Preparing the mind for battle [Recommended reading for the Marine Corps]

Baltimore Sun ^ | Dec 18, 2003 | (list complied by Tom Bowman)

[68skylark]

On the theory that preparing the mind for battle is as important as preparing the body, the top officer in each service provides a reading list of recommended books for enlisted personnel to commissioned officers. The Marine Corps, which for many Americans has the image of being the toughest of the tough, offers the most extensive reading list, with about 175 books divided among each rank.

They include classics on warfare, such as The Art of War, by Sun Tzu (for staff sergeants and lieutenants); and The Peloponnesian War, by Thucydides (for colonels). The U.S. Constitution is recommended for low-ranking enlisted personnel and junior officers.

There are memoirs by enemies, including World War II German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, and by Civil War generals, such as William Tecumseh Sherman. There are books on courage, firepower and military innovation. And there are best sellers, such as Fields of Fire, by former Navy Secretary James H. Webb Jr., and Diplomacy, by former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger. There are heroic tales and examinations of stunning defeats.

[68skylark]

This article has recommended reading for all ranks in the Marines.

Recently I've been reading more and more of Tom Bowman, the military affairs reporters for the Baltimore Sun. He's great. He's doing more than anyone I know of to keep general readers "connected" with the military culture.

[KantianBurke]

Just finished reading "Making the Corps." Excellent book which gives a good blow by blow account of boot camp on Parris Island.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Sun Tzu has become part of the training regimen in many businesses, expecially energy. His "do not besiege walled cities," is fundamental to successful marketing.

[luvbach1]

I wonder whether fictional classics like "All Quiet on the Western Front" and "Red Badge of Courage" would ever make the list? The former, being anti-war and replete with the ugliness of war, almost certainly would not; the latter, also stark with the horrors of war but showing how courage and honor they did not know they possessed is often manifested in ordinary soldiers, might be edifying.

[Servant of the 9]

Anyone havbe a link to the full list?

So9

[jonascord]

The Red Badge of Courage is on the list for E-4/E-5. Whether Remarque's "pity the poor loser" is listed, is still unknown.

[cryptical]

5. PRIMARY READING LIST BY GRADE AND CATEGORY (LISTED AS AUTHOR,
TITLE, SUBJECT CATEGORY):

A. PRIVATE, PRIVATE FIRST CLASS, AND LANCE CORPORAL. READ AT
LEAST TWO BOOKS ANNUALLY FROM THE FOLLOWING LIST:

- FORESTER, RIFLEMAN DODD (COURAGE AND COMMITMENT)
- HEINLEIN, STARSHIP TROOPERS (TRAINING)
- HUBBARD, A MESSAGE TO GARCIA (MEMOIR)
- MILLER, THE BRIDGE AT DONG-HA (OPERATIONS/CAMPAIGNS/
BATTLES)
- SIMMONS, U.S. MARINES: 1775-1975 (HERITAGE)
- U.S. CONSTITUTION (POLICY)
- WEBB, FIELDS OF FIRE (LEADERSHIP)

B. CORPORAL AND SERGEANT. READ AT LEAST TWO BOOKS ANNUALLY FROM
THE FOLLOWING LIST:

- BARBER, THE WAR OF THE RUNNING DOGS: THE MALAYAN
EMERGENCY, 1948-1962 (SMALL WARS)
- CAMPBELL, THE OLD MAN'S TRAIL (SMALL WARS)
- CARD, ENDER'S GAME (TACTICS)
- CHAPIN, UNCOMMON MEN: SERGEANTS MAJOR OF THE MARINE CORPS
(LEADERSHIP)
- CRANE, THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE (TACTICS)
- DAVIS, MARINE: THE LIFE OF LTGEN LEWIS B. (CHESTY) PULLER,
USMC(RET) (BIOGRAPHY)
- HAMMEL, FIRE IN THE STREETS: THE BATTLE FOR HUE, TET, 1968
(OPERATIONS/CAMPAIGNS/BATTLES)
- LECKIE, THE BUFFALO SOLDIERS: A NARRATIVE OF THE NEGRO
CAVALRY IN THE WEST (OPERATIONS/CAMPAIGNS/BATTLES)
- LECKIE, STRONG MEN ARMED: THE UNITED STATES MARINES
AGAINST JAPAN (HERITAGE)
- MARSHALL, SOLDIER'S LOAD AND THE MOBILITY OF A NATION
(TACTICS)
- MCCORMICK, THE RIGHT KIND OF WAR (HERITAGE)
- SCHELL, BATTLE LEADERSHIP (LEADERSHIP)
- SWINTON, THE DEFENSE OF DUFFER'S DRIFT (TACTICS)
- THOMASON, FIX BAYONETS! (HERITAGE)
- URIS, BATTLE CRY (HERITAGE)
- WEST, THE VILLAGE (SMALL WARS)

