Military Writers Guild
2025 Summer Reading List

Ryan Pallas

  • CP Cavafy, Ithaka - Finishing a PhD program as a military fellow, a distinguished professor shared this with our cohort. The poem emphasizes the journey, not the destination, which I found fitting not only for the journey of a PhD, but life.

Andy Morgado

  • Paul Scharre, Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War - Though published a few years ago, this is an excellent primer on the application of artificial intelligence, autonomous weapons, and the interaction between humans and machines.

  • Eric M. Burke, Siren Songs: The Perils of Interwar Escapism - Defeat in war teaches hard lessons, but what if we learn the wrong ones? This book explores how armies learn and the cost of adhering to what we believe is true vice what is actually true.

Andrea Goldstein

  • Pat Barker, The Women of Troy - Pat Barker's fictionalization of the women of Troy after the fall (basically, where Euripides The Trojan Woman takes place) is a visceral historical/adaptive fiction that shows the fallout of war on civilians.

Nathan K. Finney

  • John Dewey, Freedom and Culture - Few books are as compelling and impactful than those chosen specifically as a gift from a smart friend to help contextualize the current moment. In this case the friend is the truly incomparable Jairus Grove and the moment is the apparent inability of societies around the world to combat authoritarian movements. Freedom and Culture argues that genuine freedom is not merely the absence of external constraints but requires active participation in democratic culture and the cultivation of intelligence to solve social problems. The work emphasizes that freedom and culture are interdependent—meaningful freedom can only exist within a culture that promotes critical thinking, democratic participation, and the continuous reconstruction of social institutions to meet human needs.

Olivia Garard

  • “Romeo and Juliett” - This is a poem that I wrote using the NATO phonetic alphabet and Shakespeare. It’s short, sweet, and wonky.

Jakob Hutter

  • Charles Feltman, The Thin Book of Trust - This book inspired an article on four behaviors Feltman argues are essential for trust as it relates to junior officers and leaders. It provides actionable steps through each behavior to gain trust with your subordinates, peers, and superiors to build a strong organizational culture.

  • Will Guidara, Unreasonable Hospitality - One of the most impactful leadership books I’ve read this year (found it by seeing the character Richie in The Bear pour over the pages). Though it’s rooted in the hospitality industry, the core message is universal: when we serve others with intention, humility, and pride, we create powerful cultures that people want to be a part of.

Catherine Putz

  • Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine - Sure, this is a book about a 12-year-old boy's magical summer of 1928. But Civil War veteran/human time machine Colonel Freeleigh's description of war as losing all the time “and the one who loses last asks for terms” is one that has always stuck with me. I read this every summer and find something new each time between its pages.

Kevin Benson

  • Rick Atkinson, Fate of the Day - The second book of Atkinson's trilogy on the history of the American Revolution. This is superb writing on US history.

  • Kevin Benson, Expectation of Valor - An unofficial history of the planning for and execution of Operation Iraqi Freedom/COBRA II.

  • Jeffrey Rosen, Pursuit of Happiness - Sub-title is How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America. This is a superb book, it will make you think.

Tom Greenwood

  • Jonathan Horn, The Fate of Generals: MacArthur, Wainright, and the Epic Battle for the Philippines - In addition to highlighting the personality differences between the two generals, the book captures the tragedy that can occur when enemy capabilities are underestimated and friendly capabilities are exaggerated. A captivating and fast read.

  • Captain G.C. Wynne, If Germany Attacks: The Battle in Depth in the West - First published in 1940 and reprinted by Greenwood Press in 1976. The book documents how Germany evolved its WWI defensive doctrine from a defense in depth and arrived at its elastic defensive doctrine. The accompanying sketches enable the reader to track battlefield dispositions and maneuver on both sides. The on-going Russo-Ukraine war makes this a timely read.

James H. Willbanks

  • Christian Brose, The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare - This book warns that the U.S. military is dangerously behind in adapting to modern threats, especially from China. The author argues that outdated systems and bureaucratic procurement policy have left America vulnerable in a world where speed, data, and autonomous technologies define success on the battlefield. The book is a clarion call to rethink defense strategy before the next war is lost.

Alexander Amoroso

Aaron Childers

Jon Silk

  • Sanjay Sarma, Grasp: The Science Transforming How We Learn - An excellent book on the processes that truly support learning. Sarma challenges us to move beyond reductionist approaches and instead approach learning like scientists, engineers, artists, and designers—with curiosity and experimentation at the center. Too many initiatives leave out the learner, but Grasp shows how individual mastery strengthens collective learning, enabling teams and organizations to adapt and innovate together. The book underscores that the best learning is active, effortful, spaced, social, and applied in various contexts—practices too often overlooked in our schools and workplaces.