TFA is based on the dissertation work of Kenneth M. Pollack. If you are into military history, his Arabs at War (2002) contains the historical part of the dissertation and is very informative. His second book, Armies of Sand (2019), contains the theoretical part and I didn't feel that it added much understanding.
This is a phenomenal article. It is interesting even if you have no interest in war. There are countless scattered insights about culture, pedagogy, leadership, personal relationships, secrecy and others.
The insights on pedagogy are some of the most interesting. The main problems, according to the author, are on-high lectures where instructors are not challenged, a lack of inter-student competition, insistence on both students and instructors saving face by not knowing the answer, and a culture of secrecy.
Other interesting issues: cohesion between officers and enlisted, being honest about your faults, taking responsibility. A lot of these lessons, I think, could be applied quite broadly (war, education, business, personal relationships, etc.)
True! It applies to both the right and the left abusing government power. The best solution is to reduce government power and size so neither side can abuse it.
