Additional reading

Deadly Revenge, by R.E. (Mike) Patterson. A police suspense type book. Interesting enough story, needing some careful proofreading and editing, though. Had the feel of a self-published book. A used paperback pickup for pennies from the USAHEC book store. Good for a bit of reading on a couple of nights. Great diversion from the last two days prior to election on Nov 3 this year. 

Mind Prey, John Sandford. Also a police mystery type book, much better written, listened to as an audio book during my early morning ruck marches. Hoopla lend through the Mooresville Public Library. Language and some scenes not for the faint of heart or those preferring "clean" literature. 

The Geometry of Wealth, Brian Portnoy. I enjoyed this one as I enjoy many books on behavioral finance. It is the intersection for me of my background in psychology, and then more recently the business background. I plan to retire early and am still figuring out what I retire to. There are many stories where military folks I know just don't live very long after they retire, and I hope to not just survive in retirement but also find some form of what Portnoy refers to as "funded contentment".  New paperback copy, I think from Amazon.

More Books Read- helping me keep track

The pandemic and working from home has freed up commuting time, less time out and about, and not working out at the gym has also been replaced by long walks during which audio books have helped me keep plowing along.

Mind Hacking, Sir John Hargrave. Enjoyed this take on looking at yourself and your mind from the 3rd person perspective- you are not your mind and you can control it. A good complement to the idea that your are not your emotions and you can control them.  A different way to think about the elephant-path-rider from Jonathan Haidt.

The Next Millionaire Next Door, Thomas J. Stanley. Part of his continuing work from The Millionaire Next Door- more on "how they get there." I like it- helping remind me of the differences between spending, income and wealth and how they don't determine each other.

The Millionaire Mind, Thomas J. Stanley,  Also part of the ongoing work. Good stuff. For example, a preference to budget and be frugal- living rich/acting rich don't get you where you need to go, most millionaires live relatively frugally.

Surrounded by Idiots, Thomas Erikson. A breakdown of different personality styles that can be used to understand behavior patterns. I like it generally, but always balk at overgeneralization. 

Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris. At times very funny, at times a bit sad, a bunch of short stories of David's life. Audio book read by the author, with some of the segments clearly presented before live audiences. Enjoyed it.

The Compound Effect, Darren Hardy. The idea that you can make little changes and then they just build over time- not just financial, but behavioral habits, etc.

Everyday Millionaires, Chris Hogan. A colleague of Dave Ramsey, a positive viewpoint that wealth-building is something everyone can achieve, with thoughts about how to get there. I appreciated his can-do attitude and advocacy for hard work and persistence in the face of adversity.

Boundaries, Henry Cloud. A combination of psychologist viewpoints and Christian-based behavior therapy and counseling. The part that was probably most personally relevant was about self-boundaries and setting limits for myself. We need to be able to know when and how to say no and feel good about it, just as we need to know when and how to say yes and feel good about that.

The Devil's Financial Dictionary, Jason Zweig. A mostly very funny set of snarky definitions for financial terms that reflect an appreciation that the terms can obscure nefarious behavior, ill will or incompetence in the financial industry.

The Intelligent Investor, Benjamin Graham. A classic in the investing world. And good pointers for me to think about how to be more defensive and take less risk. Suggested to me that I'm taking too much risk, and a good thing to think about at this stage in my life. I've been blessed to have happened to have good earning periods that corresponded with good market conditions, and not been gashed as many have during some rough markets.

A Noob's Guide to Riches, David Allen. A bit light, but nothing offensive in terms of recommendations on how to save, how to earn money in different ways, etc. Takes work, but can be done. 

A History of the United States in Five Crashes, Scott Nations. A great complement to The Intelligent Investor to address my hubris in investing. Goes through precursors to market crashes, the events and the aftermath. I've lived through some of it, but have frankly not experienced the learning that comes with pain and suffering that strikes many in those crashes.

The Power of Vulnerability, Brene Brown. Audio "book"- a collection of seminar presentations that build on each other- like a recording of a multi-day or multi-session workshop. Well done. She has a great sense of humor that comes through, she's a real interesting character. Glad to have come across this one.

The End is Always Near, Dan Carlin. Also listened to. A real world complement to the History of the U.S. in Five Crashes. I don't think that I see that we're more close or more far to an apocalyptic ending, but it is good to know that we've worked through other times that were clearly more challenging than today.  A great response that I learned to think about during the Army War College, as we noted that there's a "present tense" bias in assessing threats, risk, instability, or the VUCA world. 