C. STAFF SERGEANT, WARRANT OFFICER, CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER 2,
CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER 3, SECOND LIEUTENANT, AND FIRST LIEUTENANT.
READ AT LEAST THREE BOOKS ANNUALLY FROM THE FOLLOWING LIST:

- AMBROSE, BAND OF BROTHERS: E CO, 506TH REGIMENT, 101ST
AIRBORNE: FROM NORMANDY TO HITLER'S EAGLE'S NEST (LEADERSHIP)
- AMBROSE, PEGASUS BRIDGE: JUNE 6, 1944 (LEADERSHIP)
- ASPREY, WAR IN THE SHADOWS: THE GUERRILLA IN HISTORY
(SMALL WARS)
- COLLINS, COMMON SENSE TRAINING: A WORKING PHILOSOPHY FOR
LEADERS (TRAINING)
- ENGLISH AND GUDMUNDSSON, ON INFANTRY (HISTORY)
- FULLER, GRANT AND LEE: A STUDY IN PERSONALITY AND
GENERALSHIP (OPERATIONS/CAMPAIGNS/BATTLES)
- GIAP, HOW WE WON THE WAR (SMALL WARS)
- HAGAN, AMERICAN GUNBOAT DIPLOMACY AND THE OLD NAVY,
1877-1889 (SEAPOWER)
- HOLMES, ACTS OF WAR: THE BEHAVIOR OF MEN IN BATTLE
(MEMOIR)
- HYNES, FLIGHTS OF PASSAGE: REFLECTIONS OF A WORLD WAR II
AVIATOR (HERITAGE)
- KEEGAN, THE FACE OF BATTLE (HISTORY)
- LAQUER AND ALEXANDER, TERRORISM READER: A HISTORICAL
ANTHOLOGY (SMALL WARS)
- LIDDELL HART, STRATEGY (STRATEGY)
- LIND, MANEUVER WARFARE HANDBOOK (TACTICS)
- MANNING, THE MIDDLE PARTS OF FORTUNE: SOMME AND ANCRE,
1916 (OPERATIONS/CAMPAIGNS/BATTLES)
- MOORE AND GALLOWAY, WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE AND YOUNG:
IA DRANG, THE BATTLE THAT CHANGED THE WAR IN VIETNAM (LEADERSHIP)
- MOSKIN, THE U.S. MARINE CORPS STORY (HERITAGE)
- MOSKOS, THE MILITARY: MORE THAN JUST A JOB (STRATEGY)
- NOLAN, OPERATION BUFFALO: USMC FIGHT FOR THE DMZ
(OPERATIONS/CAMPAIGNS/BATTLES)
- NYE, CHALLENGE OF COMMAND: A READING FOR MILITARY
EXCELLENCE (LEADERSHIP)
- ROMMEL, ATTACKS (TACTICS)
- ROSS, IWO JIMA: LEGACY OF VALOR (HERITAGE)
- SAJER, THE FORGOTTEN SOLDIER: THE CLASSIC WWII
AUTOBIOGRAPHY (MEMOIR)
- SCALES, FIREPOWER IN LIMITED WAR (SMALL WARS)
- SHAARA, THE KILLER ANGELS (OPERATIONS/CAMPAIGNS/BATTLES)
- SHERROD, TARAWA: THE STORY OF A BATTLE (HERITAGE)
- SULZBERG, THE FALL OF EAGLES (AIR POWER)
- SUN TZU, ART OF WAR (THEORY)
- U.S. CONSTITUTION (POLICY)
- WILLOCK, UNACCUSTOMED TO FEAR: A BIOGRAPHY OF THE LATE
GENERAL ROY S. GIEGER, UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS (HERITAGE)

