By Bytes and Borscht in personal —

A year in books - 2024

It's a bit early, but because I know how lazy I tend to get during the last days of a year, I decided to summarize my reading adventures of 2024 a bit earlier than would technically be warranted.

It's a bit early, but because I know how lazy I tend to get during the last days of a year, I decided to summarize my reading adventures of 2024 a bit earlier than would technically be warranted.

The last months have been the most productive, in terms of numbers, I have ever had since I started writing down the titles of the books that I spend a quite large amount of my spare time on. All in all I completed around 110 books this year, which equals out to around 10 books per month - although the distribution is quite uneven, roughly 50 of those books have been read since October.

Despite my best efforts I still didn't manage to actually read a new novel, continuing to focus on non-fiction. But I have strategically placed a book by John le Carré on my desk, hoping that I can eventually guilt-trip me into reading it.

In a similar vein: While I did manage to read a handful of books related to technical subjects, I sadly (again) didn't really complete any meaningful books about topics like programming and information security.

I'm obviously not forced to read anything that could be directly useful for my professional work, but I still like and enjoy technology and want to learn more about it. But my interest in (which at times bordered obsession) everything involving Russia, its politics, wars and history, trumped information security when it came to choosing what to read.

As for next year: I don't have any concrete plans regarding my reading yet. All I know is that books are pretty cool & I want to continue reading them.

So, without further ado, the list of books I read this year - and what I thought about them.

December

  • "AI-Assisted Programming" by Tom Taulli was sort of an accidental read. I was looking for another book on the Internet and stumbled upon it. Because a developer I know recently started using GitHub Copilot and was full of praise for it I decided to give this a read in order to better understand his motivation and what exactly people are using it for.

    On the upside I got a brief introduction into the history of modern developments, of the ideas and products that lead to things like Copilot becoming a thing. But that's about it with the upsides of this book. Buying it is a comparatively expensive way of accessing a tutorial on how to enable Copilot (and others) in Visual Studio as well as being told that while there are limitations to what these tools can do they don't matter and will be going away next year anyway.
  • "Putin's Kleptocracy - Who Owns Russia?" by Karen Dawisha is one of the books that's mentioned in almost any list of books about the modern Russian state and Vladimir Putin. Which is why it pained me that I had pushed reading it backwards time after time.

    Luckily, I've finally gotten around to reading it. And .. well, it's a good book. I have a gut-feeling that it's actually an excellent book, and that the only reason I'm not as excited about it as I could / should be is because I've been reading more than 30 books related to Russian politics and history this year.

    And that I'm oversaturated, having read the same names and very similar stories over and over again. So please, do read that book. It's actually good.
  • "Spymaster" by Oleg Kalugin was an interesting insight into the (most likely sanitised) way of thinking of a relatively high-ranking officer of the Soviet security services and his slow but steady realization that the system he spent most of his adult life upholding was doomed to fail.

    I was positively surprised that he never tried to paint himself in an overly positive light, not denying his involvement in the assassination of Georgi Markov as well as the enthusiasm with which he was engaging in repression against dissidents at the time.

    This immediately makes his account of things more credible than a lot of others. Without having met the author, he seems to be an interesting person. Despite not agreeing with a lot of his views (his extreme distaste for traitors, for example), I can't help but feel an inkling of respect for the fact that he continues to hold them.
  • "I Love Russia - Reporting from a Lost Country" by Bela Shayevich was at the same time fascinating and extremely uncomfortable to read. It felt like a very personal memoir of the author, about her experiences growing up through the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of Vladimir Putin.

    I recommend the book to anyone interested in taking a peek behind the more or less carefully curated facade the Russian state has been maintaining for more than two decades now. But ye be warned, I wasn't exactly more optimistic about the future of Russia when I put the book down after the last page.
  • "The Art of Intelligence" by Henry A. Crumpton was one of the first books I ever read on the world of intelligence. I'm not absolutely certain, but I think that I read it in 2012. So when I happened to stumble upon it while rearranging some stuff it felt proper to give it another go after all these years. I was mainly interested in finding out how I experienced the book differently, with all the knowledge, understanding and professional experience (not in the field of intelligence, mind you) I had gathered since then.

    Despite the obvious somewhat-pro-US-bias it's still a good book. Enjoyable read and interesting glance into the culture of US intelligence during the timespan the book covers - which is, markedly, very different than the culture within Soviet / Russian security services.
  • "Targeted: Beirut" by Jack Carr covers the 1983 Marine Barracks Bombings, the greatest single-day loss of life since the Second World War. While I was generally familiar with the event and the circumstances around it, this book provided new insights and new perspectives.

    Especially valuable to me were "voices from the ground", snippets of interviews with people in Beirut as well as excerpts from letters sent home as well as examples of reporting from media outlets back then.

    I am aware that both the event as well as the history of the involvement of the United States in the Near and Middle East are, to put it mildly, intensely debated topics. But all the politics aside, reading the accounts of Marines present throughout the months leading up to the attack was dispiriting.

    They were in an abysmal position, which they were aware of - as were other local actors, international press and the United States political aparatus. The consequences of that turned out to be disastrous.
  • "Putinburg: How Putin and His Gang From St. Petersburg Turned Russia Into the World's Largest Crime Organization" by Dmitry Zapolsky; if a book deserves to be called "Gonzo Journalism", then it is this one. It's extremely engaging, mainly because it reads more like a diary written by a drunk maniac living through the chaos of the early years of the Russian.

    There is a lot of insight to be gained from it about how being at the intersection of journalism, politics, crime and security services felt at the time. You might even be able to extrapolate a better understanding of what makes the Siloviki tick. But I wouldn't treat the book as a reliable source, at all.
  • "Night Train to Odesa - Covering the Human Cost of Russia's War" by Jen Stout was an intense read, both because of the subject matter and because of the author. I'm really hoping that they got to relax a bit by now, because the way they write combined with the stories they tell just scream "heart attack" in like .. five years. And, I think, the author is around my age.

    Other than my worries about the author, it was a very personal, beautiful book. Better illustrating the tragedies of war more than any horrible statistic ever could.
  • "101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think" by Brianna Wiest; I'll be completely honest with you, this book did not change the way I think. Which I'm thankful for, because that would have been outright creepy.

    Nonetheless, some of the essays were both beautiful as well as intensely thought-provoking. I could well have done with others however. If you'd cut the book by about half of its length it would have been excellent. But because the author decided against doing that it's "merely" a good book that's been filled with meaningless platitudes and generic talk to pump up the page numbers.
  • "Z Generation - Into the Heart of Russia's Fascist Youth" by Ian Garner put me off at first, because I felt that the title was a bit over the top. But the more I progressed through the book, the more it felt like the book was (unfortunately) aptly titled.

    One review of the book says "This vivid, bottom-up narrative reveals the dark realities of youth fascism in Russia - and the darker future awaiting the country if that hold cannot be broken.". And that's, sadly enough, a very accurate description.

November

  • "Shadow State: Murder, Mayhem and Russia’s Remaking of the West" by Luke Harding; I expected this book to start with the Salisbury poisonings, because of course, and I wasn't disappointed - including making a mockery of the perpetrators who were claiming that they visited the town for its famous cathedral.

    The book doesn't just talk about the Skripal poisonings, it tries to map out the continuous Russian use of various methods in order to manipulate and influence "the West", both politically and socially.

    The Internet Research Institute, the (in)famous Russian troll factory, is mentioned, Wagner in Africa gets a chapter as well, as does sanction evasion. While this wide variety of examples is one of the books greatest strength, it's also one of the big weaknesses. Because there would be so much more to tell about each story covered by the author.

    I'd recommend this book nonetheless. And I'd also recommend that everyone who reads it does some more reading afterwards. The list of sources at the end of the book are proving to be quite a burden for my bank account. Those pesky books and their pricetags, pf.
  • "Russia's War" by Jade McGlynn; Russia's War makes the point that the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022 wasn't just Putin's Special Military OperationWar, but instead Russia's War. Which might be an uncomfortable reality that a lot of people still struggle to comprehend.

    But it makes painful sense, with something as complicated as an invasion relying on far more than one guy at the head of everything deciding that it should go ahead. It needs widespread support, not just from the higher echelons of authority, but from large parts of society.

    One of my favorite parts of the book was the one where the author argued that Putin isn't shaping Russian views on Ukraine - he articulates them, he puts the thoughts of large parts of the Russian population into strategy and, ultimately, action.

    It's not that the author throws a blanket over everyone in Russia, calling them criminals. They seem to be well aware of the challenges that come with trying to gauge popular opinion in an authoritative state.