Nine Lies About Work, Marcus Buckingham. I enjoyed this one like I enjoy most, if not all, of Buckingham's pieces.

What Makes Love Last, Nan Silver & John Gottman. Good reminders of do's and don'ts for my most important relationships.

The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work, John Gottman. Another book that helps me see how much work I still need to do in my most important relationship.

On Night's Shore by Randall Silvis

 Another Ollie's Outlets bargain book.

Really enjoyed it. Providing an escape from today's political nightmare where we have folks who have made it a badge of courage to mock and belittle people trying to stay safe and keep others safe from a virus that has killed close to 200k in the U.S. right now.

I can't help but reflect on how we memorialized 3k dead and many others injured from Sep 11 last Friday, and we can't get behind an all-court press to address something that has taken out what- 200/3... 66xs the number killed, not to mention those suffering but not dying. We have a significant portion of the population following the lead of folks who sometimes say this is a scourge, a plague and wearing a mask is patriotic, and then on the other side minimize, downplay and dismiss the virus. For a few reasons, including debilitating cognitive dissonance, the followers choose to listen to the down-playing and anti-mask portions and ignore the warnings and encouragement to follow best medical and scientific advice.

So here's a good escape from that nonsense, good for an evening or two of quiet entertainment- no commercials and no current affairs!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2328356.On_Night_s_Shore?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=33ocCpPsF2&rank=1

Tiger, by William Richter

This was another Ollie's Outlets purchase, and a "light" read compared to some of my other stuff in financial management or military and other non-fiction stuff that I read to learn. Written by a Hollywoood screenwriter, is apparently a sequel to another book I haven't read. If I come across the previous book, I'll read it, but won't necessarily seek it out. I have too many books sitting around either physically or electronically, and I'm being pressured to reduce some of the clutter.  

Got decent, but not great ratings on GoodReads.

One sign that I'm getting old: this one has a decent bit of thriller stuff going on- explosions, killing, chase scenes, etc- and I like quiet so much, I prefer reading it than watching it.  

Or maybe not being old, I've always enjoyed the quiet of reading.

Blackout, by Marc Elsberg

I enjoyed this one for a couple of reasons.  The first was that it was a fiction piece that took on what was one of our Carlisle Scholar's Program group assignments- identify some event that could be considered a strategic shock and then walk through some of the impacts to national security.

In this case, the strategic shock is a deliberate and persistent, not temporary, takedown of the electric grid for all of the European Union. Later in the book it spreads to the U.S., but the book focuses on a story in the EU.

So this was a whole book about one potential strategic shock. For the book, it was done by some anarchy/new world order type terrorists. What we looked at in our Carlisle Scholar's program, was regardless of the shock, what were impacts to national security- so what would other nation states do when other nation states were dealing with such shocks.

Which brings me to the second reason I found it interesting. We are dealing with what might be considered a strategic shock right now with the COVID-19 pandemic, the associated economic shock, and the U.S. failure to get on top of the problem relative to most other countries.

And what do other nation states do while we are focused inward?

Russia continues to "meddle"- violate our sovereignty and that of other countries- because they know we're not really in a position to do much about it (not just because of COVID-19, but it is a factor), as indicated by recent reports of their continued efforts at influencing our elections through divisive disinformation campaigns as well as technology warfare relative to our COVID-19 research:
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/16/891834251/u-s-says-russian-hackers-are-trying-to-steal-covid-19-vaccine-research

China feels emboldened also to accelerate their process of increasing control over Hong Kong, and other signs of increasing aggression or shows of power, knowing we're really not in a position to do much about it.
https://theweek.com/articles/925903/chinas-growing-belligerence

Was proud to hear that some work that I had participated in relative to the U.S. Army and how it should be positioned in the INDOPACOM region was recently published, a major part of which were considerations about how to best address potential threats from China as a rising major power.

Most reviews of Blackout on Goodreads were fairly positive. I read through a few of the negative ones, with the primary criticisms being about the 800 pages being too much (my version, bought at the local Ollie's for $2 was just over 300 pages, and was to me an enjoyable read); and that it moved too slowly, wasn't "thriller" enough. I was fine with the pace, I'm not trying to feel like everything is a Jason Bourne speed rush.

