BRUCK // READING LIST

Tom's Reading List

 In mid-2001, I was struck by a blinding flash of the entirely obvious: if I read more books, I'd be smarter, or at least know more stuff. I developed a reading list, and then basically failed to read any of the books that I put on it. Having only read sporadically during the intervening twenty years, come mid-2022, I decided to develop a new reading list - tastes, interests, and priorities change over the decades - and get more serious about reading regularly. Beginning in late 2022, and continuing into 2023, that's involved waking up marginally earlier on weekdays in order to spend at least fifteen minutes per morning reading. I've also tried to invest in at least one audiobook per month. As I write this in early November of 2024, that effort has yielded the consumption of forty-nine books, with an additional six suspended in progress for one reason or another.


The current incarnation of my reading list is included below. I occasionally add items, and my goal is to provide an update at least quarterly to reflect those additions, as well as books that I've completed.

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NumberTitleCategoryStatusAmazon / KindleAudibleLibrivox
1The Exile: The Stunning Inside Story of Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda in FlightCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
2Rajneeshpuram: Inside the Cult of Bhagwan and Its Failed American UtopiaCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
3The Siege: 68 Hours Inside the Taj HotelCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
4Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and ReunitedCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
5The Siege of Mecca: The Forgotten Uprising in Islam's Holiest Shrine & the Birth of Al-QaedaCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
6The Yompers: With 45 Commando in the Falklands WarCOMPLETECompleteLinkN/AN/A
7Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't KnowCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
8Oman: Under Arabian SkiesCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
913 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in BenghaziCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
10Tower of the Sun: Stories from the Middle East and North AfricaCOMPLETECompleteLinkN/AN/A
11The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and PakistanCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
12Bhagwan: The God That FailedCOMPLETECompleteLinkN/AN/A
13Armageddon, 1918: The Final Palestinian Campaign of World War ICOMPLETECompleteLinkN/AN/A
14Shadow of the Silk RoadCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
15The CIA War in Kurdistan: The Untold Story of the Northern Front in the Iraq WarCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
16Foxtrot in Kandahar: A Memoir of a CIA Officer in Afghanistan at the Inception of America’s Longest WarCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
17Three Cups of Deceit: How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His WayCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
18Operation Pineapple ExpressCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
19A Hobbit, A Wardrobe and a Great War: How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-1918COMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
20Desert Sniper: How One Ordinary Brit Went to War Against ISISCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
21The Terminal ManCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
22Finding Franklin: The Untold Story of a 165-Year SearchCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