    But, through careful research and interviewing several dozens of people, they come to the conclusion that this war isn't going to end with a change of president. This war is deeply ingrained in Russian society and only significant, lengthy and painful changes within Russian society itself will result in lasting positive developments.
  • "Assad or We Burn the Country: How One Family's Lust for Power Destroyed Syria" by Sam Dagher; I finished this book a few days before the fall of the Assad regime. What has been discovered afterwards, at places like Sednaya, confirmed everything that was written in the book and what has been talked about by researchers and observers for literal decades. The book was a depressing read describing a depressing reality. I'm hoping that the Syrian people can look toward a brighter future now.
  • "The Language of Cyber Attacks: A Rhetoric of Deception" by Aaron Mauro; Yeah .. I have no idea what that book was actually about. I know what it wasn't, and that's a book about the "rhetoric of deception". It might have been an academic roasting of Christopher Hadnagy, but until the time of writing I still don't have a clear grasp what this book should have been about.
  • "Russian Information Warfare: Assault on Democracies in the Cyber Wild West" by Bilyana Lilly takes a look at how the Russian state uses disinformation, offensive computer network operations, violence and other tools to attack other states - particularly democracies in Western Europe.

    What makes the book so valuable is the holistic approach it takes when attempting to understand what the Russians are doing and what they are trying to achieve.

    Instead of looking at each campaign, each act, each attack as an individual instance of Russia activity, it tries to connect the relevant dots. It's a book I'd especially recommend to policy makers who seem to regularly struggle with understanding how the Russian state operates.
  • "From Russia with Blood: Putin's Ruthless Killing Campaign and Secret War on the West" by Heidi Blake; I wasn't aware of how regularly Russian expatriates (especially in the United Kingdom) died under suspicious circumstances until I read this book.

    Most people are familiar with the fate of Alexander Litvinenko, and a few people might know about the confusing death of the oligarch Boris Beresovsky. But there are dozens more cases like those, some odd and suspicious, others outright screaming "murder" at everyone willing to look.

    The most uncomfortable truth, or let's say argument, the book states is that Russian intelligence services have been emboldened more and more every single time their attacks and assassinations have been met with little to no reaction by Western governments and authorities. Which only somewhat changed after the poisoning of the Skripals, an attack that lead to innocent people dying and considerable dangers for the British public.

    But before that? An almost deafening silence that told the Russian intelligence services everything they needed to know.
  • "Forged in War: A Military History of Russia from its Beginnings to Today" by Mark Galeotti; it's not a secret that I'm a fan of most works by Mark Galeotti, so I pre-ordered this book and was full of anticipation. And as per usual, it's a good book. It's entertaining and well-sourced. But man, does the early Russian history get repetitive and boring at times.
  • "Near and Distant Neighbors: A New History of Soviet Intelligence" by Jonathan Haslam; this was the second time I read this book, as a refresher. Same as the last time, excellent read, well-researched.
  • "Spies, Lies, and Algorithms: The History and Future of American Intelligence" by Amy B. Zegart; the public image of American intelligence agencies has been massively influenced, if not outright shaped, by representation in literature, movies, and pop culture. Which has often lead to a significant misunderstanding how these agencies work, what they do, and how they do it.

    Amy B. Zegart set out to correct these misinterpretations, drawing on extensive research material and hundreds of interviews with serving and former intelligence officials.

    An aspect of the book that I found particularly interesting was the challenges technological changes pose to American intelligence agencies, both operationally and culturally.
  • "The Kremlin's Noose - Putin's Bitter Feud With the Oligarch Who Made Him Ruler of Russia" by Amy Knight; the name "Boris Beresovsky" isn't unknown to me, but before I went on to read three dozen books on Russia this fall I wasn't aware of how influential he (among other oligarchs) was in Russian politics after the fall of the Soviet Union.

    I also wasn't fully aware of how intense his legal campaign against former allies and political partners, Vladimir Putin being at the forefront of these, and how that might have contributed to his downfall.
  • "Empire of Terror: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps" by Mark D. Silinsky; I have yet to encounter a book that screams "I fucking hate Iran" at me louder. That's the only thing I took away from the book. It wasn't a particularly well-written book and the sources and references were few and far between. In hindsight I should not have spent my time finishing that book, but that's a lesson learned at least.
  • "Orders to Kill: The Putin Regime and Political Murder" by Amy Knight; the story of the increase of assassinations perpetrated by Russian intelligence services to the detriment of Western targets is a popular one, especially when being linked to the concept of "hybrid warfare". It's regularly referred to as a staple of the regime of Vladimir Putin, as something that he has introduced into the political landscape ever since tensions between "the West" and Russia escalated after 2014.

    These approaches to place these events in an historic context fall short of grasping the whole truth, the whole scope of the problem. Ever since Vladimir Putin came to power in Russia, his critics have ended up left, right, and center.

    Amy Knight also includes events like the Boston Marathon bombing to Russia, and not just because Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the perpetrators, was born in Chechnya.

    When the author started out describing how Russia and its intelligence services and / or law enforcement agencies are linked to this terrorist attack, I have to admit that I was rolling my eyes. Things felt like a conspiracy theory. But the more the chapter progressed the more I became uncomfortable.

    Because similarly to the Apartment Bombings of 1999 there isn't absolute proof that Russian security services were directly involved in the Boston bombings .. but there sure as hell are a lot of unanswered question with a backdrop of a lot of shady shit going on.
  • "Goodbye to Russia: A Personal Reckoning from the Ruins of War" by Sarah Rainsford; I read this book as part of my attempt to widen my exposure when it comes to Russia. I have read a lot of books and articles about history, politics, policy, crime, war and a load of other things.

    Yet, partly due to the language barrier - which I'm slowly, steadily trying to erode, but studying a new language is way harder for me than I anticipated - I haven't read a lot of first-hand accounts of life in Russia, or stories from ordinary Russians.

    So I specifically sought out books that would help me with that, with "Goodbye to Russia" being one of them. And I can recommend it, even if it's sad at times. But there are also moments of a more uplifting nature, and a few truly funny anecdotes of her early years in Russia, getting drunk with babushkas.
  • "The Wagner Group: Inside Russia's Mercenary Army" by Jack Margolin; Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin is dead, Wagner as we know it doesn't exist anymore, but Russian PMCs and other non-state armed actors that can be proxy forces for Russian interests throughout the world are here to stay and are a topic we should keep watching. This book provides an excellent foundation for further research.
  • "A War Made in Russia" by Sergei Medvedev argued for the same things as "Russia's War" - the fact that the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine wasn't just the result of an obsession of Vladimir Putin, but instead the result of two decades of authoritarian indoctrination and, as the author calls it, "post-imperial ressentiment".

    The belief that Russia needs to "be made great again" is wholeheartedly embraced by significant parts of Russian society, fueled by a deep longing to relive past military glory and colonial ambitions. Not the most uplifting book, but important.
  • "Understanding the New Proxy Wars: Battlegrounds and Strategies Reshaping the Greater Middle East" by Peter Bergen, Candace Rondeaux, Daniel Rothenberg; David Sterman; this isn't so much a single book, but rather a collection of essays / works of a range of researchers.

    The authors look at what constitutes proxy warfare, how these types of wars have been waged in the past and how they are waged at the moment and looks at the impact this type of warfare has had at varying points in time and in a range of contexts, from Ukraine to Northern Africa, from Syria to Afghanistan.
  • "Ideaflow: The Only Business Metric That Matters" by Jeremy Utley; this book definitely has a "business business business grind grind grind hustle hustle hustle"-vibe to it. But despite this there are interesting ideas to take from it. Even if you're not a manager or a founder of a startup, "kickstarting" your "creative practice" can be helpful in many areas of your daily life, be it professional or otherwise.
  • "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" by Haruki Murakami; in hindsight I can't even really tell you why I picked this book up. I don't have a particular fondness for the works of Murakami (I read "Underground" a few years back, but that's about it) and I sure as shit don't like running. So what compelled me to read it, I don't know.

    But I do know that I don't regret reading it. I read it almost entirely in one sitting because the way the author describes his relationship to running (especially the part where he said how much he hates it at times) was so captivating that I didn't want to stop. I might even go for a run myself. Ugh, books with a potentially positive impact on the readers life. The worst kind of book.

Oktober

  • "Target Tehran" by Yonah Jeremy Bob, Ilan Evyatar; to say that Israel is not a fan of Iranian nuclear ambitions is, while unquestionably an understatement, a well-known fact. What I wasn't aware of was the scale of Israeli actions and operations.

    Using everything from offensive computer network operations (not just Stuxnet), targeted assassinations to blackmail and sabotage, the Israeli state, through mostly the Mossad, did everything it could to ensure that Iran would not be able to build up the capabilities necessary to enrich uranium to a level that would allow the Iranians to build a nuclear bomb.

