War Books: The Marine Corps Commandant’s 2026 Reading List - Modern War Institute

War Books: The Marine Corps Commandant’s 2026 Reading List

John Amble | 12.20.25

Share on Facebook<br>Share

Share on TwitterTweet

Share on LinkedIn<br>Share

Send email<br>Mail

Print<br>Print

Editor’s note: Welcome to another installment of our War Books series! Each installment typically presents a themed list of books by an expert contributor. This edition departs from that model and instead presents highlights from the 2026 professional reading list published by the commandant of the US Marine Corps. As always, the aim of War Books is to provide a resource for MWI readers who want to learn more about important subjects related to modern war and are looking for books to add to their reading lists.

This week, the commandant of the Marine Corps, General Eric M. Smith, released a 2026 list of recommended books as part of the Marine Corps Professional Reading Program. This is a long-standing tradition among the US armed services, but one that has become increasingly rare recently. Of course, this is partly a reflection of the evolving media landscape: Where books were once the principal source of learning, military professional now have short-form articles, podcasts, and even social media channels to choose from. And indeed, while the US Army has not released a chief of staff of the Army’s professional reading list for several years, Army University Press publishes a monthly list of articles selected and recommended by the chief of staff.

And yet books still have a place in professional development. I believe that, or I wouldn’t be typing this. I assume you also believe it, or you wouldn’t be reading it. And the Marine Corps commandant evidently believes it, or he wouldn’t have sent a message to all Marines announcing the list and describing its purpose. As someone who grew up in the US military choosing the books I read based heavily on service leaders’ reading lists, I applaud any effort to continue the tradition.

The commandant’s list is split into categories. Books in the "Heritage" category highlight the role of the Marine Corps in America’s history. "Innovation" includes books aimed at equipping readers for an era that will challenge military professional and demand an ability to experiment and adapt. The "Leadership" category includes both timeless classics and new entries that explore what it takes to lead and inspire service members. And "Strategy" presents books that that examine the ends, ways, and means of war at national and policy levels.

Below, I’ve highlighted a few of the books in each of these categories whose value extends beyond Marine Corps readers to members of other US armed services, those of the United States’ allies, and defense professionals and scholars. The commandant’s list also included a "Foundational" category, but because it is composed mainly of Marine Corps doctrinal publications, I’ve left it off of this list. At the end, you’ll also find the single book personally selected by the commandant because of its embodiment of the Marine Corps values.

Heritage

See the full list of sixteen books here.

First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps, by Victor H. Krulak

I read this book before a deployment to Afghanistan during which I would work closely with Marine units. It offers a window into the Marine Corps’s culture—and the history that made it. It also benefits from the way the author, a Marine Corps legend, weaves his own experience into the narrative.

This Kind of War: The Classic Korean War History, by T. R. Fehrenbach

This is in the pantheon of books about war at the tactical edge. You’ll come away from it having learned about the Korean War, but more importantly, with an understanding of war from the perspective of small-unit leaders and soldiers.

The American War in Afghanistan: A History, Carter Malkasian

This is an extraordinarily well-told story of two decades of war in Afghanistan. Malkasian served as senior advisor to General Joseph Dunford, a Marine, and served as a State Department political officer in Helmand province (see his also exceptional War Comes to Garmser), where the Marines were a land-owning force, so his work reflects an understanding of the nuances that distinguish the Marines from, for example, the US Army.

With the Old Breed: The World War Two Pacific Classic, E. B. Sledge

What would a military campaign in the largely maritime Pacific theater look like on land? It’s a question the US Army is keenly exploring today. The story of the Marines in World War II offers powerful lessons that, even amid the rapidly changing character of warfare, echo loudly eight decades on.

Innovation

See the full list of fifteen books here.

The Arms of the Future: Technology and Close Combat in the Twenty-First Century, by Jack Watling

Watling was among the first to extract lessons from the 2020 Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, and by adding his observations from the...