DR AF T AS O F

04 /2 2/ 20

DIA BOOKSHELF 

AND LISTENING

LIBRARY

2020

COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE IN DEFENSE OF THE NATION
 The appearance of a title and accompanying summary on this reading list do 

not imply or constitute an endorsement or an approval by the Director of any of 

the products, services or opinions of the authors. However, these books contain 

thought-provoking ideas and viewpoints relevant to leadership, decision-making, 

and professionalism. The Defense Intelligence Agency bears no responsibility for the 

accuracy, legality or content of the books referenced in this reading list.
The mandate that we be life-long learners is essential to remaining relevant 

in today’s rapidly changing world. Technology has unlocked vast amounts 

of information and has given us new ways to access data, share ideas, and 

create new opportunities for self-study. 

Former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis counsels us, “...reading gives 

historical depth that lights the path ahead. Slowly but surely, we learned 

there was nothing new under the sun. Properly informed, we weren’t 

victims—we could always create options.” 

By reading and listening, we are able to draw inspiration from across a 

greater spectrum of time and expertise than we could ever hope to achieve 

on our own. This education opens new ways of thinking, increasing our 

ability to innovate and cooperate by understanding others’ experiences, 

successes, and, often, failures. Moreover, it may unlock solutions and 

insights we might otherwise not recognize without our commitment to study 

the past in order to inform our future. 

The 2020 DIA Bookshelf and Listening Library is different from earlier 

iterations and more than just my favorite books. All the books and podcasts 

compiled here are new recommendations from DIA officers and our Five 

Eyes partners. Our challenge is for you to explore new ideas and expand 

your horizons... 

“And he refused to specialize in anything, preferring to keep an eye on 

the overall estate rather than any of its parts... and Nikolay’s management 

produced the most brilliant results.” Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace.

Enjoy!

Lieutenant General Robert P. Ashley, Jr., USA

Director, Defense Intelligence Agency
Kohia te kai rangatira, ruia te taitea.

Gather the good food, throw away the rubbish.

-Maori Proverb

As a young officer, I was once told by a very smart leader, "If you want a 

new idea read an old book." Over my career, I have found this to be very 

sound advice.

This reading list should offer you a pathway toward understanding our 

world and, in time, should bring diversity of thought to our profession.

Challenge yourself to read broadly, widely, and often. The voices of the past 

have much to offer us all if we can find time to hear them.

Onward.

Major General John Howard, MNZM

Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration

Defense Intelligence Agency
MR. ALVIN TOFFLER

BEST-SELLING AUTHOR

MS. MAYA ANGELOU

AMERICAN POET AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST 

MS. MALALA YOUSAFZAI

NOBEL PRIZE LAUREATE 

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot 

read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

“When I look back, I am so impressed again with the lifegiving power of literature. If I were a young person today, 

trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do 

that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.”

“Let us pick up our books and our pens, they are 

our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, 

one book and one pen can change the world.”
Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

GLOBAL ANLYSIS 01 Africa: A Biography of the Continent 17

BY JOHN READER

Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles 17 

BY RICHARD DOWDEN

American Radical: Inside the World of an Undercover Muslim FBI Agent 17

BY TAMER ELNOURY AND KEVIN MAURER

Anatomy of Terror: From the Death of bin Laden to the Rise of the Islamic State 17

BY ALI SOUFAN

Angels in the Sky: How a Band of Volunteer Airmen Saved the New State of Israel 18

BY ROBERT GANDT

An Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War 18

BY PAUL SCHARRE

Artificial Intellgience 18

BY LEX FRIDMAN

Bombshell 18

BY LOREN DEJONGE SCHULMAN, RADHA IYENGAR PLUMB, AND ERIN SIMPSON

By More Than Providence: Grand Strategy and American Power in the Asia Pacific Since 1783 19

BY MICHAEL J. GREEN

The Challenge for Africa 19

BY WANGARI MAATHAI

The China Mission: George Marshall's Unfinished War, 1945-1947 19

BY DANIEL KURTZ-PHELAN

The Cyberlaw Podcast 19

BY STEWART BAKER

Cyberspace in Peace and War 20

BY MARTIN C. LIBICKI

Defense One 20

BY DEFENSE ONE

Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China 20

BY EZRA F. VOGEL

Dictatorland: The Men Who Stole Africa 20

BY PAUL KENYON

The End of Competitive Advantage 21

BY RITA GUNTHER MCGRATH

Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying 21

BY JAMES OLSON

Fascism: A Warning 21

BY MADELEINE ALBRIGHT

The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine 21

BY SERHII PLOKHY

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Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times 22

BY O. ARNE WESTAD

Global Dispatches 22

BY MARK GOLDBERG

The Great American Gamble 22

BY KEITH B. PAYNE

Guerrilla Diplomacy: Rethinking International Relations 22

BY DARYL COPELAND

Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow 23

BY YUVAL NOAH HARARI

Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World 23

BY MATT PARKER

The Image of the Enemy: Intelligence Analysis of Adversaries Since 1945 23

BY PAUL MADDRELL

Intelligence Matters 23

BY MICHAEL MORELL

Intelligence Operations: Understanding Data, Tools, People, and Processes 24

BY ERIK KLEINSMITH

Internal Colonialism: The Celtic Fringe in British National Development 24

BY MICHAEL HECHTER

Iron Curtain; The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956 24

BY ANNE APPLEBAUM

The Koreans: Who They Are, What They Want, Where Their Future Lies 24

BY MICHAEL BREEN

The Lawfare Podcast 25

BY LAWFARE

Leading Intelligence Analysis: Lessons from the CIA's Analytic Front Lines 25

BY BRUCE E. PEASE

The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 25

BY LAWRENCE WRIGHT

Moments of Truth: New Strategies for Today's Customer-Driven Economy 25

BY JAN CARLZON

A Moonless, Starless Sky: Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa 26

BY ALEXIS OKEOWO

The Moscow Rules: The Secret CIA Tactics That Helped America Win the Cold War 26

BY ANTONIO MENDEZ

National Security Law Podcast 26

BY BOBBY CHESNEY AND STEVE VLADECK

NK News 26

BY VARIOUS HOSTS
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Nukes of Hazard 27

BY CENTER FOR ARMS CONTROL AND NON-PROLIFERATION

Origins of Political Order 27

BY FRANCIS FUKUYAMA

Perception and Misperception in International Politics: New Edition 27

BY ROBERT JERVIS

Putin's World: Russian Against the West and with the Rest 27

BY ANGELA STENT

Rational Security 28

BY SHANE HARRIS

Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice 28 

BY BILL BROWDER

The Return of Marco Polo's World: War, Strategy, and American Interests in the Twenty-First Century 28

BY ROBERT D. KAPLAN

Rise of Globalism: American Foreign Policy Since 1938 28

BY STEPHEN AMBROSE AND DOUGLAS G. BRINKLEY

The Senkaku Paradox: Risking Great Power War Over Small Stakes 29

BY MICHAEL E. O'HANLON

Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed 29

BY BEN R. RICH AND LEO JANOS

The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations 29

BY SAMUEL P. HUNTINGTON

The State of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence 29

BY MARTIN MEREDITH

The Strategy of Conflict 30

BY THOMAS C. SHELLING

Target USA 30

BY J.J. GREEN

The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State 30

BY ELIZABETH C. ECONOMY

To Catch a Spy: The Art of Counterintelligence 30

BY JAMES M. OLSON

Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator 31

BY RYAN HOLIDAY

War on the Rocks 31

BY RYAN EVANS
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21 Kesaris: The Untold Story of the Battle of Saragarhi 33

BY KIRAN NIRVAN

The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s 33

BY WILLIAM I. HITCHCOCK

Almost a Mircle: The American Victory in the War of Independence 33

BY JOHN FERLING

And No Birds Sang 33

BY FARLEY MOWAT

An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943 34

BY RICK ATKINSON

The Art of Intelligence: Lessons from a Life in the CIA's Clandestine Service 34

BY HENRY A. CRUMPTON

Assad or We Burn the Country: How One Family's Lust for Power Destroyed Syria 34

BY SAM DAGHER

The Best and the Brightest 34

BY DAVID HALBERSTAM

Beyond Survival: Building on the Hard Times–A POW's Inspiring Story 35

BY CAPT. GERALD COFFEE, U.S. NAVY (RET.)

The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal 35

BY DAVID E. HOFFMAN

The Charm School 35

BY NELSON DEMILLE

Churchill: Walking with Destiny 35

BY ANDREW ROBERTS

The City of Thieves 36

BY DAVID BENIOFF

Commander in Chief: FDR's Battle with Churchill, 1943 36

BY NIGEL HAMILTON

Company Commander: The Classic Infantry Memoir of WWII 36

BY CHARLES B. MACDONALD

The Crucible 36

BY ARTHUR MILLER

Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan 37

BY BOB GRANDIN

Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam 37

BY H.R. MCMASTER

Destined to Witness: Growing up Black in Nazi Germany 37

BY HANS J. MASSAQUOI

Disaster in Korea: The Chinese Confront MacArthur 37

BY LT. COL. ROY E. APPLEMAN, U.S. ARMY (RET.)
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East of Chosin: Entrapment and Breakout in Korea, 1950 38

BY LT. COL. ROY E. APPLEMAN, U.S. ARMY (RET.)

Escaping the Trap: The U.S. Army X Corps in Northeast Korea, 1950 38

BY LT. COL. ROY E. APPLEMAN, U.S. ARMY (RET.)

Everything is Illuminated 38

BY JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

FBI Miami Firefight: Five Minutes That Changed the Bureau 38

BY EDMUNDO AND ELIZABETH MIRELES

From Colony to Superpower: U.S. Foreign Relations Since 1776 39

BY GEORGE C. HERRING

Good Hunting: An American Spymaster's Story 39

BY JACK DEVINE

Grant 39

BY RON CHERNOW

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies 39

BY JARED DIAMOND

Hardcore History 40 

BY DAN CARLIN

Heirs of the Founders 40

BY H.W. BRANDS

HHhH 40

BY LAURENT BINET 

In Our Own Words: Extraordinary Speeches of the American Century 40

BY SENATOR ROBERT TORRICELLI AND ANDREW CARROLL

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Trust, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin 41

BY ERIK LARSON

International Spy Museum: Spycast 41

BY DR. VINCE HOUGHTON

Joe Rochefort's War: The Odyssey of the Codebreaker Who Outwitted Yamamoto at Midway 41

BY ELLIOT CARLSON

The Junior Officers' Reading Club: Killing Time and Fighting Wars 41

BY PATRICK HENNESSEY

The Last Man on the Moon: Astronaut Eugene Cernan and America's Race to Space 42

BY EUGENE CERNAN

Lawrence in Arabia 42

BY SCOTT ANDERSON

Leonardo Da Vinci 42

BY WALTER ISAACSON

Lone Survivor 42 

BY MARCUS LUTTRELL

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Long Range Desert Group 43

BY W.B. KENNEDY SHAW

The Mantle of Command: FDR at War, 1941-42 43

BY NIGEL HAMILTON

Morale: A Study of Men and Courage 43

BY JOHN BAYNES

The Myth and Reality of German Warfare 43

BY GERHARD P. GROSS

No Easy Day 44

BY MARK OWEN

Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda 44

BY SEAN NAYLOR

Nuking the Moon: And Other Intelligence Schemes and Military Plots Left on the Drawing Board 44

BY VINCE HOUGHTON

The Only Thing Worth Dying For: How Eleven Green Berets Fought for a New Afghanistan 44

BY ERIC BLEHM

The Operator: Firing the Shots that Killed Osama bin Laden and My Years as a SEAL Team Warrior 45

BY ROBERT O'NEILL

The Orphan Master's Son 45

BY ADAM JOHNSON

Philosophize This! 45

BY STEPHEN WEST

Ridgway Duels for Korea 45

BY LT. COL. ROY E. APPLEMAN, U.S. ARMY (RET.)

Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic 46

BY TOM HOLLAND

Sacred Duty: A Soldier's Tour at Arlington National Cemetery 46

BY SEN. TOM COTTON

The Secret War 46

BY MAX HASTINGS

Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Middle East 46

BY MICHAEL B. OREN

Sons and Soldiers 47 

BY BRUCE HENDERSON

South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu 47

BY LT. COL. ROY E. APPLEMAN, U.S. ARMY (RET.)

