Books

Whether one reads for pleasure or education, one consequence is certain. Over a period of time, the reader’s mind becomes trained to navigate ideas. With time, it becomes capable of not only processing complex concepts, but, with luck, even expressing some of those concepts. Reading induces a sense of mental fearlessness. The exposure to language facilitates structuring and expression of ideas. In short, reading is not a habit or a hobby. It is a tool for living.

While FORCE has always dedicated a few pages to books in most issues, September onwards, we start a dedicated books section. Running into a few pages, it will carry interviews with military authors, book extracts and reviews. Most importantly, it will carry a recommended reading list of ‘Must Read’ books from senior officers/ authors and even FORCE readers. Hence, we invite our readers to send us lists of their favourite books which they would like to share with others. Tell us why you recommend those books. So read, and write.

Leadership Lessons

How combining experience with out of the box ideas yield favourable results. An extract July 2025

The Future of the PLA

China can contribute to the world in terms of peace and development. An extract June 2025

Electoral Review

How caste and religious equations aligned in favour of INDIA in UP. An extract June 2025

The Kashmir Story

Kashmir May 2025 May 2025

Development over Religion

Reclaiming Bharat May 2025

Lost to Time

Little Lhasa May 2025

Limits of Deterrence April 2025

Deterrence from Depth April 2025

The Final Assault April 2025

Bravest of the Brave April 2025

A Quadruple Strategy April 2025

Raisina Chronicles April 2025

Books | The World’s a Stage

How politics, domestic imperatives and self-image coalesced to become Modi’s foreign policy. An extract March 2025

‘Aadhaar for Me Represents Larger Failures That Prepare the Grounds for Marginalisation, Dehumanisation, and Much Worse’

Rahul Bhatia, author of The Identity Project: The Unmaking of a Democracy March 2025

King Size Life March 2025

King Size Life March 2025

A Continuum

Unified Theatre Command February 2025

Lessons of a Lifetime

Lessons of a Lifetime February 2025

Collateral Damage

War December 2024 December 2024

The Dark Decade

Kashmir Under 370 December 2024

A Challenging Lunch

The Money Trap December 2024

Books | Not Just a Fighter

India’s ties with France go beyond weapon-platforms sale November 2024

Books | Designs on India

How JeM is using Muslim insecurities to radicalize them November 2024

Books | Ghost of Russia

Something lost, Something gained Hillary Rodham Clinton October 2024

The Camps October 2024

An Extract: India’s Forgotten Country October 2024

Hell on Earth

Nuclear War October 2024

Books | A Fence in The Courtyard

BUT I AM ONE OF YOU Edited by Samrat Choudhury and Preeti Gill September 2024

A Bi-national State

An Extract: Israel-Palestine War September 2024

Domestic Compulsions

An Extract: India’s Near East September 2024

Burden of Truth

An Extract | How long can the moon be caged? August 2024

Bridge to Central Asia

An Extract | The Crossroads August 2024

Pushed to the Edge

An Extract | Shikwa-E-Hind August 2024

Books | Neither the Politician nor the Bureaucrat Wants to Implement Police Reforms

Prakash Singh, author of Unforgettable Chapters: Memoirs of a Top Cop July 2024

The Great Game

An Extract | Imperial games in Tibet July 2024

Towards a New Strategy

An Extract | Crafting A New Indian Art of War For Future Challenges July 2024

Grit and Gumption

Book Chat | Nimbu Saab July 2024

Books | Shadow Games

GUNS UNDER MY CHINAR: KASHMIR’S COVERT WARS A.M. Watali June 2024

Books | Neighbourhood First Needs to be Perceived by Our Neighbours as a Living Day-To-Day Indian Foreign Policy Priority and Not Just a Slogan

Book Chat | Ambassador K.V. Rajan and Atul K Thakur June 2024

A Himalayan Misunderstanding

An Extract | Kathmandu Chronicle June 2024

Books | Nehru’s Vision

The abiding challenge of building a secular, inclusive nation. An extract May 2024

Books | State’s Vengeance

How the government chose to selectively read Gautam Navlakha’s work to punish him. An extract May 2024

Books | Complexities of History

Lala Lajpat Rai’s perspective on India and Indian nationhood continued to evolve till the end. An extract May 2024

Books | Their [IPS] Diverse Backgrounds Can Contribute to Strategic Planning, Effective Decision Making and the Implementation of Best Practices Within CAPFs

OP Singh, author of Crime, Grime and Gumption April 2024

Difficult Days

An Extract | 2024 April 2024

It Didn’t Start in May

Book Review | Shooting the Sun April 2024

Shaping a New Idiom

An Extract | Bharat Jodo Yatra April 2024

The Most Coveted

An Extract | Conquering the Maharajas April 2024

Their [IPS] Diverse Backgrounds Can Contribute to Strategic Planning, Effective Decision Making and the Implementation of Best Practices Within CAPFs