    While engaging in these activities the Israelis also tried to normalize relations with other states, especially Sunni states like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirate and Qatar.

    This normalization has continued to this day, despite October 7th, despite the war with Hamas. Because aforementioned states are also very much not interested in Iran possessing weaponizable nuclear capabilities. This book explains all of this excellently and taught me a lot of new things I wasn't aware of beforehand.
  • "For the Emperor", "Caves of Ice", "The Traitor's Hand" by Sandy Mitchell; Ciaphas Cain is one of the older popular (anti-)heros in modern Warhammer 40.000 literature. As far as I know there hasn't been a new book in more than a decade, which means that I was finally able to start catching up without being overly stressed of having to catch up as quickly as possible in order to be able to start the newest book.

    As with a lot of books released by Black Library, these ones aren't going to win prices for literature. But if you're willing to suspend your disbelief they are entertaining and funny. And also really, really cheap by now.
  • "The New Nobility - The Restoration of Russia's Security State and the Enduring Legacy of the KGB" by Andrei Soldatov, Irina Borogan; this book is a comprehensive examination of the Russian security apparatus, focusing on its roots in the Soviet-era KGB and its transformation under Putin's leadership. The authors delve into the complex interplay between Russia's political elite, the intelligence services, and business interests.

    "The New Nobility" explores how the Russian security state has evolved since the fall of the Soviet Union, maintaining its influence and expanding its power amidst the changes in the political landscape. It discusses how the KGB's successor agencies, such as the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), have been instrumental in shaping contemporary Russia, both domestically and on the global stage.

    The book serves as a study of the resilience and adaptability of the Russian security state, shedding light on its ongoing influence and the enduring legacy of the KGB. I would recommend it for everyone interested in better understanding the dynamics that power Russian intelligence services, and (to some extent) by extension the Russian state.
  • "There's a War Going On But No One Can See It" by Huib Modderkolk; I had no idea what to expect when starting the book, given that I bought it based on the simple cover design that intrigued me.

    Huib Modderkolk delves into various aspects of cyberwarfare, including its history, tactics, and techniques employed by states such as Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran. He examines the role of hackers, both state-sponsored and independent, in these campaigns, revealing their intricate webs of connections and collaborations. And he does so from the point of view of someone who, just months prior, hasn't had any clue of all of these things. Which makes it both fascinating and somewhat frightening so see him become more and more paranoid around computers.

    I might not have been the targeted audience, given that I'm not entirely clueless when it comes to cybersecurity, espionage and the likes. But I still enjoyed the book very much.
  • "Der Falsche Rocker - Die Unglaubliche Geschichte eines Deutschen V-Mannes" by Udo Müller; TL;DR - do not buy this book. If you're following the coverage of German OMCGs you'll know what I mean when I tell you that this book is 200 pages of Ali Osman portraying himself in the best light possible. You can safely ignore this book. If you're not interested in German OMCGs you can ignore this book even more safely.
  • "Harpoon - Inside The Cover War Against Terrorism's Money Masters" by Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, Samuel M. Katz; the book looks at financial crimes and their connection to terrorism, examining how terrorist groups raise and launder funds to finance their operations.

    They discuss various tactics used by these organizations (with a specific focus on groups like Hezbollah and the IRGC) to evade detection and sanctions, such as exploiting weaknesses in global banking systems, using charities as fronts, and leveraging the informal hawala system.

    While I had a rough general understanding of financial crime, money laundering and terrorism financing before, this book taught me how much I actually lack any kind of idea. It even got me to the point where I bought myself a textbook about economy. It's somewhat expensive, large and unwieldy. And on my reading list for 2025.
  • "Cybersecurity Tabletop Exercises - From Planning To Execution" from Robert Lelowski, John Hollenberger; all I am going to say about this book is that I wish everyone who is tasked with conducting such exercises would read it - because then more exercises would be the valuable tools and opportunites that they could be, rather than the useless waste of time that most of them are. Seriously, great book.
  • "Cyber Mercenaries - The State, Hackers, and Power" by Tim Maurer; this book was released back in 2017, and it was the catalysator for one of the bigger rabbit holes I've fallen into throughout my life - non-state actors in cyberspace.

    Because I will be presenting on a part of that subject I decided to "honor" the book that started everything by reading it once more.

    Plus: the complexity of relationships between states and on-state actors in cyberspace continues to rise, with different countries adapting their original position towards these actors as they learn more and gather increasing experience with the challenge of balancing the benefits of these relationships with their cost and the potential risks of escalation.
  • "Hybrid Warriors - Proxies, Freelancers and Moscow's Struggle for Ukraine" by Anna Arutunyan; there are a number of books and papers available on the concept of "hybrid warfare" (some of those literary works even acknowledge that the Western definition has little in common with the Russian Гибридная война), but few manage to do the same as Anna Arutunyan here - tracing the strategy back to the Soviet era, examining its evolution and adaptation in response to changes in technology, geopolitics, and global perceptions of Russian power.

    She also discusses the role of proxies, freelancers, and mercenaries in carrying out Moscow's objectives in Ukraine before the 2022 invasion, as well as the influence of Russian intelligence services, oligarchs, and paramilitary groups have on the ground. Absolute recommendation on my end.
  • "Jenseits von Putin - Russlands toxische Gesellschaft" by Gesine Dornblüth, Thomas Franke is an examination of the social, political, and economic challenges facing contemporary Russia.

    The book delves into the deep-seated issues that have plagued Russian society since the fall of the Soviet Union, including corruption, authoritarianism, and nationalism. It explores the roots of Putin's appeal to the Russian people, as well as the factors that have contributed to his sustained popularity over the past two decades. The authors also try to come up with ideas and recommendations regarding what could, should and would need to be changed for Russia to become .. like, better again.
  • "Gideon's Spies - The Secret History of the Mossad" by Gordon Thomas was one of those books that I merely finished out of spite, because I didn't want to admit that it was breaking me.

    Did you know that the Mossad was behind the deaths of Princess Diana and William Buckley as well as the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings? Yeah, neither did I. And I wish I would never have read those borderline Looney Tunes-level ideas.
  • "The Compatriots - The Russian Exiles Who Fought Against the Kremlin" by Andrei Soldatov, Irina Borogan examines the role of Russian exiles in challenging the power of the Kremlin, both domestically and throughout the world. The authors look at the origins, motivations and activities of Russians that, for one reason or the other, fled their homeland at different times in the last 100+ years.

    I was surprised to find that the book could be critical towards these exiles, I have to admit that I expected a "rosy" version of the story. But no, the book provides a nuanced analysis of the impact these comprations have had and continue to have on policy, public opinion and the development of civil society in Russia and countries with a Russian diaspora.
  • "Putins Angriff auf Deutschland - Desinformation, Propaganda, Cyberattacken" by Arndt Freytag von Loringhofen, Leon Erlenhorts; I'm having a hard time with this book. It sure the authors meant well, but it still strongly smells like a cash grab inspired by the events in Ukraine, based on an understanding of both Russia and how desinformation works that's firmly rooted in, at best, the early 90ies.

    Seriously, more than once I thought "Ok, Boomer" when the authors talked about social media. Meh, I don't know. Not terribly but, but not terribly good either.
  • "The Red Web - The Kremlin's Wars on the Internet" by Andrei Soldatov, Irina Borogan; a lot has been said and written about Russian efforts to weaponize the Internet and social media against perceived foreign adversaries. The domestic (ab)use of the Internet as well as the attempts of the Kremlin to control and shape their own population by manipulating the information space online is much less talked about.

    Soldatov and Borogan discuss the origins of Russia's digital authoritarianism, tracing its roots back to the Soviet era and the development of the country's cyber capabilities. They examine the role of key figures and organisations, suchas the the FSB, in shaping Russia's digital strategy, as well as the impact of these efforts on politics, democratic values, and human rights within Russia.

    The book takes a look at the challenges faced by independent journalists, bloggers, and activists in Russia's increasingly repressive online environment, as well as the role of Western governments, tech companies, and NGOs in supporting or hindering these efforts. If you want to learn more about the Russian Internet than the fact that a thing like SORM exists, read this book.
  • "The Making of The Modern Middle East - A Personal History" by Jeremy Bowen; the author recounts his experiences as a journalist covering the Middle East over the past three decades, offering a unique, personal perspective on the Arab Spring, the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Syrian Civil War, and other key events of the last decades.

    It's obviously not a textbook, but nonetheless a factual, thoughtful look at how this part of the world has changed in the last decades.
  • "Russian Intelligence - A Case-based Study of Russian Services and Missions Past and Present" by Kevin P. Riehle; first of all: the cover checks all the boxes when it comes to stereotypes about intelligence agencies, I love it.

