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Commandant’s Choice

First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps” by Victor H. Krulak

U.S. Constitution
Sustaining the Transformation (MCWP 6-11D)” by the United States Marine Corps.

 

Entry Level Enlisted: Recruit/Poolee

Battle Cry” by Leon Uris

Joker One: A Marine Platoon's Story of Courage, Sacrifice, and Brotherhood” by Donovan Campbell
Corps Values” by Zell Miller
Making the Corps” by Thomas Rick 
The Red Badge of Courage” by Stephen Crane

 

Entry Level Officer: Candidate/Midshipman

Battle Cry” by Leon Uris
Corps Values” by Zell Miller
I’m Staying With My Boys” Jim Proser and Jerry Cutter
Making the Corps” by Thomas Ricks
My Men Are My Heroes” by Nathaniel Helms
The Killer Angels” by Michael Shaara

 

Primary Level Enlisted: Pvt-Cpl

"Chesty" by Jon Hoffman

Ender’s Game” by Orson Card
Gates of Fire” by Steven Pressfield 
Marine! The Life of Chesty Puller ” by Burke Davis
My Men Are My Heroes” by Nathaniel Helms
Rifleman Dodd” by C.S. Forester
The Last Stand of Fox Company” by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin
The Marines of Montford Point: America’s First Black Marines” by Melton McLaurin

 

Primary Level Officer: WO, 2nd Lt, 1st Lt

All Quiet on the Western Front” by Erich Remarque 
Battle Leadership” by Adolf Von Schell

"Chesty" by Jon Hoffman
Gates of Fire” by Steven Pressfield 
Marine! The Life of Chesty Puller” by Burke Davis

"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu
Matterhorn: a Novel of the Vietnam War” by Karl Marlantes 
The Defense of Duffer’s Drift” by E. D. Swinton
The Forgotten Soldier” by Guy Sajer
The Last Stand of Fox Company ” by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin 
The Marines of Montford Point: America’s First Black Marines” by Melton McLaurin
U.S. Constitution”
With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa” by E. B. Sledge 

 

Career Level Enlisted: Sgt, SSgt

First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps” by Victor Krulak
Islands of the Damned” by R. V. Burgin and Bill Marvel 
Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell 
Quartered Safe Out Here” by George Fraser

"Resilience" by Eric Greitens
Soldiers of God” by R. Kaplan
Storm of Steel” by Ernst Junger 
The Defense of Duffer’s Drift” by E. D. Swinton
The Forgotten Soldier” by Guy Sajer
The Killer Angels” by Michael Shaara 
U.S. Constitution”
With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa ” by E. B. Sledge 

 

Career Level Officer: CWO-2, CWO-3, Capt

Attacks” by Erwin Rommel
Black Hearts” by Jim Frederick 
First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps” by Victor Krulak

"Curious" by Ian Leslie

Infantry in Battle (FMFRP 12-2)” by the United States Marine Corps
Into the Tiger’s Jaw” by Frank Petersen
Islands of the Damned” by R. V. Burgin and Bill Marvel 
On Killing” by Dave Grossman 
Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell 
Quartered Safe Out Here” by George Fraser 
Sources of Power” by Gary Klein
The Virtues of War” by Steven Pressfield 
“U.S. Constitution”
War Made New” by Max Boot

"We Were Soldiers Once... And Young" by Harold Moore and Joseph Galloway

 

Intermediate Level Enlisted: GySgt, MSgt, 1st Sgt

All Quiet on the Western Front” by Erich Remarque 
American Spartans” by James Warren

"Bloodlands" by Timothy Snyder
Fields of Fire” by James Webb 
Flags of Our Fathers” by James Bradley 
Helmet For My Pillow” by Robert Leckie

"Leading Change" by John Kotter
On Killing” by Dave Grossman 
The Age of the Unthinkable: Why the New World Disorder Constantly Surprises Us and What We Can Do About It” by Joshua Ramo 
The Changing Face of War” by Martin Van Creveld
This Kind of War” by T. R. Fehrenbach
“U.S. Constitution”
We Were Soldiers Once… And Young” by Harold Moore and Joseph Galloway

