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It is not known when Wen Ping died. After his death, he was honoured with the posthumous
title "Marquis Zhuang" (壯侯) by the Wei government. His adopted son, Wen Xiu (文休), inherited his
marquis title ("Marquis of Xinye") because his biological son, Wen Dai (文岱), died early. Wen Xiu
was in turn succeeded by his son, Wen Wu (文武), after his death. Wen Ping also had a nephew,
Wen Hou (文厚), who was enfeoffed as a secondary marquis.

Will the late author’s many fans take kindly to the TV version? Producers Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules
Bass insist that purists can rest easy: they rejected half a dozen scripts before settling on one that
satisfied all the experts. The production features 13 songs and the familiar voices of Orson Bean, Cyril
Ritchard, John Huston and Hans Conried…

Battle of Marathon meant the triumph of Western civilization over Eastern civilization and set
the stage for democracy. The American victory at Saratoga over the British meant the success of
the revolutionary cause. Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo changed Europe and made Britain the
dominant power. The reason this book stops at Waterloo and mentions nothing of the Civil War,
or the World Wars, is that it was written in 1851. It’s a unique historical document that gives
greater influence to our classical past. If you’re a strategy nut, read this.

Civil War Stories by Ambrose Bierce. Forget Mark Twain, forget Stephen Crane. They
didn’t really know the Civil War. Ambrose Bierce was an officer in Sherman’s army and
fictionalized his experiences into some of the more harrowing, disturbing portraits of warfare and
its stupidity and indiscriminate destruction (and yet, deep allure), ever written. He hated war, but
also loved it — all that comes through in a powerful way. Kurt Vonnegut considered Bierce’s
“Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” the best short story ever written and that’s enough for me.
You have not truly experienced the Civil War until you read this book.
Ulysses S. Grant: Memoirs and Selected Letters by Ulysses S. Grant. Written by Ulysses S.
Grant while at death’s door (and edited by Mark Twain), these are the thoughts of the man who
won the Civil War through grit and determination and persistence (shockingly, traits lacked by
almost all the generals who proceeded him). He calls the Mexican-American War one of the
worst and most pointless wars, and the Civil War one of the most important and justified.
There is a moment in the book early in Grant’s career as a soldier where he was sent to hunt
down a band of guerrillas, shaking with fear as he arrived at their camp only to find they had run
away. It was then that he realized the enemy was often as scared of you as you were of them. It
changed his approach to battle forever. I think about that line often.

Sherman: Soldier, Realist, American by B.H. Liddell Hart. There is no better biography of a
military genius, period. B.H. Liddell uses Sherman to not only explain the Civil War, but
strategy itself. It’s impossible to reduce a book down to just one thought or line, but Hart’s
strategic explanation of attacking, always “along the line of least expectation and tactically along
the line of least resistance” will change your life. Read about Sherman not because you want to
learn about how the Civil War was won (though you will learn that), but to learn how wars are
won, period. I would also strongly recommend Hart’s Strategy and Why Don’t We Learn From
History?.
Memoirs of General William Tecumseh Sherman by William Tecumseh Sherman. That’s
right, there are two books about Sherman on this list. He was one of the greatest strategic minds
who ever lived. He was also perpetually riled up (some think he may have been bipolar) and
loved going on the attack. It makes for a great memoir. He’s one of the few generals to ever truly
capture the horrors of war. He predicted exactly how long and how hard the Civil War would be.
He won it by slowing coming to believe in himself and his instincts. He also won because he
understood grand strategy — that the war would only be won by destroying its soft assets (the
support and resources of the Southern women and plantation culture which had largely motivated
the war in the first place). By collapsing that support, the will of the opposing armies collapsed
as well.