    The title is an accurate description what this book is, a case-based study that provides anoverview of the history, structure, and activities of Russia's intelligence services. It offers insights into the roles of the FSB, SVR, GRU when it comes to Russian foreign policy and national security.

    Riehle not only discusses the challenges faced by Western governments because of the activities of aforementioned organisations, but also highlights the the role of international cooperation and collaboration in addressing the growing threat posed by Russian intelligence services to European democracies.
  • "Active Measures - The Secret History of Disinformation & Political Warfare" by Thomas Rid looks at the history, strategies, and tactics employed by various countries in the use of disinformation and political warfare as well as analyzing the motivations behind these activities and what challenges societies, especially open ones, face when trying to counter these active measures.

    The book is what literature critics would very much call "timely", given the ever increasing amount of active measures we are subjected to.
  • "The Iran Wars - Spy Games, Bank Battles, and the Secret Deals that Reshaped the Middle East" by Jay Solomon covers the decades of espionage, intrigue and diplomatic overtures in the relationship between Iran and the United States and its allies.

    The book provides an account of the various conflicts, negotiations, and sanctions that have shaped the Middle East since the 1970s, focusing on the pivotal role that Iran has played in regional politics. One of the key themes of the book is the role of sanctions in shaping Iran's behavior and the effectiveness of these measures in achieving U.S. policy goals.

    Spoiler: Said effectivesness has varied greatly.
  • "The Battle for Your Computer: Israel and the Growth of the Global Cyber-Security Industry" by Alon Arvatz, Eylon Levy was not what I expected it to be. I could have imagined this book to be a lot of things, but a summary of the history of the Israeli cybersecurity- and startup-scene wasn't on my list. Still, interesting read.

September

  • "The Hundred Year War for Palestine" by Rashid Khalidi provides an account of the origins, development, and current state of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The book traces the history of the region from the Ottoman Empire to the present day, offering insights into the complex web of political, religious, and cultural factors that have shaped events in Palestine over the last century.

    Rashidi is very much, in a way, at the heart of this conflict. His family has not just been rooted in what is now Israel for hundreds of years, it also includes a number of members that have significantly impacted the history of the land they live in at one point or the other.

    Despite this the author tries his best to stay nuanced and fair, which makes this book a valuable resource for anyone seeking to understand the complexities of Israeli-Palestinian relations on a personal level better.
  • "Blood in the Fields - Ten Years Inside California's Nuestra Familia Gang" by Julia Reynolds was a confusing book. Not just because of the large number of different names and characters you are confronted with, but because the author constantly jumps between multiple storylines without warning or an apparent connection between the events.

    Nonetheless the book tells a fascinating story and allows for a glimpse into a subculture, a world that regular people like you and me are probably even not aware of most of the time.
  • "Criminals, Nazis, and Islamists - Competition for Power in Former Soviet Union Prisons" by Vera Mironova; Russian prisons have fascinated me ever since I saw a pirated copy of "Mark of Cain" by Alix Lambert when I was a kid. It must have been around 2003, 2004.

    I unfortunately lost the pirated DVD I was gifted by an Albanian friend at school, but I will forever cherish the memories of a documentary about Russia, shodily synced from English to Russia, with even worse subtitles in both English and Albanian (which were also overlapping each other). Watching it was a formative, glorious experience. And probably also quite worrying for my parents. Sorry Mum and Dad!

    After that I tried to watch and read everything I could that was even tangentionally related to the Soviet and Russian prison system, including books about Russian criminal tattoos before they were translated to English. The Internet is truly an amazing place.

    Because of my history with the subject I immediately go to reading this book when I discovered it. The author takes a look at the emergence of criminal organizations, neo-Nazi movements, and Islamist networks within the prison system, as well as their relationships with law enforcement agencies and the wider society.

    She discusses the factors that contribute to the growth and spread of these groups, and looks into the reasons why the traditional system of control in Russian prisons (Red vs. Black) has experienced a significantly decrease in importance in the last decade. Very much enjoyed this.
  • "Power On The Inside - A Global History of Prison Gangs" by Mitchel P. Roth is one of the few books about criminal structures within correctional facilities that are not centered on the United States.

    Instead, "Power on The Inside" is an in-depth analysis of the role that these groups have played (throughout the world, with examples including South Africa, Northern countries and prisons in Southeast Asia) in shaping the dynamics of incarceration, as well as their relationship with law enforcement, correctional systems, and society at large.
  • "Rinsed" by Geoff White; this book made me realized that it's unfortunate that I was born with a moral compass and a solid grasp of ethics. Because if I weren't I could have made a looooot of money. And probably end up dead somewhere.

    If you like thrillers or crime dramas, the book is for you. If you are interested in crime and money laundering, this book is also for you. If you are looking to lose the rest of faith in humanity that were able to keep throughout the events of the last couple of years, this book is very much also for you.
  • "SPIES - The Epic Intelligence War Between East and West" by Calder Walton; similarly to the book about the history of the Cold War by Odd Arne Westad this one was packed with facts and covered a huge breadth of events but was, at least at times, a hard read.
  • "Stakeknife's Dirty War" by Richard O'Rawe; Freddie Scappaticci is a name that will sound familiar to anyone interested in The Troubles. But factual knowledge about Stakeknife and his activities is hard to come by, which is probably understandable when you take the role he played during that conflict into consideration.

    The author and journalist Richard O'Rawe tried to change that, through interviewing comrades and handlers of Stakeknife, as well as by digging through archives and trying to get his hands on official paperwork. The result of these efforts is this book, and man .. it's fucked up.

    If you're even remotely interested in the conflict that happened and continues to happen in Northern Ireland and / or how bad intelligence agencies / law enforcement agencies can fuck things up for them and everyone else, go read this book. It's worth your time and money.
  • "UVF - Behind the Mask" by Aaron Edwards; the loyalist side of The Troubles is an area that's woefully underresearched. Luckily that has begun to change in the past couple of years, with this book being a prime example.

    The book tells the story of the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force, from the formation of its post-1965 incarnation up to the present day - as the group, as other paramilitary formations in Northern Ireland, continues to exist even after the hostilities of The Troubles have formally ended with the Good Friday Agreement.

    As far as I understand it, Aaron Edwards was born into a loyalist community in Northern Ireland, which is one of the reasons why he was able to score interviews with high-ranking loyalists, some of them involved and / or convicted for some of the crimes described in the book. Which makes the fact that he's willing to be a strong critic of the UVF even more precious.
  • "Eisenhorn: Magos" by Dan Abnett; I wasn't aware that there was a fourth novel primarily involving Gregor Eisenhorn until I re-read the original trilogy, which I thought to be self-contained. Turns out I was wrong.

    Well, unfortunately I was wrong. Because while "Magos" is an entertaining book, the fact that it's been a long while since the original release of the trilogy clearly shows. There is a noticeable disconnect between the writing of the books, and "Magos" feels almost nothing like an "Eisenhorn" should read. This doesn't make it a bad book, but my expectations weren't met.
  • "Ravenor", "Ravenor Returned", "Ravenor Rogue" by Dan Abnett; having read the "Eisenhorn"-trilogy more times than I am comfortable admitting I decided that it was time to read the other big trilogy by Dan Abnett. Which I didn't regret, it's as good as Eisenhorn, but like .. different. Recommended read if you are a fan of Eisenhorn.
  • "Murder by Mail: A Global History of the Letter Bomb" by Mitchel P. Roth, Mahmut Cengiz; the Suffragettes were one of the first groups to regularly use letter and parcel bombs, even before Irish Republicans did it. And there once was a guy who sent his neighbors a powerful parcel bomb because he was annoyed with them at one night.

    I wasn't aware that I knew so comparatively little about the postal system being used to send (and receive) explosive devices through the mail. I also didn't know that there was so much that you can research and write about when it comes to this topic. Now I now more, and I'll also never opening a letter or a parcel ever again.

August

  • "Geheimdienstmorde" by Christopher Nehring; the part of the book where the author looks at how different states conduct violence differently is good, excellent even. The same applies to case studies and historical examples.

    But the part where he starts fantasizing about a wave of killings perpetrated by secret services that we simply aren't aware of (and I'm talking about hundreds, not like a few deaths that we missed out on), .. oof.
  • "How Spies Think - Ten Lessons in Intelligence" by David Omand; while the title of the book suggested that it was yet another example of the amount of self-improvement-schlock that has been released in the past few years I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this wasn't the case.

    One reason for that might be that the author isn't some random case officer. He is a former Director of GCHQ and Cabinet Office security and intelligence coordinator who decided to pursue an academic career later in life.

