We just got through reading Animal Farm and my son loved trying to figure out who the characters represented and what might happen next before going to sparknotes.com to read their analysis and take the test over the book. I think he might enjoy the book on Stalin. My husband, who quickly worked his way up in the military before retiring, wants him to watch a movie about Patton. A few years ago, my son and I got to go to a reunion of some the people my husband used to work with and they were all very smart people.
The "Patton Papers" are an excellent, excellent work. Another man who grew up in the same footsteps, but two decades later - of Patton was Colonel Jeff Cooper. He was an acomplished hunter and tracker and writer by the time he was 12 years old. When he was 17 he planned and executed a horseback hunting trip to Alaska where he hunted solo much of the time. He is an excellent writer. If you like Heinlein, you will like Cooper's memoirs and the "Patton Papers."
As for bright people in the Military - that is very true. When my dad was getting his technical certs at civilian schools while he was in the Army, he had perfect scores at all his schools. When I was in, I learned to expect some real gems no matter where I was. Giftedness exists at ALL levels of our society - they just need opportunity to shine. The military is a meritocracy where you advance solely based upon your abilities so the cream rises very fast.
Another person is Col John Boyd. He did more to advance military theory than anyone since Sun-Tzu. He is probably the most gifted philosopher of the latter 20th century and unless you spent time in the military, you probably have not heard of him. He also made key advances in aviation theory as well.
