The recommended and required reading lists of former U.S. Marine Corps General and U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis have generated some attention over the course of his military career. Mattis, sometimes called "The Warrior Monk" is noted for his library of over 6,000 volumes, and for assigning pertinent reading material to Marines of all ranks under his command.
Lists of books edit
The Leader's Bookshelf edit
The Leader's Bookshelf, Admiral James Stavridis and R. Manning Ancell, Naval Institute Press, 2017
United States Marine Corps Forces, Central Command Reading List edit
| Book | Author | Year | Subject matter | Comments by Mattis |
|---|
References edit
External links edit
Category:Lists of books Category:History of the United States Marine Corps
Clean up from here down edit
- http://www.strifeblog.org/2013/05/07/with-rifle-and-bibliography-general-mattis-on-professional-reading/
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2016/11/23/the-avid-reading-habits-of-trumps-potential-secretary-of-defense-james-mad-dog-mattis/?utm_term=.26df307ec2ec
- https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/15/the-book-mattis-reads-to-be-prepared-for-war-with-north-korea-215712
- http://www.businessinsider.com/viral-james-mattis-email-reading-marines-2013-5
- https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/42507.Lt_Gen_James_Mattis_Professional_Reading
- https://ffbsccn.wordpress.com/2010/07/27/the-warrior-monk-and-his-traveling-library-of-6000-books/
- https://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/articles/2018-02-23/trumps-defense-secretary-jim-mattis-is-known-for-his-silence
Small Wars Journal edit
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Commander, United States Marine Corps Forces, Central Command Reading List Commander's Intent: The Global War on Terrorism is a long war, and as such we need to continue our preparation to be engaged in all aspects of this war. For our current fights the MARCENT Reading List provides a collection of readings to be read dependent upon your grade and how long you have before deploying. Whether part of a unit or an individual augment, my intent is to prepare you for the operational, tactical, cultural and environmental factors affecting your specific fight. This reading list is not all inclusive and your local command may require you to accomplish other tasks in preparation for deployment as well. All of these actions will ensure we send educated, well-trained and properly prepared Marines into the fight. Turn-to, get it done, you and your Marines will be better for your efforts.
LtGen James N. Mattis
Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Central Command Section I is a list of articles, books and publications that are required reading for all hands to prepare for your upcoming deployment to the USCENTCOM Area of Responsibility (AOR).
Section II is recommended reading separated into specific regions within the AOR. Applicable ranks are assigned and each item is marked by the estimate amount of time that the item can be completed prior to deployment. The time allotted permits prioritization of the reading requirements should a Marine receive late notification for deployment.
I. Require reading list for all Marines and Sailors deploying to USCENTCOM AOR.
All Ranks
Small Units Leaders’ Guide to Counterinsurgency – MCCDC (MCIP 3-33.01) (Ed. note, pardon the alternate online source, it is no longer available via FAS)
Closing Ranks – Leslie Susser, Jerusalem Post, 8 January 2007 Israel’s Lebanese War, A Preliminary Assessment – Dr. Martin van Creveld, The RUSI Journal, October 2006
Gates of Fire: Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae – Setphen Pressfield
Squad Leaders, Non-Commissioned Officers / Petty Officers and Above
The Village – Bing West
Ethics and Combat: Thoughts for Small Unit Leaders – Steven Silver, Marine Corps Gazette, November 2006
Twenty-Eight Articles: Fundamentals of Company-level Counterinsurgency – Dr. David Kilcullen
Blood Stripes – David Danelo Marine Corps Center for Lessons Learned Website – (PKI / CAC Card Login Required)
Staff NCOs, CPOs, Company Grade Offices and Above
Winning the Peace, The Requirement for Full Spectrum Operations – MG Peter Chiarelli, Military Review, October 2006 (COIN Reader)
Tentative Manual for Countering Irregular Threats: An Updated Approach to Counterinsurgency Operations – MCWL (MCIP 3-33.02)
Learning Counterinsurgency: Observations from Soldiering in Iraq – LTG David Petraeus, Military Review, October 2006 (COIN Reader)
Seven Months in Ar Ramadi: Observations from 2nd Battalion 4th Marines - Marine Corps Center for Lessons Learned Website – (PKI / CAC Card Login Required)
A Bell for Adano – John Hersey
Marine Corps Center for Lessons Learned Website – (PKI / CAC Card Login Required)
One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer – Nathaniel Fick
Field Grade Officers, First Sergeants and Master Sergeants, CPOs / Above
Marine Corps Operating Concepts for a Changed Security Environment – MCCDC Pamphlet dated March 2006 Tentative Manual for Countering Irregular Threats: An Updated Approach to Counterinsurgency Operations – MCWL (MCIP 3-33.02)
Winning the Peace, The Requirement for Full Spectrum Operations – MG Peter Chiarelli, Military Review, October 2006 (COIN Reader)
Counterinsurgency – US Army Field Manual 3-24 / Marine Corps Warfighting Publication 33.3.5
Multi-Service Concept for Irregular Warfare – MCCDC / USSOCOM Pamphlet dated 2006