Daring and Suffering: A History of the Great Railroad Adventure by William

Pittenger. Imagine this mission: You’re sent deep into Confederate territory in disguise. You
and a handful of men are to steal a train and run the engine back to enemy lines, destroying the
tracks and depots behind you as you go. Of course, something goes horribly wrong, a chase
ensues, and you make it less than 50 miles. You’re then captured and sent to the South’s worst
prison camp, where many of your comrades are immediately executed. THAT is the true story
of Daring and Suffering. I don’t think I need to say much more in favor of the book, other than
it’s a totally true story, and the subject — also the writer of the book — was ultimately the first
recipient of the freshly created Medal of Honor. Another good book in this vein (though more
contemporary) is Junius and Albert’s Adventures in the Confederacy, about two northern
journalists who were captured at Vicksburg and ultimately sent to the same prison camp. They
made a preposterous escape after two years in the camp and crossed over much of the same
territory as the protagonist in Cold Mountain (see below).
Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War by Admiral David Porter. We often forget that the
Civil War was also a naval war. The North’s successful blockade of the South prevented it from
surviving economically as a separate nation, and a series of key victories on the Mississippi
(New Orleans, Vicksburg, and a few others) split the South in half and gave the Union the
control of the most crucial waterways. Admiral David Porter was a large part of these victories
(for instance, he ran the gun batteries in Vicksburg which helped Grant win and cement his status
as the preeminent fighting general). Porter was also with Lincoln on his last days, including his
foray into Richmond after the Confederate capital fell. This is a surprisingly fun, but sadly
forgotten book.

The Civil War: A Narrative by Shelby Foote. This epic three-volume masterpiece is to war
what Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire was to history. It is the definitive history
of the US Civil War — it gives equal treatment to both sides, and is more than one million
words, but is never boring. This book was a large part of Ken Burns’ amazing documentary The
Civil War, which prominently features Shelby Foote in all his tweed jacket and pipe-smoking
glory. Even if you don’t read the whole thing, it’s worth having on your shelf to flip through.
Another great guide to the Civil War is the New York Times’ acclaimed book (and
blog) Disunion, which has been narrating the war in a series of amazing articles coinciding
roughly with the 150th anniversary for the last few years.
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier. This is sort of a bonus recommendation. Though this book
is fiction (and was at the time extraordinarily popular — and eventually a bad movie), it is
actually quite good. Not only that, it covers a few themes that are quite important to the Civil
War. One is the home guard, which patrolled for deserters and draft dodgers (on both sides) with
brutal effectiveness. The war basically descended into gang violence in the middle states.
Second, it includes the Battle of the Crater, which Inman fought in. It’s not very well known but
incredibly strange. Third, the disillusionment of Confederate soldiers at the end of the war.
People forget how utterly beat the South was (in large part due to the strategies of Sherman) and
how this made many people realize how utterly bankrupt the cause was.

Company K by William March. What Ambrose Bierce was to the Civil War, William March
was to WWI. Forget All Quiet On the Western Front, read this instead. It is WWI — possibly
one of the worst things Western Civilization has ever done to itself — as it actually was. No
glamor, no glory. Just a bunch of guys dying in trenches, trying not to go insane. If you want a
second book (from the British perspective), try Robert Graves’ Goodbye to All That. Like March,
Graves went on to be an important and successful writer but never got over the demons he met
on the battlefield.
Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence. To some, T.E. Lawrence was a brilliant soldier,
strategist, and cultural expert. But to others he was a charlatan. Regardless of what side you fall
on, there is no doubting that T.E. Lawrence was a talented writer and expert on guerilla warfare.
And with Seven Pillars of Wisdom he wrote an excellent — if at times embellished — account of
his time as a liaison with rebel forces during Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire in 1916.

The Liberator by Alex Kershaw. Col. Felix Sparks (later to be a Brigadier General) lands in
Sicily in the first European invasion and makes it all the way to the gates of Dachau. He
basically saw the entire trajectory of the Allied fight and victory over the Axis powers in WWII
and this book is required reading for that reason. It gives you a full sense of just how awful the
fighting in WWII really was and the quiet heroes who did it. Along with the other WWII books
mentioned here and below, I recommend Ken Burns’ documentary The War, if only because it is
largely based on these books and gives you a sense of the whole picture.

With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by E.B. Sledge. This book is the basis for the
HBO mini-series The Pacific. It also happens to be one of the most haunting, realistic, and harsh
memoirs of WWII. It was written in secret on scraps of paper during landings and island battles
of Peleliu and Okinawa. These were two utterly horrendous campaigns, fought to the last man
against thousands of entrenched (and often suicidal) Japanese troops in insane tropical
conditions. Sledge writes about it as a man trying desperately to hold on to the last dregs of
humanity inside him. He was never the same afterwards; only writing about it many years later
was he able to find some peace.
Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific by Robert Leckie. This is the other
important memoir of the Pacific Theater in WWII. Leckie, a journalist turned Marine, writes of
Guadalcanal and Peleliu. His book is every bit as harrowing as Sledge’s but also humorous,
giving us a glimpse into the fraternity and life of ordinary soldiers struggling to pass the time in
some of the worst places on earth.

Losing the War by Lee Sandlin. Okay, this one isn’t a book — it’s just an essay. But this essay
is better than almost any full book ever written on WWII. It may in fact be one of the best essays
ever written (seriously). I’m not going to even bother to try to say more than that. Just read it,
trust me.

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin: A Novel by Louis de Bernieres. Consider this another bonus
fiction recommendation (from a side you wouldn’t normally empathize with). It’s the story of the
unusual circumstances of the Italian invasion and occupation of Greece during WWII. When
Italy dropped its alliance with Germany, Germany attacked the Italian troops in Greece and
committed unbelievable atrocities on the local population. All that said, this book is a beautiful
love story and is also quite funny. It might be weird to admit this but if I recall correctly the book
nearly made me cry — seriously. This book may be “about” war, but it is, like most of these
books, mostly about people.

Knight’s Cross: A Life of Field Marshall Erwin Rommel by David Fraser. It’s going to feel
weird reading a book about a German general in WWII but for Rommel we must make an
exception. Yes, he fought for a terrible cause. But he did so brilliantly — as a soldier, strategist,
and leader. His victories in North Africa were the stuff of legend, and had the US and British
troops not ultimately had better resources, the whole thing might have turned out very
differently. You cannot read about Rommel and not like and admire the man. I’m saying this so
you’ll be prepared and ready to remind yourself that that doesn’t excuse his actions. But you can
still learn from them.

American Patriot: The Life and Wars of Colonel Bud Day by Robert Coram. Bud Day might
be one of the most decorated soldiers in American history. He fought in WWII,
Korea, and Vietnam. It was in Vietnam where he made history — shot down during a flight, he
immediately made a death defying escape, with a broken leg and no food, only to be recaptured
after three weeks just yards from American lines. Once imprisoned, he spent the next eight years
waging a war of defiance against his captors. His nearly inhuman bravery and stoicism is still
spoken of in awe by the men who witnessed it (John McCain was one of them). After the war, he
was awarded the Medal of Honor. Calling Bud Day a badass almost seems patronizing. He was
one of the strongest, bravest, boldest men who ever lived, period. Learn from him. Related
recommendation: John McCain’s Faith of My Fathers discusses not only his own time in the
Hanoi Hilton but also the exemplary military service of his father and grandfather (both
Admirals in the US Navy).
What It Is Like To Go To War by Karl Marlantes. Read this book if you’re ready to have
myths of war destroyed for you. A Yale and Oxford grad is dropped into Vietnam. There he is
awarded two Purple Hearts and multiple other medals for bravery and leadership. In this book,
you can actually watch as he struggles with the very human impulses to rationalize, glamorize,
and justify what he was forced to do in those jungles. Yet he doesn’t — he is honest and
introspective and gives us one of the most unique documents of combat and the mind of war ever
written. (The essay Why Men Love War — also about Vietnam — is worth reading for similar
reasons.)

A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo. Considered one of the definitive memoirs of the Vietnam
War, it is, “Simply a story about war, about the things men do in war and the things war does to
them.” He was well aware that his job was to kill as many people as possible and he tells this to
the reader, who needs to know it. His observations are jarring and uncomfortable. “I had seen
pigs eating napalm-charred corpses — a memorable sight, pigs eating roast people.” Wow.

Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War by Robert Coram. One of the greatest
fighter pilot instructors who ever lived made his mark not in the air, but on the ground. Boyd, a
master strategist and thinker, essentially reinvented our understanding of maneuver warfare. (His
plans were used for the overwhelming victory in the First Gulf War.) The lessons in this book are
incredibly valuable for anyone fighting against a bureaucracy, against inertia, against doubters
and ass-kissers. It’s considered a classic and read by most strategic thinkers across the armed
forces today for a reason.

Charlie Wilson’s War by George Crile. If you want to understand why Iraq and Afghanistan are
the way they are, this book helps. Basically, a congressman from Texas helped turn the Soviet
invasion of Afghanistan into their Vietnam by empowering the rebel Mujahideen. Trained by the
CIA with the appropriations he made available for the task, these fighters (which eventually
included Osama Bin Laden) wreaked havoc on the invading and occupying forces. But the US
had no exit strategy, no end in mind with all this. Those fighters went on, in many ways, to
become the jihadists who are fighting many “Western” countries all over the world — in some
cases using arms we provided them. This is a good book to help you understand that wars are
often fought, won, and lost by people you’d never expect could influence the process.

My War Gone By, I Miss It So by Anthony Loyd. A British soldier turned journalist who
craves combat like a drug addict is sent to report on the exploding crisis and genocide in Bosnia.
His love of war mirrors his actual drug addiction. It’s a powerful, beautifully written book on a
relatively forgotten and mostly ignored conflict — one that occurred in our lifetimes no less.
War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges. Hedges is a masterful writer. We are
lucky that he has given us a portrait of war so we would never leave our inclinations and
attraction to it unquestioned. Hedges, a former divinity student, shows the effects of war on the
men who fight it, on the countries they fight it for, and the politics and people who fall as
collateral damage. If you like this book, you cannot go wrong by reading his others,
including Empire of Illusion. I also strongly recommend William James’ essay “Moral
Equivalent of War” from 1906 which looks at some of those same urges and drives.

The Heart and the Fist: The education of a humanitarian, the making of a Navy SEAL by
Eric Greitens. Having spent his teenage and college years volunteering in refugee camps all
over the world, Greitens was bothered by the impotence of it all — that he could do nothing but
comfort innocent people in harm’s way. So he became a Navy SEAL. Sometimes, he observes,
you have to be strong to do good, but you have to do good to be strong. Thus, the heart and the
fist. This is a powerful, moving book about our recent conflicts abroad and an inspiring memoir
about strength, will, and empathy.
Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon Krakauer. The world needs more
men like Pat Tillman. Ostensibly the story of a professional football player who gave up a $3M
NFL contract to join the Army Rangers after 9/11, only to die under suspicious circumstances in
the hills of Afghanistan, Where Men Win Glory is in its own way, a book about everything that is
right and wrong with the military. On the one hand, there is the honor and selflessness and
bravery. On the other, there is its inability to truly appreciate the individual, and of course, its
shameful history of politics, ass-covering, and lack of accountability. Pat Tillman wasn’t perfect,
but he was a man we could all learn a thing or two from.

Brave New War: The Next Stage of Terrorism and the End of Globalization by John Robb. If
you want to understand the future, read this book. John Robb is one of the greatest living systems
thinkers in the world. The name for the kind of warfare John Robb studies is known as 4th
Generation Warfare. You can think of him as a modern John Boyd — applying his thinking not
to troop warfare or Pentagon politics but to super-empowered individuals, decentralized groups,
and economics. I first read this book while researching for a speech Robert Greene (see below)
was giving at West Point. I’m not sure any other text has shaped my view of politics and
international affairs in the time since.

The 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene. This book was written by my mentor Robert
Greene but my bias is far outweighed by the fact that it is universally regarded as a classic.
Robert combines and synthesizes many of the texts above — plus countless other lessons — into
a comprehensive book about strategy, execution, and campaigning. It can be applied to a job, a
product launch, or yes, a war. This book works as both a great introduction text and a next level
addition on top of some of the originals mentioned previously.
The Savior Generals: How Five Great Commanders Saved Wars That Were Lostby Victor
Davis Hanson. This book tells of five different generals, each who came in and saved a war that
was otherwise likely to be lost. Those generals are Themistocles, Belisarius, Sherman, Ridgway
(in Korea), and Petraeus (in Iraq).

