Suggestions for a "Supervillain Corps Reading List"?

Cafe Society
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A bit o’ clarification, if, if needed, and I may. For a little story project I’m working on, I’m putting together a “Supervillain Corps” reading list—patterned after the idea of such things as the Commandant of the Marine Corps’ Reading List, only with a supervillain’s bent on “fostering and imparting the required principles of leadership and tradition” to his hordes of minions.

Works to include fiction and non-fiction, with a plan to include a few “editor’s review” note, glowingly praising or (often willingly) misinterpereting the message of the books. (I have a blurb describing S.M. Stirling’s Marching Through Georgia as “A classic, heartwarming saga of the potential of the human will, as seen through the lens of a world that never had the chance to be.” I think that gives you an idea of what I’m heading for. :slight_smile: )

So far, I have:

•Fiction
World War Z—Max Brooks
When the Tripods Came—John Christopher
Devil’s Guard—George Robert Elford
Triage—Leonard C. Lewin
The Monkey Handlers—G. Gordon Liddy
The Prince (quote duh unquote)
Paradise Lost—John Milton
The Cardinal’s Mistress—Benito Mussolini (!)
Anno Dracula—Kim Newman
Tik-Tok—John Sladek
The Iron Dream—Norman Spinrad
Mark Waid’s Empire
The Heroes in Hell series

•Non-Fiction
-If We Can Keep a Severed Head Alive—Chet Fleming
-My Tank is Fight—Zack Parsons
-Probably various torture manuals, and/or the Malleus Maleficarum.
-The Biology of Doom—Ed Regis
-The Satanic Bible
-Inside the Third Reich—Albert Speer

…that sorta stuff.

Anyone have any old favorites (or un-favorites) they’d like to add?

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How To Be A Villain

The Villain’s Guide to Better Living

Evil Inc Annual Report 2005

*
The same, for 2006*

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The Man Who Used The Universe by Alan Dean Foster, the inspiring story of a man who - unencumbered by simple minded impulses such as ethics, loyalty, or love - brilliantly shapes the future of three species for his benefit. And manages to get himself acclaimed as a hero and savior in the process !

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Before any other reading, every supervillan needs to read:

The Top 100 Things I’d Do If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord"

Read it. Memorize it.

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P.W. Singer’s “Children at War”: An invaluable resource on the recruitment, training, and use of child soldiers. Case studies from Sierra Leone, Uganda, and elsewhere illustrate how traumatized children kidnapped from their homes and equipped with light weapons can be turned into an inexpensive, highly effective guerrilla force.

P.W. Singer’s “Corporate Warriors”: Good introductory text on the role that private military contractors - essentially, modern mercenaries - have played in the Balkans, Africa, and elsewhere. Discussion of recruitment issues is insightful, and examination of use of small forces to train/augment poorly equipped local militaries and “tip the balance” may be particularly useful for evil overlord forces with limited budgets.

Harry Frankfurt’s “On Bullshit”: Princeton philosophy professor examines the nature and uses of “bullshit” - statements made without regard for their truthfulness, purely in order to advance the speaker’s goals. These are distinct from lies, which the speaker knows to be untrue. Propaganda minions will find this particularly useful.

James F. Dunnigan’s “How to Make War”, 4th Edition: Solid primer on modern warfare. Explains the functions of basic military roles (infantry, air force, etc) and units (squad, platoon, etc), as well as modern military hardware. A valuable reference for any minion to keep near his desk.

Samantha Power’s “A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide”: The chapter on Rwanda is particularly valuable as a case study for how to conduct large-scale mass murder with minimal command-and-control facilities (commercial radio) and weapons (mostly, machetes). Note that this approach requires a sufficiently radicalized local population, a topic that the rest of this book also explores. Minions with limited time and/or budgets may substitute Samantha Power’s lengthy Atlantic Monthly article on the Rwanda genocide, available for free (legally) online.

John M. Barry’s “The Great Influenza”: Accessible history of the 1918 flu pandemic is a must-read for minions of supervillains planning conquest through the use of biological/chemical warfare. Barry argues, persuasively, that the Wilson Administration’s decision to censor and otherwise limit accurate information about the disease probably increased the death toll, and certainly increased the terror the disease caused - a useful lesson for minions who’ve infiltrated media and/or government.

“The 9/11 Commission Report”: Compulsively readable analysis of the 9/11 attacks provides useful case study of how one can plan and execute a terror attack, as well as a portrait of the confusion likely to hinder any governmental response. Details of US Government security weaknesses and responses are somewhat obsolete, but the take-away message is as important as ever - well-motivated minions can hit even the hardest targets, with thoughtful and creative planning. The report is available online at www.9-11commission.gov .

All of these are actually on my bookshelf, and there are a lot more I might add later. :slight_smile: I would make an awesome minion.

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A couple important books I forgot to mention:

Micheal Howard’s “Clausewitz: A Very Short Introduction”: 84-page text provides exactly what the title promises - a solid overview of famous concepts such as the “fog of war”, the use of war to achieve political ends, and so on. Recommended reading for before the first Minion Orientation Session.

Sudhir Venkatesh’s “Gang Leader For A Day” Engagingly written autobiographical account of a sociologist’s years studying a drug gang and low-income community in Chicago provides valuable managerial insights for mid-level minions. Discussion of the use of beatings in maintaining discipline is particularly useful.

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Ranchoth–feedback?

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Machiavelli’s The Prince made it’s author into a byword for devious schemer.
Speaking of notorious authors, Mein Kempf probably belongs on an evil megolomaniac’s bookshelf.

Since the OP mentioned misinterpretation and deliberate misconstruing, the holy scriptures of just about any major religion can be used to justify a wide range of villainy.

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The Zombie Survival Guide : Important reading for any would-be necromantic overlord, under the principle of “know your enemy”. Once you know how the populace will attempt to thwart your hordes of the walking dead, you’ll know what commands to give to defeat their defenses !

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Soon I Will Be Invincible: One brave man’s efforts to conquer the world, and the foolish mortals who try to stop him.

How to Survive a Horror Movie Know how your enemy (or victim) thinks.

The Bad Popes by E. R. Chamberlin. A goody that I’d recommend regardless, but learning from history is important in this line of work.

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Sorry for the late reply—I’ve been keeping vampire hours lately.

Great stuff, so far! With Mr. Excellent’s permission, I’d like to use a couple of his descriptions on the list, if I could, with credit.

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Of course! Does this mean I get command of some of your minions as well?

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A brigade, at least. Consider it done, my friend.