Military Books You Should Read

Most of you who have followed me for awhile know I read. A. LOT. It's not an exaggeration to say that on average, I read between 1-3 books a week. You might ask how in the world I have time for that with work, a family, and my (somewhat extensive) Twitter habit? Easy! Sleep is overrated.

Someone commented on one of my posts this morning and asked which military books I would recommend. There's absolutely no way I could do such a question justice in 280 characters, or even a Twitter thread, so here we are! These are all books I've read and loved, are historically accurate, and more importantly, will teach you something whether you're a military enthusiast or someone who couldn't tell me the differences in an M4 and an AK-47:





Three of the books on my list are written by Trump's new-favorite ex-Military target: Gen. Stanley McChrystal. Stan is a retired Four-Star General. McChrystal started off in the 82nd Airborne Division in 1976, enrolled in and completed the Special Forces Officer Course in 1978-1979, and became a battalion liaison officer with the 75th Ranger Regiment in 1985. He continued to serve with distinction from 85-97, when he became the commander of the entire 75th Ranger Regiment. He eventually replaced Dell Dailey as Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) Commander. McChrystal is widely credited with the modernization of JSOC; he helped transform it from a "big army," slow-moving mindset to the small, agile, network-centric force it is known as today. The results were immediate, with a quick capture on Saddam Hussein and an airstrike kill on Abu Musab al-Zarqawi early in his tenure. JSOC is composed of "Tier 1" or Special Mission Units for those of you who are unfamiliar: think Delta Force, Seal Team 6, Regimental Reconnaissance Company, etc. There are other parts of JSOC that remain classified and/or people haven't usually ever heard of, so I won't get into those here. General McChrystal has written three books that I can't recommend enough:

Leaders: Myth and Reality -- This is a really interesting book that profiles leaders from Walt Disney to Robert E. Lee - You can find the description here: https://amzn.to/2BU6ZDL

Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World -- Here, McChrystal takes the lessons he learned reorganizing JSOC and draws parallels to civilian life. It's like a really cool self-help book. With war stories! You can read the description here: https://amzn.to/2BYsa7s

My Share of the Task: This is McChrystal's official memoir, and upon reflection, explains perfectly why he and Trump will *never* see eye to eye. Trump ran from war at all costs; McChrystal was the commander of all coalition forces in Afghanistan and still stationed himself in theater and went on patrols with his men. Men like this will always intimidate Trump and make him feel (rightfully) inferior. You can read the description here: https://amzn.to/2Rq62wJ

Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life... And Maybe the World! -  Also not a fan of Trump, Bill McRaven is a former SEAL who happened to be the JSOC Commander who helped devise -- and convince Obama to greenlight -- the mission to kill UBL. This book is an absolute gem that I believe *everyone* should read, whether you're interested in the military or not. You can read the description here: https://amzn.to/2RmlUQQ

I could honestly do this all day, but I'll leave you with two more and call that good for now! I'll add these to my (growing) list of book recommendations, which you can find right here. I'll keep adding to that list periodically, so make sure you check back! (or just keep following me on Twitter and I'll let you know when I update it.)

Black Hawk Down: You probably know the story. You should read the book. It's fantastic. Description here: https://amzn.to/2VoayuM

Killing Pablo: The story of the manhunt for Pablo Escobar. Mark Bowden is a hell of an investigative journalist. I don't know where he gets his sourcing, but this book was essentially a giant OPSEC violation when it was published. You can find the description here: https://amzn.to/2SwTa5c

Reminder: I might earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you) for items purchased through links on this page. I say this not to encourage you to purchase anything, only to be transparent. January's donations will be going to families impacted by the shutdown.