Reading List | OP Singh April 2024

Double Agent

An Extract | ULFA March 2024

Extreme Inequalities

An Extract | UNEQUAL March 2024

Undoubtedly, There is a Case for Political Engagement With The People. But This Can Happen Only When the Ruling Parties Look Beyond Winning Elections

Reading List | Rajeev Bhattacharyya March 2024

Books | After Balakot

How India Pakistan relations lurch from crisis to crisis. An extract February 2024

The New Natural

An Extract | Being Muslim in Hindu India February 2024

Age of Hyperwar

An Extract | Hyperwar February 2024

Religion and Politics

An Extract | Fault Lines in the Faith February 2024

I think we were too soft on Pakistan in the 1980s when it supported terrorism in Punjab. A tougher military response could have prevented some of the terrorism we faced in Kashmir

Reading List | Ajay Bisaria February 2024

Pushed to the Edge

An Extract | Another India January 2024

Between Fear and Courage

An Extract | City on Fire January 2024

Poetry as a Weapon

An Extract | Bullets and Bylines December 2023

The Door to the Past

An Extract | Red Sky over Kabul December 2023

First Among Equals

An Extract | Breakup November 2023

Seeds of Rebellion

An Extract | The Indian Village November 2023

The More Things Change

An Extract | Bullets and Bylines November 2023

The Sky is Safe

An Extract | Indian Air Force in its Centennial Decade August 2023

Selling Family Silver

An Extract | Who Cares About Parliament August 2023

No Peace Without Justice

An Extract | The Peacemakers August 2023

Turning Adversity Into Advantage-2

An Extract | Nation Fast July 2023

Unmanned Future

An Extract | SWARM TROOPER July 2023

Coming of Age

An Extract | VAJPAYEE: The Ascent of the Hindu Right July 2023

The Next Major War

An Extract | The Next Major War June 2023

End of an Illusion

An Extract | End of an Illusion May 2023

Police State

An Extract | Police State May 2023

Quick Reads

An Extract | Quick Reads April 2023

Time Capsule

An Extract | Time Capsule April 2023

Close to Peace

An Extract | Close to Peace April 2023

Behind the Scenes

An Extract | Behind the Scenes March 2023

Jammu and Kashmir is a Sensitive Border State and a Hostile Population Within Would Further be Detrimental for Indian Security Interests

Reading List | Anuradha Bhasin March 2023

A Fear That Refuses To Go

An Extract | A Fear That Refuses To Go March 2023

Unheard Voices

An Extract | Unheard Voices February 2023

The Tragedy of Kashmir

n Extract | The Tragedy of Kashmir February 2023

Talking Pictures

An Extract | Vinay Lal : Insurgency and the Artist January 2023

A Tale of Two Armies

An Extract | Andrew Quilty: August in Kabul January 2023

Always a Soldier

An extract | Always a Soldier December 2022

The Politics of History

An extract | The Politics of History December 2022

Nehru Has Suddenly Become Relevant Today, Precisely Because of the Attacks on Him

Reading List | Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee December 2022

Not Too Far

An Extract | Gp Capt. TH Anand Rao August 2022

The Big Disruptor

An Extract | Louis A. Del Monte August 2022

Reading for Reflection

Reading List: | Maj. Gen. B.K. Sharma (retd) August 2022

Asian Hegemon

An Extract | Asian Hegemon July 2022

Books and the Pursuit of Knowledge

Reading List: | Lt Gen Raj Shukla (Retd) July 2022

The World in a Flux

An Extract | The World in a Flux June 2022

Terror and Turmoil

An Extract | Terror and Turmoil June 2022

Lessons in Self Reliance

Reading List: | Lessons in Self Reliance June 2022

The Story up to March 1971

An Extract | The Story up to March 1971 May 2022

China Challenges Modi

Book Extract May 2022

‘Don’t Forget That the First Four Navy Chiefs in Independent India Were Britishers and They Led the Indian Navy Until 1958’

An Extract | Pramod Kapoor, author of 1946 May 2022

Gallantry & Glory

An Extract | Gallantry & Glory May 2022

Sudeep Chakravarti, author of The Eastern Gate: War and Peace in Nagaland, Manipur and India’s Far East

Book Chat | Sudeep Chakravarti April 2022

A Profile in Courage

An Extract: A Profile in Courage February 2022

The Great Escape

An Extract: The Great Escape February 2022

A Man of Many Parts

An Extract: A Man of Many Parts February 2022

The Art of Victimhood

An Extract: The Art of Victimhood February 2022

In BJP-Ruled States There Were Cases of Lynchings, Anti-Love Jihad Mobilisations, Instances of Reconversions to Hinduism, Violent Attempts at Ghettoizing Muslims… But Nothing as Systematic as Today

Book Chat: Christophe Jaffrelot February 2022

My Only Intention While Writing This Book Was To Encourage Young Military Officers To Read… There are many extremely important military lessons ensconced within the book

Book Chat: Maj. Gen. Vijay Singh January 2022

I Do Not Think Any Lessons Have Been Learnt, One Has Only to Look at the Newspapers Then As Well As Now, Every Kill is an Occasion for Exultation January 2022

