New Marine Reading Program

[Vulture6]

Updated Marine Reading List – ALMAR 007/05
8 Feb 2005

The titles listed below are required to be read by all Marines while serving in the grade shown. These titles are specifically focused on warfighting. Leaders are expected to have read all books of those grades junior to the grades they currently hold, and to engage their juniors and peers in frequent discussion of these titles. Our goal is achieving excellence in warfighting based on competence and comradeship.

Reading enriches our knowledge and understanding of war. This by itself, however, is not the primary reason for pursuing a reading program. Timely and correct actions taken on the battlefield are. How do we translate written words into sound military decision? Obviously, the first step is to read. Then we must relate what we have read to what we actually do in training, field exercises, wargames, leadership, and the like. We must read and discuss our readings with each other.

Required Reading by Grade

a. Private to Lance Corporal

i. A Message to Garcia
ii. Rifleman Dodd by C.S. Forster
iii. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
iv. The Soldier’s Load by S.L.A. Marshall
v. The Defense of Duffer’s Drift by E.D. Swinton
vi. Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden
vii. Constitution of the United States

b. Corporal to Sergeant

i. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
ii. Battle Leadership by Adolph Von Schell
iii. With the Old Breed at Pelelieu and Okinawa by E.B. Sledge
iv. The Bridge at Dong Ha by John Miller
v. Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
vi. The United States Marines: A History by BGen E.H. Simmons
vii. The Last Full Measure by Jeff Shaara
viii. Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley
ix. Fields of Fire by James Webb
x. Tip of the Spear by Sgt G. J. Michaels

c. Staff Sergeant of Marines

i. The Art of War by Sun Tzu (Griffith translation is recommended)
ii. The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer
iii. Pegasus Bridge by Stephen Ambrose
iv. We Were Soldiers Once and Young by Moore and Galloway
v. Phase Line Green-The Battle for Hue 1968 by Nicholas Warr
vi. The Village by Francis West
vii. This Kind of War by T.R. Fehrenbach
viii. The Arab Mind by R. Patai
ix. Attacks! By Erwin Rommel

d. Gunnery Sergeant

i. Semper Fidelis: The History of the U.S. Marine Corps by Allan Millet
ii. Navajo Weapon by Sally McClain
iii. Citizen Soldiers by Stephen Ambrose
iv. Breakout by Martin Russ
v. My American Journey by Colin Powell
vi. Unaccustomed Fear by Roger Willock
vii. Savage Wars Peace by Max Boot
viii. Command in War by Martin Van Creveld

e. Master Sergeant and First Sergeant

i. Bayonet Forward! By Joshua Chamberlain
ii. Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence
iii. Defeat into Victory by William Slim
iv. Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose
v. Strong Men Armed by Robert Leckie
vi. The Mask of Command by John Keegan
vii. War in the Shadows by R. B. Asprev
viii. The Face of Battle by John Keegan

f. Master Gunnery Sergeant to Sergeant Major

i. First to Fight by Victor Krulak
ii. Fortune Favors the Brave by Bruce Myers
iii. Reminiscences of a Marine by John A. Lejeune
iv. No Bended Knee by Merill Twining

g. Warrant Officer

i. Small Wars Manual
ii. Leading Marines MCWP 6-11
iii. Victory at High Tide by Robert Heinl
iv. The Armed Forces Officer by S.L.A. Marshall
v. The Quiet American by Graham Greene

h. Officer Candidate, Cadet, Midshipman

i. Beat to Quarters by C.S. Forester
ii. A Message to Garcia
iii. The United States Marines: A History by BGen E. H. Simmons
iv. MCDP-1 Warfighting
v. Chesty by Jon Hoffman

i. Second Lieutenant

i. Rifleman Dodd by C.S Forester
ii. On Infantry by John English & Bruce Gudmundsson
iii. This Kind of War by T. R. Fehrenback
iv. Cleared Hot by Bob Stoffey
v. Fields of Fire by James Web
vi. Chancellorsville by Stephen W. Sears
vii. The Easter Offensive by G. H. Turley
viii. The Face of Battle by John Keegan
ix. The Arab Mind by R. Patai

j. First Lieutenant and Chief Warrant Officer 2

i. The Ugly American by Lederer and Burdick
ii. Reminiscences of a Marine by John a Lejeune
iii. A People Numerous and Armed by John Shy
iv. All for the Union by Elisha Hunt Rhodes
v. The Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger
vi. Once an Eagle by Anton Myrer
vii. Company Commander by Charles B. MacDonald
viii. The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Saier
ix. Utmost Savagery by Joseph Alexander
x. Attacks! By Erwin Rommel

k. Captain and Chief Warrant Officer 3

i. The Art of War by Sun Tzu (Griffith translation is best)
ii. Fields of Battle by John Keegan
iii. Goodbye Darkness by William Manchester
iv. From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas Friedman
v. Unaccustomed to Fear by Roger Willcock
vi. Command in War by Martin Van Creveld
vii. Eagle Against the Sun by Ronald Specter
viii. Stonewall in the Valley by Robert G. Tanner
ix. Savage Wars of Peace by Max Boot
x. Infantry in Battle compiled by George C. Marshall
xi. Field Artillery and Firepower by J.B.A Bailey
xii. Terrorism Today by Christopher Harmon