On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society by Dave
Grossman. This is a controversial book too, but for other reasons. I suggest reading it because it
deflates some of the puffery and glorification inherent in our assumptions and beliefs about war.
It disputes the view that killing comes naturally to us and that soldiers take to war like ducks to
water. In fact, most soldiers don’t ever fire their guns in battle (and this is pretty convincing
evidence of that). I suggest this book as a counterbalance to many of the others listed here.

WAR by Sebastian Junger. Although the war in Afghanistan has been going on for more than a
decade, soldiers and cultural pundits alike have often noted how completely removed the vast
majority of the American public is from that reality. Journalist Sebastian Junger closes that gap a
little by transporting us to a hooch in the Korengal Valley where he spent five months living,
sleeping, and coming under fire with the US 2nd Battalion. Junger offers a vivid, page-turning
portrait of what it’s like to be in combat, the powerful bond between men who experience it
together, the nature of the love and courage born from battle, and why despite its danger and
hardships, men are drawn to it again and again. The book is a must-read, however, not simply
because of its penetrating observations on war, but for its insight into the very nature of manhood
and honor –- stripped to its most basic core.

Thank You for Your Service by David Finkel. Two former Marine officers suggested I end this
list with a book about what happens when people leave the military. This book is one of the best
and one of the most recent (though most of the memoirs above discuss this issue in some way). It
will break your heart and frustrate you at the same time. On the one hand our military selects and
then subjects a certain segment of our population to unimaginable stresses — and then expects
them to navigate and deal with it on their own. (As they say “the rich wage war, the poor fight
and die in them.”) This is a segment of the population often without the resources and support
networks to deal with things like Traumatic Brain Injury (which is a LOT more serious than
PTSD). On the other hand these same soldiers will frustrate you with their dysfunctional
relationships and in some cases, generally poor choices. It’s a sad and frustrating situation all the
way around. It reminds you that our soldiers are not all well-adjusted Ivy League grads like some
of the authors mentioned above. But they still deserve better — they deserve better than empty
thanks like getting upgraded on airplanes and platitudes. Related fictional read: Billy Flynn’s
Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain.
There’s no question it is a good thing a full generation has passed in the West without requiring
the majority of young people to feel the full brunt of war. War is a terrible thing (which, as
Robert E. Lee once said, is good because otherwise men might grow too fond of it). To
not need to experience it is a stroke of fortune that the previous generations were not gifted with.

At the same time, this can lead to a profound ignorance and naivete. As Cormac McCarthy once
wrote, “depravity and violence and the ‘readiness to kill’ lurks beneath all human interaction like
‘the fiscal standard.’” The causes and realities of war are still there — always — they are just
obscured.

They may rear their ugly head tomorrow. Or we may experience them by proxy or feel the
impact of those drives sublimated through some other means.

For this reason we must understand war and how it is won. And we must understand what it does
to people. Doing this helps us politically, socially, and consciously. It also helps us
with whatever we happen to be doing. Wars are textbooks in logistics, planning, leadership, and
execution. We can learn those skills by studying the best. We can also learn what not to do from
the wars and generals who fared badly.
No one is saying you need to read all these books. I have read them over many years(and
partially because it’s my job) but you will be better for exposing yourself to whichever ones
strike or intrigue you. And don’t stop with these titles either — fall down the rabbit hole and take
it where it leads you. And if you liked these recommendations, you can get more every month by
signing up for my reading newsletter.

Chart your own course and report back on what you’ve learned.

________________________________________________

Ryan Holiday is the bestselling author of Trust Me I’m Lying and Growth Hacker Marketing.
His third and highly anticipated book with Penguin/Portfolio — The Obstacle is the Way — will
be about practical philosophy and stoicism. Ryan writes at RyanHoliday.net and maintains
an email list of monthly book recommendations for over 10,000 readers.
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