The prince Book

The capstone of the Aldersonverse, this brings together just about all of Pournelle's CoDominium Era fiction into one place. It is quite likely what, in its component version, what got me into mil-SF in the first place. Pournelle having seen the elephant, it had the ring of reality to it even when I was reading parts as a preteen, and now as retired military I recognize things I know from experience.

The only thing wrong with it is that despite decades of begging the good Dr Pournelle, he's still not gone a century deeper into the history for us. I keep telling him that the interesting part is going to be what happens after this, when the Kingdom of Sparta becomes the Empire of Man.