On the surface, Nicholas Irving’s Way of the Reaper seems to be a typical shoot-‘em-up memoir designed for men vicariously seeking adventure. But by the end of the book, Irving has turned reflective.

Sean Naylor’s Relentless Strike is an excellent study that shows how the U.S. military services organized (or reorganized) themselves to counter the guerrillas that too often were able to evade regular units and strike their vulnerabilities.