    So instead of platitudes and bullshit, this book provides insight into how senior decision-makers in the security services come to their decision, an excellent examination of the various cognitive biases that exist out there as well as helpful advice on maintaining strategic partnerships.
  • "Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations" by Ronen Bergman; I underestimated how long this book was. I'm used to between 250 - 350 pages from most of the books I read. The 750 pages of "Rise and Kill First" surprised me, especially because I didn't realize it before I started.

    I went through the book quite quickly nonetheless, because the author knows how to write and the subject is "thrilling". It's also a depressing book at times, because through the lens of the Israeli program for targeted assassinations you seem to get front row seats to the dozens and dozens of missed chances for peace in the Middle East.
  • "Schlägereien in Parlamenten" by Benjamin Fredrich - I bought this one for the fun of it when I saw it at the book store, not expecting it to be more than half an afternoon of entertainment.

    Instead I got an entire afternoon of entertainment and, more importantly, a lesson in democracy. Because as crazy as it sounds at first glance, a fistfight in a parliament is a sign of a healthy democracy. If you can try to beat up your opponent in the halls of power without having to fear that you might vanish in some dark prison, that means your democracy is quite strong. Which is a hilarious thought, but also makes sense in the weirdest way possible.
  • "Die Hamas - Herrschaft über Gaza | Krieg gegen Israel" by Joseph Croitoru; I'm always a bit wary when it comes to German books about the conflict between Israel and the Hamas (or the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in general).

    In my experience, German authors seem to be - for whatever reason - incapable of being factional and rational about the conflict, with a lot of books turning towards prejudice, virtue-signalling and heftily blowing into dog-whistles as soon as they finish with a rough overview of historic facts.

    This book was pleasantly different, presenting a balanced account of the situation, of historic developments, and what's potentially going to happen in the future.
  • "Dark Wire" by Joseph Cox was a title that I was very much looking forward to, both because I have enjoyed previous journalistic works by the author and because encrypted messengers (ab)used by criminal organizations is a fascinating topic that I have tried to keep an eye on for years now.

    Sadly the book did not live up to my expectations. I didn't get a deep-dive into the world of those messengers, a more detailed understanding of how they fuel the international drug trade and other ventures by organized crime and a few juicy stories about law enforcement action taken against the criminals behind those messengers, or against the people who (ab)used these messengers.

    The book felt more like an extended Motherboard-article, with the target audience being people interested in crime without any prerequisite knowledge or technical background. Which isn't to say that the book is bad, it's merely that I do not appear to fit the target audience.
  • "The Cold War: A World History" by Odd Arne Westad was informative, dense with facts, and really not all that fun to read. That might very well simply be me, but throughout most parts of the book I was almost entirely unable to enter any kind of flow state since the writing was dry and unimaginative. Which might, in theory, be exactly the kind of writing that's adequate for such a book. But still, not all that fun to read.
  • "Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century" by Sergei Guriev, Daniel Treisman; authoritarian regimes aren't anything new - Hitler, Stalin, Pinochet, Ceaucescu, Mao and so on. All of them are well-known figures of history, and we have a general understanding of how their regimes worked. Mostly through violence, fear and intimidation.

    Authoritarianism has changed though, with strongmen like Vladimir Putin, Viktor Orban or Recep Tayyip Erdogan having adopted their brand of authoritarianism to the globalized reality of modern times. The book does a great job at explaining the shift as well as shining a light on the developments in the past decades that lead us to the point where we are now.

July

  • “A Short History of Russia: From the Pagans to Putin” by Mark Galeotti; the name is fitting - it’s a short, as far as I am aware quite comprehensive, summary of the history of Russia. Would equally recommend it as an introduction or a refresher.
  • “The Darth Putin Guide to Being a Master Strategist: 13 Rules on How to Think, Act, Dress & Date Like a Master Strategist” by .. Darth Putin KGB was a gift by a coworker. They told me they saw it and immediately thought of me (make of that what you will, I certainly haven’t yet).

    Look - the Russian aggression in Ukraine, the undeclared war Russia is waging in Europe, the crimes of the Russian government against their own people at home, .. all of those are serious, horrible matters. But despite, or even because of all of this, this book is absolutely hilarious.I can’t even remember the last time a book got me to actually laugh out loud. 10/10.

June

  • “The Future of War: A History” by Lawrence Freedman is a beautiful book. I’m not talking about the cover or the typography, but the language Freedman uses. It’s not an easy read, even if you’re in general pretty capable when it comes to reading English, but .. look, I know it’s a book. And I know that it sounds kind of odd, because it potentially distracts from the serious topic the book covers, but at times it feels like a work of linguistic art.

    Other than that the biggest takeaway for me was that mankind is exceptionally good at waging war against each other, all the while being really, really bad when it comes to scientifically exploring war, warfare and the history of warfare.
  • “Moneyland: Why Thieves And Crooks Now Rule The World And How To Take It Back” by Oliver Bullough instantly catapulted a certain song by the Cock Sparrer back into my mind. I can’t decide if I’m happy that I read the book, since it highlighted certain aspects of - for lack of a better term - “global kleptocracy” that I wasn’t fully aware of, or if I regret reading the book for the exact same reason. Either way, engaging read.
  • I read “Kleptopia” by Tom Burgis directly after “Moneyland”, which turned out to be a good thing. Where Moneyland gives an overview of the situation with a few examples here and there, this book focusses on a few specific examples with occasional explanations of the general trends or events that they highlight.

    My immediate thought after finishing this book was: “Man, this world and this society is completely fucked. And so are we.”
  • “Hacks, Leaks, and Revelations: The Art of Analyzing Hacked and Leaked Data” by Micah Lee does something that I have been waiting for ever since I got interested in computer investigations.

    Most books are either about the technical part of investigations - such as OSINT, scripting tasks or digital forensics - or the investigative part of .. well, investigations. This book manages to talk about both.

    If you don’t have a technical background it might be quite the steep learning curve, but definitely doable. If you have a technical background then you learn a lot of new tricks, as well as how to apply the things you already know to investigations.
  • “Dead Aid” by Dambisa Moyo; I’m a bit torn on the book - which is probably what the author intended. If you read the book like you would read a textbook, then you are probably going to be disappointed.

    If you approach the book like you would approach a column in a magazine like The Financial Times or The Guardian, then it’s a rewarding read. It’s hard for me to comment on what the author says in the book, because I lack the knowledge of both the economic and the social aspects of the subject matter.

    But it got me interested in reading more about the issues with economic aid, with “Aid And Other Dirty Business” by Giles Bolton already in my (metaphorical) sights.
  • “Soldaten - Protokolle vom Kämpfen, Töten und Sterben” by Sönke Neitzel, Harald Welzer sounded interesting, but unfortunately suffered from a severely misplaced focus that somewhat ruined the book for me.

    Instead of focussing on the conversations between the German prisoners of war the authors focussed on the historic setting and contextualization, usually going for citing one or two short exchanges in an entire chapter of 30+ pages.

    Additionally the writing was way dried than I had to be. I accept and understand that scientific writing sometimes has to be hard to read, that there are situations where readibility has to be sacrificed in order to meet scientific standards. But during some parts I was of the impression that the authors deliberately decided to make it a boring read.
  • “Das Schattenregime” by Christian Neef was more depressing than I anticipated it to be. What happened in the Soviet occupied zone of Germany after World War II isn’t a secret.

    However, being shown so clearly how the cruel, corrupt and broken system of Soviet shadow governance lives on in modern Russia makes the events in Ukraine even more depressing than they already are.
  • “Say Nothing” by Patrick Radden Keefe - The Troubles are a conflict that fascinates me ever since I first learned about it as a kid. Whenever I got the chance, I read books about it, and documentaries covering the history of Northern Ireland have accompanied long gaming sessions a lot of times.

    Because of this I was well aware of the basic events surrounding the kidnapping / disappearance of Jean McConville. It was a very sad case, one of the many crimes perpetrated by paramilitaries throughout The Troubles. Which means that I was curious how the author would go about filling the full length of a book with information about this case, without being repetitive or things becoming boring.

    Yet, despite my doubts, the author succeeded. The book was good, and very much not what I expected. It was also the first time I read about the psychological impact and damage the surviving perpetrators had to deal with.

    I’m not here to argue about morality, but I think it’s sad that it’s a topic that has barely received any research attention.

    If you’re interested in this period of history, read this book. Especially if you have some previous knowledge. There’s a lot to learn here. Specifically how you can get away with a lot of things by simply sticking to the blatant lie statement that you’ve never been in the IRA, thus you couldn’t have been responsible for any of their crimes. Looking at you, Gerry Adams.
  • “Industry of Anonymity Inside the Business of Cybercrime” by Jonathan Lusthaus is one of the few books about cybercrime that takes a methodifc, sociological approach to investigating how cybercrime works, and how cybercrime actors interact - among each other, and with more traditional crime structures.
  • “Russia’s Wars in Chechnya” by Mark Galeotti - I “read” this as an audiobook. Sometimes having trouble sleeping helps immensely with reading progress. Excellent introductory summary of most aspects of the Chechen Wars.