23A Long Way Home: A MemoirCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
24Red PlanetCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
25The PostmanCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
26Taiwan's Former Nuclear Weapons Program: Nuclear Weapons On-DemandCOMPLETECompleteLinkN/AN/A
27Sultan in OmanCOMPLETECompleteLinkN/AN/A
28The I-5 KillerCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
29How Stella Learned to Talk: The Groundbreaking Story of the World's First Talking DogCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
30Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan, 1839-42COMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
31The War of the WorldsGeneral InterestSuspendedLinkN/ALink
32Masters of Mayhem: Lawrence of Arabia and the British Military Mission to the HejazCOMPLETECompleteLinkN/AN/A
33Orcadia: Land, Sea and Stone in Neolithic OrkneyCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
34The Power of RitualGeneral InterestSuspendedLinkLinkN/A
35Rendezvous with Death: The Americans Who Joined the Foreign Legion in 1914 to Fight for France and for CivilizationCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
36Choose Adventure: Safe Travel in Dangerous PlacesCOMPLETECompleteLinkN/AN/A
37Call Sign Chaos: Learning to LeadCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
38American Spartan: The Promise, the Mission, and the Betrayal of Special Forces Major Jim GantCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
39How the Scots Invented the Modern WorldScotlandSuspendedLinkLinkN/A
40The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle EastCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
41Gurkha: Better to Die than Live a Coward: My Life in the GurkhasCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
41Objective Secure: The Battle-Tested Guide to Goal AchievementCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
42The Road to OxianaExplorationSuspendedLinkLinkN/A
43Bleeding Talent: How the US Military Mismanages Great Leaders and Why It's Time for a RevolutionCOMPLETECompleteLinkN/AN/A
44The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial PacificCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
45The Flag in the Wind: The Story of the National Movement in ScotlandScotlandSuspendedLinkN/AN/A
46The Man in the High CastleCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
47Crisis of Command: How We Lost Trust and Confidence in America's Generals and PoliticiansCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
48Empire of Sand: How Britain Made the Middle EastCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
49History of the ChurchReligionSuspendedLinkLinkLink
50Fighting Monsters: From British Armed Forces to Rebel Fighter: A First-Hand Account of Battling IsisCOMPLETECompleteLinkN/AN/A
51Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle EastCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
52Buffalo Bill: Last of the Great ScoutsCOMPLETECompleteLinkN/ALink
53The Secret War: Dhofar 1971-1972COMPLETECompleteLinkN/AN/A
54Ghost Town Living: Mining for Purpose and Chasing Dreams at the Edge of Death ValleyCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
55You Are Worth It: Building a Life Worth Fighting ForCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
56Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No OtherScotlandSuspendedLinkLinkN/A
57Joker One: A Marine Platoon's Story of Courage, Leadership, and BrotherhoodCOMPLETECompleteLinkLinkN/A
58NIST SP 800-61, NIST SP 800-83, NIST SP 800-86, NIST SP 800-92ProfessionalIn ProgressLinkN/AN/A
59Sex Talks: The Five Conversations That Will Transform Your Love LifeGeneral InterestIn ProgressLinkLinkN/A