A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich 47 

BY LUCAS DELATTRE

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A Time for Trumpets: The Untold Story of the Battle of the Bulge 47

BY CHARLES B. MACDONALD

A Time to Betray: The Astonishing Double Life of a CIA Agent Inside the Revolutionary Guards of Iran 48 

BY REZA KAHLILI

Trabelin’ On: The Slave Journey to an Afro-Baptist Faith 48

BY MECHAL SOBEL

Unbroken 48

BY LAURA HILLENBRAND

Vimy 48

BY PIERRE BERTON

War and Peace: FDR's Final Odyssey: D-Day to Yalta (1943-1945) 49

BY NIGEL HAMILTON

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration 49

BY ISABEL WILKERSON

The Washington War: FDR's Inner Circle and the Power Politics That Won World War II 49

BY JAMES LACEY

We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History 49

BY JOHN LEWIS GADDIS

The White Mouse 50

BY NANCY WAKE

Widows: Four American Spies, the Wives They Left Behind, and the KGB's Crippling of American Intelligence 50

BY WILLIAM R. CORSON, SUSAN B. TRENTO, AND JOSEPH J. TRENTO

A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II 50

BY SONIA PURNELL

Women's War: Fighting and Surviving the American Civil War 50

BY STEPHANIE MCCURRY
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03 LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You 52

BY JOHN C. MAXWELL

The Accidental Creative 52

BY TODD HENRY

Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women 52

BY W. BRAD JOHNSON AND DAVID G. SMITH

Becoming Batman: The Possibility of a Superhero 52

BY E. PAUL ZEHR

Beyond the To-Do-List 53

BY ERIK FISHER

The Big Moo: Stop Trying to be Perfect and Start Trying to be Remarkable 53

BY THE GROUP OF 33

A Book of Five Rings 53

BY MIYAMOTO MUSASHI

Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead 53

BY JIM MATTIS AND BING WEST

Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds 54

BY DAVID GOGGINS

Change Your Questions, Change Your Life 54

BY MARLIEE ADAMS

The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups 54

BY DANIEL COYLE

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. 54

BY BRENÉ BROWN

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants 55

BY MALCOLM GLADWELL

Developing the Leader Within You 2.0 55

BY JOHN C. MAXWELL

A Dog Called Hope: A Wounded Warrior and the Service Dog Who Saved Him 55

BY JASON MORGAN

Ethical Leadership: A Primer 55

BY ROBERT MCMANUS, STANLEY WARD, AND ALEXANDRA PERRY

Faster, Fewer, Better Emails 56

BY DIANA BOOHER

Golden Age: 101 Thoughts on Business, Entrepreneurship, Investing & Technology 56

BY PETER WEISHAPUT

Good Life Project 56

BY JONATHAN FIELDS

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Hidden Brain 56

BY SHANKAR VEDANTAM

How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work: Seven Languages for Transformation 57

BY LISA LASKOW LAHEY AND ROBERT KEGAN

How to be an Inclusive Leader: Creating Trust, Cooperation, and Community Across Differences 57

BY JENNIFER BROWN

How to be Awesome at Your Job 57

BY PETE MOCKAITIS

Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling 57

BY EDGAR H. SCHIEN

Influence Without Authority 58

BY ALLAN R. COHEN AND DAVID L. BRADFORD

Intelligence at the Top 58

BY MAJOR GENERAL SIR KENNETH STRONG

Jocko Podcast 58

BY LT. CMDR. JOHN "JOCKO" WILLINK, U.S. NAVY (RET.)

Just Saying with Joe McCormack: The Brief Lab 58

BY JOE MCCORMACK

The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish 59

BY SHANE PARRISH

Lead to Win 59

BY MICHAEL HYATT

Leadership in the Shadows 59

BY SGT. MAJ. KYLE LAMB, U.S. ARMY (RET.)

Leadership Transformed 59

BY DR. PETER FUDA

Leading Up: How to Lead Your Boss so You Both Win 60

BY MICHAEL USEEM

Lincoln on Leadership: Executive Strategies for Tough Times 60

BY DONALD T. PHILLIPS

Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas that Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries 60

BY SAFI BAHCALL

Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman 60

BY REID HOFFMAN

Measure What Matters 61

BY JOHN DOERR

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It 61

BY CHRIS VOSS

Nine Lies about Work: A Freethinking Leader's Guide to the Real World 61

BY MARCUS BUCKINGHAM AND ASHLEY GOODALL

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Outwitting the Devil: The Secret to Freedom and Success 61

BY NAPOLEON HILL

Peacekeeping Intelligence 62

BY WIES PLATJE

Power and Influence: Beyond Formal Authority 62

BY JOHN P. KOTTER

Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss without Losing Your Humanity 62

BY KIM SCOTT

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World 62 

BY DAVID EPSTEIN

Safe for Work 63

BY LIZ DOLAN AND RICO GAGLIANO

Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations 63

BY ADM. WILLIAM H. MCRAVEN, U.S. NAVY (RET.)

Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets to Being Productive in Life and Business 63

BY CHARLES DUHIGG

Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln: 21 Powerful Secrets to History's Greatest Speakers 63

BY JAMES C. HUMES

The Surprising Science of Meetings 64

BY STEVEN G. ROGELBERG

The Tim Ferriss Show 64

BY TIM FERRISS

Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging 64

BY SEBASTIAN JUNGER

Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lessons 64

BY MITCH ALBOM

Turn the Ship Around! 65

BY CAPT. L. DAVID MARQUET, U.S. NAVY (RET.)

Unleash the Tiger! For Organizational High Performance 65

BY DR. SIMMIE A. ADAMS

Way of the SEAL: Think Like an Elite Warrior to Lead and Succeed 65

BY CMDR. MARK DIVINE, U.S. NAVY (RET.), WITH ALLYSON EDELHERTZ MACHATE

What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures 65

BY MALCOLM GLADWELL

Women at Work 66

BY AMY BERNSTEIN, AMY GALLO, NICOLE TORRES

WorkLife with Adam Grant 66

BY ADAM GRANT

You are Worth It: Building a Life Worth Fighting For 66

BY KYLE CARPENTER AND DON YAEGER
GLOBAL

ANALYSIS

“In education, technology can be a life-changer, a game 

changer, for kids who are both in school and out of school. 

Technology can bring textbooks to life. The internet can connect 

students to their peers in other parts of the world. It can bridge 

the quality gaps.” 

—Queen Rania of Jordan
Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

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Africa: A Biography of the Continent

Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles

American Radical: Inside the World of an Undercover 

Muslim FBI Agent

Anatomy of Terror: From the Death of bin Laden to 

the Rise of the Islamic State

John Reader

Richard Dowden

Tamer Elnoury and Kevin Maurer

Ali Soufan

In 1978, paleontologists in East Africa discovered the earliest evidence of our 

divergence from apes: pre-human footprints, striding away from a volcano and 

preserved in the petrified surface of a mudpan over three million years ago. From 

Africa, the world's most ancient and stable landmass, Homo sapiens dispersed 

across the globe. Yet, the rest of the world has long misunderstood and mistreated 

the continent that gave birth to human history. British writer and photojournalist 

John Reader brings to light Africa's geology and evolution, the majestic array of its 

landforms and environments, the rich diversity of its peoples, the devastating legacies 

of slavery and colonialism as well as modern political troubles and triumphs.

After a lifetime of close observation, one of the world's finest Africa correspondents 

has penned a landmark book on life and death in modern Africa. Richard Dowden 

spins tales of cults and commerce in Senegal and traditional spirituality in Sierra 

Leone. He analyzes the impact of oil and the internet on Nigeria, aid to Sudan, and 

examines what has gone wrong in Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Congo. 

Dowden's masterwork is an attempt to explain why Africa is the way it is and enables 

readers to see and understand this miraculous continent as a place of inspiration and 

tremendous humanity.

Undercover agent Tamer Elnoury joined an elite counterterrorism unit after 9/11 

with the express purpose to gain the trust of terrorists, whose goals were to take out 

as many Americans possible. It's a furious race against the clock for Elnoury and his 

unit to stop them before they can implement their plans. Yet, as a new war starts, the 

techniques are as old as time—listen, record, and prove terrorist intent. 

In “Anatomy of Terror,” former FBI Special Agent Ali Soufan dissects Osama 

bin Laden's brand of jihadi terrorism and its major offshoots, revealing how these 

organizations formed, how they operated, and their strengths and weaknesses. Soufan 

examines the new Islamic radicalism through the eyes of its flag-bearers, including a 

Jordanian former drug dealer, whose cruelties shocked even his fellow militants; an 

Air Force colonel who once served Saddam Hussein; and a provincial bookworm who 

declared himself caliph of all Muslims. To eliminate the scourge of terrorism, we must 

first know who the enemy actually is and what their motivations are.

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Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

Angels in the Sky: How a Band of Volunteer Airmen 

Saved the New State of Israel 

Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future 

of War

Artificial Intellgience

Bombshell

Robert Gandt

Paul Scharre

Lex Fridman

Loren DeJonge Schulman, Radha Iyengar Plumb, and Erin Simpson

In 1948, when the newly founded nation of Israel came under siege from a coalition 

of Arab states, a band of volunteer airmen from the United States, Canada, Britain, 

France, and South Africa arrived to help. They were a small group, fewer than 150. 

Many were World War II veterans. The airmen risked everything—their careers, 

citizenship, and lives—to fight for Israel. The saga of the volunteer airmen in Israel’s 

war of independence stands as one of the most stirring—and little-known—war 

stories of the past century.

The era of autonomous weapons has arrived. Today, around the globe, at least 30 nations 

have weapons that can search for and destroy enemy targets all on their own. Paul 

Scharre, a leading expert in next-generation warfare, describes these high-tech weapons 

systems—from Israel’s Harpy drone to the American submarine-hunting robot ship—

and examines the legal and ethical issues surrounding their use. 

Lex Fridman, research scientist at MIT, hosts the "Artificial Intelligence" podcast. 

With guest ranging from Elon Musk, speaking about Tesla's autopilot, to Melanie 

Mitchell, who discusses about concepts, analogies, and common sense, "Artificial 

Intelligence" is about the nature of intelligence, science, and technology from the 

perspective of deep learning, robotics, AI, neuroscience, philosophy, psychology, 

and more.

A biweekly podcast from Washington insiders, who dissect today’s foreign policy 

crises and tomorrow’s security challenges. They'll talk military strategy, White House 

mayhem, and the best cocktails known to (wo)man.

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Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

By More Than Providence: Grand Strategy and 

American Power in the Asia Pacific Since 1783

The Challenge for Africa

The China Mission: George Marshall's Unfinished 

War, 1945-1947

The Cyberlaw Podcast

Michael J. Green

Wangari Maathai

Daniel Kurtz-Phelan

Stewart Baker

After the American Revolution, some of the founders began to recognize the strategic 

significance of Asia and the Pacific and the vast material and cultural resources at 

stake there. During the coming generations, the United States continued to ask how 

best to expand trade with the region and whether to collaborate with China, at the 

center of the continent, or Japan, looking toward the Pacific. Where should the United 

States draw its defensive line, and how should it export democratic principles? 

Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Green Belt Movement, 

offers a new perspective on the troubles facing Africa today. The media too often 

portrayes these challenges in extreme terms. Maathai sees things differently, and she 

argues for a moral revolution among Africans themselves. Illuminating the complex 

and dynamic nature of the continent, Maathai offers “hardheaded hope” and “realistic 

options” for change and improvement. She deftly describes what Africans can and need 

to do for themselves, stressing all the while responsibility and accountability. 

At the end of World War II, Gen. George Marshall was renowned as the architect of 

Allied victory. Instead of retirement, he accepted one last mission―stop a war before 

it started. Conflict between Chinese Nationalists and Communists threatened to suck 

in the United States and escalate into a revolution. His assignment was to broker 

peace, build a Chinese democracy, and prevent a Communist takeover, all while 

staving off World War III. 

A weekly interview series on the latest events in technology, security, privacy, and 

government. The podcast is hosted by Steptoe & Johnson LLP partner Stewart 

Baker, who is joined by a wide variety of guests, including academics, politicians, 

authors, and reporters. 

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Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

Cyberspace in Peace and War

Defense One

Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China

Dictatorland: The Men Who Stole Africa

Martin C. Libicki

Defense One

Ezra F. Vogel

Paul Kenyon

“Cyberspace in Peace and War” presents a comprehensive understanding of 

cybersecurity, cyberwar, and cyberterrorism. From basic concepts to advanced 

principles, Martin Libicki examines the sources and consequences of system 

compromises; addresses how cybersecurity policies can strengthen countries 

defenses, leaving them less susceptible to cyberattack; and explores cybersecurity 

in the context of military operations, highlighting unique aspects of the digital 

battleground and strategic uses of cyberwar. 

"Defense One" delivers news, breaking analysis, and ideas on the topics and trends 

that are defining the future of U.S. defense and national security. It gives national 

security professionals, stakeholders and citizens what they need to know, from senior 

leaders in Washington to commanders abroad and next-generation thinkers far from 

the political scrum.

Deng Xiaoping was the pragmatic yet disciplined driving force behind China’s radical 

transformation in the late 20th century. He confronted the damage wrought by the 

Cultural Revolution, dissolved Mao’s cult of personality, and loosened the economic 

and social policies that had stunted China’s growth. Obsessed with modernization 

and technology, Deng opened trade relations with the West, which lifted hundreds of 

millions of his countrymen out of poverty. Yet, he answered to his authoritarian roots, 

most notably when he ordered the crackdown in June 1989 at Tiananmen Square.

One dictator grew so rich on his country's cocoa crop that he built a 35-story-high 

basilica in the jungles of the Ivory Coast. One austere, incorruptible leader shut 

Eritrea off from the world in a permanent state of war and conscripted every adult 

into the armed forces. The Libya army officer who authored a new work of political 

philosophy, “The Green Book,” and lived with a harem of female soldiers. Behind 

these stories of fantastic violence and excess lie the dark secrets of Western greed and 

complicity and the insatiable taste for chocolate, oil, diamonds, and gold that have 

encouraged dictators to rule with an iron fist, keeping their people in dire poverty.

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The End of Competitive Advantage

Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying

Fascism: A Warning

The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine

Rita Gunther McGrath

James M. Olson

Madeleine Albright

Serhii Plokhy

Chances are the strategies that worked well for you even a few years ago no longer 

deliver the same results. Dramatic changes in business have unearthed a major gap 

between traditional approaches to strategy and the way the world works now. Rita 

Gunther McGrath argues that it’s time to go beyond the very concept of sustainable 

competitive advantage. Instead, organizations need to forge a new path to winning: 

capturing opportunities fast, exploiting them decisively, and moving on even before 

they are exhausted. 