Book Chat: Brig. R.R. Palsokar January 2022

A Doctrine of Diminishing Returns

An Extract: Price of the Modi Years December 2021

Courage and Dignity

An Extract: Courage and Dignity December 2021

Justice Without Any Discrimination

An Extract: State Persecution of Minorities and Underprivileged in India November 2021

In the Fog of War

An Extract: 1965: A Western Sunrise November 2021

Tales Dead Men Tell

Book Chat: Shiv Kunal Verma November 2021

Continuing Conflict

An Extract: Tibet Brief 20 / 20 October 2021

War by Other Means

An Extract: Cyberspace in Peace and War October 2021

Cyber Weapons do not Exist in a Vacuum. They Evolve as Defences (and to a Lesser Extent, Goals) Evolve

Book Chat: Martin C. Libicki October 2021

In the Dead of the Night

An Extract: The War That Made Raw September 2021

Deadly Games

An Extract: Spy Stories September 2021

Scorched Earth

An Extract: The Silent Coup September 2021

Josy Joseph, author of The Silent Coup: A History of India’s Deep State

Book Chat: Josy Joseph September 2021

Order and Stability

An Extract: Flying Blind August 2021

A.S. Bhasin, author of Nehru, Tibet and China

Book Chat: A.S. Bhasin July 2021

The Writing is on the Wall

An Extract: India Versus China July 2021

Border Line

Extract: The Braided River June 2021

Samrat Choudhury, author of The Braided River: A Journey Along the Brahmaputra

Book Chat: Samrat Choudhury June 2021

So Close, Yet So Far

Extract: INDIA: The Last Super Power June 2021

Rise of the Dragon

Extract: India And Asian Geopolitics May 2021

Propaganda as Policy

Born a Muslim May 2021

The War of the Future

Extract: AI AT WAR May 2021

Kingshuk Nag, journalist and author of A New Silk Road: India China and the Geopolitics of Asia

Book Chat: Kingshuk Nag April 2021

Turning Adversity into Advantage

Reading List: Turning Adversity into Advantage April 2021

In Service of the Nation

Book Chat: Military Musings April 2021

A Line Across People

Extract: Midnight’s Borders March 2021

Suchitra Vijayan, author of Midnight’s Borders: A People’s History of Modern India

Book Chat: Suchitra Vijayan March 2021

Compete or Cooperate?

Extract: Himalayan-Challenge February 2021

It Was Quite Challenging to Conduct Research Near the Afghanistan-Pakistan Border

Book Chat: Meha Dixit February 2021

Beyond Khukuri and Madal

Book Chat: Ayo Gorkhali: A History of the Gurkhas January 2021

Books Are Integral One’s Progress as an Officer

Reading List: Books Are Integral One’s Progress as an Officer January 2021

Diminishing Returns

Extract: National Security and Conventional Arms Race January 2021

Lessons from Sri Lanka

Why the IPKF mission went horribly wrong. An extract December 2020

No Shortcuts to Knowledge

December 2020

A Force to Reckon With

A much-needed understanding of the vital role played by the BSF November 2020

The View from the Field

How the evolving counter insurgency doctrine played out during operations in Iraq. An extract November 2020

True Companions

November 2020

View from the US

How Defence Services’ Staff College, Wellington, serves only a glass half full. An Extract November 2020

None of Us Has the Time to Make All the Mistakes Ourselves… So, We Should Learn from the Mistakes and Successes of Others

October 2020

Esprit de Corp Over Patriotism

A lifetime of memories, experiences and learning. An extract September 2020

Shadow Wars

How RAW’s mandate often went beyond spying. An extract September 2020

Court and Conspiracy

How Siraj-ud-Daulah’s fate was sealed well before the battle was joined April 2020

Quantum and the Magic Decoder Ring

How cyber and emerging technologies will change society and warfare April 2020

Against All Odds

How one man’s vision and determination led to unexpected breakthrough. An extract January 2020

Against All Odds

Extract: India’s Battlefields: From Kurukshetra to Balakot January 2020

Truth Needs to be Told

November 2019

The VVIP Mess

September 2019

Rule of the Sea

September 2019

Taming the Skies

August 2019

Challenge and Cooperate

July 2019

Without a Drop of Blood

June 2019

Fresh Perspective

May 2019

Project Hate

April 2019

Force of the Future

April 2019

A History of Bitterness

September 2018

A Cost Too High

August 2018

Ideas Abound

June 2018

Words of Wisdom

A must read for those involved in military selection, training, education or decision making March 2018

Worldwide Web of Terror

Internet will be the new battlefield for ISIS, says Edna Fernandes’ The Hollow Kingdom: ISIS and the Cult of Jihad March 2018

A Case for Cooperation

This is an extract from the ‘explanatory essay’ written by Sudheendra Kulkarni in his book August Voices April 2017

They Make a Desolation and Call it Peace

This essay by the author is part of the anthology called Himalaya March 2017

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