What a Military Reading List Is
A military professional reading list is an official, curated set of books that service members are expected to read as they advance in rank. It is not a casual book club; it is a formal element of professional military education, tied to the conviction that intellectual preparation is as much a part of readiness as physical training. The U.S. Marine Corps runs one of the most prominent versions, the Commandant's Professional Reading Program, established in 1989. The list is organized into categories — often including a Commandant's Choice, plus groupings on leadership, strategy, innovation, and Marine Corps heritage — and is revised periodically so that it stays relevant to current challenges while preserving foundational texts.
Why the Military Treats Reading as a Duty
The rationale behind professional reading lists is the same one Mattis articulated in his 2003 email: experience does not scale, but reading does. A junior officer cannot personally live through a century of campaigns, but they can read the accounts of those who did, inheriting hard-won lessons without paying for them in casualties. The military treats this as a duty because the consequences of being unprepared are measured in lives. Reading lists formalize the expectation so that professional development does not depend on whether an individual happens to enjoy books — it is built into the institution's understanding of competence.
How the Lists Are Built and Used
Professional reading lists are curated by senior leadership and their staffs, who select titles meant to develop specific qualities — strategic thinking, ethical judgment, an understanding of the institution's history, and the ability to lead under stress. The lists typically span history, biography, fiction, and contemporary analysis, on the theory that different genres build different capacities. They are used in several ways: as recommended reading tied to rank, as the basis for unit discussion groups, and as a shared intellectual reference that gives members of the same service a common vocabulary. The point is not to test memorization but to cultivate judgment that can be applied when it matters.
How Mattis Embodied the Practice
Mattis is the most recognizable individual embodiment of professional military reading. He did not merely endorse the institution's reading lists — he built a 7,000-book personal library, carried Marcus Aurelius into combat, and argued for reading more bluntly than any contemporary officer. His 2003 email and his "functionally illiterate" line became unofficial mottos for the practice. The relationship eventually came full circle: his 2019 memoir "Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead," co-written with Bing West, was itself featured on the Marine Corps Commandant's reading list, turning the most famous reader in the modern Corps into required reading for the next generation.
What Civilians Can Borrow From Military Reading Lists
The professional reading list is a model any field can adopt. The core idea — that an institution should deliberately build the experience of its members through curated reading — applies equally to a company, a hospital, or a personal development plan. The practical lessons are transferable: curate a focused list rather than reading at random, span genres so that history, biography, and even fiction each do their work, and read with the intent to apply rather than merely to finish. Most of all, treat reading as preparation for the decisions you expect to face. The military made this a duty because the stakes were lives; for everyone else, the same discipline simply produces better judgment.