Revolutionary War officer Nathan Hale, one of America's first spies, said, "Any kind of 

service necessary to the public good becomes honorable by being necessary." A statue 

of Hale stands outside CIA headquarters, and the agency often cites his statement as 

one of its guiding principles. But, who decides what is necessary for the public good 

and is it really true that any kind of service is permissible for the public good? These 

questions are at the heart of “Fair Play.” 

Madeleine Albright grew up in Hungary under Hitler and the Communist regime 

that followed World War II. Using the knowledge gleaned from her distinguished 

diplomatic career and insights from colleagues around the globe, Albright paints a 

clear picture of how fascism flourishes and explains why it is once again taking hold 

worldwide, identifying the factors contributing to its rise. Most importantly, she 

makes clear what could happen if we fail to act against rising fascist forces today and 

in the near future.

Award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy presents the authoritative history of 

Ukraine and its people from the time of Herodotus to the present crisis with Russia. 

As Ukraine once again finds itself at the center of global attention, "The Gates of 

Europe" provides unique insight into the origins of the most dangerous international 

crisis since the end of the Cold War.

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Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the 

Making of Our Times

Global Dispatches

The Great American Gamble

Guerrilla Diplomacy: Rethinking International Relations

Odd Arne Westad

Mark Goldberg

Keith B. Payne

Daryl Copeland

The Cold War between the former Soviet Union and the United States indelibly 

shaped the world we live in today—international politics, economics, and military 

affairs. Odd Arne Westad examines how the globalization of the Cold War during the 

20th century created the foundations for most of today's key international conflicts, 

including the War on Terror." 

"Global Dispatches" is a global affairs podcast with impact. Episodes often shine a 

spotlight on undercovered global issues, and listeners leave each episode informed, 

inspired, and more engaged in the world around them.

“The Great American Gamble” examines the past, present, and prospective future 

of U.S. deterrence theory, strategic forces, nuclear weapons, and policy. It provides 

a detailed explanation of the competing schools of deterrence theory that emerged 

during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Based on an extensive review of previously 

classified documents, Keith B. Payne demonstrates how and why U.S. government 

policies came to adhere to the guidelines established by the theory of deterrence called 

the “balance of terror.” 

Daryl Copeland charts the course for a new kind of diplomacy, one in tune with the 

demands of today's interconnected, technology-driven world. Eschewing platitudes 

and broadly rethinking issues of security and development, Copeland provides the 

tools needed to frame and manage issues ranging from climate change to pandemic 

disease to asymmetrical conflict and weapons of mass destruction. 

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Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow

Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World

The Image of the Enemy: Intelligence Analysis of 

Adversaries Since 1945

Intelligence Matters

Yuval Noah Harari

Matt Parker

Paul Maddrell

Michael Morell

What will replace famine, plague, and war at the top of the human agenda? As the 

self-made gods of planet Earth, what destinies will we set forth, and which quests will 

we undertake? “Homo Deus” explores the projects, dreams, and nightmares that will 

shape the 21st century—from overcoming death to creating artificial life. It asks the 

fundamental questions: Where do we go from here? How will we protect this fragile 

world from our own destructive powers? This is the next stage of evolution. This 

is Homo Deus.

Exploring and explaining a litany of glitches, near misses, and mathematical mishaps 

involving the internet, big data, elections, street signs, and lotteries, Matt Parker 

uncovers the bizarre ways math trips us up and what this reveals about its essential 

place in our world. Getting it wrong has never been more fun.

Intelligence agencies spend huge sums of money to collect and analyze vast quantities 

of national-security data for their leaders. How well is this intelligence analyzed, how 

often is it acted on by policymakers, and does it have a positive or negative effect on 

decisionmaking? Drawing on declassified documents, interviews with intelligence 

veterans and policymakers, and other sources, “The Image of the Enemy” breaks new 

ground as it examines how seven countries analyzed and used intelligence to shape 

their understanding of the adversary.

In "Intelligence Matters," former acting Director of the CIA Michael Morell, speaks 

with top leaders of the U.S. intelligence community as they reflect on their life, career 

and the critical roles they play in shaping national security policies. As a central figure 

in the most significant U.S. counterterror efforts of the past two decades, Morell is 

uniquely skilled at taking industry leading knowledge to make connections that provide 

deep insight into complex security events, helping decode intelligence officials' key 

priorities, and providing perspectives on how to achieve national security objectives. 

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Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

Intelligence Operations: Understanding Data, Tools, 

People, and Processes

Internal Colonialism: The Celtic Fringe in British 

National Development

Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 

1944-1956

The Koreans: Who They Are, What They Want, Where 

Their Future Lies

Erik Kleinsmith

Michael Hechter

Anne Applebaum

Michael Breen

“Intelligence Operations” helps readers understand the various issues and considerations 

an intelligence professional must tackle when reviewing, planning, and managing 

intelligence operations, regardless of level or environment. Erik Kleinsmith opens by 

introducing the reader to the many defining concepts associated with intelligence, as 

well as the main subject of intelligence: the threat. Readers learn about the four critical 

components to every intelligence operation—data, tools, people, and processes—and 

then explore the various operational and analytic processes involved in detail.

In recent years, there have been a resurgence of separatist sentiments among national 

minorities in many industrial societies, including the United Kingdom. In 1997, 

the Scottish and Welsh had set up their own parliamentary bodies, while the tragic 

events in Northern Ireland continued to be a reminder of the Irish problem. These 

phenomena call into question widely accepted social theories, which assume that 

ethnic attachments in a society will wane as industrialization proceeds. 

At the end of World War II, the Soviet Union found itself in control of a vast swath 

of territory in Eastern Europe. Stalin and his secret police set out to convert a dozen 

radically different countries to communism, a completely new political and moral 

system. Anne Applebaum describes how the Communist regimes of Eastern Europe were 

created and what daily life became for the people. She draws on newly opened archives, 

interviews, and personal accounts to portray in devastating detail the dilemmas faced by 

millions of individuals trying to adjust to a new way of life that challenged.

"The Koreans" provides an in-depth portrait of the country and its people. An early 

overview of the nature and values of the Korean people provides the background 

for a more detailed examination of the complex history of the country, in particular 

its division into the Communist north and pro-Western south. In this absorbing and 

enlightening account of the Koreans, Michael Breen provides compelling insight into 

the history and character of this fascinating nation.

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The Lawfare Podcast 

Leading Intelligence Analysis: Lessons from the 

CIA's Analytic Front Lines

The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

Moments of Truth: New Strategies for Today's 

Customer-Driven Economy

Lawfare

Bruce E. Pease

Lawrence Wright

Jan Carlzon

"The Lawfare Podcast," a weekly audio production that features the Lawfare staff 

in cooperation with Brookings Institute, highlights discussions with experts, 

policymakers, and opinion leaders at the nexus of national security, law, and policy. 

On issues from foreign policy, homeland security, intelligence, and cybersecurity to 

governance and law, Lawfare has doubled down on seriousness at a time when others 

are running away from it.

"Leading Intelligence Analysis" introduces the fundamental managerial skills and 

practical tools needed to lead analysis projects conducted by individuals and teams. 

Bruce E. Pease provides insights into key questions, such as what kind of environment 

draws out a team’s best work? What brings out their creativity? When does pressure 

bring out their best insights? When does pressure sap their intellectual energy? What 

kind of team builds new knowledge rather than engaging in group-think?

A gripping narrative that spans five decades, "The Looming Tower" explains in 

unprecedented detail the growth of Islamic fundamentalism, the rise of al-Qaeda, 

and the intelligence failures that culminated in the attacks on the World Trade Center. 

Lawrence Wright recreates the transformation of Osama bin Laden and Ayman 

al-Zawahiri from incompetent and idealistic soldiers in Afghanistan to leaders of the 

most successful terrorist group in history. He follows FBI counterterrorism chief, 

John O’Neill, as he uncovers the emerging danger from al-Qaeda in the 1990s and 

struggles to track this new threat.

In a time of great turbulence in the airline industry, Jan Carlzon offers a prescription 

for corporate leadership that is backed by solid achievement. "Moments of Truth" 

is about the importance of responding to a changing marketplace and offers proof 

that the search for corporate excellence is neither monopolized by, nor restricted to, 

American finance and industry. Carlzon highlights the importance of the activist 

manager and emphasizes how forcing decision-making down to the corporate cutting 

edge can have a real impact.

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Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

A Moonless, Starless Sky: Ordinary Women and Men 

Fighting Extremism in Africa

The Moscow Rules: The Secret CIA Tactics That 

Helped America Win the Cold War

National Security Law Podcast

NK News

Alexis Okeowo

Antonio and Joanna Mendez and Matt Baglio

Bobby Chesney and Steve Vladeck

Various hosts

Alexis Okeowo weaves together four narratives that form a powerful tapestry of 

modern Africa: a young couple, kidnap victims of Joseph Kony's LRA; a Mauritanian 

waging a lonely campaign against modern-day slavery; a women's basketball team 

flourishing amid war-torn Somalia; and a vigilante who takes up arms against the 

extremist group Boko Haram. This debut book illuminates the inner lives of ordinary 

people doing the extraordinary—lives that are too often hidden, underreported, or 

ignored by the rest of the world.

"The Moscow Rules" tells the story of intelligence breakthroughs that turned the odds 

in America's favor. Antonio and Jonna Mendez were instrumental in creating and 

honing a series of tactics that allowed officers to finally be one step ahead of the KGB. 

These techniques included everything from elaborate Hollywood-inspired identity 

swaps to evasion techniques. With these new guidelines in place, and with an armory 

of new gadgets, the CIA managed to gain a foothold in Moscow and pull off some of 

the greatest intelligence operations in the history of espionage.

Featuring Professors Bobby Chesney and Steve Vladeck of the University of Texas 

at Austin, the "National Security Law Podcast" reviews the latest legal controversies 

associated with the U.S. government’s national security activities and institutions.

Journalists at "NK News" provide 24-hour coverage on North Korea from locations 

around the world and get listeners behind the headlines with analysis from some of 

the world's leading experts on North Korea. Furthermore, a wide range of voices share 

their views and experiences on a weekly basis, including refugee writers Lee Je-son, 

Kim Yoo-sung and Kang Ji-min of the Ask a North Korean column, as well as Camila 

Stub (pseudonym), who has worked as a development worker in Pyongyang.

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Nukes of Hazard

The Origins of Political Order

Perception and Misperception in International 

Politics: New Edition

Putin's World: Russia Against the West and with 

the Rest

Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

Francis Fukuyama

Robert Jervis

Angela Stent

A biweekly roundup of the most important nuclear news and some lesser known stories on weapons of mass destruction history.

Francis Fukuyama provides a sweeping account of how today’s basic political 

institutions developed. The first of a two-volume work, "The Origins of Political 

Order" begins with politics among our primate ancestors and follows the story 

through the emergence of tribal societies, the growth of the first modern state 

in China, the beginning of the rule of law in India and the Middle East, and the 

development of political accountability in Europe up until the eve of the French 

Revolution.

Since its original publication in 1976, "Perception and Misperception" has become a 

landmark book in its field. The updated edition includes an extensive preface by the 

author, reflecting on the book's lasting impact and legacy and discusses the relevant 

psychological research over the past 40 years. Robert Jervis describes the process 

of perception and then explores common forms of misperception. He tests his ideas 

through a number of important events in international relations from 19th- and 20thcentury European history.

How did Russia resurge on the world stage and play a weak hand so effectively? Is 

Putin a brilliant strategist? Has Russia stepped into a vacuum created by the West’s 

distraction with its own problems and the United States' ambivalence about acting 

like a superpower? “Putin's World” examines the country’s turbulent past, how it has 

influenced Putin, the Russians’ understanding of their position on the global stage, 

their future ambitions, and their conviction that the West has tried to deny them a seat 

at the table of great powers.

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Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

Rational Security

Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, 

and One Man's Fight for Justice

The Return of Marco Polo's World: War, Strategy, and 

American Interests in the Twenty-First Century

Rise of Globalism: American Foreign Policy Since 1938

Shane Harris

Bill Browder

Robert D. Kaplan

Stephen E. Ambrose and Douglas G. Brinkley

"Rational Security" is a weekly roundtable podcast, featuring Shane Harris of 

the Washington Post and Susan Hennessey, Tamara Cofman Wittes, and Benjamin 

Wittes of the Brookings Institution. It’s a lively and irreverent discussion of news, 

ideas, foreign policy, and law.

Sergei Magnitsky is led to a freezing cell in a Moscow prison, handcuffed to a bed 

rail, and beaten to death by police officers. His crime? Testifying against the Russian 

Interior Ministry officials involved in a conspiracy to steal $230 million of taxes paid 

to the state by one of the world's most successful hedge funds. Magnitsky's brutal 

killing has remained uninvestigated and unpunished. “Red Notice” is a searing expose 

of the concealment by Russian authorities of Magnitsky's imprisonment and murder, 

slicing into the shadowy heart of the Kremlin.

In the late 13th century, Marco Polo began a decades-long trek from Venice to 

China along the trade route between Europe and Asia known as the Silk Road—a 

foundation of Kublai Khan’s sprawling empire. Now, in the 21st century, the Chinese 

regime has proposed a land-and-maritime Silk Road that duplicates the route Marco 

Polo traveled. Robert D. Kaplan outlines the timeless principles that should shape 

America’s role in a turbulent world that encompasses China's challenge.

