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

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The Leader's Bookshelf

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The Leader's Bookshelf, Admiral James Stavridis and R. Manning Ancell, Naval Institute Press, 2017

Book Author Year Subject matter Comments by Mattis
Meditations Marcus Aurelius 161-180 AD
The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant 1885
Scipio Africanus: Greater Than Napoleon Basil H. Liddell Hart 1926 Scipio Africanus
Sherman: Soldier, Realist, American Basil H. Liddell Hart 1929 William Tecumseh Sherman
Defeat into Victory Viscount Slim 1956
The Greatest Raid of All Lucas Phillips 1958 St Nazaire Raid
The Guns of August Barbara Tuchman 1962 World War I
The Lessons of History Will and Ariel Durant 1968
The Forgotten Soldier Guy Sajer 1971
Just and Unjust Wars Michael Walzer 1977
The Far Pavilions M. M. Kaye 1978
War, Morality, and the Military Profession Malham Wakin 1979
With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa E. B. Sledge 1981
March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam Barbara Tuchman 1984
Rise and Fall of the Great Powers Paul Kennedy 1987
Diplomacy Henry Kissinger 1994 Diplomacy
Long Walk to Freedom Nelson Mandela 1994
My American Journey Colin Powell 1995
The Rules of the Game Andrew Gordon 1996 Battle of Jutland
Military Innovation in the Interwar Period Williamson Murray 1996
Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, The Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam H.R. McMaster 1997
Gates of Fire Steven Pressfield 1998
Alexander Hamilton Ron Chernow 2004 Alexander Hamilton
One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer Nathaniel Fick 2005
Fighting Talk: Forty Maxims on War, Peace, and Strategy Colin S. Gray 2007
For Country and Corps: The Life of General Oliver P. Smith Gail Shisler 2009 Oliver P. Smith
Before the First Shot Is Fired: How America Can Win Or Lose Off The Battlefield Tony Zinni 2014
Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War Robert Gates 2014
World Order Henry Kissinger 2014
The Future of Strategy Colin S. Gray 2015

United States Marine Corps Forces, Central Command Reading List

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Book Author Year Subject matter Comments by Mattis

References

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Category:Lists of books Category:History of the United States Marine Corps


Clean up from here down

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Small Wars Journal

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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)