General James Mattis Favorite Reading List (62 books)

From Call Sign Chaos: Reading is an honor and a gift from a warrior or historian who—a decade or a thousand decades ago—set aside time to write.

If you haven’t read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate, and you will be incompetent because your personal experiences alone aren’t broad enough to sustain you...

I collected several thousand books for my personal library. I read broadly and selected a few battles and areas where I was weak to study deeply. Asked by a fellow Marine to provide specific examples, I sent him a list of my favorite books.

flag

All Votes Add Books To This List

1	Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela 4.36 avg rating — 93,836 ratings score: 255, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2	Kim by Rudyard Kipling 3.70 avg rating — 39,905 ratings score: 242, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	Meditations by Marcus Aurelius 4.28 avg rating — 340,163 ratings score: 199, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	The Lessons of History by Will Durant 4.05 avg rating — 20,259 ratings score: 186, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	Warfighting (Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 1) by U.S. Marine Corps 4.26 avg rating — 1,101 ratings score: 168, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand 4.39 avg rating — 993,429 ratings score: 160, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
7	One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer by Nathaniel Fick 4.21 avg rating — 11,730 ratings score: 156, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	My American Journey by Colin Powell 4.08 avg rating — 6,970 ratings score: 154, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964 by William Manchester 4.09 avg rating — 14,015 ratings score: 146, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10	The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat 4.23 avg rating — 8,327 ratings score: 142, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	Other Men's Flowers by Archibald Wavell 4.37 avg rating — 134 ratings score: 139, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	Invisible Armies: An Epic History of Guerrilla Warfare from Ancient Times to the Present by Max Boot 4.08 avg rating — 1,236 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	The Savage Wars Of Peace: Small Wars And The Rise Of American Power by Max Boot 4.01 avg rating — 1,842 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War by Robert Coram 4.19 avg rating — 8,036 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	Fighting Power: German And Us Army Performance, 1939-1945 by Martin van Creveld 4.10 avg rating — 96 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
16	Fighting Talk: Forty Maxims on War, Peace, and Strategy by Colin S. Gray 4.18 avg rating — 155 ratings score: 95, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam by H.R. McMaster 3.99 avg rating — 4,841 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
18	Military Innovation in the Interwar Period by Williamson Murray (Editor) 3.86 avg rating — 265 ratings score: 93, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	Successful Strategies: Triumphing in War and Peace from Antiquity to the Present by Wayne Wei-siang Hsieh (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 3.81 avg rating — 27 ratings score: 92, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
20	The Direction of War: Contemporary Strategy in Historical Perspective by Hew Strachan 4.15 avg rating — 127 ratings score: 91, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21	Issues on My Mind: Strategies for the Future (Volume 636) by Henry Kissinger 3.89 avg rating — 28 ratings score: 90, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	The Greatest Raid of All by C.E. Lucas Phillips 4.29 avg rating — 1,092 ratings score: 89, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
23	A Savage War of Peace: Algeria, 1954-1962 by Alistair Horne 4.23 avg rating — 2,967 ratings score: 87, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24	The Art of War by Sun Tzu 3.95 avg rating — 566,196 ratings score: 86, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	Rules of the Game: Jutland and British Naval Command by Andrew Gordon 4.36 avg rating — 427 ratings score: 85, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000 by Paul Kennedy 4.14 avg rating — 6,386 ratings score: 84, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
27	National Insecurity: American Leadership in an Age of Fear by David Rothkopf 3.75 avg rating — 141 ratings score: 83, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam by Barbara W. Tuchman 4.02 avg rating — 7,300 ratings score: 82, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	The Dispensable Nation: American Foreign Policy in Retreat by Vali Nasr 3.74 avg rating — 488 ratings score: 81, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
30	Diplomacy by Henry Kissinger 4.25 avg rating — 9,364 ratings score: 80, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
31	World Order by Henry Kissinger 4.05 avg rating — 13,907 ratings score: 79, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
32	The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown (Goodreads Author) 4.39 avg rating — 359,553 ratings score: 78, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes to War by Max Hastings 4.07 avg rating — 6,457 ratings score: 77, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
34	A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and The Creation of the Modern Middle East by David Fromkin 4.22 avg rating — 9,764 ratings score: 76, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
35	Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument With Historical Illustrations by Michael Walzer 3.85 avg rating — 2,935 ratings score: 75, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
36	The Village by Bing West 4.22 avg rating — 1,358 ratings score: 74, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	Before the First Shots Are Fired: How America Can Win Or Lose Off The Battlefield by Anthony C. Zinni 3.80 avg rating — 178 ratings score: 73, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
38	War, Morality, and the Military Profession by Malham M. Wakin 3.94 avg rating — 17 ratings score: 72, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
39	Never Quit the Fight by Ralph Peters 3.94 avg rating — 35 ratings score: 71, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	The mind and faith of justice holmes by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. 3.30 avg rating — 10 ratings score: 70, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
41	Strategy, Ethics, and the War on Terrorism by Albert C. Pierce 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings score: 68, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
42	Battle Cry of Freedom, Vol 2: The Civil War Era by James M. McPherson 4.54 avg rating — 140 ratings score: 67, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
43	Wavell: The Viceroy's Journal by Archibald Wavell 4.44 avg rating — 9 ratings score: 66, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
44	Defeat Into Victory: Battling Japan in Burma and India, 1942-1945 by William Slim 4.39 avg rating — 1,071 ratings score: 65, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
45	Turmoil and Triumph: My Years as Secretary of State by George P. Shultz 4.08 avg rating — 102 ratings score: 64, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
46	The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer 4.39 avg rating — 12,052 ratings score: 62, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
47	The Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant (Volumes I and II) by Ulysses S. Grant 4.14 avg rating — 9,750 ratings score: 61, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
48	Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War by Robert M. Gates 3.92 avg rating — 7,746 ratings score: 58, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
49	Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow 4.22 avg rating — 198,986 ratings score: 57, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
50	Sherman: Soldier, Realist, American by B.H. Liddell Hart 4.21 avg rating — 466 ratings score: 55, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
51	Scipio Africanus: Greater than Napoleon by B.H. Liddell Hart 4.16 avg rating — 1,924 ratings score: 54, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
52	Tabea's Story: True Story of Tabea Springer a WW II German Army Nurse in Poland, a Hospital Train in Russia and During the Devestating End of War in Germany by Betty J. Iverson really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 7 ratings score: 53, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
53	Goodbye, Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War by William Manchester 4.20 avg rating — 6,475 ratings score: 51, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
54	With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by Eugene B. Sledge 4.49 avg rating — 47,337 ratings score: 50, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
55	Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph by T.E. Lawrence 3.91 avg rating — 12,073 ratings score: 49, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
56	For Country and Corps: The Life of General Oliver P. Smith by Gail B. Shisler 4.67 avg rating — 66 ratings score: 48, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
57	The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye 4.20 avg rating — 45,052 ratings score: 47, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
58	Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield (Goodreads Author) 4.40 avg rating — 43,377 ratings score: 46, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
59	The Killer Angels (The Civil War Trilogy, #2) by Michael Shaara 4.33 avg rating — 91,565 ratings score: 45, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
60	Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad 3.61 avg rating — 32,905 ratings score: 44, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
61	The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk 4.29 avg rating — 26,839 ratings score: 41, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
62	Once an Eagle by Anton Myrer 4.40 avg rating — 7,695 ratings score: 40, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars