Commandant of the Marine Corps' Reading List.

in: Living, Reading

• November 11, 2021

The Best of the Marine Corps' Reading Lists

From aboriginal times til the present, the ideal warrior has been celebrated as a homo of both thought and action, with a heed as finely honed every bit his sword. Since the 19th century, the Marine Corps has directed its members to pursue that ideal by issuing a list of recommended reading to members of its fighting force. In 1989, the reading listing was codified, and since then, each commandant (the highest-ranking officer in the Corps) has put out the "Commandant's Professional Reading List" each yr. The goal of the list is to improve Marines' agreement of their profession, the nature of war, and the broader world, and develop their decision-making skills, desire for lifelong learning, and ability to wrestle with bug. The books are to be read by enlisted personnel and officers alike, with commanders encouraged to discuss the books with their men.

In the reading listing issued in 2005, four-star general and commandant Michael W. Hagee shared the criteria past which the books were selected for recommendation:

A. THE Listing DOES NOT INCORPORATE FLEETING TRENDS.
B. It EMPHASIZES WARFIGHTING.
C. Information technology IS HISTORICALLY BASED.
D. IT USES SERIOUS LITERATURE THAT HAS AN ESTABLISHED PERMANENCE.
Due east. IT ENCOMPASSES A Wide CONTEXT.
F. AND, It IS Achievable BY ALL MARINES.

In 2012, Commandant James F. Amos sent a letter to the Corps which reiterated that "the development and broadening of the listen is a critical aspect of the true warrior's preparation for battle" and argued that the source of the "adaptation and flexibility shown by Marines faced with a variety of different situations and challenges" could exist traced to this delivery to intellectual growth. Amos expressed concern over the fact that many Marines of the time had dropped the reading habit — in part because of the pressures and time constraints generated by over a decade of continuous combat in Iraq and Afghanistan — and called for a reemphasis on reading throughout the Corps:

Faced with a period of fiscal austerity and an uncertain world, it's more important now than ever before to dedicate fourth dimension to read and to call back. As nosotros prepare ourselves for whatever is to come, the study of military history offers the inexpensive chance to learn from the difficult-won experience of others, find a template for solving existing challenges, and avert making the same mistakes twice. . . . Any book thoughtfully read sharpens the mind and improves on an individual's professional person potential.

Whatever has caused our emphasis on reading to atrophy, we as Marines and as leaders, need to restore its preeminence at every level. . . .

Commanders and senior enlisted will reinvigorate the critical emphasis on reading in their units and develop a unit reading programme. Books will be selected for reading and discussion, with time fix bated in the schedule to that end. . . .

Reading is a disquisitional continuing action. We need to find the fourth dimension for it only every bit we find fourth dimension weekly for individual and unit of measurement physical conditioning. What I am calling for is null less than a renewal of a critical aspect of our commitment to the profession of arms.

The Commandant'due south Professional Reading Lists included a set of books designated every bit the "Commandant's Choice" — favorites he felt were pertinent to all Marines — as well as sets of recommended books broken down past rank, e.m., an enlisted private was given a different list of books to read than a second lieutenant. All Marines were required to read a certain number of books from the Commandant's Selection list and/or their "Grade Level" listing. Once a Marine had read all the books assigned to his course, he could continue reading up the list.

While there are a few books that made information technology into almost every edition of the CPRL, every few years the list is revised, with books added and taken away from the line-upwards based on the commandant's personal picks, the feedback of rank-and-file Marines, and the desire to create a list of books which speaks to the current centers of conflict and particular problems of a period. So, for example, books about dealing with PTSD and the manner engineering science is changing warfare have been added in the final decade, while books that covered the history of the Corps, but only upward through the 20th century, were replaced with more up-to-date publications.

In recent years, the list got a little "lighter" in heft, with fewer entries on history and logistics, the elimination of classic books on strategy past Sun Tzu and Clausewitz, and the add-on of pop psychology books like Malcom Gladwell's Outliers and mod novels like Ready Player One. But overall, the CPRL maintained a solid mix of books on leadership, tactics, and martial history.

Then in 2020, the Commandant's Professional Reading List underwent a more significant overhaul. The CPRL was simplified to a single list for all Marines, regardless of rank, and organized into five categories (Foundational Documents, Profession of Artillery, Innovation, Leadership, and Strategy). Its entries were revised with the official aim of ensuring the list "remains relevant, current, and promotes professional person discussions amongst all Marines." To that end, many historical and biographical books which had been included on near every CPRL of the terminal thirty years went missing (including must-reads similar With the Old Breed), books focused on female Marines and emotional intelligence (east.g., Dare to Lead by Brene Brown) were added, and the number of pop psychology books was increased overall. The fiction selections (like the formerly perennial inclusion of classics such as In one case an Hawkeye and All Tranquility on the Western Front, also as modern page-turners similar Steven Pressfield's Gates of Fire), which ever comprised a smaller simply notwithstanding significant portion of each CPRL, were reduced to a single graphic novel.

Equally with many things, change isn't always an unmitigated adept, and the past CPRLs were arguably much superior in content, depth, and range. Beneath we highlight 36 of the best books from all the Commandant's Professional Reading Lists that were issued from 1989 until 2019 (you tin find all the previous Marine Corps' reading lists here), nearly all of which we've read ourselves and tin can personally recommend. Whether you're armed services or civilian, perhaps you'll run into a few you'd like to add to your own to-read list. As General Amos put it, in all life's battles, "mental preparation [is] as important as concrete workout."

Noteworthy Entries on the Marine Corps Commandant's Professional person Reading List (1989-2019)

• "A Message to Garcia" by Elbert Hubbard
• With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa by E.B Sledge
• Fields of Fire by James Webb
• The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
• Company Commander by Charles MacDonald
• The Confront of Boxing past John Keegan
• The Mask of Control past John Keegan
• The Art of War past Sun Tzu
• Strategy by B.H. Liddell Hart
• The Anatomy of Backbone by C.Due north. Moran
• The Claiming of Command: Reading for War machine Excellence by Roger Nye
•  All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
• The Killer Angels past Michael Shaara
• Attacks by Erwin Rommel
• One time an Eagle past Anton Myrer
• State of war and Peace past Leo Tolstoy
• On State of war by Carl von Clausewitz
• The Supreme Commander: The War Years of General Dwight D. Eisenhower by Stephen Due east. Ambrose
• Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose
• Starship Troopers past Robert A. Heinlein
• The Centurions by Jean Larteguy
• Rifleman Dodd by C.Due south. Forester
• The General by C. S. Forester
• American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur, 1880-1964 by William Manchester
• Boxing Weep of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James M. McPherson
• Thinking in Time: The Uses of History for Decision Makers by Richard Eastward. Neustadt and Ernest R. May
• Xix Stars: A Study in Military Character and Leadership by Edgar F. Puryear
• Ender'due south Game past Orson Scott Card
• Marine! The Life of Chesty Puller by Burke Davis
• Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
• The Warrior Ethos by Steven Pressfield
• History of the Peloponnesian State of war by Thucydides
• Patton: A Genius for War past Carlo D'Este
• Boyd: The Fighter Airplane pilot Who Changed the Art of War by Robert Coram
• Black Swan: The Touch on of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Taleb
• Left of Bang: How the Marine Corps' Combat Hunter Program Tin Save Your Life by Patrick Van Horne and Jason A. Riley

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Source: https://www.artofmanliness.com/living/reading/the-best-of-the-marine-corps-reading-lists/

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