D. GUNNERY SERGEANT, FIRST SERGEANT, MASTER SERGEANT, CHIEF
WARRANT OFFICER 4, AND CAPTAIN. READ AT LEAST FOUR BOOKS
ANNUALLY FROM THE FOLLOWING LIST:

- ARDANT DU PICQ, BATTLE STUDIES: ANCIENT AND MODERN BATTLES
(TACTICS)
- CHALIAND, GUERRILLA STRATEGIES: A HISTORICAL ANTHOLOGY
FROM THE LONG MARCH TO AFGHANISTAN (SMALL WARS)
- DOUGHTY, THE BREAKING POINT: SEDAN AND THE FALL OF FRANCE,
1940 (OPERATIONS/CAMPAIGNS/BATTLES)
- FALL, STREET WITHOUT JOY (SMALL WARS)
- HACKETT, PROFESSION OF ARMS (MEMOIR)
- HASTINGS, BATTLE FOR THE FALKLANDS (SEAPOWER)
- HEINL, VICTORY AT HIGH TIDE: THE INCHON-SEOUL CAMPAIGN
(OPERATIONS/CAMPAIGNS/BATTLES)
- HIGGINBOTHAM, THE WAR OF THE AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE:
MILITARY ATTITUDES, POLICIES, AND PRACTICE (OPERATIONS/CAMPAIGNS
/BATTLES)
- HOFFMAN, ONCE A LEGEND: "RED MIKE" EDSON OF THE MARINE RAIDERS (HERITAGE)
- HOOKER, MANEUVER WARFARE: AN ANTHOLOGY (THEORY)
- HORNE, THE PRICE OF GLORY: VERDUN, 1916 (OPERATIONS/
CAMPAIGNS/BATTLES)
- INFANTRY SCHOOL (U.S.), INFANTRY IN BATTLE (TACTICS)
- ISELY & CROWL, THE U.S. MARINES AND AMPHIBIOUS WAR: ITS
THEORY, AND ITS PRACTICE IN THE PACIFIC (SEAPOWER)
- KEEGAN, THE PRICE OF ADMIRALTY: THE EVOLUTION OF NAVAL
WARFARE (SEAPOWER)
- KRULAK, FIRST TO FIGHT: AN INSIDE VIEW OF THE U.S. MARINE
CORPS (HERITAGE)
- LUPFER, THE DYNAMICS OF DOCTRINE: THE CHANGES IN GERMAN
TACTICAL DOCTRINE DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR (DOCTRINE)
- MACARTHUR, REMINISCENCES (MEMOIR)
- MACDONALD, COMPANY COMMANDER (MEMOIR)
- MAO TSE-TUNG, MAO TSE-TUNG ON GUERRILLA WARFARE
(SMALL WARS)
- MCDONOUGH, DEFENSE OF HILL 781 (TRAINING)
- MCPHERSON, BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM: THE CIVIL WAR ERA
(STRATEGY)
- MELLENTHIN, PANZER BATTLES: A STUDY OF THE EMPLOYMENT OF
ARMOR IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR (TACTICS)
- MEYER, COMPANY COMMAND: THE BOTTOM LINE (TRAINING)
- MILLETT, SEMPER FIDELIS: THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES
MARINE CORPS (HERITAGE)
- MILLETT AND MASLOWSKI, FOR THE COMMON DEFENSE: A MILITARY
HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (THEORY)
- MOOREHEAD, GALLIPOLI (THEORY)
- MORAN, THE ANATOMY OF COURAGE (LEADERSHIP)
- MYRER, ONCE AN EAGLE (LEADERSHIP)
- NAVMC 2890, SMALL WARS MANUAL (SMALL WARS)
- NEWMAN, FOLLOW ME, HUMAN ELEMENT IN LEADERSHIP (LEADERSHIP)
- O'BALLANCE, NO VICTOR, NO VANQUISHED: YOM KIPPUR WAR
(OPERATIONS/CAMPAIGNS/BATTLES)
- PEPPERS, HISTORY OF U.S. MILITARY LOGISTICS, 1935-1985: A
BRIEF REVIEW (LOGISTICS)
- PULLER, FORTUNATE SON (HERITAGE)
- SEARS, LANDSCAPE TURNED RED: THE BATTLE OF ANTIETAM
(OPERATIONS/CAMPAIGNS/BATTLES)
- SLEDGE, WITH THE OLD BREED AT PELELIU AND OKINAWA
(HERITAGE)
- SMITH, DOUGLAS SOUTHALL FREEMAN ON LEADERSHIP (LEADERSHIP)
- SUMMERS, ON STRATEGY: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE VIETNAM
WAR (STRATEGY) - TURLEY, THE EASTER OFFENSIVE, VIETNAM, 1972 (OPERATIONS/
CAMPAIGNS/BATTLES)
- VAN CREVELD, AIRPOWER AND MANEUVER WARFARE (AIRPOWER)

