The June 2003 revision of the Congressman Ike Skelton reading list

(source) Professional Military Education is a particular interest of mine. I consider myself lucky that my longtime hobby as a military history enthusiast has complemented my work in Congress as a member of the House Armed Services Committee. Through the years, I have benefitted enormously by seeking out books recommended by others who share my interest in history and military affairs. The fifty books I have chosen cover the topics of leadership, character, and military art. The subject matter ranges from ancient to modern warfare, although a large number of my recommendations focus on the Civil War and World War II. By necessity, some excellent works were omitted—such as Churchill’s outstanding six volume history of World War II—but the list is comprehensive and covers each branch of the U.S. military. If one undertakes to read the entire list, I expect it would be about a ten-year project. However, familiarity with this material should be invaluable to any officer preparing to attend a war college.

This revision

Book cover for Alexander the Great: Power As Destiny

Book cover for The American Way of War: A History of United States Military Strategy and Policy

Book cover for A Message to Garcia

Book cover for The Art Of War

Book cover for A War To Be Won: Fighting the Second World War

Book cover for Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era

Book cover for Black Jack: The Life and Times of John J. Pershing

Book cover for Black Knights: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen

Book cover for The Book of War: 25 Centuries of Great War Writing

Book cover for Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War

Book cover for Churchill: A Biography

Book cover for Combined Fleet Decoded: The Secret History of: American Intelligence and the Japanese Navy in World War II

Book cover for The Constitution of the United States of America

Book cover for Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766

Book cover for Daniel Boone: The Life and Legend of an American Pioneer

Book cover for Defeat Into Victory: Battling Japan in Burma and India, 1942-1945

Book cover for Face of Battle

Book cover for The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: From Marathon to Waterloo

Book cover for Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Rendezvous with Destiny

Book cover for From Vietnam to 9/11: On the Front Lines of National Security

Book cover for Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission

Book cover for Gray Ghosts of the Confederacy: Guerrilla Warfare in the West, 1861--1865

Book cover for Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle

Book cover for Gulf War: The Complete History

Book cover for Hannibal: Challenging Rome's Supremacy

Book cover for Lee: An Abridgement in One Volume

Book cover for Making the Corps

Book cover for Masters of War: Classical Strategic Thought

Book cover for The Military Maxims Of Napoleon

Book cover for Napoleon

Book cover for Nelson: A Personal History

Book cover for On War

Book cover for Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant  Volume 2

Book cover for The Price of Admiralty: The Evolution of Naval Warfare from Trafalgar to Midway

Book cover for Reminiscences

Book cover for The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany

Book cover for Son of the Morning Star: Custer and the Little Bighorn

Book cover for Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime

Book cover for Tecumseh: A Life

Book cover for This Kind of War

Book cover for Truman

Book cover for Undaunted Courage:  Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West

Book cover for The Victors: The Men of World War II

Book cover for Warrior Politics: Why Leadership Demands a Pagan Ethos

Book cover for Washing of the Spears: A History of the Rise of the Zulu Nation

Book cover for We Were Soldiers Once...and Young: Ia Drang - the Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam

Book cover for Women in the Military: An Unfinished Revolution

Book cover for Yanks: The Epic Story of the American Army in World War I

Book cover for Yellow Smoke: The Future of Land Warfare for America's Military

Book cover for Washington: An Abridgement in One Volume