Many military commands publish recommended reading lists, but due to the ephemeral nature of the web these lists can sometimes be lost. This site attempts to capture them for posterity. Here's an overview of all the military reading lists that are available. Enjoy!

Recent reading

1. On Jul 29 Tom Copeland (USCG) read Farsighted: How We Make the Decisions That Matter the Most by Steven Johnson and commented:

   A takeaway from this one - when you have a situation where there's an obvious path forward, take a sec and think about what you would do if that path were blocked. "Obviously we should host this on AWS! But oh wait imagine we have a potential acquisition from an AWS competitor. Ok in that case we could..." etc.

2. On Jul 28 Tom Copeland (USCG) read Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins and commented:

   Goggins really lets it all hang out here, describing his failures as well as his successes. Of course, for him a "failure" is not passing the final Delta Selection road march, and even to get to that point is an amazing accomplishment.

3. On Jul 26 Tom Copeland (USCG) read The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How. by Daniel Coyle and commented:

   The bit about learning being a structure, not a sequential recording was insightful. And there's an interesting section on John Wooden and how he had this "here's how to do it the right way, now here's the wrong way, now here's the right way" technique. The "Deep Practice" section reminded me of Deep Work by Cal Newport except this book is focused on skill development vs Newport which seems more on skill application.

4. On Jul 22 Tom Copeland (USCG) read China in Ten Words by Yu Hua and commented:

   So many insightful little anecdotes! A quick read and a good one.

5. On Jul 14 Tom Copeland (USCG) read The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger, Second Edition with a new chapter by the author by Marc Levinson and commented:

   Read this book a while back and it's on Mount Tobereadagain now.

6. On May 12 2025 kcholbert (USAF) read The Sailor's Bookshelf: Fifty Books to Know the Sea (Blue & Gold Professional Library) by Stavridis, James
7. On Jun 25 2024 kcholbert (USAF) read Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Dweck, Carol S.
8. On May 26 2022 Dan P read Vietnam: A History by Stanley Karnow
9. On May 26 2022 Dan P read The River and the Gauntlet by S.L.A. Marshall
10. On May 26 2022 Dan P read The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi
11. On May 26 2022 Dan P read The Civil War: A Narrative by Shelby Foote
12. On May 26 2022 Dan P read A Stillness at Appomattox by Bruce Catton
13. On May 26 2022 Dan P read Anabasis: The March Up Country by Xenophon
14. On May 26 2022 Dan P read Bridges at Toko-Ri by James A. Michener
15. On May 26 2022 Dan P read The Mask of Command by John Keegan
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