E. MAJOR AND CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER 5. READ AT LEAST FOUR BOOKS
ANNUALLY FROM THE FOLLOWING LIST:

- BAYNES, MORALE: A STUDY OF MEN AND COURAGE (LEADERSHIP)
- CATTON, GRANT TAKES COMMAND (MEMOIR)
- CLAUSEWITZ, ON WAR (THEORY)
- D'ESTE, PATTON: A GENIUS FOR WAR (BIOGRAPHY)
- FALL, HELL IN A VERY SMALL PLACE: THE SIEGE OF DIEN BIEN
PHU (SMALL WARS)
- FEHRENBACH, THIS KIND OF WAR: A STUDY IN UNPREPAREDNESS
(TACTICS)
- FRANK, GUADALCANAL: THE DEFINITIVE ACCOUNT (OPERATIONS/
CAMPAIGNS/BATTLES)
- FRASER, KNIGHT'S CROSS: A LIFE OF FIELD MARSHALL ERWIN
ROMMEL (HISTORY)
- GRIFFITH, FORWARD INTO BATTLE: FIGHTING TACTICS FROM
WATERLOO TO VIETNAM (TACTICS)
- GUEVARA, CHE GUEVARA ON GUERRILLA WARFARE (SMALL WARS)

- HAMMEL, CHOSIN: HEROIC ORDEAL OF THE KOREAN WAR (HERITAGE)
- HIGGINBOTHAM, GEORGE WASHINGTON AND THE AMERICAN MILITARY
TRADITION (STRATEGY)
- LEJEUNE, REMINISCENCES OF A MARINE (HERITAGE)
- MERSKY, U.S. MARINE CORPS AVIATION: 1912 TO THE PRESENT
(AIRPOWER)
- PARET, MAKERS OF MODERN STRATEGY: FROM MACHIAVELLI TO THE
NUCLEAR AGE (STRATEGY)
- PRANGE, AT DAWN WE SLEPT: THE UNTOLD STORY OF PEARL HARBOR
(OPERATIONS/CAMPAIGNS/BATTLES)
- ROBERTSON, DIEPPE: THE SHAME AND THE GLORY (TACTICS)
- SCHWARZKOPF, IT DOESN'T TAKE A HERO (MEMOIR)
- SHERROD, HISTORY OF MARINE CORPS AVIATION IN WWII
(AIRPOWER)
- SHY, A PEOPLE NUMEROUS AND ARMED: REFLECTIONS ON THE
MILITARY STRUGGLE FOR AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE (SMALL WARS)
- SLIM, DEFEAT INTO VICTORY (OPERATIONS/CAMPAIGNS/BATTLES)
- SPECTOR, EAGLE AGAINST THE SUN: THE AMERICAN WAR WITH
JAPAN (OPERATIONS/CAMPAIGNS/BATTLES)
- VAN CREVALD, COMMAND IN WAR (COMMAND)
- VAN CREVALD, SUPPLYING WAR: LOGISTICS FROM WALLENSTEIN TO
PATTON (LOGISTICS)

F. MASTER GUNNERY SERGEANT, SERGEANT MAJOR, AND LIEUTENANT
COLONEL. READ AT LEAST FOUR BOOKS ANNUALLY FROM THE
FOLLOWING LIST:

