Victoria: A Novel of 4th Generation War Kindle Edition

A very thoughtful read about the cultural and economic breakdown of the Republic leading to chaos, starvation, war, and rebirth. Where I believe the rebirth falls short is the slavish devotion to "Retroculture" as part of the solution. Certainly Lind points out that our arts and entertainment wasteland has broken down culture for sure...but does technology automatically beget a wasteland? Not everything was better in Victorian times. After all, I'm reading his novel on an IPad, Kindle, and Android Kindle App. Had I been properly "retro", I would have never heard of, nor ever procured, a proper paper version. Also, would it really be a good thing to burn heretics again? The prospect of death for disagreeing chills me. Especially living in a present where the technocrats might want to burn me for not being sufficiently anti-CO2 in accordance with their Green "faith". Still, a worthy read.

I very much like the book. It was well-written, and moved along at a smart pace. However, I disliked some of the very subtle--and not-so-subtle- comments about black people. These comments, while disagreeable to me, might be acceptable to some, including some black people, possibly. YMMV. At any rate, these incidental comments/situations should not serve to detract from an otherwise readable book.

The treatment of women, in general, also troubles me to an extent. While I believe, as does the author, that women have very special, essential roles in society, namely civilizing men and raising children, I part with the author that their roles are limited to those two, important as they are. While not being a fan of women being deployed in front-line Combat Arms, there are many smart women, and we, as a society overlook a valuable resource if we ignore their brains. The author seems to think that women are automatically disbarred from the military by reason of their sex, and that I find objectionable.

The society envisioned by the author is jarringly different from that in which we currently live. Personal liberty is greatly increased, but at the same time, so are personal responsibilities to themselves, their family, community, and the State. TANSTAAFL.

As far as "Fourth Generation Warfare" goes, the book does a good job of showing how strategic and even tactical warfare can be successfully accomplished by employing militarized, mental, ju-jitsu on a supposedly stronger opponent.

Perhaps the author's main points is that ideology is always at variance with reality (i.e., natural law): so ideology can never work in the end, and trying to make it work always results in totalitarianism. Also, “no civilization can survive that is not willing to die and kill for what it believes in”: i.e., actual reality found through centuries of trial and error…and Christianity. There is also some philosophy, history, and lots of military discussion.

If you are looking for a credible, detailed prediction of how the US will fall (as all great nations do in the end) that would take volumes. The author’s aims seem to be different: to convey basic principles, and to systematically address major issues.

He writes kind of like a good newspaper reporter: readable, straight forward, but not intended to be great literature.

Now, about the other stuff: if you like political correctness, you will hate this book.

But if you have a rather sick sense of humor, you too may find the account of the burning of the heretical Episcopal Bishopess hilarious: not the burning itself, but the understated way he describes the whole situation. Humor so dry that it could absorb all the moisture out of the Great Dismal Swamp.

Prejudice comes in many forms. A rare form is a twisted hate which blames another group for one’s own failings: you won’t find that in this book. Growing up in a town with no minorities, I encountered another kind of prejudice: an ignorance that is capable of imagining that another group just might be all bad—you won’t find that here either.

What you will find is what I encountered sometimes in the East and the South: an open prejudice which ALSO sees all the good in both the group and in the individual--and values that good. The joking of a barracks, or a police car, or among friends (at least before the days of PC). A willingness to see, and name, the faults of other groups—as well as your own!—without taking them too seriously (unless it involves actual crime). A view of that amounts to: This is who I am, and where I come from. I prefer that, and I imagine that you will be equally loyal to who you are, and where you come from. And that's all okay...probably even inevitable in the end...although we can also enjoy our differences."

He also poses this question in the context of the fall of a nation which killed millions: so, what should be the fate of those who caused that fall? Those who want to continue/reinstitute the ideologies that cause it? I don’t mean those who were taken in—he goes lightly on them—but on those who were doing the taking in…and enforcing evil? At times his answer is brutal: but it is done by government, not vigilantes! So, for us the issue is purely theoretical.

At times, this book is jarring if not shocking: but most of the people who ever lived would have understood it just fine. So, are we living in unreality? Or has reality fundamentally changed somehow? And is the notion that it has changed anything other than our astounding arrogance and vanity? Confusing technological advances with advances in essentials? The book provides a lot to ponder.

As a book on forth generation warfare, this book does follow the prime dictate that the Moral is superior. So you are not going to have a story on strategy or tactics per se but on the "soft power" side. This is NOT Militia Porn. I was a bit disappointed in the weak attention to logistics-all attempts were filtered through too much optimism ( but that is a not unusual anywhere else )- but all in all it was hard to find too much fault with anything in this novel ( except for the high cost ). The writing style drew me in immediately and kept me lusting for more and the entire read was highly entertaining and captivating. What more does one want from a fictional story? An added bonus was the attention to detail on a subject barely touched by others. Just remember what you are buying-a moralistic tale rather than a guerrilla warfare story. There where certainly elements of the latter but it wasn't central.

An outstanding book that blends a storyline into dozens of tactical decision games while also making prophetic social commentary. The biggest reason you should buy the book is to learn about war and the future of war as the state begins to lose control of its populations. Lots of good snippets about the dos and don'ts.

Some of the writing just isn't plausible, but it is still on par with most prime time TV. But the purpose of reading this book is found in the subtitle; it's about 4th generation warfare strategy. Think of the book as staged examples of how decentralized warfare might happen.