Since it first appeared in 1971, "Rise to Globalism" offers a concise and informative 

overview of the evolution of America's foreign policy from 1938 to the present, 

focusing on such pivotal events as World War II, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, 

and 9/11. Examining everything from the Iran-Contra scandal to the rise of 

international terrorism, the authors analyze—in light of the enormous global power 

of the United States—how America's economic aggressiveness, racism, and fear of 

communism have shaped the nation's evolving foreign policy.

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The Senkaku Paradox: Risking Great Power War Over 

Small Stakes

Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at 

Lockheed

The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of 

Civil-Military Relations

The State of Africa: A History of the Continent 

Since Independence

Michael E. O'Hanlon

Ben R. Rich and Leo Janos

Samuel P. Huntington

Martin Meredith

In recent years, the Pentagon has elevated its concerns about Russia and China as 

potential military threats to the United States and its allies. But what issues could 

provoke actual conflict between the United States and either country? And how could 

such a conflict be contained before it took the world to the brink of thermonuclear 

catastrophe, as was feared during the Cold War? Defense expert Michael O'Hanlon 

wrestles with these questions in this insightful book, setting them within the broader 

context of hegemonic change and today's version of great-power competition.

The true story of America's most secret and successful aerospace operation. As recounted by Ben Rich, the operation's boss for nearly two decades, the chronicle of 

Lockheed's legendary Skunk Works is a drama of Cold War confrontations and Gulf 

War air combat, of extraordinary feats of engineering and human achievement against 

fantastic odds. Filled with personal anecdotes and narratives from CIA and from Air 

Force pilots who flew the many classified, risky missions, this book tells of one of the 

most spectacular aviation triumphs of the 20th century.

Samuel P. Huntington challenges the old assumptions and ideas on the role of the 

military in society. Stressing the value of the military outlook for national policy, 

Huntington has performed the distinctive task of developing a general theory of civil–

military relations and subjecting it to rigorous historical analysis.

As Europe's colonial powers withdrew, dozens of new states were launched amid 

much jubilation and to the world's applause. The circumstances seemed auspicious. 

Africa was a continent rich in mineral resources. Its economic potential was huge. On 

the international stage, African states excited the attention of the world's rival power 

blocs; in the Cold War era, Africa was considered too valuable a prize to lose. Yet one 

country after another was soon mired in corruption, violence, and warfare. Few states 

managed to escape the downward spiral. What went wrong?

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30 GLOBAL ANALYSIS

The Strategy of Conflict

Target USA

The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New 

Chinese State

To Catch a Spy: The Art of Counterintelligence

Thomas C. Schelling

J.J. Green

Elizabeth C. Economy

James M. Olson

Against the backdrop of the nuclear arms race in the late 1950s, Thomas C. Schelling 

sets forth his vision of game theory as a unifying framework for the social sciences. 

Schelling showed that a party can strengthen its position by overtly worsening its 

own options, the capability to retaliate can be more useful than the ability to resist 

an attack, and uncertain retaliation is more credible and more efficient than certain 

retaliation. 

Whether it’s from terrorists, anarchists, cybercriminals, or nation-states, America has 

a target on its back. WTOP National Security Correspondent J.J. Green investigates 

the threats facing the U.S., the people behind them, the agencies fighting them, and 

their impact on Americans.

In "The Third Revolution," eminent scholar Elizabeth C. Economy provides an incisive 

look at the transformative changes underway in China today. Through a wide-ranging 

exploration of Xi Jinping's top political, economic, and foreign policy priorities, 

Economy identifies the tensions, shortcomings, and successes of Xi's reform efforts 

during the course of his first five years in office. She also assesses the implications for 

the rest of the world and provides recommendations for how the United States and other 

countries should navigate their relationship with this vast nation in the coming years.

Foreign intelligence services are recruiting spies in our midst and stealing our secrets 

and technologies. James M. Olson, former chief of CIA counterintelligence, offers a 

wake-up call and guide for how our country can do a better job protecting its national 

security and trade secrets. Olson takes the reader into the world of counterintelligence 

as he lived it during his 30-year career in the CIA.

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Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator

War on the Rocks

Ryan Holiday

Ryan Evans

"Trust Me, I'm Lying" was the first book to blow the lid off the speed and force at which 

rumors travel online - and get "traded up" the media ecosystem until they become real 

headlines and generate real responses in the real world. The culprit? Marketers and 

professional media manipulators, encouraged by the toxic economics of the news business. 

Whenever you see a malicious online rumor costs a company millions, politically 

motivated fake news driving elections, or anonymously sourced articles becoming 

national conversation, someone is behind it. Often, someone like Ryan Holiday. 

Join Ryan Evans as he speaks with soldiers, spies, officials, and scholars on a range 

of issues related to strategy, defense, and foreign affairs. Often recorded at bars in 

Washington and other world capitals, "War on the Rocks" is for people who want to 

stay informed, with a drink in hand.

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HISTORY

"Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the 

premise of progress, in every society, in every family."

—Kofi Annan
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21 Kesaris: The Untold Story of the Battle of Saragarhi

The Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in 

the 1950s

Almost a Mircle: The American Victory in the War 

of Independence

And No Birds Sang

Kiran Nirvan

William I. Hitchcock

John Ferling

Farley Mowat

On September 12, 1897, 21 soldiers of the 36th Sikh Regiment stood undeterred as 

they guarded the post of Saragarhi against the onslaught of almost 10,000 Afghan 

tribesmen. What led to this battle? Who were these tribesmen, and why did they attack 

in such great numbers? Who were the 21 soldiers, and how did they keep the enemy 

at bay against all odds? Based on Colonial Era records and information provided by 

the 4th Sikh Battalion, "21 Kesaris" attempts to answer these questions, while paying 

homage to the soldiers who fought to their last breaths.

“The Age of Eisenhower” tells the story of a masterful president guiding the nation 

through the great crises of the 1950s, from McCarthyism and the Korean War through 

the advancement of civil rights for African Americans and Cold War conflicts. As 

he left office, Eisenhower cautioned Americans to remain alert to the dangers of a 

powerful military-industrial complex that could threaten their liberties. This is a 

portrait of a skilled leader who, despite his conservative inclinations, found a middle 

path through the bitter partisanship of his era. 

In this gripping chronicle of America's struggle for independence, historian John 

Ferling transports readers to the grim realities of that war, capturing an eight-year 

conflict filled with heroism, suffering, cowardice, betrayal, and fierce dedication. As 

Ferling highlights, it was a war that America came much closer to losing than what 

is remembered. Gen. George Washington put it best when he said that the American 

victory was "little short of a standing miracle."

Farley Mowat joined Canada's infantry in 1940 and soon earned the trust of the 

soldiers under his command, being known to bend army rules to secure a stout drink 

or find warm—if nonregulation—clothing. But, when Mowat and his regiment 

engaged with elite German forces in the mountains of Sicily, the optimism of their 

early days was replaced by despair. Mowat takes in the dark depths of war, his account 

of military service, and the friends he left behind in a plea for peace.

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Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943

The Art of Intelligence: Lessons from a Life in the 

CIA's Clandestine Service

Assad or We Burn the Country: How One Family's 

Lust for Power Destroyed Syria

The Best and the Brightest

Rick Atkinson

Henry A. Crumpton

Sam Dagher

David Halberstam

Beginning with the daring amphibious invasion in November 1942, follow the 

American and British armies as they fight the French in Morocco and Algeria and 

then take on the Germans and Italians in Tunisia. Battle by battle, an inexperienced 

and sometimes poorly led army gradually becomes a superb fighting force. Central 

to the tale are the extraordinary but fallible commanders who come to dominate the 

battlefield: Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley, Montgomery, and Rommel.

From CIA recruiting missions in Africa to pioneering new programs like the Predator 

drone, from running post-9/11 missions in Afghanistan to heading up all clandestine 

CIA operations in the United States, Henry A. Crumpton chronicles his role in 

transforming the way America wages war and sheds light on issues of domestic 

espionage. "The Art of Intelligence" will change the way people view the CIA, domestic 

and foreign intelligence, and international terrorism.

Sam Dagher examines Syria's tragedy through the generational saga of the Assad and 

Tlass families, once deeply intertwined and now estranged in Bashar's bloody quest 

to preserve his father's inheritance. Drawing on personal experience in Damascus and 

exclusive interviews with Tlass, Dagher takes readers within palace walls to reveal the 

family behind the destruction of a country and the chaos of an entire region.

David Halberstam tells the story of the Vietnam War. It is an in-depth analysis of 

how the whole situation in Vietnam developed from the days of French imperialism. 

Halberstam examines the causes that contributed to the situation that developed 

into the Vietnam War. French colonialism was the primary factor that set the stage 

for Vietnam. During the peace talks at the end of World War II, the big concern was 

Europe and not Indochina. The peace conference allowed the French to return to 

Indochina and the result was almost immediate conflict.

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Beyond Survival: Building on the Hard Times–A 

POW's Inspiring Story

The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War 

Espionage and Betrayal

The Charm School

Churchill: Walking with Destiny

Capt. Gerald Coffee, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

David E. Hoffman

Nelson DeMille

Andrew Roberts

"Beyond Survival" is a journey into the invincible human spirit that unites heart and mind 

in a compelling and unforgettable experience. Drawing from his seven years as a prisoner 

of war, Capt. Gerald Coffee provides timeless lessons that apply to the physical, emotional, 

and ethical challenges of everyday life. Proving that leadership and creativity are possible 

in difficult and uncertain circumstances, Coffee offers a message we can draw on in any 

trying situation. His story demonstrates that conviction must come from within, and in 

telling that story, he touches the place inside of us where growth begins.

While driving out of the American embassy in Moscow on the evening of February 

16, 1978, the chief of the CIA’s Moscow station heard a knock on his car window. 

A man on the curb hands him an envelope with contents that stun U.S. intelligence. 

Details of top-secret Soviet research and developments in military technology 

that were unknown to the United States. In the years that followed, the man, Adolf 

Tolkachev, an engineer in a Soviet military design bureau, used his high-level access 

to hand over tens of thousands of pages of technical secrets. 

Something very strange—and sinister—is going on in the Russian woods at Borodino. 

In a place called Mrs. Ivanova's Charm School, young KGB agents are being taught 

by American POWs how to be model citizens of the United States. The Soviet goal—

to infiltrate the United States undetected. When an unsuspecting American tourist 

stumbles upon this secret, he sets in motion a CIA investigation that will reveal 

horrifying police state savagery and superpower treachery.

In "Churchill," Andrew Roberts gives readers the full and definitive Winston 

Churchill, from birth to lasting legacy. We think of Churchill as a hero who saved 

civilization from the evils of Nazism and warned of the grave crimes of Soviet 

communism, but Roberts's masterwork reveals that he has as much to teach us about 

the challenges leaders face today.

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Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

City of Thieves

Commander in Chief: FDR's Battle with Churchill, 1943

Company Commander: The Classic Infantry Memoir 

of World War II

The Crucible

David Benioff

Nigel Hamilton

Charles B. MacDonald

Arthur Miller

During the Nazis’ brutal siege of Leningrad, Lev Beniov is arrested for looting and 

thrown into the same cell as a handsome deserter named Kolya. Instead of being 

executed, Lev and Kolya are given a shot at saving their own lives by complying 

with an outrageous directive: secure a dozen eggs for a powerful Soviet colonel to 

use in his daughter’s wedding cake. In a city cut off from all supplies and suffering 

unbelievable deprivation, Lev and Kolya embark on a hunt through the dire 

lawlessness of Leningrad and behind enemy lines to find the impossible.

1943 was the year of Allied military counteroffensives, beating back the forces of 

the Axis powers in North Africa and the Pacific. In "Commander in Chief," Nigel 

Hamilton reveals FDR’s true role in this saga: overruling his own Joint Chiefs of Staff, 

ordering American airmen to ambush the Japanese Admiral Yamamoto, facing down 

Churchill when he attempted to abandon Allied D-Day strategy (twice). This FDR is 

profoundly different from the one Churchill later painted. 

As a newly commissioned captain of a veteran Army regiment, Charles MacDonald’s 

first combat experience was war at its most hellish—the Battle of the Bulge. In this 

plain-spoken but eloquent narrative, we live each minute at MacDonald’s side, sharing 

in all of combat’s misery, terror, and drama. How this green commander gains his 

men’s loyalty in the snows of war-torn Europe is one of the great, true, unforgettable 

war stories of all time.

"The Crucible" is a fictionalized version of the Salem witch trials of 1692 and tells 

the story of a group of young women who falsely accuse other villagers of witchcraft. 

The accusations and ensuing trials push the village into hysteria, which results in the 

arrest of 200 villagers and the deaths of 19. Written by American playwright Arthur 

Miller, who was wrongly accused of communism and un-American activities during 

the McCarthyism era, this play is an an allegory, revealing the political and moral 

parallels between the Salem witch trials and the McCarthy trials.

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Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan

Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint 

Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam

Destined to Witness: Growing up Black in Nazi Germany

Disaster in Korea: The Chinese Confront MacArthur

Bob Grandin

H.R. McMaster

Hans J. Massaquoi

Lt. Col. Roy E. Appleman, U.S. Army (Ret.)

For the first time, those in command of Delta Company share their memories of the 

most significant battle fought by Australians in Vietnam, the Battle of Long Tan. They 

describe what brought them there and how Company Commander Harry Smith drove 

them to become one of the most outstanding units in the Australian forces. The valor 

of those in the battle was never recognized. The ongoing efforts to right the wrongs 

perpetrated in the wake of the battle draw the reader into a compelling dialogue on the 

aftermath of Vietnam.