 

Intermediate Level Officer: CWO-4, CWO-5, Maj, Lt.Col

Battle Cry of Freedom” by James McPherson 
Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell

"Bloodlands" by Timothy Snyder
Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War” by Robert Coram 
Brute: The Life of Victor Krulak” by Robert Coram 
Carnage and Culture” by Victor Hanson
Command Culture” by Jörg Muth
Defeat into Victory” by Viscount Slim
Forgotten Warriors” by Thomas Hammes
Hot, Flat, and Crowded” by Thomas Freidman 
Just and Unjust Wars” by Michael Walzer 
Military Innovation in the Interwar Period” by Williamson Murray and Allan Millett
Ripples of Battle” by Victor Hanson
The Age of the Unthinkable: Why the New World Disorder Constantly Surprises Us and What We Can Do About It” by Joshua Ramo 
Team of Teams" by Stanley McChrystal, Chris Fussell, Tantum Collins and David Silverman

"The Utility of Force" by Rupert Smith

"The Warriors: Reflections on Men in Battle” by J. Glenn Gray
This Kind of War” by T. R. Fehrenbach 

 

Senior Level Enlisted: MGySgt, SgtMaj

Achilles in Vietnam” by Jonathan Shay
Assignment Pentagon: How to Excel in a Bureaucracy” by Perry Smith and Daniel Gerstein
Command Culture” by Jörg Muth
Forgotten Warriors” by Thomas Hammes
Hot, Flat, and Crowded” by Thomas Freidman 
Just and Unjust Wars” by Michael Walzer
No Bended Knee” by Merrill Twining

Team of Teams" by Stanley McChrystal, Chris Fussell, Tantum Collins and David Silverman
The Face of Battle” by John Keegan
The Mask of Command” by John Keegan

 

Senior Level Officer: Col-Gen

Another Bloody Century” by Colin Gray
Assignment Pentagon: How to Excel in a Bureaucracy” by Perry Smith and Daniel Gerstein
Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Lies that Led to Vietnam” by H. R. McMaster
Diplomacy” by Henry Kissinger
How Wars End” by Gideon Rose

"Every War Must End" by Fred Iklé

"Strategy: A History" by Lawrence Freedman
Landscape of History: How Historians Map the Past” by John Gaddis
Little Book of Economics: How the Economy Works in the Real World” by G. Ip
Military Power: Explaining Victory and Defeat in Modern Battle” by Stephen Biddle
Modern Strategy” by Colin Gray
Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen and Leadership in Wartime” by E. Cohen
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” by Doris Goodwin 
The Federalist Papers” by Alexander Hamilton
The Guns of August” by Barbara Tuchman 
The Landmark of Thucydides” by Robert Strassler

"The Soldier and the State" by Samuel Huntington

"The War that Ended Peace" by Margaret MacMillan

"Treasury's War" by Juan Zarate
The Revenge of Geography” by Robert Kaplan 

 

Aviation

100 Years of Marine Corps Aviation: An Illustrated History” by Roxanne Kaufman
Hammer From Above: Marine Air Combat Over Iraq” by Jay Stout
Marine Air: The History of the Flying Leathernecks in Words and Photos” by Robert Dorr
On Yankee Station: The Naval Air War over Vietnam” by John Nichols and Barrett Tillman
“The Art of Airpower, Sun Tzu Revisited” by Sanu Kainikara
The Naval Air War in Korea” by Richard Hallion
U.S. Marine Corps Aviation Since 1912” by Peter Mersky

 

Counterinsurgency

Counterinsurgency Warfare” by David Galula
Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife” by John Nagl and Peter Schoomaker 
Street Without Joy” by Bernard Fall 
The Accidental Guerilla” by David Kilcullen 
The Village” by Bing West
War Comes to Long An” by Jeffrey Race

 

