Gen. Schoomaker's Reading List

Army News Service: CSA unveils Professional Reading List

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, July 26, 2004) -- Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker released a new Professional Reading List 23 July.

The list, which can be found online at the Center of Military History Web page, is broken down into four sub groups based on a leader's responsibilities, whether enlisted or commissioned.

"The Professional Reading List is a way for leaders at all levels to increase their depth of understanding of our Army's history, the global strategic context, and the enduring lessons of war," said Schoomaker.

"The topics and time periods included in the books on this list are expansive, and are intended to broaden each leader's knowledge and confidence. I challenge all leaders to make a focused, personal commitment to read, reflect, and learn about our profession, and our world," Schoomaker said. "Through the exercise of our minds, our Army will grow stronger."

Books range in timeframe from the Peloponnesian War to the hunt for al Qaeda and in context from personal memoirs of command to commentaries on the impact of centuries of armed conflict.

Among the books included are John Keegan's The Face of Battle, the Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, Stephen E. Ambrose's Band of Brothers, Lt. Gen. Hal Moore's We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young, Inside al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror, and Sun Tzu's The Art of War.

AAFES Military Clothing Sales Stores and a few Main Exchanges will have the publications on hand for purchase. Additionally, Army installation libraries will make the volumes available to interested personnel.

The complete list of books in the first sub-group, for cadets, Soldiers, and junior NCOs, includes:

The Constitution of the United States

Centuries of Service: the U.S.Army 1775-2004 by David W. Hogan Jr., an easy-to-read pamphlet that describes the many missions of the U.S. Army over the course of its history.

The Face of Battle by John Keegan brings to life three major battles: Agincourt (1415), Waterloo (1815), and the First Battle of the Somme (1916).

For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States of America by Allan R. Millett and Peter Maslowski, a single-volume study that covers the American military experience in peace and war from 1607 to 1975.

Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest by Stephen E. Ambrose, based on journals, letters, and interviews with 101st Soldiers.

We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam by retired Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway, is a firsthand account of the November 1965 Battle of the Ia Drang by the commander of 1/7 Cavalry.

If You Survive: From Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge to the End of World War II, One American Officer's Riveting True Story by George Wilson, is a young officer's account of the costly fighting from Normandy to the German frontier in 1944.

Touched with Fire: The Land War in the South Pacific by Eric M. Bergerud covers the land battles of the South Pacific fought between July 1942 and early 1944 on the Solomon Islands and New Guinea.

Closing with the Enemy: How GIs Fought the War in Europe, 1944-1945 by Michael D. Doubler describes how the U.S. Army had to overcome many tactical problems, from the thick hedgerows of Normandy to the streets of German cities.

Patton: A Genius for War by Carlo D'Este provides new information from family archives and other sources to explain why the general is regarded as one of the great modern military leaders.

In the Company of Heroes by Michael J. Durant is a first-hand account of how this Black Hawk pilot was shot down and taken prisoner during military operations in Somalia in 1993.

(Editor's note: Compiled by Cadet Patrick J. Caughey)

[ 27. July 2004, 11:00 PM: Message edited by: Deep Web Diver ]