"Dereliction of Duty" is a stunning analysis of how and why the United States became 

involved in an all-out and disastrous war in Southeast Asia. Based on transcripts and 

personal accounts of crucial meetings, confrontations, and decisions, this is the only 

book that recreates what happened and why. H.R. McMaster pinpoints the policies 

and decisions that got the United States into the morass and reveals who made these 

decisions and the motives behind them, disproving the published theories of other 

historians and excuses of the participants.

This is a story of the unexpected. The son of a prominent African and a German nurse, 

Hans J. Massaquoi remained behind with his mother when Hitler came to power after 

his father returned to Liberia. Like other German boys, Massaquoi went to school; 

like other German boys, he swiftly fell under the Führer's spell. He was crushed 

to learn that, as a black child, he was ineligible for the Hitler Youth. His path to a 

secondary education and an eventual profession was blocked. He then lived in fear 

that, at any moment, he might hear the Gestapo at the door—or Allied bombs falling 

on his home.

"Disaster in Korea" fills a vital gap in the history of the U.S. armed forces and the 

Korean War. Through meticulous research, leading Korean War historian Roy E. 

Appleman tells the story of Gen. Douglas MacArthur's November 1950 attack to the 

Yalu River, an attack that was repulsed by 200,000 Chinese "volunteer" infantry. 

A candid and compelling story, “Disaster in Korea” is full of lessons for battlefield 

commanders.

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Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

East of Chosin: Entrapment and Breakout in 

Korea, 1950

Escaping the Trap: The U.S. Army X Corps in 

Northeast Korea, 1950

Everything is Illuminated

FBI Miami Firefight: Five Minutes That Changed 

the Bureau

Lt. Col. Roy E. Appleman, U.S. Army (Ret.)

Lt. Col. Roy E. Appleman, U.S. Army (Ret.)

Jonathan Safran Foer

Edmundo and Elizabeth Mireles

With the successful Inchon Landing behind him, Gen. Douglas MacArthur planned 

the last major offensive of what was to be a "brief conflict" the drive to push the 

North Koreans across the Yalu River into Manchuria. As U.S. forces assembled 

at Chosin Reservoir to cut behind the North Korean forces, blocking the planned 

march to Manchuria, Roy E. Appleman describes the tragic fate of the troops of the 

31st Regimental Combat Team and presents the physical conditions, attitudes, and 

command decisions that doomed them.

“Escaping the Trap,” tells what happened when U.S. X Corps discovered that the Chinese 

had crossed the Yalu unseen and marched rapidly to Chosin Reservoir, where they landed 

a surprise attack against the 1st Marine Division and the army's 31st Regimental Combat 

Team of the 7th Infantry Division. The attack in late November 1950 virtually annihilated 

the 31st RCT east of Chosin, while the 1st Marine Division made an escape through 

treacherous terrain and a 40-mile roadblock, pushing on to the coast and the monumental 

evacuation of X Corps from North Korea.

“Everything is Illuminated” follows a young man—also named Jonathan Safran 

Foer—as he sets out to find the woman who may or may not have saved his 

grandfather from the Nazis. Accompanied by an old man haunted by memories of the 

war; an amorous dog named Sammy Davis, Junior, Junior; and the unforgettable Alex, 

a young Ukrainian translator who speaks in a sublimely butchered English, Jonathan 

is led on a quixotic journey over a devastated landscape and into an unexpected past. 

On April 11, 1986 in Miami, Florida, FBI agents and two murderous bank robbers 

engaged in a five-minute gunfight, yielding 150 rounds fired. When the firefight was 

over, nine out of the 10 participants were shot, with the bank robbers and two FBI agents 

dead. This monumental event changed law enforcement training, equipment, and tactics 

throughout the U.S., and is known as the “Five Minutes that Changed the Bureau."

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From Colony to Superpower: U.S. Foreign Relations 

Since 1776

Good Hunting: An American Spymaster's Story

Grant

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies 

George C. Herring

Jack Devine 

Ron Chernow

Jared Diamond

George C. Herring tells a story of successes and failures that illuminates the central 

importance of foreign relations to the existence and survival of the nation and 

highlights its ongoing impact on the lives of ordinary citizens. While policymakers 

defined American interests broadly, America's expansion as a nation owes much to the 

adventurers and explorers; the sea captains, merchants, and captains of industry; and the 

missionaries and diplomats who discovered or charted new lands, developed new avenues 

of commerce, and established and defended the nation's interests in foreign lands.

"Good Hunting" is the spellbinding memoir of Jake Devine's time in the CIA, where 

he served for more than 30 years, rising to become the acting deputy director of 

operations. This is a story of intrigue and high-stakes maneuvering, all the more 

gripping when the fate of our geopolitical order hangs in the balance. But, this book 

also sounds a warning to our nation's decision-makers. Covert operations, not costly 

and devastating full-scale interventions, are the best safeguard of America's interests 

worldwide.

Ulysses S. Grant's life has typically been misunderstood. All too often, he is caricatured 

as a chronic loser and inept businessman, fond of drinking to excess, or as the 

triumphant but brutal Union general of the Civil War or as a credulous and hapless 

president whose tenure came to symbolize the worst excesses of the Gilded Age. These 

stereotypes don't come close to capturing his spirit and the sheer magnitude of his 

monumental accomplishments.

Jared Diamond argues that geographical and environmental factors shaped the 

modern world. Societies that had a head start in food production advanced beyond the 

hunter-gatherer stage, developed religion—as well as nasty germs and potent weapons 

of war—and adventured on sea and land to conquer and decimate preliterate cultures. 

A major advance in our understanding of human societies, “Guns, Germs, and Steel” 

chronicles the way that the modern world came to be and stunningly dismantles 

racially based theories of human history.

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Hardcore History

Heirs of the Founders

HHhH

In Our Own Words: Extraordinary Speeches of the 

American Century

Dan Carlin

H.W. Brands

Laurent Binet

Edited by Senator Robert Torricelli and Andrew Carroll 

Dan Carlin’s work weaves historical information with deep questions and Twilight 

Zone-style twists to help illustrate the power and continuing relevance of the past. 

Drama, extremes, empathy, and vivid examples of both the highs and lows of 

humanity dominate the narrative. It’s a trademark mix of elements that has been 

entertaining listeners since 2005. 

In the early 1800s, Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and John Calhoun strode into 

Congress onto the national stage. Together, these men took the country to war, 

battled one another for the presidency, and tasked themselves to finish the work of the 

Founding Fathers. Dramatic duels, fierce debates, scandal, and politics marked their 

time. Yet, each sought to remedy the two glaring flaws in the Constitution: its refusal 

to specify where authority rested, with the states or the nation, and its unwillingness 

to address the essential incompatibility of republicanism and slavery.

In Laurent Binet's mesmerizing debut, we follow Jozef Gabcík and Jan Kubiš from 

their dramatic escape from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia to their fatal attack on 

Heydrich and their own brutal deaths in the basement of a Prague church. A seamless 

blend of memory, actuality, and Binet's own remarkable imagination, "HHhH" is at 

once thrilling and intellectually engrossing.

This collection of American oratory is the most comprehensive anthology of its 

kind. It’s a record of 20th-century America, captured in the words that inspired and 

infuriated, electrified and galvanized people. Decade by decade, history unfolds in 

the famous and infamous expressions from all walks of life: poets and politicians, 

artists and astronauts, soldiers and sports legends, preachers and pacifists. "In Our 

Own Words" bears witness to the forces that swept our nation—two world wars, 

prohibition, the Depression, the Cold War, the Civil Rights era, Vietnam, and beyond.

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In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Trust, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin

International Spy Museum: Spycast

Joe Rochefort's War: The Odyssey of the 

Codebreaker Who Outwitted Yamamoto at Midway

The Junior Officers' Reading Club: Killing Time and 

Fighting Wars

Erik Larson

Dr. Vince Houghton

Elliot Carlson

Patrick Hennessey

William Dodd became America's first ambassador to Hitler's Germany in a year that 

proved to be a turning point in history. Suffused with a tense atmosphere and with 

unforgettable portraits of the bizarre Goring and the expectedly charming—and 

sinister—Goebbels, “In the Garden of Beasts” lends an eyewitness perspective on 

events in real time, revealing an era of surprising nuance and complexity. The result is 

a dazzling, addictively readable work that speaks volumes about why the world did not 

recognize the grave threat posed by Hitler.

Each week, the International Spy Museum offers a new "SpyCast," featuring 

interviews and programs with ex-spies, intelligence experts, and espionage scholars. 

The "SpyCast" is hosted by Dr. Vince Houghton, historian and curator at the 

International Spy Museum.

Elliot Carlson brings together the threads of Capt. Joe Rochefort’s life and career, 

beginning with his enlistment in the U.S. Navy in 1918 through his days as an 

officer rising through the ranks. He finds himself in Washington, heading the Navy’s 

codebreaking desk at age 25, and then assigned to Tokyo to learn Japanese. Carlson 

highlights Rochefort's experiences at Station Hypo, the Navy’s decrypt unit at Pearl 

Harbor, and his key role in breaking the Japanese Navy’s main code before the Battle of 

Midway.

Attempting to stave off the tedium and pressures of military life in Iraq's desert, 

Patrick Hennessey and friends from the military academy formed the Junior Officers' 

Reading Club. When he reached Afghanistan, and the rest of the club are scattered 

across the Middle East, they are no longer overconfident recruits, hungering for action 

and glory. Hennessey captures how boys grow into men amid the frenetic, violence, 

frequent boredom, and almost overwhelming responsibilities that frame a soldier's 

experience and the way we fight today.

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The Last Man on the Moon: Astronaut Eugene 

Cernan and America's Race in Space

Lawrence in Arabia

Leonardo Da Vinci

Lone Survivor

Eugene Cernan with Don Davis

Scott Anderson

Walter Isaacson

Marcus Luttrell

Eugene Cernan was a unique American who came of age as an astronaut during the 

most exciting and dangerous decade of spaceflight. His career spanned the entire 

Gemini and Apollo programs, from being the first person to spacewalk all the way 

around our world to the moment when he left man's last footprint on the Moon as 

commander of Apollo 17.

The Arab Revolt against the Turks in World War I was, in the words of T. E. 

Lawrence, “a sideshow of a sideshow.” As a result, the conflict was shaped to a 

remarkable degree by a small handful of adventurers and low-level officers far 

removed from the corridors of power.

Based on thousands of pages from Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks and new 

discoveries about his life and work, Walter Isaacson reveals da Vinci in a way that 

connects his art to his science. In doing so, he shows how da Vinci’s genius was 

based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity, careful 

observation, and an imagination so playful that it flirted with fantasy.

This is the story of the only survivor of Operation Redwing, SEAL team leader 

Marcus Luttrell, and the extraordinary firefight that led to the largest loss of life in 

American Navy SEAL history. His squadmates fought valiantly beside him until he 

was the only one left alive, blasted by an RPG into a place where his pursuers could 

not find him. Over the next four days, terribly injured and presumed dead, Luttrell 

crawled for miles through the mountains and was taken in by sympathetic villagers 

who risked their lives to keep him safe from surrounding Taliban warriors.

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Long Range Desert Group

The Mantle of Command: FDR at War, 1941-1942

Morale: A Study of Men and Courage

The Myth and Reality of German Warfare

W.B. Kennedy Shaw

Nigel Hamilton

John Baynes

Gerhard P. Gross

Throughout the fighting in North Africa in World War II no group excelled in the role 

of Special Forces more than the Long Range Desert Group. W.B. Kennedy Shaw, a 

British desert explorer, archaeologist, and soldier, served as an intelligence officer 

with this remarkable British unit and recounts their daring exploits in special missions 

against Rommel's Afrika Korps.

"The Mantle of Command" offers a radical new perspective on Franklin Delano 

Roosevelt’s masterful—and underappreciated—leadership of the Allied war effort. 

After the disaster of Pearl Harbor, we see Roosevelt devising a global strategy that 

will defeat Hitler and the Japanese, rescue Churchill and the British people, and quell 

a near insurrection of his own American generals and War Department. All things 

drive toward Operation Torch—the invasion of French Northwest Africa—with the 

outcome of the war hanging in the balance.

A classic study of the 2nd Scottish Rifles in the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in 1915 

during the Great War. John Baynes takes a look at the morale of being in the military 

and an even greater look at the morale in combat, especially on the Western Front. 

With the enemy approaching, how do the officers, NCOs, and the men they lead gain 

ground and come out the other side to stop the approach?

Gerhard P. Gross provides a comprehensive examination of the development and failure 

of German operational thinking over a period of more than a century. He analyzes the 

strengths and weaknesses of five different armies, from the mid-19th century through 

the early days of NATO. Essential reading for military historians and strategists, this 

innovative work dismantles cherished myths and offers new insights into Germany's 

failed attempts to become a global power through military means.

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Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

No Easy Day

Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of 

Operation Anaconda

Nuking the Moon: And Other Intelligence Schemes 

and Military Plots Best Left on the Drawing Board

The Only Thing Worth Dying For: How Eleven Green 

Berets Fought for a New Afghanistan

Mark Owen

Sean Naylor

Vince Houghton

Eric Blehm

Operator Mark Owen of the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group—known 

as SEAL Team Six—has been a part of some of the most memorable special operations 

in history, as well as countless missions that never made headlines. In “No Easy Day,” 

Owen takes readers into the War on Terror and details the formation of the most elite 

units in the military. With boots-on-the-ground detail, Owen describes several missions 

that illustrate the life and work of a SEAL and the evolution of the team after the events 

of September 11.

