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Motivating/inspiring books

Started by Walkman, January 13, 2014, 02:46:51 PM

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Walkman

I just finished reading "An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth" by Col. Chris Hadfield. It was a great amazing book and my copy is full of sticky flags marking life lessons and leadership principles. There's a ton of great bits in there as well for little AE pocket lessons.

Now I need a new book. I'm looking for something inspirational about leadership, something with either a military or NASA setting.

There's been some threads like this before, but I'm sure there are tons of new books to add to the list. So lets share! What have you read recently that motived or inspired you?

Huey Driver

"The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education", by Capt. Craig Mullaney, is an awesome, inspiring book with flavors of leadership throughout the novel. The book is Mullaney's experiences from youth, to West Point, to the sandbox,  retiring from the military, and a multitude of experiences in between. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read, but especially developing leaders. This was our required reading for RCLS, which we read and completed an essay about as pre-coursework.

Again, highly recommended!  :D
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right...

unmlobo

Quote from: JerseyCadet on January 14, 2014, 03:04:06 AM
"The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education", by Capt. Craig Mullaney, is an awesome, inspiring book with flavors of leadership throughout the novel. The book is Mullaney's experiences from youth, to West Point, to the sandbox,  retiring from the military, and a multitude of experiences in between. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read, but especially developing leaders. This was our required reading for RCLS, which we read and completed an essay about as pre-coursework.

Again, highly recommended!  :D

GREAT BOOK!  If you enjoyed that then read "One Bullet Away:  The Making of Marine Officer" by Capt. Nate Fick of Generation Kill fame.  Also try "The Heart and the Fist: The Education of a Humanitarian, the Making of a Navy SEAL" by LT Eric Greitens.  These should be be on everyone's reading list. 
Major, CAP
HI WG

SARDOC

^^^ Is there a Common Theme among O-3's that they all must write a book.

AirDX

"Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand - a biography of Lou Zamperini, Olympic athlete, B-24 bombardier, and eventual POW of the Japanese. 
"Baa Baa Black Sheep" by Greg Boyington, a classic autobiography.  No you can't borrow my autographed copy!
"Thud Ridge" by Jack Broughton.  Another classic, by an F-105 pilot flying out of Takhli in 1966-67.  Critical of the US leadership of that era.
"Iron Coffins", by Herbert A. Werner.  The Battle of the Atlantic from the German side.  Astonishing what men can do...
"Not a Good day to Die" by Sean Naylor.  Combat in Afghanistan, Operation Anaconda.  Mistakes were made.
"On to Berlin: Battles of an Airborne Commander 1943-1946" by Gen. James M. Gavin.  WWII in Europe with the 82nd Airborne.
"When the Odds Were Even: The Vosges Mountains Campaign, October 1944-January 1945" Why the US defeated the Germans in the Vosges mountains even though the forces involved were fairly evenly matched.

Just some of my favorites.
Believe in fate, but lean forward where fate can see you.

Brit_in_CAP

I agree with the recommendation for  "One Bullet Away:  The Making of Marine Officer" by Nathan Fick; "Generation Kill" is also a good book to read if you are willing to sift the lessons, good and bad, from the text.  My Marine son differs with me over some of the points but he's entitled!

I personally recommend Robert Heinlein's "Starship Troopers"; even now it makes compelling reading.  You can agree or disagree with Heinlein but the book always provokes thought and discussion amongst its readers.  I had to replace my copy after a house move - the original was so worn it fell apart!

A personal favorite which, sadly,  I don't think you'll find outside of a library is "Fly for your Life" by Robert Stanford-Tuck, a highly-decorated WW2 pilot in the RAF who also helped train the fighter pilots of AAC in mid-1941.  On a similar vein I can also recommend "Dual of Eagles" by Group Captain Peter Townsend, who flew in and chronicled the Battle of Britain.  That book was reissued recently and is available on certain well-known internet bookstore sites.  Equally good is "Spitfire into Battle" by W G G Duncan-Smith and (finally) a really good read that describes a fascinating piece of history is "Spitfire Women of World War II" which chronicles the work of the Air Transport Auxiliary in WW2.  You might think it would be very British-centered but the involvement of American female pilots at a time when that was a rare thing makes for a fascinating read.

Stonewall

Fearless:

Fearless takes you deep into SEAL Team SIX, straight to the heart of one of its most legendary operators.

"As a rule, we don't endorse books or movies or anything regarding the command where I work—and Adam Brown worked—but as the author writes in Fearless, 'you have to know the rules, so you know when to bend or break them.' This is one of those times.  Read this book. Period. It succeeds where all the others have failed."  --Anonymous SEAL Team SIX Operator

When Navy SEAL Adam Brown woke up on March 17, 2010, he didn't know he would die that night in the Hind Kush Mountains of Afghanistan—but he was ready. In a letter to his children, not meant to be seen unless the worst happened, he wrote, "I'm not afraid of anything that might happen to me on this earth, because I know no matter what, nothing can take my spirit from me."

Fearless is the story of a man of extremes, whose courage and determination were fueled by faith, family, and the love of a woman. It's about a man who waged a war against his own worst impulses, including drug addiction, and persevered to reach the top tier of the U.S. military. In a deeply personal and absorbing chronicle, Fearless reveals a glimpse inside the SEAL Team SIX brotherhood, and presents an indelible portrait of a highly trained warrior whose final act of bravery led to the ultimate sacrifice.

Adam Brown was a devoted man who was an unlikely hero but a true warrior, described by all who knew him as...fearless.
Serving since 1987.