60The Art of LovingGeneral InterestIn ProgressLinkLinkN/A
61The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian MedicineGeneral InterestPendingLinkLinkN/A
62Kuwait: the Transformation of an Oil StateME - KuwaitPendingLinkN/AN/A
63Kuwait Transformed: A History of Oil and Urban LifeME - KuwaitPendingLinkN/AN/A
64Mubarak Al-Sabah: Founder of Modern Kuwait 1896-1915ME - KuwaitPendingLinkN/AN/A
65Kuwait and Al-Sabah: Tribal Politics and Power in an Oil StateME - KuwaitPendingLinkN/AN/A
66ATTP 3-39.32 (FM 3-19.30) Physical SecurityProfessionalPendingLinkN/AN/A
67The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and ReligionGeneral InterestPendingLinkLinkN/A
68Daffodils on the BattlefieldGreat WarPendingN/AN/AN/A
69The Life of a Regiment, Vol. IVGreat WarPreviousLinkN/AN/A
70Keepers of the Golden Shore: A History of the United Arab EmiratesME - MortonPendingLinkN/AN/A
71Empires and Anarchies: A History of Oil in the Middle EastME - MortonPendingLinkN/AN/A
72Masters of the Pearl: A History of QatarME - MortonPendingLinkN/AN/A
73Buraimi: The Struggle for Power, Influence and Oil in ArabiaME - MortonPreviousLinkN/AN/A
74Travels in Arabia Vol. #1 (1838)ME - ExplorersPreviousArchive.org PDFN/AN/A
75Travels in Arabia Vol. #2 (1838)ME - ExplorersPendingArchive.org PDFN/AN/A
76Embassy to the Eastern courts of Cochin-China, Siam, and Muscat (1837)ME - ExplorersPendingArchive.org PDFN/AN/A
77A voyage round the world (including an embassy to Muscat and Siam in 1835, 1836, and 1837) (1838)ME - ExplorersPendingArchive.org PDFN/AN/A
78Narrative of a Year's Journey Through Central and Eastern Arabia (1862-1863) (1866)ME - ExplorersPendingArchive.org PDFN/AN/A
79Travels in Arabia Deserta (1888)ME - ExplorersPendingArchive.org PDFN/AN/A
80Travels in Arabia (1898)ME - ExplorersPendingArchive.org PDFN/AN/A
81Southern Arabia (1900)ME - ExplorersPendingArchive.org PDFN/AN/A
82The Heart of Arabia (1922)ME - ExplorersPendingArchive.org PDFN/AN/A
83The Empty Quarter (1933)ME - ExplorersPendingArchive.org PDFN/AN/A
84Arabia Felix (1932)ME - ExplorersPendingArchive.org PDFN/AN/A
85History of the imams and seyyids of Oman #1 (1871)ME - ExplorersPendingArchive.org PDFN/AN/A
86The Countries and Tribes of the Persian Gulf (1919)ME - ExplorersPendingArchive.org PDFN/AN/A
87The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle EastME - GeneralPendingLinkLinkN/A
88A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle EastME - GeneralPendingLinkLinkN/A
89The Last Ottoman Generation and the Making of the Modern Middle EastME - GeneralPendingLinkN/AN/A
90Getting Started With GIS Using QGISGISPendingLinkN/AN/A
91QGIS by ExampleGISPendingLinkN/AN/A
92Learning QGISGISPendingLinkN/AN/A
93Mastering QGISGISPendingLinkN/AN/A
94MCDP 2 IntelligenceGISPendingLinkN/AN/A
95MCRP 2-10B.4 (formerly MCWP 2-26) Geospatial Information and IntelligenceGISPendingLinkN/AN/A
96MCRP 2-10B.5 (formerly MCWP 2-21) Imagery IntelligenceGISPendingLinkN/AN/A
97MCTP 2-10A MAGTF Intelligence CollectionGISPendingLinkN/AN/A
98NATO Open Source Intelligence Handbook v.1.2StrategyPendingLinkN/AN/A
99NATO Open Source Intelligence ReaderStrategyPendingLinkN/AN/A
100The Arabs: A HistoryME - GeneralPendingLinkLinkN/A
101The Worst Journey in the WorldExplorationPendingLinkLinkN/A
102Scouting on Two ContinentsGeneral InterestPendingLinkLinkN/A
103The Danakil Diary: Journeys Through Abyssinia, 1930-34Lawrence and ThesigerPendingLinkN/AN/A
104The Life of My ChoiceLawrence and ThesigerPendingLinkN/AN/A
105Juniper TimeGeneral InterestPendingLinkN/AN/A
106The Andromeda StrainGeneral Interest CPendingLinkLinkN/A
107TimelineGeneral Interest CPendingLinkLinkN/A
108State of FearGeneral Interest CPendingLinkLinkN/A
109PreyGeneral Interest CPendingLinkLinkN/A
