Cannonball Read 11

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Genius military tactics, intriguing magic, a queen trying to save her people from threats internal and external, and LGBTQ characters

The Price of Valor: Book Three of The Shadow Campaigns by Django Wexler

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As this is the third book in the series, perhaps you should check out my review of the first book The Thousand Names: Book One of the Shadow Campaigns, which is predominantly about a military campaign.  The second book, The Shadow Throne, switches gears and is about political intrigue and power struggles.  This third book, The Price of Valor, is combination of both and an excellent continuation of the series. Note about the cover art of the books: I originally found them off putting as they are very male military, “Ooh Rah!” in nature (and partly why it took me […]

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7/2/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No: 20 |

Professional Reading #1

It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership by Colin Powell & Tony Koltz

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It Worked for Me is a collection of about 30 vignettes and stories intended to offer leadership advice from one of America’s most famous military leaders of the last 35 years.  I think it does that and does it well.  Powell reflects on a life of service, both military and civilian, and recounts instances when he made decisions and describes the generalized thoughts and ideas that led to the choices he made. This book, let’s call it a memoir, feels quite genuine and honest but Powell is reserved. He does not expose himself or cut particularly deep.  That leads to […]

Help Support Cannonball Read

Buy the following on Amazon and help our mission to stick it to cancer, one book at a time:

We pay for our website first, and then all proceeds above and beyond those fees are donated to the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink's name. Find out how else you can help support our mission.

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1/22/2019 | 's CBR11 Review No: 5 |

Come for a history of the AK-47, stay for a history of all machine guns

The Gun by C.J. Chivers

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C.J. Chivers is a former Marine officer and war correspondent.  He won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing in 2017 for his piece about a Marine’s journey home after combat, entitled ‘The Fighter.’  I saw this book a few years ago and wanted to read it but, like most books, it went to the back burner as newer and shiner books popped up.  Then Chivers won the Pulitzer and I put the book on hold at the library. The Gun is, mostly, a history of the AK-47, which is probably the most famous gun in the world.  In telling that […]

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5/30/2018 | Post by

The United States v. Jackie Robinson

The United States v. Jackie Robinson by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen

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A non-fiction book about Jack Robinson. Or better known as Jackie Robinson. The United States v. Jackie Robinson is not a typical biography of a baseball player. They start out with him being a child growing up as the only black family on their street. His mother’s strength and finally Jackie’s strength in the military. Few probably know that Jackie would not give up his seat on a bus either and it lead to a historic ruling, too. Finally, it ends with some of his baseball career and the Jackie Robinson most people know. The timeline at the end of […]

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5/30/2018 | Post by

Army Chief of Staff Reading List #13

The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 (World War II Liberation Trilogy #3) by Rick Atkinson

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The Guns at Last Light is the finale of the Liberation Trilogy by Rick Atkinson, the first of which, An Army at Dawn, won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 2003.  The series encompasses the history of the United States activity in the European theater of World War II.  An Army at Dawn is about the U.S. Military during the North Africa campaign.  Book two, The Day of Battle, is about the the war in Italy and the Mediterranean; it is subtitled, The War in Sicily and Italy.  Finally. The Guns at Last Light begins at D-Day and continues through […]

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5/22/2018 | Post by

More things should be full of win

Tigerman by Nick Harkaway

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I was expecting something more in the fantasy realm from Tigerman, given Nick Harkaway’s first two novels, and although there is the titular superhero, this book stays much more grounded, more of an existential thriller with military and cloak-and-dagger elements, and for that, it’s a lot of thought-provoking fun. The story takes place on a mythical island in the Arabian Sea, an island previously controlled by the British and French, among others, but which has become an environmental disaster due to chemical companies pumping toxic waste deep beneath the island. The international community has decided to incinerate everything to ward […]

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3/28/2018 | Post by

Army Chief of Staff Reading List #7

Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq by Thomas E. Ricks

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I looked forward to reading this book for a while.  I really enjoyed another of the author’s books, The Generals, and its critical take on U.S. military leadership.  Fiasco did not disappoint. Fiasco is the story of the early part of the Iraq War.  There is a little background so that one understands the main players, namely Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld, and then it jumps headfirst into a chronological discussion of the decisions made and their repercussions.  Fiasco discusses how the war was basically preordained.  The decision to go to war was made before the evidence was evaluated, if it ever […]

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3/6/2018 | Post by

Repeating history?

This Kind of War by T.R. Fehrenbach

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I have many thoughts about this book but as always, here’s the situation that led to me reading it.  This Kind of War is another book from the Army Chief of Staff’s reading list.  It has also been recommended by Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis as a must-read. Secretary Mattis is known, colloquially, as the Warrior Monk due to his dedication to his craft and his knowledge and understanding of making war.  He is known to be a voracious reader and believes that all leaders should be reading.  From Task and Purpose, Secretary Mattis said “You need to have that […]

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2/16/2018 | Post by


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