Spinoza.

[daz89]

"The Cage" by Tom Abraham.

http://www.play.com/Books/Books/4-/2244 ... oduct.html

One of my favourite books, very good read.

[mfat_man]

Fair list, mate. You're missing all of McNab's work though.

In honesty, a few of them seem a bit deep for me. Might give a couple a go, though.

Rich.

"Mcgrabb" No thanks..

But I think "First into action" is one of the best books I have ever read. Ok it is mob flick but the impessinve thing about it is, it's nearly all about mental attitude and very little guns and combat.

Also "Close Quarter Battle" By Mike Curtis if you are into the Army thang Many ex Army people have mentioned that book.

[jimbob]

I personally like McNabs books, what i really like about his books is the great amount of detail he goes into, after reading his books I feel that I could go out and make a bomb, pick a lock or completely strip down and rebuild an assault rifle, it really gives you a feel for it. I read a couple of Chris Ryans books while on holiday and really missed that detail.

[Sonne]

McNab Will be talking at the National Army Museum in London on 05/11/2006 at 2.30 pm about his new book Recoil.

I wonder how they blur his face out in public...

Sonne

[Frank S.]

Let's leave McNab out of this thread, please. His stuff may be brain candy, but I'm trying to get youse to discuss more satisfying fare...

[Sarastro]

more satisfying fare...

I highly recommend the seminal 'Spot the Dog', and the illuminating sequel, 'See Spot Run'.

But once you've made your way through those, I know everyone says this nowadays, but Sun Tzu The Art of War is well worth it, and a lesser known, but no lesser tome along the same lines is Miyamoto Musashi's A Book of 5 Rings.

...and as an aside, if you want to really f@#k with your head, try Labyrinths by an Argentinian philosopher Jorges Luis Borges, which is a collection of short stories concerning infinity & other paradoxes, and though it's philosophy, is possibly the least boring book you will ever read.

PS Seriously, f@#k Andy McNab & his ghostwriters. f@#k them right in the ear.

[Frank S.]

But once you've made your way through those, I know everyone says this nowadays, but Sun Tzu The Art of War is well worth it

Abso-farking-lutely. I've seen this book in virtually every attorney, business office I set foot in.
A must read for thinking outside the box.
Good ones, Sarastro....

[bigdog]

....

[Frank S.]

"Assassin's gate" is by George Packer. Very good book.
David Fromkin's brother, Michael, has an interesting lego-political blog there: http://www.discourse.net/