- BAER, ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SEAPOWER: THE U.S. NAVY
1890-1990 (SEAPOWER)
- BENNETT, ULTRA IN THE WEST: THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN,
1944-1945 (INTELLIGENCE)
- BUELL, THE QUIET WARRIOR: A BIOGRAPHY OF ADMIRAL RAYMOND
A. SPRUANCE (MEMOIR)
- GORDON & TRAINOR, THE GENERAL'S WAR: THE INSIDE STORY OF
THE CONFLICT IN THE GULF (OPERATIONS/CAMPAIGNS/BATTLES)
- JAMES, THE YEARS OF MACARTHUR (LEADERSHIP)
- KEISER, THE U.S. MARINE CORPS AND DEFENSE UNIFICATION
1944-47: THE POLITICS OF SURVIVAL (HERITAGE)
- KOHN, EAGLE AND SWORD: THE FEDERALISTS AND THE CREATION OF
THE MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT IN AMERICA, 1783-1802 (POLICY)
- KREPINEVICH, THE ARMY AND VIETNAM (SMALL WARS)
- LONG, PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF ULYSSES S. GRANT (MEMOIR)
- MILLETT, IN MANY A STRIFE: GENERAL GERALD C. THOMAS AND
THE U.S. MARINE CORPS, 1917-1956 (HERITAGE)
- MURRAY, THE MAKING OF STRATEGY (STRATEGY)
- NEWMAN, FOLLOW ME II: MORE ON THE HUMAN ELEMENT IN
LEADERSHIP (TACTICS)
- PAGONIS, MOVING MOUNTAINS: LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP AND
LOGISTICS FROM THE GULF WAR (LOGISTICS)
- TRAVERS, HOW THE WAR WAS WON (TACTICS)
- VAUX, TAKE THAT HILL: ROYAL MARINES IN THE FALKLANDS WAR
(OPERATIONS/CAMPAIGNS/BATTLES)
- WHITE, THE ENLIGHTENED SOLDIER: SCHARNHORST AND THE
MILITARISCHE GESELLSCHAFT IN BERLIN, 1801-1805 (HISTORY)
- WOODWARD, 100 DAYS: THE MEMOIRS OF THE FALKLANDS BATTLE
GROUP COMMANDER (MEMOIR)

G. COLONEL. READ AT LEAST FOUR BOOKS ANNUALLY FROM THE
FOLLOWING LIST:

- AMBROSE, THE SUPREME COMMANDER; THE WAR YEARS OF GENERAL
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (MEMOIR)
- BRENNAN, FOUNDATIONS OF MORAL OBLIGATION: THE STOCKDALE
COURSE (LEADERSHIP)
- CHANDLER, THE CAMPAIGNS OF NAPOLEON (OPERATIONS/CAMPAIGNS/
BATTLES)
- COHEN, MILITARY MISFORTUNES: THE ANATOMY OF FAILURE IN WAR
(THEORY)
- CRAY, GENERAL OF THE ARMY: GEORGE C. MARSHALL, SOLDIER AND
STATESMAN (MEMOIR)
- DOUGHTY, SEEDS OF DISASTER: THE DEVELOPMENT OF FRENCH ARMY
DOCTRINE, 1919-1939 (TACTICS)
- ECCLES, LOGISTICS IN THE NATIONAL DEFENSE (LOGISTICS)
- FLICKE, WAR SECRETS IN THE ETHER: THE USE OF SIGNALS
INTELLIGENCE BY THE GERMAN MILITARY IN WWII (INTELLIGENCE)
- FORESTER, THE GENERAL (LEADERSHIP)
- FRIEDMAN, FROM BEIRUT TO JERUSALEM (SMALL WARS)
- HORNE, A SAVAGE WAR OF PEACE: ALGERIA, 1954-1962
(SMALL WARS)
- HORNE, TO LOSE A BATTLE: FRANCE, 1940 (OPERATIONS/
CAMPAIGNS/BATTLES)
- KENNEDY, THE RISE AND FALL OF BRITISH NAVAL MASTERY
(SEAPOWER)
- MILLETT & MURRAY, MILITARY INNOVATION IN THE INTERWAR
PERIOD (POLICY)
- MURRAY, LUFTWAFFE (AIRPOWER)
- O'NEILL, A DEMOCRACY AT WAR: AMERICA'S FIGHT AT HOME AND
ABROAD IN WWII (STRATEGY)
- PALMER, THE 25-YEAR WAR: AMERICA'S MILITARY ROLE IN
VIETNAM (STRATEGY)
- POTTER, NIMITZ (BIOGRAPHY)
- RIDGEWAY, KOREAN WAR (OPERATIONS/CAMPAIGNS/BATTLES)
- RYAN, A BRIDGE TOO FAR (OPERATIONS/CAMPAIGNS/BATTLES)
- SHULIMSON, THE MARINE CORPS SEARCH FOR A MISSION 1880-1898
(HERITAGE)
- SIMPKIN, RACE TO THE SWIFT: THOUGHTS ON TWENTY FIRST
CENTURY WARFARE (THEORY)
- SMYTHE, PERSHING, GENERAL OF THE ARMIES (BIOGRAPHY)
- THUCYDIDES, THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR (STRATEGY)
- TRAVERS, THE KILLING GROUND: THE BRITISH ARMY, THE WESTERN
FRONT, AND THE EMERGENCE OF MODERN WARFARE, 1900-1918 (TACTICS)
- VAN TIEN DUNG, OUR GREAT SPRING VICTORY: AN ACCOUNT OF THE
LIBERATION OF SOUTH VIETNAM (SMALL WARS)
- VANDEGRIFT, ONCE A MARINE: THE MEMOIRS OF GENERAL A. A.
VANDEGRIFT, USMC (HERITAGE)
- WEIGLEY, EISENHOWER'S LIEUTENANTS: THE CAMPAIGN OF FRANCE
AND GERMANY, 1944-1945 (MEMOIR)

