Expert's Picks

The Reckoning: Iraq and the Legacy of Saddam Hussein , by Sandra Mackey, 2002. The U.S. Army Command and Staff College considers this book an important "account of the forces that produced Saddam's dictatorship." The book addresses the absence of an Iraqi sense of national identity and common purpose, and it considers the Baathist rule of terror and the destruction of the country's middle class.

The Kurds in Iraq: The Past, Present and Future , by Kerim Yildiz, 2004. An up-to-date account that explores what the Kurds want, both inside Iraq and in the context of the broader international community. Recent reports from Kirkuk and Mosul indicate the Kurds are not as compliant as the United States had hoped.

The Arab Mind , by Raphael Patai, 1973. Often derided in academia, this book made several lists but was both praised ("a good introduction to Arab culture and psychology") and pilloried ("the author portrays the Arabs too stereotypically"). The same controversy is present in reviews online.

The Shi'is of Iraq , by Yitzhak Nakash, second edition, 2003. This is a comprehensive history of the country's Shiite majority and its troubled relationship with the Sunni minority, which dominated the country under the Baath and now drives the insurgency. U.S. commanders remain concerned that the Shiites may respond in kind to continuing Sunni violence, tilting the country toward civil war.

Islam

Understanding Islam remains one of the key concerns for military leaders.

Islam: A Short History , by Karen Armstrong, 2000. Retired Gen. Anthony Zinni, who commanded American troops in the Middle East, once argued that "a fundamental rule of counterinsurgency is to make no new enemies." Ignorance of the religious and cultural beliefs of a society makes such mistakes inevitable -- and dangerous. Armstrong's book is a strong antidote to ignorance.

The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror , by Bernard Lewis, 2003. Controversial in its conclusions, Lewis's book explores Middle East history and tensions between Islam and the West. Lewis, an emeritus Princeton historian widely respected in conservative circles, places a particular emphasis on Islamist extremism and its implications for the United States.

Those who compile these lists hope that the books they endorse will give our troops in Iraq the mental strength to defeat an extraordinarily complex urban insurgency. Unfortunately, it is a rare commander who allots training time for reading; soldiers from privates to generals are supposed to do that on their own time. But it may be some of the most valuable training they get. The Pentagon would do well to come up with an expert and germane reading list of its own. ·

T.X. Hammes, a retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel, served as an infantry officer. He is the author of "The Sling and the Stone: On War in the 21st Century," a study of the evolution of modern insurgency.