Cyberwarfare & Security 

“America the Vulnerable” by Joel Brenner 
“Countdown to Zero Day” by Kim Zetter 
“Cyber War” by Richard Clarke and Robert Knake
“Cyberpower and National Security” by Franklin Kramer
“Ghost Fleet” by P. W. Singer and August Cole
“Inside Cyber Warfare” by Jeffrey Carr 
“Wired for War” by P. W. Singer

 

Leadership

Developing the Leaders Around You” by John Maxwell 
Heroic Leadership” by Chris Lowney

"MCWP 6-11 Leading Marines" by United States Marine Corps
Leadership and the New Science” by Margaret Wheatly
Lincoln on Leadership: Executive Strategies for Tough Times” by Donald Phillips 
Once a Marine” by Nick Popaditch and Mike Steere 
Start With Why” by Simon Sinek 
The Power of Communication” by Helio Garcia
The Starfish and the Spider” by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom

"The Ethical Warrior" by Jack Hoban

"The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty" by Dan Ariely

 

Logistics

Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army” by Donald Engels
Clockspeed” by Charles Fine
Feeding Mars: Logistics in Western Warfare from the Middle Ages to the Present” by John Lynn
Keep from All Thoughtful Men: How U.S. Economists Won WWII” by Jim Lacey
Pacific Express: The Critical Role of Military Logistics In WWII” by William McGee and Sandra McGee
Recurring Logistic Problems as I Have Observed Them” by Carter Magruder
Supplying War” by M. van Creveld

"The Sinews of War: Army Logistics 1775-1953" by James Huston

"Logistics in the Falklands War" by Kenneth Privratsky

"Lifeblood of War" by Julian Thompson

 

Regional and Cultural Studies

Angry Wind: Through Muslim Black Africa by Truck, Bus, Boat, and Camel” by J. Tayler
Eastward to Tartary: Travels in the Balkans, the Middle East, and the Caucasus” by R. Kaplan
Monsoon” by R. Kaplan
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea” by B. Demick 
The Great Arab Conquests” by H. Kennedy
Understanding Arabs: A Contemporary Guide to Arab Society ” by M. Nydell
What Went Wrong? The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East” by B. Lewis

 

Roots of Maneuver Warfare

Airpower and Maneuver Warfare” by M. van Crefeld
Assault from the Sea: Essays on the History of Amphibious Warfare ” by M. Bartlett
Maneuver Warfare” by G. Galvin and R. Hooker
Maneuver Warfare Handbook” by W. Lind
The U.S. Marines and Amphibious War: Its Theory and Practice in the Pacific” by J. Isely and P. Crowl

 

Strategic Thinking

Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life” by R. Paul and L. Elder
General System Theory” by L. Von Bertalanffy
Harnessing Complexity” by R. Axelrod and M. Cohen
Rethinking the Principles of War” by A. McIvor
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable” by N. Taleb 
The Copernican Revolution” by T. Kuhn
Thinking Fast and Slow” by D. Kahneman 
Thinking in Time: The uses of History for Decision Makers” by R. Neustadt and E. May 

Wounded Warrior

Ascent” by B. McGhie
Courage After Fire: Coping Strategies for Troops Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and Their families” by K. Armstrong, S. Best, and P. Domenici
Down Range: To Iraq and Back” by B. Cantrell and C. Dean
Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming” by J. Shay
Once a Warrior Always a Warrior: Navigating the Transition from Combat to Home” by C. Hoge 
Once a Warrior: Wired for Life” by B. Cantrell and C. Dean
Overcoming Post-Deployment Syndrome: A Six Step Mission to Health” by D. Cifu and C. Blake
Shadow of the Sword” by J. Workman
Soft Spots: A Marine’s Memoir of Combat and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder” by C. Van Winkle
Unbroken: A WWII Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption” by L. Hillenbrand
War and the Soul: Healing Our Nation’s Veterans from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder” by E. Tick
Warrior Mindset” by M. Asken, L. Christensen, D. Grossman
What It Is Like to Go to War” by K. Marlantes 

 

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