Reading Lists - Classics of Strategy and Diplomacy

John Quincy Adams, What a Young Diplomat Should Read

In December 1816, John Quincy Adams, the U.S. Minister to Great Britain, responded to a request from Christopher Hughes, a young American, about how to prepare (specifically, to study) for a career in diplomacy. (Hughes had been one of the secretaries to the American Peace Commission in Ghent in 1814, where he had developed a good relationship with Adams.) Adams assumed as a matter of course that Hughes, a Princeton graduate, was familiar with the classic texts –Thucydides, Livy, Tacitus, and the like. He therefore offered “a list of authors in general, modern history, national law and diplomatic intercourse,” which “will more than suffice for eighteen months or two years, reading.”

Christopher Harmon, Classics of Counterinsurgency

When faced with an insurgency, how do we learn about it? Soldiers and officers need practical advice, and often show close interest in past practices which clearly succeeded or clearly failed. On the other hand, historians and cultural specialists have a bent for insisting on the uniqueness of a thing. Questions and challenges come with any recommendation of any reading about the past, or about theory, or about “lessons learned.” What does the past teach? When can past experience be a dangerous guide about what to do now? The nature of war is eternal, and yet, might the character of an individual war be even more important? Vietnam shows that the character of one war may change over time, and change again, and it did. More recently, we keep hearing Al Qaeda described as a “global insurgency?” What do the words “global insurgency” mean, since insurgencies of the past have usually been national or local? Finally, given the “global war on terrorism,” is counterinsurgency theory of use in that effort, or is counterterrorism much narrower, with its own lessons?

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs’ Professional Reading List (2020)

General Martin E. Dempsey, as the 18^th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, released this three-part professional reading list, “to support the renewal of our commitment to our Profession of Arms and the development of Joint Force 2020. The books selected capture the values and ethos of our military profession, promote innovative thinking to prepare for the operational realities of an uncertain future, and provide insights into the foundations of our service cultures.”

Department of State, Foreign Service Officers Suggested Reading (2017)

Foreign Service Officers must be well-informed and knowledgeable across many disciplines: current world and national affairs, economics, history, public affairs, and management, among others. And, since Foreign Service Officers represent the United States to the world, they must also possess an insightful understanding of American society and culture. This breadth of knowledge is usually gathered gradually over time. The best foundation is a solid education and a personal life-habit of reading, learning, and expanding one’s understanding of the world.

Professor Harold Rood’s Reading List (2021)

Harold Rood influenced generations of students with his distinctive teachings on war and politics, which relied heavily on the study of historical literature. The following is his (extensive!) recommended reading list.

Napoleon’s Librar(ies) (2020)

When Napoleon died in exile at St. Helena, his library consisted of 1,814 volumes, 1,226 of which had been shipped from England. In his will, Napoleon directed his librarian, Louis Etienne St. Denis, to take care that nearly 400 volumes, specially selected out of the ex-emperor’s library, be sent to his son Napoleon II, King of Rome, when he reached sixteen years of age. Napoleon’s companions made off with many of the rest of his books. He was a voracious reader. Although he preferred to read books of history and drama, he did not neglect books of religion, political theory, or philosophy. His annotated version of Machiavelli’s The Prince, for instance, had a higher selling rate in France than the original.

Carl von Clausewitz’s Reading Library (2020)

In Clausewitz’s library, recorded in his wife Marie’s will, military publications naturally constitute a significant number among the volumes, including Vauban’s treatises on fortifications and sieges; Johan von Ewald’s book on light infantry tactics; Henry Lloyd’s history of the Seven Years’ War; Montecucili’s memoirs; a study of Maurice de Saxe; Lazare Carnot’s textbook for engineers; George de Chambray’s account of Napoleon’s Russian Campaign in 1812; several of Georg Wilhelm von Valentini’s military works; Phillippe Henri de Grimoard’s treatise on general staff; and the field manual written by his mentor, Gerhard von Scharnhorst.

2020 Commandant of the Marine Corps Professional Reading Program (2020)

The Commandant’s Professional Reading Program (CPRP) is arranged into five categories: Commandant’s Choice; Profession of Arms; Innovation; Leadership; and Strategy.

In 2020, in addition to the updated reading list, the Gray Center in coordination with the Brute Krulak Center for Innovation and Creativity added new content to the CPRP to include podcasts, articles, and discussion guides.