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.