Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Take a look, it’s in a book: A rainbow of reading lists for the Best Defenders

I run a lot of reading lists, but this is one tailor-made for youse.

By , a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy.
Screen Shot 2015-09-18 at 10.25.13 AM
Screen Shot 2015-09-18 at 10.25.13 AM

I run a lot of reading lists, but this is one tailor-made for youse.

I run a lot of reading lists, but this is one tailor-made for youse.

This one is by Barno & Bensahel, crafted for the new members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

And you can never go wrong getting lessons from Field Marshal Slim.

Also, here is a reading list about intelligence — someone’s top 10. Top it off with a top 10 on cybersecurity.

And here is a list of the best writing about our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I also liked this list of reading suggestions for infantry recruits.

Speaking of which, here is an introduction to the future of forever war, chased by a look at future terrorist weapons.

Plus, what you need to read about the Iran deal. Speaking of which, here are the books President Obama took on vacation. And here is a list of the best bios of each president.

And here is a refresher course on modern thinking about strategy in business. No, not directly about warfare. But helpful by analogy.

On the other hand, a look at why a terrific war correspondent, C.J. Chivers, has decided to move on.

Finally, here are a bunch of war movie lists — Cold War, Civil War, World War II, small wars, and more.

P.S. — Here is David Byrne’s reading list for music. Good example of thoroughness in a given area. I bought the one about Bourbon Street musicians.

Photo credit: Shane Huang/Flickr

Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1

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