I'm about halfway through Dogs of War by Frederick Forsyth (author of Day of the Jackal). It's flat out fascinating - a complete manual of how to overthrow a small African dictatorship, going into insane levels of detail over every facet of such an operation. For research the author met with mercenaries and arms dealers, posing as an interested party in throwing a coup of New Guinea. The balls on this guy.
There's a movie with Christopher Walken that's also pretty good, though it's less interested in the actual mechanics of throwing a coup.
For me its age that has affected my confidence, all they want is POCs and not even local ones; they have to be imported.
At my age and with my skin colour chances of me being able to change my job are slim. At work stuck me in crap jobs no young Indian would stick around to do ax they would see it beneath them.
Wish I'd nevef become a software engineer.