USMC Reading List - Intermediate CWO4-5 -Maj-LtCol

Title: Battle Cry Of Freedom: The Civil War Era

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Recounts the momentous episodes that preceded the American Civil War, is a chronicle of the war itself, and includes the author’s view on such matters as the slavery expansion issue in the 1850s, the origins of the Republican Party, the causes of secession, internal dissent and anti-war opposition in the North and the South, and […]

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Title: Blink: The Power Of Thinking Without Thinking

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This is a book about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant-in the blink of an eye-that actually aren’t as simple as they seem. Why are some people brilliant decision makers, while others are consistently inept? Why do some people follow their instincts and win, while others […]

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Title: Boyd: The Fighter Pilot who Changed the Art of War

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John Boyd, considered by many to be the greatest U.S. fighter pilot ever, is the man who, in simulated air-to-air combat, defeated every challenger in less than forty seconds. His manual of fighter tactics changed the way every air force in the world flies and fights. Boyd was a rebel who cared not for his […]

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Title: BRUTE: THE LIFE OF VICTOR KRULAK, U.S. MARINE

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Biography of LtGen Victor “Brute” Krulak (USMC, Ret.). He went on daring spy missions, was badly wounded, pioneered the use of amphibious vehicles and use of helicopters in warfare, and masterminded the invasion of Okinawa. In Vietnam, he developed a holistic military strategy in stark contrast to the Army’s “Search and Destroy” methods. Yet it […]

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Title: CARNAGE AND CULTURE: LANDMARK BATTLES IN THE RISE OF WESTERN POWER

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Examines 9 landmark battles from ancient to modern times from Salamis, where outnumbered Greeks devastated the slave army of Xerxes, to Cortes’s conquest of Mexico to the Tet offensive. Looking beyond popular explanations such as geography or superior technology, the author argues that it is in fact Western culture and values–the tradition of dissent, the […]

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Title: COMMAND CULTURE: OFFICER EDUCATION IN THE U.S. ARMY AND THE GERMAN ARMED FORCES, 1901-1940, & THE CONSEQUENCES FOR WORLD WAR II

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The United States Army and the German Armed Forces traveled different paths to select, educate, and promote their officers in the crucial time before WWII. The author explores the paradox that in Germany officers came from a closed authoritarian society but received an extremely open minded military education, whereas their counterparts in the United States […]

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Title: DEFEAT INTO VICTORY: BATTLING JAPAN IN BURMA AND INDIA 1942-1945

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This detailed autobiography by British Field Marshal Viscount Slim (1891-1970) is a first-person account of the retaking of Burma during World War II. In this book, Slim honestly examines his decisions as a leader and consequences of those decisions, both good and bad. Defeat into Victory is widely regarded as a classic memoir of high […]

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Title: FORGOTTEN WARRIORS: THE 1ST PROVISIONAL MARINE BRIGADE, THE CORPS ETHOS, AND THE KOREAN WAR

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At the outbreak of the Korean War, the Marine Corps was ordered to deploy an air-ground brigade in less than ten days, even though no such brigade existed at the time. Assembled from the woefully under stength 1st Marine Division and 1st Marine Air Wing units, the Brigade shipped out only 6 days after activation, […]

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Title: HOT, FLAT, AND CROWDED: WHY WE NEED A GREEN REVOLUTION AND HOW IT CAN RENEW AMERICA

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A provocative look at the biggest challenge facing us today–our hot, flat and crowded world. Climate change and rapid population growth mean that it’s no longer possible for businesses (or the rest of us) to keep doing things the same old way. Things are going to have to change—and fast. The author provides a bold […]

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Title: JUST AND UNJUST WARS: A MORAL ARGUMENT WITH HISTORICAL ILLUSTRATIONS

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Examines the moral issues surrounding military theory, war crimes, and the spoils of war. The author studies a variety of conflicts over the course of history, as well as the testimony of those who have been most directly involved—participants, decision makers, and victims. He specifically addresses the moral issues surrounding the war in and occupation […]

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Title: MILITARY INNOVATION IN THE INTERWAR PERIOD

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This volume of comparative essays studies major military innovations in the 1920s and 1930s and explores differences in innovating exploitation by the seven major military powers. It investigates how and why innovation occurred or did not occur, and explains much of the strategic and operative performance of the Axis and Allies in WWII.

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Title: RIPPLES OF BATTLE: HOW WARS OF THE PAST STILL DETERMINE HOW WE FIGHT, HOW WE LIVE, AND HOW WE THINK

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The effects of war refuse to remain local: they persist through the centuries, sometimes in unlikely ways far removed from the military arena. The author explains how the Athenian defeat at Delium in 424 BC brought tactical innovations to infantry fighting; it also assured the influence of the philosophy of Socrates, who fought well in […]

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Title: THE AGE OF THE UNTHINKABLE: WHY THE NEW WORLD DISORDER CONSTANTLY SURPRISES US AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT

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Presents a new model for understanding our dangerously unpredictable world. Drawing upon history, economics, complexity theory, psychology, immunology, and the science of networks, the author describes a new landscape of inherent unpredictability–and remarkable, wonderful possibility.

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Title: THE WARRIORS: REFLECTIONS ON MEN IN BATTLE

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A philosophical meditation on what warfare does to us and an examination of the reasons soldiers act as they do. The author explains the attractions of battle—the adrenaline rush, the esprit de corps—and analyzes the many rationalizations made by combat troops to justify their actions. The author notes that “War reveals dimensions of human nature […]

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Title: This Kind Of War: The Classic Korean War History

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History of the Korean War written from the perspective of those who fought it. Partly drawn from official records, operations journals, and histories, it is based largely on the compelling personal narratives of small-unit commanders and their troops. As Americans and North Koreans continue to face each other across the 38th Parallel, this book offers […]

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