May

  • A new edition of “Bandit Country” by Toby Harnden was released at the end of April, and the original version - which was, if I remember correctly, released in 1999 - was on my “Yeah, that’s a book I want to read if I happen to be confronted with its existence at the right time and the right place”-list for a while. I’m (almost) always up to read about the history of The Troubles, so I took the chance that presented itself.

    The book mostly focuses on the southern part of County Armagh, which was a special area even by the standards of The Troubles. The Provisional IRA South Armagh Brigade, at certain times de-facto in control of large parts of the county, was allegedly responsible for the death of 165 members of the British security services.

    The biggest surprise for me was when I learned that the Provisional IRA didn’t only stage attacks in Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom, but that they also ran a “continental Europe”-campaign in the 1980ies, with attacks in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.

    Despite having read most of the more well-known books about the conflict, such as “A Secret History of the IRA: Gerry Adams and the Thirty Year War” by Ed Moloney, “Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland” by Patrick Radden Keefe, or “One Man’s Terrorist: A Political History of the IRA” by Daniel Finn, this is (if my memory isn’t cheating me here) the first time that I have ever heard of these attacks, this campaign.

    This was a good reminder to humble myself, proving that I know just enough about The Troubles and the history of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Anglo-Irish relations to know that I know absolutely nothing.In conclusion, looking back at the book, it was oddly fitting. A chaotic, fascinating tour through the history of a chaotic, fascinating area.
  • “Abrechnung” by Peter Longerich; While I know the gist and general details of the (misleadingly called) “Röhm-Putsch”, I always understood it as “Hitler using the SS to clean house inside the Nazi establishment”, without bothering to learn more about it - after all, it’s (and I’m aware how morbide that sounds) yet another one of the uncountable numbers of Nazi crimes.

    This book clearly taught me how wrong I was in that understanding, by putting the crime into a wider context of a domestic crisis after the rise to power of the Nazi regime, and tactfully emphasizing that it wasn’t just parts of one Nazi organisation murdering parts of another Nazi organisation. I clearly underestimated the impact the events of 1934 had on wider society in Germany, and how important they were in establishing and securing Nazi rule.
  • “Arnhem: The Battle for the Bridges, 1944” by Antony Beevor; I think that with this completed, I have worked through most of the author’s books about the Second World War directly. As usual, a good one.I’m not a historian, so I’m not going to bother you with a half-correct pseudo-analysis of historical details. Operation Market Garden was a disaster, the Dutch paid a heavy price for their support of the Allied forces (with German reprisals lasting for nearly three months after the operation officially ended), and the fact that all of this could have been avoidable if Montgomery wouldn’t have been so full of shit himself makes it even worse.
  • “Unrestricted Warfare: Two Air Force Senior Colonels on Scenarios for War and the Operational Art in an Era of Globalization” aka “Unrestricted Warfare: China’s Master Plan to Destroy America” by Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui - I like the original title much more than the edited, sensational title of the English translation.

    This book is .. quite something. It’s a prime example of what my family would call “weird books I read”. Please see its Wikipedia page for details about the content.It’s definitely interesting, especially given there are very few English language analytical works about Western militaries, especially the armed forces of the United States of America, by non-Americans. But: The translation is horrible. Some sentences straight up don’t really make any sense. And the foreword of the book clearly states that the publisher doesn’t really know who did the first translation. Oh, and the book cover says “Unrestrected Warfare”. Which is freakin’ hilarious.
  • “Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security” by Sarah Chayes helped me better understand how corruption in Afghanistan works, provided me with a better grasp of differences between different types of corrupt societies / governmental systems and ensured that my loathing for mankind was reinvigorated thoroughly. Recommended read.
  • “How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and the Future of Conflict” by Nina Jankowicz; I didn’t really know what to expect going into the book. The cover, and the entire “vibe” sounded like the book was geared towards an audience that’s beginning to show an interest in the topic.

    Meanwhile the description sounded like a (somewhat) deep dive into European attempts at countering the various nefarious activities towards them by Russian actors.

    What I got in the end was a mixture of both, a “read-friendly deep dive”. I also got a dose of depression, because seeing other European states at least attempting to do something against disinformation (no matter how haphazard or half-assed the attempts) while your own government is content with pretending that things are fine, isn’t exactly uplifting.
  • “Look Away” by Jacob Kushner is unfortunately an excellent example for a German saying that is best translated to “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”. I’m glad the the topic of the NSU is approached by someone who isn’t originally from Germany, opening up the subject matter to an international audience by choosing English as a language for their book.

    And the author definitely did mean well, placing a lot of emphasis on the lives of the victims and their families, trying to give them and their suffering much needed room. Too much room in fact, to the detriment of other things that are important as well.The colossal failure (or, in some cases, borderline collusion) of the security services, both before, during, and in the aftermath of the spree of crimes perpetrated by the NSU, is talked about woefully little.

    The most likely involvement of other people from various local far-right actors is barely mentioned at all, the murder of Michèle Kiesewetter is given cursory attention at best - which is especially infuriating to me, given that the attack on her and her police partner is surrounded by even more question marks than the other murders of the group.

    The families of the victims deserve all the space they can get to tell their story. But if giving them significant room in your book leads to other, vital parts of the whole story being left out, that’s - in my opinion - a disservice to the victims, not a service.

    On top of that there are issues with some things the author states or claims, such as a fundamental misunderstanding how the secret police, the Gestapo, worked during the Third Reich. Or how the process of the mass extermination of European jews actually progressed. Some of the things the author writes about these things go entirely contrary to what’s commonly accepted in modern research.

    In general the book gave me, during some parts, a glance at how it must feel the people with a cultural background that is not rooted in Central Europe to deal with people talking about their culture without said people truly understanding the culture. I had more than one moment where I went “No .. you’re absolutely misinterpreting the things you are talking about, there is so much context that you are missing here”.

    There are also bits the author drops here and there that are extremely odd to me. I am not a researcher or even a subject matter expert on the NSU and the legal proceedings after the exposure of the group.

    But I did read every single German language book released on the group, and their network. I read a lot of research, articles and media coverage. Which makes it strange to be confronted with some things that allegedly had happened for the very first time.

    For example, the author states that during the funeral proceedings of one of the victims, a family member received a call from an unknown number, with the caller telling them that the caller had murdered “a turk” and that there “would be more”.
    The author doesn’t provide any source for that claim, and I was unable to verify it by browsing the net.

    All in all, I have a very hard time recommending the book. If you’re not versed in German, it might be a good start. But in all honesty, the German-language Wikipedia page for the group can easily be machine-translated. Save yourself the money.

March / April

  • “The Weaponisation of Everything” by Mark Galeotti; I thought I had read all of his works, but as it turns out I have missed this one. I didn’t really know what to expect, because the subtitle “A Field Guide to the New Way of War” was left room for interpretation, at least to me.

    The publisher, Yale, describes it as " An engaging guide to the various ways in which war is now waged - and how to adapt to this new reality", which is apt. If you’re looking for an in-depth analysis of how modern conflicts are waged, how the nature of war is changing, and how to deal with that, then this isn’t the right book for you.

    But if you’re looking for an engaging, well-written overview of the topic, adorned with plenty of recommendations for further reading (that should help with diving deeper in the parts of the topic that you’re interested in), then this definitely is the right book for you.

    Plus: I have to admit, I find the fact that Galeotti absolutely loathes the beast he created by naming something the “Gerasimov Doctrine”, only for it to develop a life of its own, way more amusing than I probably should.
  • “The Russian FSB - A Concise History of the Federal Security Service” by Kevin P. Riehle didn’t make it into the post for last month, because I hadn’t finished it by the time I wrote that, but managed to do so this month.

    In short my conclusion is almost identical to the one I came to after reading “The Russian Understanding of War” (by Oscar Jonsson) last May.

    The book is excellent, in the sense that it’s detailed, seemingly complete, and very thorough in its explanation of the history, organizational structure, tasks and issues of the Russian internal security service, the FSB. But I have to admit that, at times, it really was a slog. Which isn’t the fault of the author, because there’s only so much you can do to make organizational charts entertaining.