H. GENERALS. SELECT FROM THE BOOKS LISTED BELOW.
- BARTLETT, LEJEUNE: A MARINE'S LIFE, 1867-1942 (HERITAGE)
- FULLER, GENERALSHIP, ITS DISEASES AND THEIR CURE: A STUDY
OF THE PERSONAL FACTOR IN COMMAND (THEORY)
- HALBERSTAM, THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST (POLICY)
- KAGAN, ON THE ORGINS OF WAR AND THE PRESERVATION OF PEACE
(STRATEGY)
- KENNEDY, RISE AND FALL OF THE GREAT POWERS: ECONOMIC
CHANGE AND MILITARY CONFLICT FROM 1500-2000 (SINEWS)
- KISSINGER, DIPLOMACY (STRATEGY)
- MACDONALD, GIAP: THE VICTOR IN VIETNAM (SMALL WARS)
- MCNAMARA, IN RETROSPECT: THE TRAGEDY AND LESSONS OF
VIETNAM (STRATEGY)
- MOORE, A WOMAN AT WAR: STORMING KUWAIT WITH THE U.S.
MARINES (OPERATIONS/CAMPAIGNS/BATTLES)
- MURRAY, AIRWAR IN THE GULF (DOCTRINE)
- NEWMAN, WHAT ARE GENERALS MADE OF? (THEORY)
- POWELL, MY AMERICAN JOURNEY (LEADERSHIP)
- ROYSTER, MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN (MEMOIR)
- SCHMIDT, MAVERICK MARINE: GENERAL SMEDLEY BUTLER AND THE
CONTRADICTIONS OF AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY (HERITAGE)
- SHEEHAN, A BRIGHT SHINING LIE: JOHN PAUL VANN AND AMERICA
IN VIETNAM (SMALL WARS)
- TIMBERG, THE NIGHTINGALE'S SONG (MEMOIR)
- TWINING, NO BENDED KNEE (HERITAGE)

6. CURRENT ISSUES READING LIST. ALL MARINES SHOULD READ AT LEAST
ONE BOOK FROM EACH OF THE FOLLOWING TWO GROUPINGS (MILITARY AFFAIRS
AND NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES AND PROFESSIONAL AND SOCIETAL ISSUES),
ANNUALLY. THE FOLLOWING BOOKS ARE LISTED BY SUBJECT CATEGORY, TITLE,
AND AUTHOR (IN PARENTHESIS):

A. MILITARY AFFAIRS AND NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES:

- ROLES AND MISSIONS:
(1) AMERICA'S CUTTING EDGE: U.S. MARINE CORPS
ROLES AND MISSIONS (GREENWOOD AND NEIMEYER)

- PEACE OPERATIONS:
(1) ANGELS FROM THE SEA: RELIEF OPERATIONS IN
BANGLADESH (SMITH);
(2) NATO: FROM BERLIN TO BOSNIA (DREW);
(3) PEACEKEEPER (MCKENZIE)