On March 2, 2002, America's first major battle of the 21st century began. More than 200 

soldiers of the 101st Airborne and 10th Mountain Division flew into Afghanistan's Shah-iKotvalley. They were about to pay a bloody price for strategic, high-level miscalculations 

that underestimated the enemy's strength and willingness to fight. Sean Naylor, details the 

failures of military intelligence and planning, portraying the astonishing heroism of these 

young, untested soldiers.

In “Nuking the Moon,” Vince Houghton proves that abandoned plans can be just as 

illuminating—and every bit as entertaining—as the ones that made it. Vividly capturing 

the fascinating stories of how 21 plans from World War II and the Cold War went from 

conception, planning, and testing to cancellation, Houghton explores what happens 

when innovation meets desperation. For every plan as good as D-Day, there's a scheme 

to strap bombs to bats or dig a spy tunnel underneath the Soviet embassy.

“The Only Thing Worth Dying For” chronicles the most important mission in the 

early days of the Global War on Terror, when the men on the ground knew little 

about the enemy—and their commanders in Washington knew even less. With 

access to surviving members of Operational Detachment Alpha 574, key war 

planners, and Hamid Karzai, Eric Blehm narrates a story of uncommon bravery and 

terrible sacrifice.

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The Operator: Firing the Shots that Killed Osama 

bin Laden and My Years as a SEAL Team Warrior

The Orphan Master's Son

Philosophize This!

Ridgway Duels for Korea

Robert O'Neill

Adam Johnson

Stephen West

Lt. Col. Roy Appleman, U.S. Army (Ret.)

Stirringly evocative, thought provoking, and often jaw dropping, “The Operator” 

highlights Robert O'Neill's awe-inspiring, 400-mission career that included his 

involvement in attempts to rescue "Lone Survivor" Marcus Luttrell and abducted-bySomali-pirates Capt. Richard Phillips, and culminated in those famous three shots that 

dispatched the world's most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden.

“The Orphan Master's Son” follows a young man's journey through the icy waters, 

dark tunnels, and eerie spy chambers of the world's most mysterious dictatorship, 

North Korea. A mix of breathless thriller, story of innocence lost, and of romantic 

love, “The Orphan Master's Son” is a riveting portrait of a world heretofore hidden 

from view: a North Korea rife with hunger, corruption, and casual cruelty but also 

camaraderie and stolen moments of beauty and love. 

Beginner friendly if listened to in order. "Philosophize This!" is for anyone interested 

in an educational podcast about philosophy, and where you don't need to be a 

graduate-level student to understand it. Stephen West breaks down and explains the 

thinkers and ideas that forged the world we live in now.

Based on unit records, Chinese military reports, and interviews, this combat history 

covers battlefield events from Gen. Matthew Ridgway's assumption of command 

in Korea in December 1950 to the beginning of truce talks in July 1951. When he 

took over, U.N. forces were in full retreat, being driven southward by overwhelming 

numbers of Chinese and North Korean troops. The author describes how Ridgway 

provided the strategy and leadership that kept the Americans from quitting Korea 

altogether, and how he gradually transformed a defeated and demoralized army into a 

strong, motivated fighting force.

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Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic

Sacred Duty: A Soldier's Tour at Arlington 

National Cemetery

The Secret War: Spies, Ciphers, and Guerrillas 

1939-1945

Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the 

Modern Middle East

Tom Holland

Sen. Tom Cotton

Max Hastings

Michael B. Oren

In 49 B.C., Julius Caesar crossed a small river called the Rubicon and plunged 

Rome into civil war. Tom Holland’s enthralling account tells the story of Caesar’s 

generation, witness to the twilight of the Republic, and its bloody transformation into 

an empire. From Cicero, Spartacus, and Brutus, to Cleopatra, Virgil, and Augustus, 

here are some of the most legendary figures in history brought to life. “Rubicon” is not 

only an engrossing history of this pivotal era but a uniquely resonant portrait of a great 

civilization in all its extremes of self-sacrifice and rivalry, decadence and catastrophe, 

intrigue, war, and world-shaking ambition.

In an extraordinary journey behind the scenes of Arlington National Cemetery, Sen. 

Tom Cotton offers an intimate and inspiring portrait of the "Old Guard,” the revered 

U.S. Army unit, whose mission is to honor our country’s fallen heroes. Its soldiers 

hold themselves to the standard of perfection in sweltering heat, frigid cold, and 

driving rain. Whether honoring a legendary general or a humble private, the Old 

Guard has embodied the ideals of honor and sacrifice across our nation’s history.

There were two Second World Wars. One was on the battlefields and another 

conducted by men and women, few of whom ever fired a weapon in anger but whose 

efforts vastly influenced the conflict. "The Secret War" examines that other war 

waged by British, American, German, Russian, and Japanese intelligence-gathering 

personnel. Moving chronologically through the conflict, Max Hastings charts the 

successes and failures of Allied and Axis forces, espionage, and counterespionage.

Extraordinary personalities—Moshe Dayan, Gamal Abdul Nasser, Lyndon Johnson, 

and Alexei Kosygin—rose and toppled from power as a result of the Six-Day War, 

also known as the 167 Arab-Israeli War. Borders were redrawn. Daring strategies 

brilliantly succeeded or disastrously failed in a matter of hours. The balance of power 

changed—in the Middle East and in the world. 

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Sons and Soldiers

South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu

A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich

A Time for Trumpets: The Untold Story of the Battle 

of the Bulge

Bruce Henderson

Lt. Col. Roy E. Appleman, U.S. Army (Ret.)

Lucas Delattre

Charles B. MacDonald

Beginning with the rise of Hitler’s Nazi party, Bruce Henderson captures the heartbreaking 

stories of Jewish parents sending their sons away to uncertain futures in America. Henderson 

describes how these boys became men and were recruited into the U.S. Army and how their 

mastery of the German language and psyche were put to use. Known as the "Ritchie Boys," 

these men knew what would happen to them if captured. Yet, they leapt at the opportunity to 

join every major combat unit in Europe and help win the war.

In an account of the first five months of the Korean War, veteran and historian Lt. Col. 

Roy E. Appleman describes the withdrawal to the Pusan perimeter, MacArthur's landing 

at Inchon and drive northward that crushed the North Koreans, and the stiffening of 

enemy resistance as the United Nations forces neared the Manchurian border.

In 1943, a young official from the German foreign ministry contacted Allen Dulles, 

an OSS officer in Switzerland who would later head the Central Intelligence Agency. 

That man was Fritz Kolbe, who decided to betray his country after years opposing 

Nazism. While Dulles was skeptical, he eventually admitted, “No single diplomat 

abroad, of whatever rank, could have got his hands on so much information as did this 

man; he was one of my most valuable agents during World War II.

In December 1944, the vanguard of three German armies, totaling half a million men, 

attacked U.S. forces in the Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg, achieving 

what had been considered impossible—total surprise. In the most abysmal failure of 

battlefield intelligence, 600,000 American soldiers found themselves facing Hitler's 

last desperate effort of the war. The confrontation that ensued is considered the 

greatest battle ever fought by the U.S. Army. The Battle of the Bulge is a triumph of 

American ingenuity and dedication to win.

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Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

A Time to Betray: The Astonishing Double Life of a 

CIA Agent Inside the Revolutionary Guards of Iran

Trabelin’ On: The Slave Journey to an Afro-Baptist Faith

Unbroken

Vimy

Reza Kahlili

Mechal Sobel

Laura Hillenbrand

Pierre Berton

Reza Kahlili grew up in Tehran surrounded by his close-knit family and friends. But, 

the enlightened Iran of his youth vanished forever when the revolution of 1979 ushered 

in Ayatollah Khomeini’s dark age of religious fundamentalism. Clinging to the hope 

of a Persian Renaissance, Reza joined the Ayatollah’s elite Revolutionary Guards. As 

Khomeini’s tyrannies unfolded, as fellow countrymen turned on each other, and after 

the personal horrors he witnessed firsthand, a disillusioned Kahlili left for America to 

help CIA in the dangerous game of spying on what was once his home. 

Through a fascinating study of the religious history of slaves and free blacks in 

antebellum America, Mechal Sobel describes how Africans brought their worldviews 

into North America. There, eventually, under the tremendous pressures and hardships 

of chattel slavery, they created a coherent faith that preserved and revitalized crucial 

African understandings and usages regarding spirit and soul-travels, while melding 

them with Christian understandings of Jesus and individual salvation.

On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Force bomber crashed into the Pacific 

Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and 

blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, 

the plane's bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. 

So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.

On Easter Monday in 1917, with a blizzard blowing in their faces, the four divisions 

of the Canadian Corps in France seized and held the best-defended German bastion 

on the Western Front—the muddy scarp of Vimy Ridge. The British had failed to take 

the ridge, and so had the French, who had lost 150,000 men in the attempt. Yet, these 

magnificent colonial troops did so at the cost of 10,000 casualties. This is their story. 

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War and Peace: FDR's Final Odyssey, D-Day to 

Yalta, 1943-1945

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of 

America's Great Migration

The Washington War: FDR's Inner Circle and the 

Politics of Power That Won World War II

We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History

Nigel Hamilton

Isabel Wilkerson

James Lacey

John Lewis Gaddis

Seventy-five years after the D-Day landings, we finally get to see who was responsible 

for rescuing, and insisting upon, the great American-led invasion of France in June 

1944. As FDR's D-Day triumph turns to personal tragedy, the public watches with 

heartbreaking compassion as his disease progressed and how, in the months left 

as U.S. commander in chief, the dying president attempted to prepare the United 

Nations for an American-backed, postwar world order. Now we know that, even on his 

deathbed, FDR was the war's great visionary.

Isabel Wilkerson chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the 

decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western 

cities, in search of a better life. From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people 

changed the face of America. Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of 

other peoples in history. She interviewed more than a thousand people and gained access 

to new data and official records to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of 

how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves.

The inside story of how FDR and the towering personalities around him waged war 

in the corridors of Washington, D.C., to secure ultimate victory on the battlefields of 

Europe and the Pacific. “The Washington War” is the story of how the Second World 

War was fought and won in the capital’s halls of power—and how the United States, 

which in December 1941 had a nominal army and a decimated naval fleet, was able 

to fling huge forces onto the European continent and shatter Imperial Japan’s 

Pacific strongholds.

Did the Soviet Union want world revolution? Why did the USSR send missiles to 

Cuba? What made the Cold War last as long as it did? The end of the Cold War 

makes it possible, for the first time, to begin writing its history from an international 

perspective. Based on the latest findings of Cold War historians and extensive research 

in American archives as well as the recently opened archives in Eastern Europe, the 

former Soviet Union, and China, “We Now Know” provides a vividly written, eyeopening account of the Cold War during the years from the end of World War II to its 

most dangerous moment, the Cuban Missile Crisis.

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The White Mouse

Widows: Four American Spies, the Wives They Left 

Behind, and the KGB's Crippling of American Intelligence

A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the 

American Spy Who Helped Win World War II

Women's War: Fighting and Surviving the American 

Civil War

Nancy Wake

William R. Corson, Susan B. Trento, and Joseph J. Trento

Sonia Purnell

Stephanie McCurry

The Gestapo called her the White Mouse. Nancy Wake, an Australian who became 

one of the most highly decorated women of World War II, tells her own story. After 

living and working in Paris in the 1930s, Nancy Wake married a wealthy Frenchman 

and settled in Marseilles. Her idyllic new life was ended by World War II. Eventually, 

Nancy had to escape from France to avoid capture by the Gestapo.

Four U.S. intelligence agents play a high-stakes game of international double-crossing, 

blackmail, and deceit. One by one, they disappear. And no one, not even their widows or the 

U.S. public, were ever told the truth. Now, for the first time, three experienced investigators 

present a shocking case, based on hundreds of interviews and years of research, against the 

U.S. intelligence establishment. A case of incompetence, cover-up, and even Soviet penetration. 

“Widows” is a harrowing journey into a world of espionage, where no one is what they seem.

In 1942, the Gestapo sent out an urgent transmission: "She is the most dangerous of all 

Allied spies. We must find and destroy her." The target was Virginia Hall, a Baltimore 

socialite who talked her way into Special Operations Executive, the spy organization 

dubbed Winston Churchill's "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare." She became the first 

Allied woman deployed behind enemy lines and—despite her prosthetic leg—helped to 

light the flame of the French Resistance, revolutionizing secret warfare.

Stephanie McCurry reveals the vital, and sometimes confounding, roles women played 

on and off the battlefield during the Civil War. Clara Judd, a Confederate spy whose 

imprisonment for treason sparked heated debates, defying the principle of civilian immunity 

and leading to changes. Hundreds of thousands of enslaved women escaped across Union 

lines, upending emancipation policies that extended only to enslaved men. Confederate 

Grande Dame Gertrude Thomas wrestled with her loss of status and of her former slaves. 

War, emancipation, and economic devastation affected her family and her life.

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LEADERSHIP AND 

PROFESSIONAL 

DEVELOPMENT

“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and 

they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” 

—General George S. Patton
52 LEADERSHIP

Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them 

and People Will Follow You

The Accidental Creative

Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should 

Mentor Women

Becoming Batman: The Possibility of a Superhero

John C. Maxwell

Todd Henry

W. Brad Johnson and David G. Smith

E. Paul Zehr

"The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" combines insights from John C. Maxwell's 

40-plus years of leadership, with observations from the worlds of business, politics, 

sports, religion, and the military. The revised editon of this New York Times' 

bestseller includes Maxwell’s timeless, expert advice on leadership, along with fresh, 

relevant stories and practical application in each chapter. 

