The Profession of Arms requires study
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Essential books on strategy, war, and leadership
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Drawn from official service reading lists
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Informed by decades of military scholarship
February 2026 Recommendation
Military Reading Room Newsletter Articles
Recent Posts
- A Clearer Warning: The Pentagon’s 2025 China Report – Military Happenings From Taiwan to Total War to Nuclear growth, what the Pentagon’s latest assessment reveals about Beijing’s plans for conflict.
- CNO Reading List Series: PART 1 – FOUNDRY – Collection War is won in the industrial base before it is fought at sea
- Masters of the Air: World War II Strategic Bombing – Review Remembering the 8th Air Force, Strategic Bombing, and the Human Cost of Airpower in WWII
- Military Publisher Intelligence – January 2026 – Collection Explore the latest from military publishers on NATO’s future, Nuclear deterrence under AI, airpower, and the evolving domestic role of U.S. forces
- Pearl Harbor and the Cost of Strategic Surprise – Collection Three books that examine strategic warning, leadership failure, and enduring intelligence lessons
- The Fourth Intelligence Revolution – Review Why Anthony Vinci Argues Espionage and Citizenship Must Adapt to the Information Age
- Washington’s Marines and the Birth of the Corps – Review How the Marine Corps’ Revolutionary War origins shaped its enduring warfighting ethos
- Military Professional Journals – January 2026 – Collection What new books are teaching us about strategy, ground combat, and the future of global order
- Tet 1968: An Inflection Point in America’s Vietnam Strategy – Collection How the surprise offensive exposed the limits of U.S. ground strategy in achieving political war aims
- The National Defense Strategy Is Coming—But Much Is Already Out – Review How the NSS and the defense budget frame what the Pentagon’s NDS will actually say
Top Posts
- The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara: A Powerful Civil War Novel – Review – Review From The Book Vault
- Leadership Lessons from the Army Reading List (Part 1) – Collection We’re revisiting the Army Chief of Staff’s picks—combining classic books with fresh insight on drones, risk, and decentralized command
- Evans Carlson’s China Years and the Birth of Marine Raiders – Review A review of Stephen Platt’s The Raider, chronicling Evans Carlson’s journey from Mao’s army to the Pacific front and shaping tactics still influencing the military today
- Cigars, Whiskey, & Winning: Lessons in Leadership You Don’t Want to Miss – Review Leadership Lessons from General Ulysses S. Grant by Al Kaltman: How Civil War Strategies and Wisdom Inspire Modern Success
- 5 Military Reads to Gift This Christmas Season – Collection From WWII gliders to modern intel and spiritual warfare—recommendations from trusted voices in the Military Reading Room community
- The Lead-Up to Pearl Harbor: What Three Books Reveal About Intelligence and Preparedness – Collection From Intelligence Lapses to Triumphs: What Pearl Harbor Taught Us About War Preparation
- Victory to Defeat: The British Army 1918-1940 – Visiting Author Insight from the Author, Dr. Robert Lyman, MBE and FRHistS
- History and Military History (Part 1) – Collection The U.S. Army Chief of Staff’s Professional Reading List
- The Ultimate Reading List for Leaders: Insights from Top Military Minds – Review The Leader’s Bookshelf by Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret) and R. Manning Ancell
- Infantry: Lessons from Matterhorn and the Vietnam War – Review Discover how Karl Marlantes’ novel reveals timeless truths about leadership under fire and the human cost of war