30 Lessons For Living, by Karl Pillemer

Listened to this on audiobook from our local library. Gets a 4.08 on Goodreads.

A nice mix of story telling and recommendations from a gerontologist sharing his research. He recounts what he's learned from seniors in interviews and other study. He endearingly refers to his interviewees as the experts, due to their experience, some of which reflects success, and some of which reflects learning the hard way. Also enjoyed the self-reflection that Pillemer weaves in from time to time as he contemplates his own aging.

FIRE- Financial Independence Retire Early, by David Jacobs

An Audible free book offer, it was fine, I already subscribe to some of the principles, others not so much. I've never had a bent for sales or entrepreneurial activities, but there are plenty of other ideas in this book by David Jacobs to help people go after the goal of early retirement.

Did not see other reviews for it on Goodreads.

Financial Independence- Retire Early- 2 for 1 book by Richard Sodin

Listened to this on Audible. Some good principles, but it feels like it was either written in another language and poorly interpreted, or someone took a thesaurus and replaced all the appropriate words with other words that weren't quite right. I was wondering if maybe it was more for another English-speaking country, but references to Social Security and other U.S. financial legislation suggested that no, this was for the U.S.

Had not been reviewed on GoodReads, didn't seem like a good read to me, apologies, Richard.

Kill Devil, by Mike Dellosso

This was a fiction piece for entertainment versus more of my books to learn about stuff.  Got a 4.21 out of 5 on Goodreads.  An interesting mix of adventure/suspense and something I don't usually come across, with a bit of Christian faith thrown in as well. One of my "Ollie's Outlets" finds, enjoyed the read. Also interesting that parts of it are set in places I have experience or exposure to, including the area of North Carolina where the Wright brothers got their plane off the ground. "First in Flight"

Quirky: The remarkable story of the traits, foibles, and genius of breakthrough innovators who changed the world, by Melissa Schilling

This was a book on the list for the Army War College's Commandant's Reading Program this past academic year that I enjoyed quite a bit, reading from the lens of a recent focus in the public arena on diversity topics.

Goodreads link:

Schilling does a deep dive into 8 hyper, or prolific or breakthrough innovators: Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Elon Musk, Dean Kamen, Nikola Tesla, Marie Curie, Thomas Edison, and Steve Jobs.

Read in the context of diversity and my psychology background, these are folks that are far out on the tail ends of many different bell curves. It was interesting to see how those different characteristics, such as high intelligence, self confidence, extreme effort, goal directedness, idealism, a willingness to be and think unconventionally, came together for these people, and I appreciated how she also highlighted context- access to or privation from resources, network effects of people around them, and some 'right place, right time' aspects as well. She also points out the trade-offs- while some of these folks had spouses and children, most of them were quite distant and socially isolated. Their work came first and second and third.

Read from the context of the military, folks like this just plainly won't fit in most formations, but the military absolutely would benefit from innovators like this. Does DARPA provide a "safe space" to create the right conditions, or would these super innovators chafe at the environment there? Futures Command? I could see the bureaucracy of our large organization being a real turn-off- moving too slow and not even understanding some of the possibilities offered by such innovations.

From outside the military, I could see some being concerned about what terrible things could come from an uber-innovator supporting an organization who's mission is to fight and win wars.

Interesting to think as well about how to create conditions for innovation at the smaller scale most of us more "normal" types are capable of. How do we nurture and support those who are admittedly different and get that creativity to contribute to success in the workplace, the home and in public life? I'm thinking of Liz Wiseman's "Multipliers", Zenger and Folkman's "Extraordinary Leader" and other thought leaders' input and this text's appreciation for the quirky among us as complementary ways of thinking about how to help bring out the best in all of us.

Shattered Bone by Chris Stewart

This was an interesting fiction piece in that even though published in 1997, there was a timeliness to some of the geopolitics involved given the recent impeachment of the President for his illegally withholding Congressionally-appropriated funds to support Ukraine in their efforts at self-defense against Russia.

Unless the author had a guest writer, I'm very impressed as this was his first (only? I don't know) book.

A sleeper from old Russia, but with closer ties to "the Ukraine", the main character is now a pilot for the U.S. Air Force. He's hoping that his past is behind him with the dissolution of the U.S.S.R., but alas, it is not to be.