"The Accidental Creative" shares how to build practical, everyday practices that help 

you stay prolific, brilliant, and healthy. Todd Henry provides a twice-weekly tips and 

interviews with top thinkers, leaders, and artists for over a decade. 

Strong, mentoring relationships transform individuals and entire organizations. 

Organizations that retain and promote top talent—both female and male—are more 

likely to thrive. But, the mentoring landscape is unequal. Evidence consistently shows 

that women face more barriers in securing mentorships than men, and when they do find 

a mentor, they reap a narrower range of career and psychological benefits. This is a book 

for men about how to mentor women deliberately and effectively. It is a no-nonsense 

manual for helping men of all institutions to become excellent mentors to women.

E. Paul Zehr discusses the physical training necessary to maintain bad-guy-fighting 

readiness while relating the science underlying this process, from strength conditioning 

to the cognitive changes a person would endure in undertaking such a regimen. In 

probing what a real-life Batman could achieve, Zehr considers the level of punishment 

a fit and trained person could handle, how hard and fast such a person could punch and 

kick, and the number of adversaries that individual could dispatch. He also tells us what 

it would be like to fight while wearing the Batsuit and the amount of food someone 

needs to consume each day to maintain vigilance as Gotham City's dark knight.

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53

Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead

Beyond the To-Do-List

The Big Moo: Stop Trying to be Perfect and Start 

Trying to be Remarkable

A Book of Five Rings

Erik Fisher

The Group of 33

Miyamoto Musashi

Jim Mattis and Bing West

Learn how to choose the right projects, tasks, and goals in work and life. Go beyond 

the to-do-list. Erik Fisher talks with people on all aspects of productivity, including 

getting the right work done, getting good work done, and the true end goal of 

productivity—living a meaningful life.

Most organizations are stuck in a rut. On one hand, they understand all the good things 

that will come with growth. On the other, they’re petrified that growth means change, 

and change means risk, and risk means death. Nobody wants to screw up and ruin a 

good thing, so most companies (and individuals) just keep trying to be perfect at the 

things they’ve always done. 

In "A Book of Five Rings," Miyamoto Musashi takes the reader into a world filled 

to the brim with devotion, self-respect, discipline, honesty, and purity of thought. 

Written originally for warriors and samurai in a completely different time and culture, 

Musashi's book provides a remarkable source of inspiration for self-development 

today. While some of his guidelines are not directly applicable in our time and age, 

those about striving to achieve improvement on the inside as well as the outside 

couldn't be more on target.

“Call Sign Chaos” is the account of Jim Mattis' storied career, from wide-ranging 

leadership roles in three wars to commanding a quarter of a million troops across 

the Middle East. Along the way, Mattis recounts his foundational experiences as 

a leader, extracting the lessons he has learned about the nature of warfighting and 

peacemaking, the importance of allies, and the strategic dilemmas—and short-sighted 

thinking—now facing our nation. He makes it clear why America must return to a 

strategic footing so as not to continue winning battles but fighting inconclusive wars.

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54 LEADERSHIP

Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds

Change Your Questions, Change Your Life

The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly 

Successful Groups

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. 

Whole Hearts.

David Goggins

Marliee Adams

Daniel Coyle

Brené Brown

For David Goggins, childhood was a nightmare—poverty, prejudice, and physical 

abuse colored his days and haunted his nights. But through self-discipline, mental 

toughness, and hard work, Goggins transformed himself from a depressed, overweight 

young man with no future into a U.S. armed forces icon and one of the world's top 

endurance athletes. The only man in history to complete elite training as a Navy 

SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force tactical air controller, he went on to set records 

in numerous endurance events, inspiring Outside magazine to name him "The Fittest 

(Real) Man in America." 

“Change Your Questions, Change Your Life” shows readers how to consistently 

choose the questions that can lead them to success, both personally and professionally. 

This technique, called "Questions Thinking," stimulates innovation, accelerates 

productivity, and creates more rewarding relationships. Questions are at the core 

of how we listen, behave, think, and relate. Virtually everything we think and do 

is generated by questions. The future begins with our thinking, represented by the 

questions we ask ourselves

“The Culture Code” offers a roadmap for creating an environment where innovation 

flourishes, problems get solved, and expectations are exceeded. Culture is not 

something you are—it's something you do. No matter the size of your group or your 

goal, this book can teach you the principles of cultural chemistry that transform 

individuals into teams that can accomplish amazing things together.

When we dare to lead, we don't pretend to have the right answers; we stay curious and 

ask the right questions. We don't see power as finite and hoard it; we know that power 

becomes infinite when we share it with others. We don't avoid difficult conversations 

and situations; we lean into vulnerability when it's necessary to do good work. Daring 

leadership in a culture that's defined by scarcity, fear, and uncertainty requires skillbuilding around traits that are deeply and uniquely human. 

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55

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of 

Battling Giants

Developing the Leader Within You 2.0

A Dog Called Hope: A Wounded Warrior and the 

Service Dog Who Saved Him

Ethical Leadership: A Primer

Malcolm Gladwell

John C. Maxwell

Jason Morgan and Damien Lewis

Robert M. McManus, Stanley J. Ward, and Alexandra K. Perry

Malcolm Gladwell challenges how we think about obstacles and disadvantages, 

offering a new interpretation of what it means to be discriminated against, or cope 

with a disability, or lose a parent, or attend a mediocre school, or suffer from any 

number of other apparent setbacks. Gladwell begins with the real story of what 

happened between the giant and the shepherd boy those many years ago. 

John C. Maxwell returns to his bestselling book to include the leadership insights and 

practices he has learned in the decades since the book first appeared. “Developing the 

Leader Within You 2.0” updates on Maxwell’s principles for inspiring, motivating, 

and influencing others from any type of leadership position. These foundational 

principles and promises provide new readers, and longtime fans of the original 

book, the necessary wisdom to help any leader and organization succeed in fostering 

integrity, self-discipline, and effecting positive change.

“A Dog Called Hope” is the incredible story of a remarkable service dog who brought a 

devastated warrior back from the brink. It is the story of one funny, lovable dog's power 

to heal a family and teach a wounded man how to be a true father. It is the story of an 

amazing dog with boundless loyalty who built bridges between his wheelchair-bound 

battle buddy and the rest of able-bodied humankind. It is the story of how one very 

special dog gave a man's life true meaning. Humorous, intensely moving, and uplifting, 

Jason and Napal's heartwarming tale will brighten any day and lift every heart.

“Ethical Leadership” presents a number of leadership models that claim an ethical 

component. By providing a consistent case analysis based on the Five Components 

of Leadership Model, readers benefit from a uniform approach to evaluating ethical 

leadership. Conclusions include the importance of drawing from multiple ethical and 

leadership perspectives, moving away from exclusively leader-centric approaches to 

ethical leadership, the importance of asking questions to maximize self-awareness, 

and considering multiple points of view whenever addressing an ethical conundrum.

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56 LEADERSHIP

Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

Faster, Fewer, Better Emails

The Golden Age: 101 Thoughts on Business, 

Entrepreneurship, Investing & Technology

Good Life Project

Hidden Brain

Dianna Booher

Peter Weishaput

Jonathan Fields

Shankar Vedantam

Today, most business writing is email writing. We handle even our most important 

customer transactions, internal operations, and supplier partnerships solely by email. 

Yet many of us still struggle to write emails that get results. How we handle emails has 

a large impact on the trajectory of our career. Emails can build or destroy credibility, 

clarify or confuse situations for our co-workers and customers, and reduce or increase 

security risks and legal liabilities. This book will help you master your emails and 

stand out as a clear, credible communicator. After all, clear, credible communicators 

become leaders in every industry.

In "The Golden Age," Peter Weishaput offers 101 quick lessons on business, 

entrepreneurship, investing, and technology from some of the leading minds of 

our times. Learn why this is the best time in the history of the world to be alive. 

Understand why this truly is the golden age. Discover how to use psychology and 

technology to achieve your dreams. 

A weekly podcast that shares inspirational, intimate, and unfiltered conversations 

about living a fully engaged, fiercely connected, and purpose-drenched life. From 

iconic world-shakers like Elizabeth Gilbert, Brené Brown, Sir Ken Robinson, Seth 

Godin, and Gretchen Rubin to everyday guests, every story matters. 

Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns 

that drive human behavior, shape our choices, and direct our relationships. 

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How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We 

Work: Seven Languages for Transformation

How to be an Inclusive Leader: Creating Trust, 

Cooperation, and Community Across Differences

How to be Awesome at Your Job

Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of 

Telling

Lisa Laskow Lahey and Robert Kegan

Jennifer Brown

Pete Mockaitis

Edgar H. Schien

Why is the gap so great between our hopes, our intentions, even our decisions—and what we 

are actually able to bring about? What can we do to transform this troubling reality? Harvard 

psychologists Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey take us on a carefully guided journey 

designed to help answer these very questions.

Drawing on years of work with many leading organizations, Jennifer Brown shows what 

leaders at any level can do to spark real change. She guides readers through the "Inclusive 

Leader Continuum," a set of four developmental stages: unaware, aware, active, and 

advocate. Brown describes the hallmarks of each stage, the behaviors and mind-sets that 

inform it, and what listeners can do to keep progressing. Whether you're a powerful CEO 

or a new employee without direct reports, there are actions you can take that can drastically 

change the day-to-day reality for your colleagues and the trajectory of your organization. 

Each week, Pete Mockaitis interviews thought-leaders and results-getters to discover 

specific, actionable insights that boost work performance. Their stories and advice 

sharpen the universal skills every professional needs to flourish at work.

Communication is essential in a healthy organization. But, all too often, when we 

interact with people, especially those who report to us, we simply tell them what we 

think they need to know. This shuts them down. To generate bold new ideas, to avoid 

disastrous mistakes, to develop agility and flexibility, we need to practice humble 

inquiry.

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58 LEADERSHIP

Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

Influence Without Authority

Intelligence at the Top: The Recollections of an 

Intelligence Officer

Jocko Podcast

Just Saying with Joe McCormack: The Brief Lab

Allan R. Cohen and David L. Bradford

Maj. Gen. Sir Kenneth Strong, British Army

Lt. Cmdr. John "Jocko" Willink, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Joe McCormack

In “Influence Without Authority,” leadership gurus Allan R. Cohen and David L. 

Bradford explain how to get cooperation from those you have no official authority over 

by offering them help in the form of the "currencies" they value. This book gives you 

powerful techniques for cutting through interpersonal and interdepartmental barriers 

and motivating people to lend you their support, time, and resources.

Through his experiences heading intelligence for the Supreme Allied Command 

during World War II, Maj. Gen. Sir Kenneth Strong stresses the unspectacular, 

actually scholarly and rather social, aspects of his profession. In doing so, he offers 

insights into the careers of top military leadership as he relates the circumstances 

of several important military, decisions including the Normandy invasion and the 

surrender of Italy.

Retired Navy SEAL Jocko Willink and Echo Charles discuss discipline and leadership 

in business, war, relationships, and everyday life.

The point of this podcast is to help you become an effective and efficient communicator. Joe McCormack tackles many of the most pressing issues that people face in a 

world flooded by information, interruptions, and distractions. The promise is that you 

and your ideas can stand out consistently. Hope you enjoy. (Just Saying)

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The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish

Lead to Win

Leadership in the Shadows

Leadership Transformed

Shane Parrish

Michael Hyatt

Sgt. Maj. Kyle Lamb, U.S. Army (Ret.)

Dr. Peter Fuda

"The Knowledge Project" is for anyone who want to better understand themselves, 

others, and the world around them. Together with host Shane Parrish, you’ll uncover 

the timeless ideas, mental models, stories, and life lessons that will help you master 

what other people have already figured out.

Short-term wins are easy. Sustained achievement is another story. Discover how 

current research combines with timeless wisdom for lasting success. From personal 

productivity to personal development, self-leadership to team leadership, and 

intentionality to influence, get the insights and tools you need to win at work and 

succeed at life.

During his 20-plus years of military service, with multiple operational units within 

the United States Army's Special Operations community, Sgt. Maj. Kyle Lamb 

continually honed his leadership skills while being selected for one critical assignment 

after another. “Leadership in the Shadows” brings those leadership lessons to you. 

Drawn from real life experiences, Lamb's lessons will give you the tools and insight 

to raise your leadership skills to the next level. Whether you're in the corporate world, 

military, or law enforcement, the knowledge in "Leadership in the Shadows" will help 

guide your team to mission success.

How does a good manager become a great leader? Ask around in business circles 

and you’ll get a thousand different answers. After more than a decade’s research 

and practice, Dr. Peter Fuda shares the seven common themes that have enabled 

hundreds of CEOs around the world to transform themselves into effective leaders and 

transformed the performance of their organizations. 

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60 LEADERSHIP

Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

Leading Up: How to Lead Your Boss so You Both Win 

Lincoln on Leadership: Executive Strategies for 

Tough Times

Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win 

Wars, Cure Diseases and Transform Industries

Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman

Michael Useem

Donald T. Phillips

Safi Bahcall

Reid Hoffman

Today's best leaders know how to lead up, a necessary strategy when a supervisor is 

micromanaging rather than macrothinking. A division president offers clear directives 

but can't see the future, or investors demand instant gain but need long-term growth. 

Through vivid, compelling stories, Michael Useem reveals how upward leadership 

can transform incipient disaster into hard-won triumph. Useem explores what happens 

when those who should step forward fail to do so. 