The Army in Vietnam – Andrew Krepenivich
Achilles in Vietnam – Jonathan Shay
The Crusades Through Arab Eyes – Amin Maalouf
The Small Wars Manual – FMFRP 12-15
Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice – David Galula
Combat Stress – Marine Corps Reference Publication 6-11C
Colonels and General Officers
Thoughts on Operational Art – Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, October 2006
The Utility of Force – General Rupert Smith
The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror – Bernard Lewis
Tentative Manual for Countering Irregular Threats: An Updated Approach to Counterinsurgency Operations – MCWL (MCIP 3-33.02)
Counterinsurgency – US Army Field Manual 3-24 / Marine Corps Warfighting Publication 33.3.5
Knowing the Enemy: Can Social Scientists Redefine the "War on Terror" – George Packer, The New Yorker Magazine dated 18 December 2006 Advising Foreign Forces: Tactics, Techniques and Procedures - Center for Army Lessons Learned Special Edition No. 06-01 dated January 2006 (requires AKO account)
II. Recommended Reading for Marines and Sailors Deploying to Specific Regions of USCENTCOM’s AOR Afghanistan
Corporals and Below
Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia – Ahmed Rashid
Taliban – Ahmed Rashid
Imperial Grunts – Robert Kaplan
Sergeants and Above and Company Grade Officers
Reaping the Whirlwind: Afghanistan, Al Qa'ida and the Holy War – Michael Griffin
Afghan Guerilla Warfare: In the Words of the Mujahideen Fighters – Ali Ahmad Jalali and Lester Grau
Imperial Grunts – Robert Kaplan
Tactics of the Crescent Moon – H. John Poole and Ray Smith
Afghanistan’s Cave Complexes 1979 – 2004 – Mir Bahmanyar
Soldier Sahibs – Charles Alan
The Village – Bing West
What Went Wrong?: The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East – Bernard Lewis
From Beirut to Jerusalem – Thomas Friedman
Bear Went Over the Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics in Afghanistan – Lester Grau
The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War – Ali Ahmad Jalali and Lester Grau
The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power – Max Boot
Soldiers of God: With Islamic Warriors in Afghanistan and Pakistan – Robert Kaplan
Staff NCOs and Field Grade Officers
Afghanistan – Stephan Taylor (ed. note - unable to locate online)
The Osama Bin Laden I Know: An Oral History – Peter Bergen
Charlie Wilson’s War – George Crile
Afghanistan: A Military History – Stephen Tanner
Culture and Customs of Afghanistan – Hafizullah Emadi
War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir and Tibet – Eric Margolis
The Soviet Afghan War: How a Superpower Fought and Lost – Russian General Staff
Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia – Ahmed Rashid
The Punishment of Virtue – Sarah Chayes
Afghan Guerrilla Warfare – Ali Ahmad Jalali
The Battle for Peace: A Frontline Vision of America’s Power and Purpose – General Anthony Zinni
Djibouti / Horn of Africa
Sergeants and Company Grade Officers
What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam – John Esposito
The Battle for God – Karen Armstrong
Islamism and its Enemies in the Horn of Africa – Alex De Waal
Staff NCOs and Field Grade Officers
A Modern History of the Somali – I. M. Lewis
Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia – Paul Henze
Famine Crimes – Alex De Waal
The Horn of Africa: Politics and International Relations – Peter Woodward
The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror – Bernard Lewis
Iraq
Sergeants and Company Grade Officers
No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle of Fallujah – Bing West
Imperial Grunts – Robert Kaplan
The Revolt on the Tigris – Mark Etherington
Greater Middle East
Corporals and Below
Hatred’s Kingdom – Dore Gold
The Age of Sacred Terror: Radical Islam’s War Against America – Daniel Benjamin
No God but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam – Reza Aslan
The Idea of Pakistan – Stephen Cohen
Understanding Arabs: A Guide for Modern Times – Margaret Nydell
The Arab Mind – Raphael Patai
The Shia Revival: How Conflicts Within Islam Will Shape the Future – Vali Nasr
Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution – Nikki Keddie
Failure of Political Islam – Oliver Roy
Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism – Robert Pope
Sergeants and Company Grade Officers
Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda – Gary Bernsten and Ralph Pezzullo
Global Responses to Terrorism: 9/11, Afghanistan and Beyond – Mary Buckley
Staff NCOs and Field Grade Officers
All the Shah’s Men – Stephen Kinzer
Intelligence in War: Knowledge of the Enemy from Napolean to Al-Qaeda – John Keegan
The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power – Max Boot
Battle Ready – Tom Clancy
The Shia Revival: How Conflicts Within Islam Will Shape the Future – Vali Nasr
Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution – Nikki Keddie
Failure of Political Islam – Oliver Roy
Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism – Robert Pope
A Peace to End All Peace – David Fromkin
The Arab Israeli Wars – Chaim Herzog
What Went Wrong?: The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East – Bernard Lewis
The Easter Offensive – Colonel G. H. Turley
The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror – Bernard Lewis
MARCENT Coordination Elements
MCWP 0-1.1 Componency (Required Reading for all MCE Assigned Personnel – MCWP 3-40.8
USMARCENT Theater Campaign Plan – MARCENT G-5 (not on NIPRNET)