Some interesting stuff for us Army ground pounder types, learning about the B1 Bomber. A jacket cover description of the book refers to is as a "technothriller."

I recommend it for entertainment if you like military-themed thrillers. Not super heavy on gore and violence relative to many others, which was fine by me.

Prisoners of Geography, Tim Marshall

Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics, by Tim Marshall.

Enjoyed reading this one as encouraged by a colleague from my Army War College experience. We had participated in the Commandant's Reading Program, and he had set up a similar seminar-type reading and discussion group with his Air Force team.  Thankfully, he invited me and a few others to participate. I unfortunately was not able to make the Zoom chat with the author due to work engagements, but enjoyed the read.

Biggest point: understanding the size of Africa.
Second biggest point for me: understanding the dynamics of the Arctic- with things literally melting down up there, geopolitics are interesting, and it is not that big a deal that we don't have as many icebreakers up there- there are many factors to consider.

Commentary: The Hell of Good Intentions, Stephen M. Walt

Commentary: The Hell of Good Intentions, Stephen M. Walt

Read this along at the same time as Duty, Robert M. Gates, and an interesting complement to it. Thoroughly enjoyed the read.

I got to this book as it was on the Army War College Commandant’s Reading course list for this year. I took the course last year, enjoyed the selections, and given I love to read, will probably keep asking for their reading list so I can read books like this.

Walt makes an argument against a longstanding foreign policy approach termed liberal hegemony.  It is the rational version of the “let’s pull back, we’re trying to do too much and push our liberal democracy concepts on other countries and we need to do more about minding our own business, and being more selective in asserting our power internationally in support of specific and achievable national interests.” This is in contrast to the less rational isolationist rhetoric about other countries are cheating us, robbing us, etc and we are going to “win” by doing things differently than previous administrations. He even points out how the current administration has talked a good game and recommended some good changes to foreign policy, but their rationale for doing so often gets lost- doing the right things for the wrong reasons- and beyond that, as “the establishment” pushes back, the administration falls back into line and ultimately ends up embracing, rather than rejecting, liberal hegemony.

His thesis is presented as radical and outside the mainstream (of the foreign policy elite, that is), but I’m not so sure it is.  There are quite a few people in the military and out, that have been calling for a less militarized foreign policy, for one that is more restrained in objectives, that embraces a more realist perspective and approach.

A good deal of the argument is counterfactual in nature, and the author acknowledges successes in U.S. foreign policy and also that some failures might also have happened even without a liberal hegemony approach.

The text allocates the vast majority of content in explaining and providing examples of the how and why of the problem Walt describes and unfortunately, only the last chapter really gets after his vision of what right would look like.

I did find myself asking whether I would identify more with ‘the establishment’ or with his more reserved approach, labeled "offshore balancing," which grossly simplified is preventing hegemons in other parts of the world who could challenge U.S. supremacy in the international arena. I would wholeheartedly agree with de-emphasizing the M in the DIME and investing more in the other elements of national power (diplomatic, information, economic) in executing foreign policy. I would argue differently, though, in that I don’t think we’re spending too much and too engaged with both allies and adversaries. I think the problem is more in the messages and objectives- the mixed messages – that we are sending to allies as we challenge them and insult them far more than we need to, and for some reason are ignoring and excusing the bad behavior of traditional adversaries and embracing them as they continue to do those same things that we previously condemned them for. We’re just confusing other countries right now and they’re waiting to see how this next election turns out to see if we’ll keep doing what we’ve been doing the past 3 years, return to more ‘business as usual’ or go in some other direction.

Book commentary: Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War, Robert M. Gates

Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War, Robert M. Gates

This one took a long time to read through. Lots of detail and lots of thoughts about that detail. And while such books often come across as self-serving, and that holds true in this one as well, I still think about how well we would be served by having leaders like this former SECDEF working today as a bulwark against hyperpartisan leaders who can only serve one party or another versus serving the country regardless of party.

He highlights that character matters, which oddly, some folks try to argue is no longer relevant.

He highlights the critical roles that the press and Congress play, even when he has felt he doesn’t enjoy working with them from time to time.

He highlights how personally upset he felt when senior military and civilian leaders did not seem to take the current wars he was overseeing (Afghanistan and Iraq) as important and urgent.

And he highlighted how he was inspired every time he got to talk to the service-members out in the field, in combat environments, or in the hospitals recovering from combat-related injuries.

