Recently, General Raymond Odierno, the Chief of Staff of the Army, released his updated reading list. While the list has some excellent books, I thought it could use more than one on strategy, some books on civil-military relations, and some more recent scholarship on the Vietnam War. In order to support the Chief’s desire to expand the Army’s professionalism, these books are respectfully offered as discussion points:
Strategy: An institution thinking about the future and getting out of a tactical mindset could use more than just one book on strategy. These will help.
- Fighting Talk 40 Maxims on War, Peace, and Strategy, Colin Gray
- Clausewitz’s On War: A Biography, Hew Strachan
- The Making of Strategy: Rulers, States, and War, MacGregor Knox, W. Murray, & Al Bernstein.
- How Wars End, Why We Always Fight the Last Battle, Gideon Rose or Between War and Peace: How America Ends Its Wars, Matthew Moten, ed.
Civil-Military Relations: Given claims that Americans and their military are growing apart or that decision making in both surges was challenged by tensions in civil-military discourse, I was surprised that no material on civil-military relations was included unless one counts Andrew Bacevich’s screed. Eliot Cohen and H.R. McMaster have been mainstays for most PME lists, and are absent. I recommend this be rectified with:
- American Civil-Military Relations: The Soldier and the State in a New Era, Suzanne Nielsen and Don Snider, eds.
Critical Analysis and the Global Context: The Chief’s list was strong on regional studies, but given the importance of the Asia-Pacific region in American defense policy, I think there are some missing items. Additionally, there was nothing to force the strategy community to envision “dark futures” and 7 Deadly Scenarios is an antidote to wishful thinking and complacency.
- A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, & the Struggle for Mastery in Asia, Aaron Friedberg
- Monsoon: the Indian Ocean and the Future of American power, Robert D. Kaplan
- Descent into Chaos: The U. S. and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia, Ahmed Rashid
- 7 Deadly Scenarios, A Military Futurist Explores War in the 21st Century, Andrew Krepinevich
- The Future of Power, Joe Nye
Vietnam: The CSA list has a single book on Vietnam, Palmer’s Summons of the Trumpet, which is a bit dated although accessible. It could be augmented with one of these two, the second of which is just out but which will be well received:
- Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954-1965, Mark Moyar
- Westmoreland’s War: Reassessing American Strategy in Vietnam, Greg Daddis
Contemporary Conflict: One of these three belongs on the list to bring out the enduring character of war, human domain, and combat leadership.
- Not a Good Day to Die, Sean Naylor
- Black Hawk Down, Mark Bowden
- The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor, Jake Topper
The Use of History: The study of history and the proper use of history are central to our profession, and this book will facilitate a deeper understanding of history to students of military art and science.
- The Past as Prologue: The Importance of History to the Military Profession, Williamson Murray and Richard H. Sinnreich
Frank Hoffman is a Senior Research Fellow in the Center for Strategic Research at National Defense University (NDU). These comments are his own personal views and not that of NDU or the Department of Defense.
Photo: ginnerobot, Flickr
Bill Anderson 
Josh Hotvet 
Well done, Frank. I would include something about the Philippine War. Linn book is excellent. What are the cultural lessons learned during the Philippine War that are relevant and applicable to today’s conflict environment? Are we repeating the same mistakes?
“Black Hearts” by Jim Frederick must be included in any military PME list. Commanders and staff often forget (or never really knew) the reality of day-to-day life for the men who do the actual fighting. Civilian decision-makers are even farther removed, often with no concept at all of military small unit leadership or the experience of the American fighting man. Marine and Army units in Iraq and Afghanistan were often over-tasked, under-trained, and poorly led. Frederick chronicles one such unit, the 1-502nd, but any American who fought in either war knows that this is not an isolated case. “Black Hearts” is a case study in leadership and modern American counterinsurgency operations. Importantly, at the end of the book Frederick notes where many of the leaders in the 1-502nd ended up. These notes provide an education to any highly placed leader who holds influence over personnel decisions. In any case, “Black Hearts” must be included on any serious PME list.
Frank,
I would include Sebastian Junger’s “War” to the list, perhaps to the exclusion of “The Outpost.” Junger provides an unmatched description of the elements of fear and courage in battle. Combine this with the gut-wrenching visuals provided by the late, great Tim Heatherington (as seen in their joint project “Restrepo”), and you have as good an example of the human cost and character of war as I’ve seen.
I also agree with Bob Mathers’s comment from the previous post advocating Atkinson’s “An Army at Dawn” — a supreme study of how good generalship and adaptive leaders can be crucial to victory.