110NextGeneral Interest CPendingLinkLinkN/A
111Burma Sahib: A NovelGeneral InterestPendingLinkLinkN/A
112The Age of the Caliphs: A History of the Muslim WorldME - GeneralPendingLinkN/AN/A
113Islam: The View from the EdgeME - GeneralPendingLinkN/AN/A
114101 Arabian Tales: How We All Persevered in Peace Corps LibyaME - GeneralPendingLinkN/AN/A
115The Modern Middle East: A HistoryME - GeneralPendingLinkN/AN/A
116The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy TerrorME - GeneralPendingLinkLinkN/A
117A Mosque in Munich: Nazis, the CIA, and the Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in the WestME - GeneralPendingLinkN/AN/A
118The War that Never WasME - GeneralPendingLinkLinkN/A
119The War in AlgeriaME - GeneralPendingLinkN/AN/A
120The Hidden War: A Russian Journalist's Account of the Soviet War in AfghanistanME - GeneralPendingLinkN/AN/A
121Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War That Changed American HistoryME - GeneralPendingLinkLinkN/A
122Searching for Hassan: A Journey to the Heart of IranME - GeneralPendingLinkLinkN/A
123All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East TerrorME - IranPendingLinkLinkN/A
124The Twilight War: The Secret History of America's Thirty-Year Conflict with IranME - IranPendingLinkLinkN/A
125The Secret War with Iran: The 30-Year Clandestine Struggle Against the World's Most Dangerous Terrorist PowerME - IranPendingLinkLinkN/A
126Territorial Foundations of the Gulf StatesME - GeneralPendingLinkN/AN/A
127A New Look at Kuwait (Routledge Library Editions: Kuwait Book 1)ME - KuwaitPendingLinkN/AN/A
128Immigrant Labour in Kuwait (Routledge Library Editions: Kuwait Book 2)ME - KuwaitPendingLinkN/AN/A
129Kuwait: Prospect and Reality (Routledge Library Editions: Kuwait Book 4)ME - KuwaitPendingLinkN/AN/A
130The Manpower Problem in Kuwait (Routledge Library Editions: Kuwait Book 5)ME - KuwaitPendingLinkN/AN/A
131The Oil Economy of Kuwait (Routledge Library Editions: Kuwait Book 6)ME - KuwaitPendingLinkN/AN/A
132A History of Modern LibyaME - LibyaPendingLinkN/AN/A
133The Making of Modern Libya: State Formation, Colonization, and Resistance, Second EditionME - LibyaPendingLinkN/AN/A
134Oman Before 1970: The End of an EraME - OmanPendingLinkN/AN/A
135Coup D'état OmanME - OmanPendingLinkN/AN/A
136Dangerous Frontiers: Campaigning in Somaliland & OmanME - OmanPendingLinkN/AN/A
137Monsoon Revolution: Republicans, Sultans, and Empires in Oman, 1965-1976ME - OmanPendingLinkN/AN/A
138A History of Modern OmanME - OmanPendingLinkN/AN/A
139A Modern History of Oman: Formation of the State since 1920ME - OmanPendingLinkN/AN/A
140Oman and the World: The Emergence of an Independent Foreign PolicyME - OmanPendingLinkN/AN/A
141America's Secret War: Inside the Hidden Worldwide Struggle Between America and its EnemiesME - TerrorismPendingLinkLinkN/A
142Black Ops: The Rise of Special Forces in the C.I.A., the S.A.S., and MossadME - TerrorismPendingLinkLinkN/A
143Counterstrike: The Untold Story of America's Secret Campaign Against al QaedaME - TerrorismPendingLinkLinkN/A
144Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and PakistanME - TerrorismPendingLinkLinkN/A
145Anatomy of Terror: From the Death of bin Laden to the Rise of the Islamic StateME - TerrorismPendingLinkN/AN/A
146Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin LadenME - TerrorismPendingLinkLinkN/A
147Soldiers of God: With Islamic Warriors in Afghanistan and PakistanME - TerrorismPendingLinkLinkN/A
148Code Name: Johnny Walker: The Extraordinary Story of the Iraqi Who Risked Everything to Fight with the U.S. Navy SEALsMilitaryPendingLinkLinkN/A
149Shaba II: The French and Belgian Intervention in Zaire in 1978MilitaryPendingLinkN/AN/A