The other book I just finished was critical of U.S. foreign policy and was critical of both civilian and military leaders in execution of that foreign policy. One of the themes was that the DIME (diplomatic, information, military, economic) whole of government foreign policy strategy had really devolved to a Military heavy strategy with just a smidge of the D,I, and the E thrown in. Gates argues along similar lines suggesting the military should be the last resort, not the first, and questions, as many in the military do, whether the military is the solution to the problems that the military is handed and asked to address. Gates and others rightly point out that when the other instruments of national power have been defunded and disregarded and become essentially powerless, the default is to turn to the military as the only answer- even if it is absolutely the wrong answer for the problem.

Even though I have never been terribly focused on who the SecDef was during my 27 years in the military, more focused on the jobs or tasks at hand, I’m glad we had Sec Gates at the helm for the years he served under Bush and Obama. I felt in reading this text, again with the caveat of this being his version of what happened, that this was a man of honor, who served with the best interest of the service-member and the nation in mind.

Would that we could have that same trust in leadership at all times. We as citizens should be asking this of all our elected and appointed officials. That they be people of character and honor first. That they put service and country before self.

Like War, the weaponization of social media, P.W. Singer and Emerson T. Brooking

Finished LikeWar about about a month ago. Articulates some of what I've found so upsetting over the past 4 years or so.

On the inside fold: "Two defense experts explore the collision of war, politics, and social media, where the most important battles are now only a click away."

We work to be the best in the world at fighting conventional war. It naturally pushes others to ask how they can achieve their objectives without engaging in that conventional war. Grey zone competition, cold war, economic warfare, and really, this book covers information warfare.

I don't get exercised that other countries do this. It is what one would expect. When the revolutionaries in North America fought the British, we didn't play by their rules either. Underdogs look to compete in ways that blunt the advantage that a superior force has. Why play the game according to the rules of the dominant power?

So as the U.S. has come to dominance, we've pushed for a rules-based world order and it has served us and arguably much of the world extremely well since WWII. It has been to our advantage, as we are to a large extent either writing the rules, or at a minimum have a seat at the table and strong influence.

But now I feel that we are taking a wrecking ball to this as we embrace enemies and dictators and insult, scold and bully our allies. Other friendly countries watch with a mixture of confusion and dismay as the shining light on the hill claims that this light is just for us. Get your own light, you free-loaders. And we're not going to follow your stupid rules (the rules that we wrote, by the way).

Part of this is based on pure misinformation and lies that we are putting out to our own citizens in divisive partisan politics. So this risk to our national security and well-being is as much an internal issue- the enemies within- as it is of other foreign nation states and non-state actors such as violent extremist organizations.

For just one specific example from the book, the Russian government and military interfering in our election in 2016 wasn't a hoax. Their interest in pointing the finger at Ukraine and others is not because they love the U.S. and have our best interest at heart.

As Dr. Hill testified, we have many of our own leaders repeating Russian propaganda lines. I think a direct quote from that testimony is 'fictional narrative.' I see no purpose for doing so that truly reflects acting in the interest of our national security.

Yes, I lose sleep over this. A society that not only tolerates, but cheers on and advocates such behavior will ultimately suffer the consequences of a wholesale repudiation of values and integrity. It is hard to win the fight if you have lost the moral high ground.

America was great, and is great. But it is doing severe damage to itself right now.

Another leadership nugget from a Charlotte Veterans Network luncheon- Charlotte Checkers coach Ryan Warsofsky

Back working at Lowe's Store Support Center (aka the Home Office, corporate, formerly known as the Customer Support Center), so I missed the luncheon this week, but as I cleaned out my pile of papers that accumulates as I go from one thing to another, came across a couple of notes from an earlier visit by Ryan Warsofsky, the 31 year old coach of the Charlotte Checkers, an AHL hockey team that has been performing well under his leadership. The following is one of the things he shared with us, that I really liked as a quote:

"You don't need a letter on your jersey to be a leader."

I may be wrong on this as a casual hockey fan, but I believe the letter on the jersey is a reference to letter "C" for the team captain. In other words, you can be a leader even without positional authority.

Coach W. gets to work with up and coming players as well as those past their prime trying to get back to the NHL. He seems to be figuring out how to help them play "the right way" while they still have individual goals and motives.