    Similar to my bottom line back then, I’d say that if you are interested in seriously understanding how Russian security services (including, to some extent, the other services - SVR and GRU - as well as some other government entities, such as the MVD) work, then this book is close to a “must read”. But: Be prepared for it to be a challenge at times.
  • “The Nature of Technology” by W. Brian Arthur; I don’t know why I bought this book. And I don’t mean this in the metaphorical sense of the phrase, I mean this literally. I don’t remember when or why I bought it. But given my habit of buying books because I heard about them in another book, chances are that it was mentioned in a book I read sometime in the past couple of months.

    The book might have the word “technology” in its title, but there’s very little technological about the book. I’d rather see it as “technologically anthropological”, even philosophical at some points.

    I’m struggling with writing about the book, and how I feel about it, because I have a hard time pinpointing my feelings about it. I’m suspecting that I wasn’t in the right headspace when I read it, because as fascinating the thought process of the author was, more often than not I ended up thinking “I mean yeah, but what’s the point?”. I probably have to re-read it again at some point to be able to judge it reasonably fairly.
  • “Eichmann in Jerusalem” by Hannah Arendt has been on my radar ever since I was a teenager, which was when I was first confronted with the theory of the “banality of evil”. I’m glad that I finally read it. Without commenting on it at length at this point in time, I recommend this book. It provides a lot of food for thought, and it forces the reader to confront a few ugly realities, especially about antisemitism in the rest of Europe before and during the ascension of the Third Reich.
  • “Slow Productivity” by Cal Newport was exactly what I expected it to be, another catalyst to reinvigorate my hate of modern knowledge work. I had nearly finished this one in March, but for some reason didn’t complete the last chapter until the end of April. I accidentally ended up getting it twice, because I completely forgot that I had pre-ordered it. Whelp, I hope the coworker I gifted isn’t going to end up quitting in order to retire to the woods to think deeply because of me now.
  • “Ardennes” by Antony Beevor; The “Battle of the Bulge” was short, brutal, and absolutely unnecessary. In fact, it might have contributed to bringing down the Third Reich even faster, because the decision to withdraw troops from the Eastern Front to enable the offensive greatly undermined the already barely existing abilities of the German forces to withstand the Soviet offensive in January of 1945.

    All of these things are common knowledge if you, like me, are a Wikipedia-reading-hobby-pseudo-historian. This book helps with filling the gaps, supplying operational details and providing a wide range of stories told by those involved, both in planning rooms and foxholes.
  • “D-Day” by Antony Beevor; I seem to be on an accidental quest to read all of his books - part of this quest seems to be amnesiac to, given that I remembered (while writing this post) that I had read that book in January already. Oh well, it was a good read, so no harm done in reading it again.

February

  • “A Murder in Marienburg”, “A Massacre in Marienburg” by David Bishop - it’s Warhammer Fantasy from before 2010, which means you are getting places like a prison island called “Rijker’s Island” and characters such as a lazy guy called “Faulheit” (which is “laziness” in German). Is it trashy? Absolutely? Is it thrilling and keeping you on the edge? Only if you are absolutely unaware of the most basic storytelling techniques and Fantasy tropes. Did I enjoy both of them? Yep, that’s my kind of stuff.
  • “The Manager’s Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change” by Camille Fournier; I’m skeptical of “practical guides” for things that involve management - mainly because management (ideally) involves leadership and politics, both things that are notoriously hard to plan or “being guided through”.

    Surprisingly enough, the fact that the practicality of the book was not a lie was both the curse and blessing of this book. Because on one hand, the recommendations the author gave did make sense (emphasizing the importance of regular 1-on-1 conversations with your reports), yet they also ended up being a limiting factor. There’s only so much concrete advice you can give to someone before it becomes repetitive, and that’s exactly what happened during the course of the book.

    It might have been my reading of the book, or me misinterpreting what the author was trying to say, but after about a third of the book it really felt like I was starting to read what I had already read all over again. Which doesn’t necessarily make it a bad book, but I didn’t experience it as the “go to”-book it’s been occasionally referred to as on the Internet.
  • “Spies and Lies” by Alex Joske; when talking to an Australian friend about the book, I initiated the conversation by telling them how fucked their country is - man, politicians really do love their corruption.

    Computer network operations perpetrated by Chinese, or Chinese-aligned, threat actors are a topic that has been researched relatively well, ever since the days of Mandiant first talking about APT1. Other activities perpetrated by Chinese threat actors, be it MSS, PLA or MPS, like espionage or influence operations are much less covered outside intelligence and academic circles.

    While it’s not encyclopedic, “Spies and Lies” is an excellent introduction to the subject matter, while being an engaging read and providing plenty of pointers for further research.
  • “Kilo” by Toby Muse; While reading through the book I regularly felt like I had read this book already, a few years ago. Not the most in-depth, “scientific” explanation of the drug trade. But very good at “making it personal”. Entertaining read.
  • “Autistisch? Kann ich fliessend!” by Stephanie Meer-Walter; while I’m not one to talk about it at length, I’m not hiding the fact that I’m what the cool kids call “neurodivergent”.

    Learning that fact has helped me a lot with some things, accepting it has come with its own set of challenges. Which is why I try to read about it on occasion. Which is how I decided on picking the book when I saw it at the bookstore.

    I can highly recommend it, both if you are affected by some sort of neurodivergence, but also if you know someone who is, and want to understand them better. I have yet to read a book that is better at explaining what neurodivergence is and feels like in laymans terms.
  • “Trügerische Ruhe” by Nicolas Stockhammer; The first objectively written and as factual as possible account of the terrorist attack in Vienna, in November of 2020. Pretty good analysis, especially with regards to the environment the perpetrator lived in before the attack, and the significant failures of the security services which were (in my very, very personal opinion) one of the main causes that actually allowed the attack to happen in the first place.

    There was only one point the author made that I strongly disagreed with - the claim that in the near future, terrorists will use “AI” for planning their attacks. This statement is dropped in a paragraph, without any context or reasoning why this is allegedly going to be the case. Even if I’m skeptical of this in general, I’m (almost) always open to changing my point of view, even if my beliefs happen to be strongly held. But stating it without any context, explanation or sources that would offer support to the theory simply doesn’t cut it.
  • “A State in Denial: British Collaboration with Loyalist Paramilitaries” by Margaret Urwin; the collaboration of British authorities with Loyalist paramilitaries during the more recent history of the conflict of Northern Ireland is a topic that’s only been thoroughly looked at in the past decade.

    If you look at various publications before it’s a topic that’s acknowledged in some way, but not exactly spoken about. All parties involved treated it as a dirty secret, especially the British government - which is understandable, given the significance of collusion and the backlash they already had to deal with surrounding the case of Stakeknife. Yet slowly, steadily (and regularly hindered) there’s work being done on it that’s been made available to the general public. Not in the sense of declassified information, but in the sense of compiled material that’s actually reasonable accessible for your average person interested in this part of the Troubles.

    This book is an good introduction. The calm, matter of fact way the author details the events and connections, the collusion happening on all levels - from the RUC and the UDR collaborating with local UDA-personnel to the higher echelons of the NI administration having direct communication links with leading members of the UDA (as well as the UFF and other Loyalist paramilitary organisations) - and what this meant for Northern Ireland as a whole as well as the victims of sectarian violence perpetrated by Loyalist is both fascinating and incredibly depressing. The book is quite cheap as well, depending where you look at you can score it for as little as ten bucks.

January

  • “Dakhil - Inside Arabische Clans” by Mohamed A. Charour, Marcus Staiger - Ever since this book was released in November of 2022, I contemplated on reading it. The history of the al-maḥallamīya (or al-mārdallīya, depending on who you ask), especially in Germany, and the phenomenon of family-based organized crime are topics I’m keenly interested in, so I tend to read every publication I get my hands on.

    But having listened to the podcast of the authors made me suspect that I would most likely loathe reading the book. But when I saw it in a local book store after last Christmas I decided to give it a shot and look for myself.I’m sad to say that my suspicion was confirmed. Except for the first chapter of the book - which is an (to the extent of my knowledge) excellent summary of why the term “Arabische Großfamilien” - much beloved by sensationalist news outlets in Germany - is thoroughly misleading and ignorant, the book is a continuing cycle of Whataboutism, excuses and dancing around uncomfortable topics or conversations.

    Which saddens me greatly, because of the loss of opportunity. A lot of the books or articles that have been published on the subject matter suffer from both sensationalism and what (at times feels like) racist prejudices. It would have been easy to counter a lot of the narratives pushed by people with less-than-stellar intent, but instead the authors decided to wallow in the role of perpetual victim-hood.
  • “D-Day” by Antony Beevor - I’m reasonably well acquainted with the chronological details of the events on this front of World War II, but I still enjoyed getting a refresher on some dates and operation names.