150Burnt Out FiresOregon Indian WarsPendingLinkN/AN/A
151The Modocs and Their WarOregon Indian WarsPendingLinkN/AN/A
152Northern Paiutes of the Malheur: High Desert Reckoning in Oregon CountryOregon Indian WarsPendingLinkLinkN/A
153When Terror Comes to Main Street: A Citizens' Guide to Terror Awareness, Preparedness, and PreventionProfessionalPendingLinkN/AN/A
154The Monks of TibhirineProfessionalPendingLinkN/AN/A
155Active Measures: The Secret History of Disinformation and Political WarfareProfessionalPendingLinkLinkN/A
156Cult of the Dead Cow: How the Original Hacking Supergroup Might Just Save the WorldProfessionalPendingLinkLinkN/A
157The Complete Idiot's Guide to Risk Management: Get Dynamic Growth and Profitability Through Successful Risk StrategiesProfessionalPendingLinkN/AN/A
158The Rajneesh Chronicles: The True Story of the Cult that Unleashed the First Act of Bioterrorism on U.S. SoilRajneeshPendingLinkN/AN/A
159Breaking the Spell: My life as a Rajneeshee and the long journey back to freedomRajneeshPendingLinkN/AN/A
160My Life in Orange: Growing Up with the GuruRajneeshPendingLinkLinkN/A
161The Promise of Paradise: A Woman's Intimate Story of the Perils of Life with RajneeshRajneeshPendingLinkN/AN/A
162The Ultimate Game: The Rise and Fall of Bhagwan Shree RajneeshRajneeshPendingLinkN/AN/A
163The Abolition of ManReligionPreviousLinkLinkN/A
164After HumanityReligionPendingLinkN/AN/A
165The Galileo ConnectionReligionPendingLinkN/AN/A
166Science & Its LimitsReligionPendingLinkN/AN/A
167Reason in the BalanceReligionPendingLinkN/AN/A
168Christian ApologeticsReligionPendingLinkN/AN/A
169Arguing with GodReligionPendingLinkN/AN/A
170Around the Orkney Peat FiresScotlandPendingLinkN/AN/A
171The Saga of King Hrolf KrakiScotlandPendingLinkN/AN/A
172The Career of Major George Broadfoot, C.B.ScotlandPendingLinkN/AN/A
173MCDP 1 WarfightingStrategyPendingLinkN/AN/A
174MCDP 1-1 StrategyStrategyPendingLinkN/AN/A
175MCDP 1-2 CampaigningStrategyPendingLinkN/AN/A
176MCDP 3 Expeditionary OperationsStrategyPendingLinkN/AN/A
177FMFRP 12-32 Naval StrategyStrategyPendingLinkN/AN/A
178History of the Peloponnesian WarStrategyPendingLinkLinkN/A
179The Place of the French Revolution in HistoryStrategyPendingLinkN/AN/A
180The Origin and Prevention of Major WarsStrategyPendingLinkN/AN/A
181Strategic Studies: A ReaderStrategyPartialLinkN/AN/A
182Strategy in the Contemporary World: An Introduction to Strategic StudiesStrategyPendingLinkN/AN/A
183The Evolution of Nuclear Strategy: New, Updated and Completely RevisedStrategyPendingLinkLinkN/A
184Thinking About Nuclear Weapons: Principles, Problems, ProspectsStrategyPendingLinkN/ALink
185The Apocalypse Factory: Plutonium and the Making of the Atomic AgeStrategyPendingLinkLinkN/A
186Revisiting South Africa's Nuclear Weapons Program: Its History, Dismantlement, and Lessons for TodayStrategyPendingLinkN/AN/A
187Secret Intelligence: A ReaderStrategyPendingLinkN/AN/A
188Intelligence in an Insecure WorldStrategyPendingLinkN/AN/A
189Intelligence: From Secrets to PolicyStrategyPendingLinkN/AN/A
190Eminent Victorian Soldiers: Seekers Of GlorySubcontinentPendingLinkN/AN/A
191Victoria's Wars: The Rise of EmpireSubcontinentPendingLinkN/AN/A
192Armies of the Raj: From the Great Indian Mutiny to Independence, 1858-1947SubcontinentPendingLinkN/AN/A
193Sahib: The British Soldier in India 1750–1914SubcontinentPendingLinkN/AN/A
194Where the West Ends: Stories From the Middle East, the Balkans, the Black Sea, and the CaucasusTottenPartialLinkLinkN/A
195The Road to Fatima Gate: The Beirut Spring, the Rise of Hezbollah, and the Iranian War Against IsraelTottenPendingLinkLinkN/A
196The Cruise of the SnarkGeneral InterestPendingLinkN/ALink
197The Log of the SnarkGeneral InterestPendingLinkN/AN/A