It Worked for Me is a collection of about 30 vignettes and stories intended to offer leadership advice from one of America’s most famous military leaders of the last 35 years. I think it does that and does it well. Powell reflects on a life of service, both military and civilian, and recounts instances when he made decisions and describes the generalized thoughts and ideas that led to the choices he made. This book, let’s call it a memoir, feels quite genuine and honest but […]
Come for a history of the AK-47, stay for a history of all machine guns
C.J. Chivers is a former Marine officer and war correspondent. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing in 2017 for his piece about a Marine’s journey home after combat, entitled ‘The Fighter.’ I saw this book a few years ago and wanted to read it but, like most books, it went to the back burner as newer and shiner books popped up. Then Chivers won the Pulitzer and I put the book on hold at the library. The Gun is, mostly, a history of […]
The United States v. Jackie Robinson
A non-fiction book about Jack Robinson. Or better known as Jackie Robinson. The United States v. Jackie Robinson is not a typical biography of a baseball player. They start out with him being a child growing up as the only black family on their street. His mother’s strength and finally Jackie’s strength in the military. Few probably know that Jackie would not give up his seat on a bus either and it lead to a historic ruling, too. Finally, it ends with some of his […]
Army Chief of Staff Reading List #13
The Guns at Last Light is the finale of the Liberation Trilogy by Rick Atkinson, the first of which, An Army at Dawn, won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 2003. The series encompasses the history of the United States activity in the European theater of World War II. An Army at Dawn is about the U.S. Military during the North Africa campaign. Book two, The Day of Battle, is about the the war in Italy and the Mediterranean; it is subtitled, The War in […]