Editor’s note: Welcome to another installment of our War Books series! Each installment typically presents a themed list of books by an expert contributor. This edition departs from that model and instead presents highlights from the 2026 professional reading list published by the commandant of the US Marine Corps. As always, the aim of War Books is to provide a resource for MWI readers who want to learn more about important subjects related to modern war and are looking for books to add to their reading lists.
This week, the commandant of the Marine Corps, General Eric M. Smith, released a 2026 list of recommended books as part of the Marine Corps Professional Reading Program. This is a long-standing tradition among the US armed services, but one that has become increasingly rare recently. Of course, this is partly a reflection of the evolving media landscape: Where books were once the principal source of learning, military professional now have short-form articles, podcasts, and even social media channels to choose from. And indeed, while the US Army has not released a chief of staff of the Army’s professional reading list for several years, Army University Press publishes a monthly list of articles selected and recommended by the chief of staff.
And yet books still have a place in professional development. I believe that, or I wouldn’t be typing this. I assume you also believe it, or you wouldn’t be reading it. And the Marine Corps commandant evidently believes it, or he wouldn’t have sent a message to all Marines announcing the list and describing its purpose. As someone who grew up in the US military choosing the books I read based heavily on service leaders’ reading lists, I applaud any effort to continue the tradition.
The commandant’s list is split into categories. Books in the “Heritage” category highlight the role of the Marine Corps in America’s history. “Innovation” includes books aimed at equipping readers for an era that will challenge military professional and demand an ability to experiment and adapt. The “Leadership” category includes both timeless classics and new entries that explore what it takes to lead and inspire service members. And “Strategy” presents books that that examine the ends, ways, and means of war at national and policy levels.
Below, I’ve highlighted a few of the books in each of these categories whose value extends beyond Marine Corps readers to members of other US armed services, those of the United States’ allies, and defense professionals and scholars. The commandant’s list also included a “Foundational” category, but because it is composed mainly of Marine Corps doctrinal publications, I’ve left it off of this list. At the end, you’ll also find the single book personally selected by the commandant because of its embodiment of the Marine Corps values.
Heritage
See the full list of sixteen books here.
First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps, by Victor H. Krulak
I read this book before a deployment to Afghanistan during which I would work closely with Marine units. It offers a window into the Marine Corps’s culture—and the history that made it. It also benefits from the way the author, a Marine Corps legend, weaves his own experience into the narrative.
This Kind of War: The Classic Korean War History, by T. R. Fehrenbach
This is in the pantheon of books about war at the tactical edge. You’ll come away from it having learned about the Korean War, but more importantly, with an understanding of war from the perspective of small-unit leaders and soldiers.
The American War in Afghanistan: A History, Carter Malkasian
This is an extraordinarily well-told story of two decades of war in Afghanistan. Malkasian served as senior advisor to General Joseph Dunford, a Marine, and served as a State Department political officer in Helmand province (see his also exceptional War Comes to Garmser), where the Marines were a land-owning force, so his work reflects an understanding of the nuances that distinguish the Marines from, for example, the US Army.
With the Old Breed: The World War Two Pacific Classic, E. B. Sledge
What would a military campaign in the largely maritime Pacific theater look like on land? It’s a question the US Army is keenly exploring today. The story of the Marines in World War II offers powerful lessons that, even amid the rapidly changing character of warfare, echo loudly eight decades on.
Innovation
See the full list of fifteen books here.
The Arms of the Future: Technology and Close Combat in the Twenty-First Century, by Jack Watling
Watling was among the first to extract lessons from the 2020 Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, and by adding his observations from the first year of the war in Ukraine, he built this broad conceptualization of the interplay between technology and land warfare.
The Origins of Victory: How Disruptive Military Innovation Determines the Fates of Great Powers, by Andrew Krepinevich, Jr.
Identifying how individual innovations—from precision-strike capabilities to hypersonic missiles to drones—shape battlefield outcomes is important. But even more critical is understanding how innovation happens, how to think about innovation, and the steps that enable rapid innovation. Krepinevich’s book provides readers with a framework to do so.
Generative AI for Leaders, by Amir Husain
Whether you’re constantly experimenting with every new AI tool or barely scratching the surface with ChatGPT, you know AI is changing everything. Given the pace of change, any AI guide will have a shelf life, but this one has a conceptual element to it that means its value isn’t in how to embrace specific new tools, but rather in how to recalibrate the way you think about technology.
Leadership
See the full list of fifteen books here.
Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War, by Karl Marlantes
Want to understand the Vietnam War at the company level? Read this book. Want to meditate on leadership amid a seemingly endless series of war’s physical and moral challenges? Read this book. (Bonus: Pair it with Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried and Philip Caputo’s A Rumor of War.)
Generals and Admirals, Criminals and Crooks: Dishonorable Leadership in the U.S. Military, by Jeffrey J. Matthews
We rightly celebrate those leaders who excel and demonstrate a commitment to our service’s values. But we can learn just as much from those who fail to uphold standards, foster toxic cultures, and dishonor their services.
Strategy
See the full list of sixteen books here.
Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card
I was a late arrival to the science fiction party. But there’s no zeal like that of a convert, and I firmly believe it’s one of the most powerful genres enabling us to overcome the constraints on imagination imposed by lived and observed experience—a necessary component of thinking meaningfully about future conflict. If you haven’t yet given sci-fi a try, this is the one to start with.
The New Makers of Modern Strategy: From the Ancient World to the Digital Age, edited by Hal Brands
Nearly four decades after the publication of its predecessor, The Makers of Modern Strategy, this volume is an equally valuable tour of the history of strategy and statecraft, but updated to capture the dynamics of the post–Cold War strategic landscape, twenty years of counterterrorism and low-intensity conflict, and the reemergence of strategic competition and multipolarity. Whether you’ve read the original or not, this book deserves a place on your reading list.
The Russian Way of Deterrence: Strategic Culture, Coercion, and War, by Dima Adamsky
What does Russia actually want? And how does invading Ukraine fit into its strategic objectives? These are questions scholars and practitioners alike have asked in recent years. This book is arguably the best at offering answers and piecing together the puzzle of Russia’s actions into a coherent understanding of Russian strategy.
Ground Combat: Puncturing the Myths of Modern War, by Ben Connable
Are new technologies changing the character of warfare? Undoubtedly. But are they doing so in a revolutionary way that will render tomorrow’s battlefields unrecognizable from those of yesterday? Not so fast. By analyzing a dataset of hundreds of cases of ground combat, Connable makes a persuasive case that even as drones, sensors, and artificial intelligence proliferate, wars are still fought, won, and lost by infantry soldiers, tanks, and artillery on the front lines.
Commandant’s Choice
Once an Eagle, by Anton Myrer
I received this book as a gift when I commissioned. The novel’s storylines extend over half a century, following Sam Damon’s career as an Army officer from World War I through the early years of Vietnam. His character contrasts throughout with that of fellow officer Courtney Massengale. The book offers readers an opportunity to witness and think about what constitutes good leadership, which has made it a fixed feature on military professional reading lists for decades. More recently, its enduring utility has been debated: Is it a source of timeless lessons or a relic no longer fit for purpose? That this debate exists shouldn’t dissuade you from reading it (or reading it again), however; you should read it so you can participate in the debate. Just don’t set aside a Saturday afternoon and expect to get through it—the edition I have comes in at 1,291 pages.
John Amble is the editorial director of the Modern War Institute at West Point and a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the United States Military Academy, Department of the Army, or Department of Defense.
Image credit: Sgt. Paul Robbins, US Marine Corps