Stonewall

Back in the Fight:

The inspiring and thrilling combat memoir of the only Army Ranger serving in direct combat operations with a prosthetic limb.

On October 3, 2005, Kapacziewski and his soldiers were coming to the end of their tour in Northern Iraq when their convoy was attacked by enemy fighters. A grenade fell through the gunner's hatch and exploded, shattering Kapacziewski's right leg below the knee, damaging his right hip, and severing a nerve and artery in his right arm.

He endured more than forty surgeries, but his right leg still wasn't healing as he had hoped, so in March 2007, Kapacziewski chose to have it amputated with one goal in mind: to return to the line and serve alongside his fellow Rangers. One year after his surgery, Kapacziewski accomplished his goal: he was put back on the line, as a squad leader of his Army Ranger Regiment.

On April 19, 2010, during his ninth combat deployment (and fifth after losing his leg), Kapacziewski's patrol ran into an ambush outside a village in eastern Afghanistan. After a fellow Ranger fell to withering enemy fire, shot through the belly, Sergeant Kap and another soldier dragged him seventy-five yards to safety and administered first aid that saved his life while heavy machineguns tried to kill them. His actions earned him an Army Commendation Medal with "V" for Valor. He had previously been awarded a Bronze Star for Valor—and a total of three Purple Hearts for combat wounds.
Serving since 1987.

RMW14

Oh boy! A thread I can really get into!! I am a book fanatic and I have a few that I think will fit your requirements.

1) "The Long Walk" by Richard Bachman (aka Stephen King) A story about an event that pits contestants against themselves. The contest is to keep walking or get a warning. Three warnings and you are "eliminated". There can be only one winner. I picked it up while reading a similar thread on another forum at the recommendation of someone who had waged similar battle against himself at The Benning School for Wayward Boys (Army Ranger School) but he wouldn't get eliminated the same way the people in the book did.

2) "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card. I read this at the recommendation of my college English professor. This is also required reading at the Army War College in Carlisle, PA. The book gives an insight into thinking outside the box when dealing with not only problems during a battle but general problem solving while thinking outside the box for general life. Also talks about delegation of authority and working with a team that may or may not be the best for any given situation.

3) "American Patriot : The Life and Wars of Col. Bud Day" by Robert Coram.  Great book about one of the best leaders of the modern Air Force in my opinion. If you are not sure who Bud Day is, run a google search but also read the book.

4) "Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War" by Robert Coram. Another book about an aviation great and his development of the OODA Loop.

5) "Indestructible" Jack H. Lucas. The autobiography of the youngest MoH recipient of the 20th century. I met Mr Lucas and bought his book. Awesome story about an awesome American.

I could think of a ton more but these are pretty good ones to read, digest, and pull things out of for use in leadership classes or just to bait cadets into expanding their reading choices.
Ryan Weir Capt
Emergency Services Officer Jesse Jones Composite Squadron 304
Expert Ranger #274
NASAR SARTECH 1 Lead Evaluator/ WEMT
CD PAWG Central
AOBD,GBD,GTL, GTM1, UDF, MO, MS, MRO, AP

MisterCD

A few that I have enjoyed, in addition to many great suggestions:

Audie Murphy, To Hell and Back
Wayne Karlin, Wandering Souls: Journeys With the Dead and the Living in Vietnam
Saburo Sakai, Samurai!

AirDX

Quote from: RMW14 on January 15, 2014, 04:19:53 AM

4) "Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War" by Robert Coram. Another book about an aviation great and his development of the OODA Loop.

Good choice!  I meant to include that one, too.
Believe in fate, but lean forward where fate can see you.

unmlobo

Hope Unseen:  The Story of the U.S. Army's First Blind Active Duty Officer  By Maj Scotty Smiley.  Great inspiring book and hear what he went through after his blindness, even won an ESPY Award.

Soldier's Heart: Reading Literature Through Peace and War at West Point by Elizabeth Samet.  Story of educating cadets at West Point with poetry and literature.
Major, CAP
HI WG

HGjunkie

Some classics:

Band of Brothers
Biggest Brother: The Life Of Major Dick Winters
To Hell and Back
Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds
Heirpower!: Eight Basic Habits of Exceptionally Powerful Lieutenants
••• retired
2d Lt USAF

The CyBorg is destroyed

Churchill by Roy Jenkins.  Probably the most informative book I've read about this personal hero of mine.
The Few by Alex Kershaw - about the Americans who risked life, limb and citizenship to fly against Hitler with the RAF/RCAF during WWII.
The Cost Of Discipleship - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Exiled from GLR-MI-011

Garibaldi

When I was DCC of a unit back in Arkansas it was my pleasure to have sent one of the sharpest cadets I ever met to the USAFA. I gave him my well-worn copy of Lance Sijan's story, "Into the Mouth of the Cat", which details his dedication to the Code of Conduct after being shot down in Laos and subsequent struggle to survive and escape.
Still a major after all these years.
ES dude, leadership ossifer, publik affaires
Opinionated and wrong 99% of the time about all things

Stonewall

I just finished The Quiet Professional about Major Dick Meadows.

The link will take you a review of the book by Larry Vickers.  [darn] good book about a dude who enlisted at 15, fought in Kora and Vietnam and played more of a role in SOF than I ever knew.
Serving since 1987.

Walkman

I picked up American Patriot : The Life and Wars of Col. Bud Day. I'm about 100 pages in so far. Well written and his story is thus far interesting. He certainly has an odd route to get where he ended up.