When Lincoln took the oath of office in 1861, the Confederate States had already seceded 

from the Union. Even though his own advisers expected him to fail, he eventually reunited 

the embattled states with uncommon good sense. Using historical anecdotes, speeches, 

and Lincoln's own letters, Donald T. Phillips shares the president's practical managerial 

strategies: seize the initiative, wage only one war at a time, encourage risk-taking while 

promoting job security, circulate among the troops, and more. With this compelling 

portrait, Phillips reveals Lincoln as one of the world's most outstanding leaders.

"Loonshots" is a blend of world history, science, technology, and business. Safi Bahcall 

takes readers on a rollercoaster ride that reveals the power of nurturing crazy ideas 

and embracing audacious projects. Though we often feel comfortable maintaining the 

status quo, especially in a group setting, sometimes we must provide opportunities for 

daring ideas to flow. The truth is that the world as we know it today would not be what 

it is without loonshots. 

Iconic CEOs—from Nike to Netflix, Starbucks to Slack—share the stories and 

strategies that helped them grow from startups into global brands. On each episode, 

host Reid Hoffman—LinkedIn co-founder, Greylock partner, and legendary Silicon 

Valley investor—proves an unconventional theory about how businesses scale, while 

his guests share the story of how they built their companies. Hoffman and guests talk 

entrepreneurship, leadership, strategy, management, fundraising. But, they also talk 

about the human journey—with all its failures and setbacks.

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Measure What Matters: OKRs–The Simple Idea That 

Drives 10x Growth

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life 

Depended on It

Nine Lies about Work: A Freethinking Leader's Guide 

to the Real World

Outwitting the Devil: The Secret to Freedom and Success

John Doerr

Chris Voss with Tahl Raz

Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall

Napoleon Hill

"Measure What Matters" is about using objectives and key results, a revolutionary 

approach to goal-setting, to make tough choices in business. In 1999, legendary 

venture capitalist John Doerr invested nearly $12 million in a startup that had amazing 

technology, entrepreneurial energy, and sky-high ambitions but no real business plan. 

Doerr introduced the founders to objectives and key results and with them at the 

foundation of their management, the startup grew from 40 employees to more than 

70,000, with a market cap exceeding $600 billion. The startup was Google.

A former international hostage negotiator for the FBI offers a new field-tested approach 

to high-stakes negotiations—whether in the boardroom or at home. Life is a series 

of negotiations, from buying a car and negotiating a salary to deliberating with your 

partner. Taking emotional intelligence and intuition to the next level, "Never Split the 

Difference" gives an inside look at the world the world of high-stakes negotiations, 

revealing how Chris Voss and his colleagues succeed where it mattered the most—in 

saving lives. 

Your organization's culture is the key to its success. Strategic planning is essential. 

People crave feedback. These may sound like basic truths of our work lives today, 

but actually, they're lies. Authors Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall show 

in this provocative, inspiring book that there are some big lies—distortions, faulty 

assumptions, wrong thinking—running through our organizational lives. Nine lies, 

to be exact. They cause dysfunction and frustration and, ultimately, result in a strange 

feeling of unreality that pervades our workplaces.

Written in 1938, this powerful and controversial tale has never been published. Using 

his legendary ability to get to the root of human potential, Napolean Hill digs deep to 

identify the greatest obstacles we face in reaching personal goals: fear, procrastination, 

anger, and jealousy. These hidden methods of control can lead us to ruin, but Hill reveals 

the seven principles of good that allow us to triumph over them.

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62 LEADERSHIP

Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

Peacekeeping Intelligence

Power and Influence: Beyond Formal Authority

Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing 

Your Humanity

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a 

Specialized World

Wies Platje

John P. Kotter

Kim Scott

David Epstein

Only one organization can be said to be truly concerned with global security and 

prosperity in the common interest of all mankind: the United Nations. But, the 

U.N. has chosen to ignore the proven process of "intelligence" by confusing it with 

espionage. Intelligence is not about espionage. It is about rationalized decisionsupport. “Peacekeeping Intelligence” is, in essence, "Ref A" for the future of 

intelligence at the U.N. It brings together experience from practitioners and scholars 

with past reports to discuss peacekeeping intelligence for the future to reduce 

uncertainty and make instability manageable.

Full of original ideas and expert insights about how organizations—and the people in 

them—function, "Power and Influence" discusses that lower-level personnel also need strong 

leadership skills and interpersonal know-how to perform well. John P. Kotter explains how 

you can develop sufficient resources of "unofficial" power and influence to achieve goals, 

steer clear of conflicts, foster creative team behavior, and gain the cooperation and support 

you need from subordinates, co-workers, superiors—even people outside your department or 

organization. He also shows how you can avoid the twin traps of naiveté and cynicism when 

dealing with power relationships and how to use your power without abusing it.

Great bosses have strong relationships with their employees, and Kim Scott 

has identified three simple principles for building better relationships with your 

employees: make it personal, get things done, and understand why it matters. "Radical 

Candor" offers a guide to those bewildered or exhausted by management. Taken from 

years of experience and distilled clearly with actionable lessons; it shows managers 

how to be successful while retaining their humanity, finding meaning in their job, and 

creating an environment where people both love their work and their colleagues.

David Epstein examined the world's most successful athletes, artists, musicians, 

inventors, forecasters, and scientists. He discovered that in most fields—especially 

those that are complex and unpredictable—generalists, not specialists, are primed to 

excel. Generalists often find their path late, and they juggle many interests rather than 

focusing on one. They're also more creative, more agile, and able to make connections 

their more specialized peers can't see. Provocative, rigorous, and engrossing, "Range" 

makes a compelling case for actively cultivating inefficiency.

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Safe for Work

Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations

Smarter Faster Better

Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln: 21 Powerful 

Secrets to History's Greatest Speakers

Liz Dolan and Rico Gagliano

Adm. William H. McRaven, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Charles Duhigg

James C. Humes

Life at work can be funny, challenging, ridiculous, and—yes—even satisfying. "Safe 

For Work" is all about helping others find balance and happiness in their career. After 

all, many of us spend more time with our co-workers and clients than with our friends 

and family. Hosts Liz Dolan and Rico Gagliano talk to experts about those moments at 

the office that can challenge the best of us: negotiating raises, knowing when it’s time 

to move on... or dealing with that annoying officemate with no boundaries.

Adm. William H. McRaven is a part of American military history, having been 

involved in some of the most famous missions in recent memory, including the capture 

of Saddam Hussein, the rescue of Richard Phillips, and the raid to kill Osama bin 

Laden. "Sea Stories" begins in 1960 at the American Officers' Club in France, where 

Allied officers and their wives gathered to have drinks and tell stories about their 

adventures during World War II—the place where a young Bill McRaven learned the 

value of a good story. 

Drawing on the latest findings in neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral 

economics, as well as the experiences of CEOs, educational reformers, four-star 

generals, FBI agents, airplane pilots, and Broadway songwriters, this painstakingly 

researched book explains that productive people, companies, and organizations don't 

merely act differently. They view the world, and their choices, in profoundly different 

ways. The way we frame our daily decisions, the big ambitions we embrace and the 

easy goals we ignore, the cultures we establish as leaders to drive innovation, and 

the way we interact with data are the things that separate the merely busy from the 

genuinely productive.

James C. Humes explains how great leaders used simple yet incredibly effective tricks 

to speak, persuade, and win throngs of fans and followers. In "Speak Like Churchill," 

you'll discover how Napoleon mastered the use of the pregnant pause to grab attention, 

how Margaret Thatcher punctuated her most serious speeches with the use of subtle 

props, how Ronald Reagan could win even the most hostile crowd with carefully 

timed wit. Whether you're addressing a small nation or a large staff meeting, you'll 

want to master the tips and tricks in this book.

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64 LEADERSHIP

Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

The Surprising Science of Meetings: How You Can 

Lead Your Team to Peak Performance

The Tim Ferriss Show

Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging

Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and 

Life's Greatest Lessons

Steven G. Rogelberg

Tim Ferriss

Sebastian Junger

Mitch Albom

"The Surprising Science of Meetings" draws from extensive research, analysis and 

data mining, and survey interviews with more than 5,000 employees across a range 

of industries to share the proven practices and techniques that help managers and 

employees enhance the quality of their meetings. For those who lead and participate in 

meetings, Steve G. Rogelberg provides direction, guidance, and relief, offering a howto guide to change your working life.

Tim Ferriss is a self-experimenter and bestselling author. In this podcast, Ferriss 

deconstructs world-class performers from eclectic areas, such as investing, chess, and 

pro sports, and digs deep to find the tools, tactics, and tricks that listeners can use.

Combining history, psychology, and anthropology, "Tribe" explores what we can learn 

from tribal societies about loyalty, belonging, and the eternal human quest for meaning. 

It explains the irony that—for many veterans as well as civilians—war feels better than 

peace, adversity can turn out to be a blessing, and disasters are sometimes remembered 

more fondly than weddings or tropical vacations. "Tribe" explains why we are stronger 

when we come together and how that can be achieved even in today's divided world.

Maybe it was a grandparent or a teacher. Someone older, patient, and wise who 

understood you when you were young, helping you see the world and giving you 

advice. For Mitch Albom that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor. 

Albom rediscovered Morrie in the last months of his life. Knowing he was dying, 

Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in 

college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final "class." 

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Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

Turn the Ship Around!

Unleash the Tiger! For Organizational High Performance

The Way of the SEAL: Think Like an Elite Warrior to 

Lead and Succeed 

What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures

Capt. L. David Marquet, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Dr. Simmie A. Adams

Cmdr. Mark Divine, U.S. Navy (Ret.), with Allyson Edelhertz Machate

Malcolm Gladwell

The true story of how the USS Santa Fe skyrocketed from worst to first in the fleet 

by challenging the U.S. Navy's traditional leader-follower approach. Struggling 

against his own instincts to take control, Capt. L. David Marquet instead achieved 

the more powerful model of giving control. Before long, each member of Marquet's 

crew became a leader and assumed responsibility for everything he did, from clerical 

tasks to crucial combat decisions. The crew became fully engaged, contributing their 

full-intellectual capacity every day, and the Santa Fe started winning awards and 

promoting a highly disproportionate number of officers to submarine command. 

Organizations must adapt, overcome, and improvise to meet the pressures and 

demands of a modern environment. They must rely on the knowledge, skills, and 

experiences of a variety of people to solve problems, make good decisions, and 

deliver effective solutions. The current environment is one of shrinking revenues 

and increased costs and expenditures. The road to increased organization profits is 

built on an organizational foundation supporting, reinforcing, and even demanding 

improved performance.

In "The Way of the SEAL," retired Navy SEAL Cmdr. Mark Divine reveals exercises, 

meditations, and focusing techniques, learned from America's elite force with lessons 

from the Spartans, samurai, Apache scouts, and other great warrior traditions, to train 

your mind for mental toughness, emotional resilience, and uncanny intuition. 

Malcolm Gladwell has become a gifted and influential journalist in America. Now, the 

best of his New Yorker articles are collected in a brilliant anthology. Among the pieces, 

his investigation into why there are so many different kinds of mustard but only one 

kind of ketchup, a surprising assessment of what makes for a safer automobile, a look 

at how we hire when we can't tell who's right for the job, the reasons why homelessness 

might be easier to solve than manage; a look at why employers love personality tests; 

and the quest to invent the perfect cookie.

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66 LEADERSHIP

Director Deputy Director for Commonwealth Integration Podcast

Women at Work

Work Life with Adam Grant

You are Worth It: Building a Life Worth Fighting For

Amy Bernstein, Amy Gallo, and Nicole Torres

Adam Grant

Kyle Carpenter and Don Yaeger

Women face gender discrimination throughout their careers. It doesn't have to derail 

our ambitions—but how do we prepare to deal with it? There's no workplace orientation 

session about narrowing the wage gap, standing up to interrupting male colleagues, or 

taking on many other issues we encounter at work. So Harvard Business Review editors 

Amy Bernstein, Amy Gallo, and Nicole Torres are untangling some of the knottiest 

problems. They interview experts on gender, tell stories about their own experiences, 

and give practical advice to help you succeed in spite of the obstacles.

You spend a quarter of your life at work. You should enjoy it! Organizational 

psychologist Adam Grant takes you inside the minds of some of the world’s most 

unusual professionals to discover the keys to a better work life. From learning how to 

love your rivals to harnessing the power of frustration, one thing’s for sure: You’ll never 

see your job the same way again.

Kyle Carpenter's remarkable story is of how one man laid down his life for his 

brother-in-arms and how he battled back from the gravest challenge to forge a life 

of joyful purpose. Carpenter's heart flatlined three times while being evacuated off 

the battlefield in Afghanistan. Yet, his spirit was unbroken. It would take dozens of 

surgeries and almost three years in and out of the hospital to reconstruct his body. 

From there, he began the process of rebuilding his life. What he has accomplished in 

the last nine years is extraordinary. He came back a stronger, better, wiser person.

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DIA Creed

I am an officer of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

I have taken an oath to support and defend 

The Constitution of the United States of America 

and all for which it stands.

Against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

As a DIA officer, I pledge to provide premier 

intelligence to the warfighter;

To communicate clearly, concisely, and 

decisively in support of the policymaker;

To speak truth to power and take ownership 

in pursuit of our mission;

And to safeguard the information with 

which I have been entrusted.

As a DIA officer, I embody excellence, teamwork, 

integrity, initiative, and accountability.

I will hold myself and my colleagues responsible 

for our actions and inactions.

I will treat others with respect and professionalism;

And I will encourage creativity, innovation, 

and a culture of trust.

If I see a problem, I will find a solution.

If I see a challenge, I will rise to it.

I strive for excellence in all that I do.

I am a DIA officer. I am DIA.
PCN 71264