The Commandant's Reading List is a selection of books and materials curated by the Commandant of the Marine Corps to promote professional development, critical thinking, and intellectual growth among Marines. The list includes a diverse range of titles covering topics such as leadership, history, strategy, ethics, and personal development.
Participating in the Commandant's Reading List offers several benefits:
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Professional Growth: The recommended readings provide valuable insights into leadership, military history, and strategic thinking, enhancing Marines' professional knowledge and skills.
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Critical Thinking: Engaging with a variety of perspectives and subjects encourages critical thinking and broadens Marines' understanding of different contexts and situations they may encounter.
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Personal Development: Many books on the list focus on personal growth, resilience, and character-building, offering lessons that can be applied both in military and civilian life.
All of the links in this are affiliate links.
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 (MCTP-10A)” 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, Leadership, 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
“Im Staying With my Boys” Jim Proser and Jerry Cutter
“Making The Corps” by Thomas Ricks
“My Men are My Heroes: The Brad Kasal Story” 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: The Brad Kasal Story” 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 Defence 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
“The Storm of Steel” by Ernst Junger
“The Defence of Duffer’s Drift” by E. D. Swinton
“The Forgotten Soldier” by Guy Sajer
“The Killer Angels” by Michael Shaara
“With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa” by E. B. Sledge
Career Level Officer: CWO-2, CWO-3, Capt.
“Attacks” by E. Rommel
“Black Hearts” by J. Frederick
“First to Fight: An Inside View of the Marine Corps” by V. Krulak
“Infantry in Battle (FMFRP 12-2)” by the United States Marine Corps
“Into the Tiger's Jaw” by F. Petersen
“Islands of the Damned” by R. Burgin and B. Marvel
“On Killing” by D. Grossman
“Outliers” by M. Gladwell
“Quartered Safe Out Here” by G. Fraser
“Sources of Power” by G. Klein
“The Virtues of War” by S. Pressfield
"U.S. Constitution”
“War Made New” by M. Boot
Intermediate Level Enlisted: GySgt., MSgt., 1st Sgt.
“All Quiet on the Western Front” by E. Remarque
“American Spartan” by J. Warren
“Fields of Fire” by J. Webb
“Flags of Our Fathers” by J. Bradley
“Helmet For My Pillow” by R. Leckie
“On Killing” by D. Grossman
“The Age of the Unthinkable: Why the New World Disorder Constantly Surprises Us and What We Can Do About It” by J. Ramo
“The Changing Face of War” by M. Van Creveld
“This Kind of War” by T. Fehrenbach
"U.S. Constitution”
“We Were Soldiers Once...And Young” by H. Moore and J. Galloway
Intermediate Level Officer: CWO-4, CWO-5, Maj., Lt.Col.
“Battle Cry of Freedom” by J. McPherson
“Blink” by M. Gladwell
“Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War” by R. Coram
“Brute: The Life of Victor Krulak” by R. Coram
“Carnage and Culture” by V. Hanson
“Command Culture” by J. Muth
“Defeat into Victory” by W. Slim
“Forgotten Warriors” by T. Hammes
“Hot, Flat, and Crowded” by T. Freidman
“Just and Unjust Wars” by M. Walzer
“Military Innovation in the Interwar Period” by W. Murray and A. Millett
"Ripples of Battle” by V. Hanson
“The Age of the Unthinkable: Why the New World Disorder Constantly Surprises Us and What We Can Do About It” by J. Ramo
“The Warriors: Reflections on Men in Battle” by J. Gray
“This Kind of War” by T. Fehrenbach
Senior Level Enlisted: MGySgt., SgtMaj.
“Achillies in Vietnam” by J. Shay
“Assignment Pentagon: How to Excel in a Bureaucracy” by P. Smith and D. Gerstein
“Command Culture” by J. Muth
“Forgotten Warriors” by T. Hammes
“Hot, Flat, and Crowded” by T. Freidman
“Just and Unjust Wars” by M. Walzer
“No Bended Knees” by M. Twining
“The Face of Battle” by J. Keegan
“The Mask of Command” by J. Keegan
Senior Level Officer: Col.-Gen.
“Another Bloody Campaign” by C. Gray
“Assignment Pentagon: How to Excel in a Bureaucracy” by P. Smith and D. Gerstein
“Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Lies that Led to Vietnam” by H. McMaster
“Diplomacy” by H. Kissinger
“How Wars End” by G. Rose
“Landscape of History: How Historians Map the Past” by J. Gaddis
“Little Book of Economics: How the Economy Works in the Real World” by G. Ip
“Military Power: Explaining Victory and Defeat in Battle” by S. Biddle
“Modern Strategy” by C. Gray
“Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen and Leadership in Wartime” by E. Cohen
“Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” by D. Goodwin
“The Federalist Papers” by A. Hamilton
“The Guns of August” by B. Tuchman
“The Landmark of Thucydides” by R. Strassler
“The Revenge of Geography” by R. Kaplan