- REVOLUTIONS IN MILITARY AFFAIRS:
(1) 1995-1996 BRASSEY'S MERSHON AMERICAN DEFENSE
ANNUAL (MURRAY);
(2) WAR AND ANTI-WAR (TOFFLER AND TOFFLER)

- INFORMATION WARFARE:
(1) INFORMATION WARFARE (SCWARTAU);
(2) THE FIRST INFORMATION WAR (CAMPEN);
(3) WHAT IS INFORMATION WARFARE? (LIBICKI)

- INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION:
(1) MANAGING NON-PROLIFERATION REGIMES IN
THE 1990'S (VAN HAM);
(2) NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION: A PRIMER (REINER)

- MILITARY AND THE MEDIA:
(1) BIG STORY (BRAESTRUP);
(2) HOTEL WARRIORS (FIALKA)

B. PROFESSIONAL AND SOCIETAL ISSUES:

- PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
(1) SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE (COVEY);
(2) TAKING CHARGE, MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICES (SMITH);
(3) THE DEMING MANAGEMENT METHOD (WALTON);
(4) THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE (SENGE)

- CULTURAL DIVERSITY:
(1) BEYOND RACE AND GENDER (THOMAS);
(2)CULTURAL DIVERSITY MANUAL (BUCHEN);
(3) TWO NATIONS: BLACK AND WHITE, SEPARATE,
HOSTILE, UNEQUAL (HACKER)

- ETHICS:
(1) BOOK OF VIRTUES (BENNETT);
(2) INTEGRITY (CARTER)

- WOMEN IN THE MILITARY:
(1) PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION ON THE ASSIGNMENT OF WOMEN
IN THE ARMED FORCES, 15 NOV 1992;
(2) STEP FORWARD (WEBB);
(3) WOMAN MARINE (YIANILOS);
(4) WOMEN AND WAR (ELSHTAIN)

[A.A. Cunningham]

U.S. Marine Reading List

[RaceBannon]

Sounds interesting, I should get it to see if tells the truth...he he he he

[Bob J]

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[68skylark]

Great post -- thanks!

[RatSlayer]

Dagobert said:
"I know at one point Shaara's The Killer Angels, the basis for the movie "Gettysburg", was on the list. Outstaninding book; highly recommend you read it, if you haven't already."

Although I liked Shaara's book, I actually prefer Gingrich's "Gettyburg" book. In Gingrich's book I could easily follow all the action on the battlefield from the text without any help from maps. I couldn't do that with Shaara's text. I also prefered the character development in Gingrich's book.

They are both worth taking the time to read. Although I didn't really like the last book in the 'trilogy' by Shaara's son (don't recall the title off the top of my head).

[bethelgrad]

Any of you Leathernecks know about Butler's post-war views? Never in my four years in the Corps did I hear anything him other than his heroism. Anyway, this obviously doesn't mean he isn't a hero. But I wonder if he would have called the war in Iraq a "racket" like he does the ones he fought in.


Smedley Butler on Interventionism
-- Excerpt from a speech delivered in 1933, by Major General Smedley Butler, USMC.

War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.

I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we'll fight. The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.

I wouldn't go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.

There isn't a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It has its "finger men" to point out enemies, its "muscle men" to destroy enemies, its "brain men" to plan war preparations, and a "Big Boss" Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism.

It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison. Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty- three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle- man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.

I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.

I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912 (where have I heard that name before?). I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.

During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.

[lainde]

bttt

[MadeInOhio]

Did I overlook U.S. Grant's memoirs on this list? If I didn't and it's not there, it ought to be. It's an American classic.

[Centurion2000]

bookmarked

[68skylark]

There have always been isolationist feelings in both the left and the right side of the political spectrum here in the US. Personally, I disagree with the isolationists. The world is a better, freeer, more tolerant and more prosperous place when the US is "engaged" in the world. This makes us more free and prosperous also.

I'm sure Gen. Butler is quite a hero, and probably a brilliant tactician. And I'll concede that our interventions a hundred years ago were not always done with pure motives. But I can respectfully say that I don't think that America today should adopt his suggestion of "adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else."

[Zack Nguyen]

Should anyone be interested, the Central Intelligence Agency provides a lengthy bibliography of books on the CIA. My understanding is that it includes books both pro and con on the CIA and its mission.

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/intellit/intell.shtml