l. Major and Chief Warrant Officer 4

i. A Bright Shining Lie by Neil Sheehan
ii. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James M. McPherson
iii. Crucible of War by Fred Anderson
iv. European Armies by Hew Strachan
v. For the Common Defense by Millet and Maslowski
vi. Grant Takes Command by Bruce Catton
vii. On War by Karl von Clausewitz (Howard and Paret)
viii. Strategy by B. H. Liddell Hart
ix. The General by C.S. Forester
x. The Glorious Cause by Robert Middlekauff
xi. The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman
xii. The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides (“The Landmark” version by Strasser recommended)
xiii. The Mask of Command by John Keegan

m. Lieutenant Colonel and Chief Warrant Officer 5

i. A revolutionary People at War by Charles Royster
ii. Defeat into Victory by William Slim
iii. Frontiersmen in Blue by Robert M. Utley
iv. Masters of War by Michael I. Handel
v. One Hundred Days by ADM Sandy Woodward
vi. Patton: A Genius for War by Carlo D’Este
vii. Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T. E. Lawrence
viii. The Army and Viet Nam by Andrew F. Krepinevich
ix. The Lexus and the Olive Tree by Thomas L. Friedman
x. The Roots of Blitzkrieg by James S. Corum
xi. Supplying War by Martin Van Creveld

n. Colonel to General

i. Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution by James McPherson
ii. Supreme Command by Eliot Cohen
iii. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque
iv. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
v. Military Innovation in the Interwar Period by Murray and Millett
vi. The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang
vii. Dereliction of Duty by H. R. McMaster
viii. Diplomacy by Henry Kissinger
ix. Carnage and Culture by Victor Davis Hanson
x. Crusade in Europe by Dwight D. Eisenhower
xi. Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman edited by William S. McFeely
xii. Feeding Mars by John Lynn
xiii. Eisenhower’s Lieutenants by Russell S. Weigley
xiv. Fleet Tactics and Coastal Combat by Wayne P. Hughes Jr.
xv. Generalship; Its Diseases and Their Cure by J. F. C. Fuller
xvi. Inventing Grand Strategy and Teaching Command by Jon T. Sumida
xvii. The Campaigns of Napoleon by David G. Chandler
xviii. The Conduct of War by J. F. C. Fuller

[Vulture6]

Read and heed, Marines (& wannabes)


Anyone read any good books lately?

[KARL THE GRUNT]

For a general History of war:
"War through the Ages " by Lynn Montross
"Twenty Decisive Battles of the world" by Lt. Col Joseph B. Mitchell
"War in the Modern World" by Theodore Ropp
" a History of the Art of War in the Middle Ages" by Sir Charles Oman

For a more specialized view:

"The Service" by Reinhard Gehlen
"Panzer Leader" by Heinz Guderian
"Panzer Battles" by F.W. Von Mellenthin
"Cromwell" The Lord Protector. By Antonia Fraser
"The Devil Drives" a life of Sir Richard Burton by Fawn M. Brodie
"Commando Extraordinary" the exploits of Col. Otto Skorzeny

The last two would be of interest to special ops types.

Karl

[Batgirl]

Sorry to gatecrash a Marines thread but just had to say there are some great titles in the above posts. I'm already a big fan of Keegan, Liddell Hart and Chandler (have just started Keegan's "Intelligence in War: Knowledge of the Enemy from Napoleon to Al-Qaeda") but a number of the recommendations above caught my eye and I'll definitely be updating my reading list. Thanks!

[cplmpes30]

Put Nicolò Machiavelli in

"Il Principe"
"Arte della Guerra"

Don't ask me the english titles.

Also I would consider Julius Caius Caesar.

"De Bello Gallico"

[USMCRET6391]

Originally Posted by Natasha

Sorry to gatecrash a Marines thread!

Tasha you can crash my gate anytime you want to

[USMCRET6391]

Originally Posted by Vulture6

Read and heed, Marines (& wannabes)

Quick question Vutlure, when I was in the reading list were "Suggested", now it seems they are "required". Is reading them or not reading them a Pro/Con or Fit Rep Entry or is it something that is simply entered in the SRB?

[Vulture6]

It is supposed to be a Pro/Con & Fitrep issue, but it is hard to administer. COs and SNCOs are supposed to build PME programs around the books, and it only works if the senior has read the books on the list for those ranks under him (her). That's a fairly tall order.

I have seen it where the CO or 1stSgt will counsel a Marine on professional reading - ask them "What are you reading? What was the last book you read?" and then quiz them on major themes - nothing earth shattering - just something like "So you read We Were Soldiers Once, and Young -- what did you think of Moore's leadership style? Do you think your leadership style can benefit from his example? What did you learn from this book?"

Doesn't work if you didn't read the book (or in this case, saw the movie!).

I think it is a great program. It is a bear to administer though. Base libraries usually have 20 to 30 copies of each of the Pvt - Sgt books, but that's nothing when there are 40,000 Marines on the base! Marines can learn a lot by reading AND DISCUSSING. Too often though, this falls lower on the priority lists as Officers and leaders look at mission essential training.