    What was a learning experience was getting a detailed explanation of what was actually happening on the ground. Narration of stories that were mostly based on reports by those involved furthered an understanding of how complex and vicious fighting in the landscapes of Normandy was, and how challenging the initial phase of the landing actually was for Allied troops. This was a stark contrast to most documentaries, and not just ones produced in / by the US, which tend to paint a picture of the Allied forces steamrolling the Germans except for maybe Caen.

    What was, in a way, also surprising to me, was the seemingly high amount of instances of war crimes committed by Allied troops, especially at the beginning of the campaign in the West. It’s not that I was under the impression that there is such a thing as “a Gentleman’s War”, or that anyone involved in this war would be willing to wage it if there were. But the regularity of German soldiers (Wehrmacht, not SS-formations) surrendering simply being shot outright was something that I wasn’t aware of.
  • “Das Reich: The March of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Through France, June 1944” by Max Hastings. There was a well produced documentary by the French television channel ARTE a few years ago, about the 2nd SS Panzer Division (“Das Reich”) and their involvement in combat with French partisans as well as their perpetration of significant war crimes in June of 1944, as they were trying to reach the Allied beachheads.

    I greatly enjoyed the 90 or so minutes it lasted. My intention of reading more about that part of the war quickly faded from my mind - until I saw a copy of this book on an entirely legitimate website that definitely wasn’t related to digital piracy in any way shape or form.

    It was an entertaining, often depressing read, but certainly not what I expected. In fact the specific actions of the division are often more present in the background of the storytelling, rather than taking center stage.

    Instead the author focuses on providing context. I learned a lot of new things about how Allied support of the French Resistance was hampered as much by British military politics as it was by internal rivalries and political differences within France.

    One thing that surprised me was how well the author went about being tactful and as neutral as possible throughout the entire book. I can imagine that it’s probably not the easiest thing to not be silent about crimes perpetrated by irregular French forces against German soldiers (or even fellow French citizens) when confronted with the murders and massacres committed by the Das Reich division.

    If you are interested in World War II and want to read an account of the events during the summer of 1944 that manages to both be comprehensive (in the sense that the author tries to have most angles and areas covered to some extent) as well as personal (in the sense that there is plenty of general history mixed with personal accounts of people involved on both sides), there are definitely worse books you could read.
  • “Japan’s Infamous Unit 731” by Hal Gold - the topic of Japanese research into chemical and biological warfare is an interesting, in a terrible sense, subject whose coverage suffers from a tremendous amount of sensationalism and morbid fascination with the suffering of the victims.

    Which is why I’m always quite cautious when opening up a new book, expecting the worst, because while I agree that you have to describe the suffering caused by Japanese personnel involved in the research, all too often the focus is on graphic descriptions of the crimes committed during the “research”, rather than on a more general understanding of what happened, and why.

    The reason why I picked up this (audio)book was because of extensive quoted statements from surviving perpetrators or people who worked adjacent to Unit 731 (and other research facilities / units), so I was hoping that the focus would be on those. And at least for the second part of the book, that was the case.

    The first part of the book, which is intended to act as an introduction to the topic, however still had some issues. It felt like the author did sincerely try to not get into gory details, knowing how diminishing it would be for the overall quality of the book. However, there’s a repeating pattern of starting out with a focus on explaining timelines and those involved, providing important context to the event, only for the storytelling eventually ending up with graphic descriptions again. Rinse and repeat.

    All in all I still think that it’s one of the better books on Unit 731. But I truly wish for an actually excellent book to eventually come out. The victims would deserve it, and we - in the spirit of “Never Again!” - would too.
  • “The Shadow Commander: Soleimani, the U.S., and Iran s Global Ambitions” by Arash Azizi ended up on my bookshelf shortly after the death of Qassem Soleimani, since I knew comparatively little about him, which means that I had absolutely no clue and was looking forward to read it - only for the usual thing to happen, which is that I didn’t actually read it.

    As with the “Das Reich” it was a documentary that reminded me about wanting to read the book. Admittedly, I was a bit worried initially. Books about relevant figures in the Middle East sometimes, in my experience, have a tendency to become too much of a biography of the personal life of the figure being talked about, rather than their impact on the region or their legacy.

    This book very much did not suffer from that. A review I read about the book put it this way: “It is rather hard to find a good book that is a page-turner and also tells you the inner-dynamics of Iran and the region as astutely as a historian. Through the life of Qassem Soleimani, Azizi tells the story of the political culture of Iran, intertwined with the Middle East and USA.”. I couldn’t have put it better.
  • “The Gatekeepers” by Dror Moreh has been on my list of books I should probably read pretty much since its release. Coincidentally, I’ve also had it in my bookshelf for a considerable amount of time now. Look, buying books and reading books are two entirely separate hobbies that I happen to enjoy both. Don’t look at me like that.

    What finally got me to read it was watching the documentary based on this book. There is a lot of media out there covering Mossad, the Israeli foreign intelligence service. Some of the information out there is good, some is bad. But they have been the subject of a ton of attention over the years. Shin Bet, the internal intelligence service, on the other hand, is quite the opposite. They are by far less well known, and because they are not involved in things like abducting Adolf Eichmann from Latin America (even though they are involved in targeted assassinations, but that’s another matter), they aren’t as entertaining to cover.

    This level of secrecy makes it even more surprising that the author was able to get several former heads of Shin Bet to talk to him about the history of Shin Bet, their history with the service, and several controversies or significant events in recent Israeli history, such as the killing of Jitzchak Rabin by a radical Zionist.

    What surprised me as well was how honest most of the former heads of the service were, and how aware they tended to be of most of their own errors, or mistake the service had committed. I don’t want to spoil the entire content here, but if you are interested in intelligence services, the Middle East, Israeli-Arab relations or generally enjoy a good book, I recommend you give this one a try.
  • “The Islamic State in Africa: The Emergence, Evolution, and Future of the Next Jihadist Battlefront” by Jason Warner; my partner recently received a Kindle from a friend, which I promptly acquired for my own use while she was sleeping. Widely differing sleep patterns can be a pain, given that I enjoy going to bed at the same time she does. But with this new addition to my collection of electronic gadgets, a couple of hours of waiting for the sweet relief of sleep have been replaced by two hours of reading. Given that I also spend less time mindlessly browsing the Internet and falling asleep earlier because of this, I consider this a big win on all fronts.

    This book was the first one I read. The authors tried their very best to keep the book as light and entertaining to read as possible, and they succeeded for the largest parts. But I have to admit, sometimes it felt like I wasn’t reading a professional analysis of terrorism, but instead reading a sketch of Monthy Python. The Democratic Forces of Islam fighting the Islamic Forces of Democracy, only to merge together into the Forces of Islam and Democracy, ultimately splitting up again .. that made my head hurt at times. Still, very insightful read.
  • “Tribe of Hackers Security Leaders: Tribal Knowledge from the best in Cybersecurity Leadership” by Marcus J. Carey and Jennifer Jin. I’m going to keep it brief to avoid being disrespectful towards the authors.

    I’m sure their intentions were good, but the outcome was a collection of more or less random people from the Infosec industry, each getting nearly a whole page to celebrate their accomplishments (like unnecessarily emphasizing for how long they’ve been a CISSP), followed by - with very few, precious exceptions - platitudes and generic statements with the occasional recommendation of some cringe-worthy-titled book about management. I rarely say it this harshly, but save yourself the time. You’re definitely not getting it back.
  • “The End: Hitler’s Germany 1944 - 1945” by Ian Kershaw surprised me. I’m generally fan of Kershaw’s books, and I enjoyed the ones I have read so far.

    But for reasons I can’t accurately describe, or even grasp, this one was torturous to “read”. I’m convinced that if it would not have been an audiobook that I could chew through during chores or while getting groceries, I probably would have abandoned it halfway through.

    It’s not necessarily that it’s bad in the direct sense of the word, nor is it partisan or outright false. There really isn’t anything obviously wrong with the book, and the developments towards the end of World War II usually are excellent grounds for interesting analysis and narration. But .. yeah. As I said above, I didn’t enjoy it at all. And I’m still confused by that fact.
  • “Meat Grinder: The Battles for the Rzhev Salient, 1942–43” by Prit Buttar was a depressing read, even for a book that covers the Eastern Front of the Second World War. The events at this part of the front were the epitome of the senselessness of the war, or any war.

    They can easily be summarized by calling it a seemingly never ending circle of command on either side coming up with the same “plan” (which was mostly hurling unprepared and barely supplied troops at the same defensive positions in terrain that was everything but fit for offensive operations) over and over again, without achieving any measurable success & doing it for around two years before the overall front situation changed so much that the Germans were ultimately forced to retreat.

    The author managed to describe the horror of the situation for both sides in a way that was fascinating, in the most uncomfortable way. I went “.. this shit again?” in my head more than once during my read.