Books by David Kilcullen
“I chose this book because the last 10 to 15 years of my life, particularly my time when I was here in Oxford, was shaped by the Iraq and Afghan wars.” Read more...
The Best Military History Books
Hew Strachan, Military Historians & Veteran
The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One
by David Kilcullen
The US continually misidentifies the insurgents with legitimate and local aims with the wider network of al Qaeda – we treat them all the same instead of trying to peel off those with local issues and grievances. So we can blame the US. If we had dealt with the local grievances we wouldn’t have this insurgency problem.
The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One
by David Kilcullen
Kilcullen was really the thinking behind the “surges” in Iraq and now in Afghanistan. He thinks we face a global insurgency of Takfir terrorists, basically Al-Qaida, who are trying to attack the West. They infiltrate areas like Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indonesia, marry locals and both intimidate and bribe people in order to mobilise them to fight on their side. These are the accidental guerrillas of the book’s title.
Interviews where books by David Kilcullen were recommended
The best books on Terrorism, recommended by Mary Habeck
The Professor of Strategic Studies at Johns Hopkins University picks five books you must read to understand the War on Terror, starting with one that tries to define what terrorism is.
The best books on War, recommended by Mary Kaldor
The Director of the Centre for the Study of Global Governance at the London School of Economics says there is fine line between being a hero and being a murderer – that’s why the Geneva convention matters
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1
On War
by Carl von Clausewitz -
2
Yorck and the Era of Prussian Reform 1807
by Peter Paret -
3
L'or et le sang: Les buts de guerre économiques de la Première Guerre mondiale
by Georges-Henri Soutou -
4
Vessel of Sadness
by William Woodruff -
5
The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One
by David Kilcullen
The Best Military History Books, recommended by Hew Strachan
The Best Military History Books, recommended by Hew Strachan
It’s no longer enough for military history to be just about battles told from the winning side. One of the great military historians of our time, Sir Hew Strachan, talks us through what makes a great military history.
