25 Books To Help You Chart Your Personal Course
BOOK REVIEW: THE ADMIRAL’S BOOKSHELF
By Admiral James G. Stavridis, USN (Ret.) / U.S. Naval Institute Press
Reviewed by: James Lawler
The Reviewer: James Lawler devoted more than half of his career as a CIA case officer to penetrating and disrupting foreign weapons of mass destruction programs. As Chief of the A.Q. Khan Nuclear Takedown Team, which resulted in the disruption of the most dangerous nuclear weapons network in history, Mr. Lawler was the recipient of one of the CIA’s Trailblazer Awards in 2007. He is the author of three spy novels – the most recent being “The Traitors Tale” published earlier this month.
REVIEW — In this age of social media overload, I confess that I’m addicted to recommendations of excellent books to read during our all-too busy lives, especially when those who are suggesting them are themselves avid and discerning readers whom I respect. The author of The Admiral’s Bookshelf, Adm. James Stavridis, is just such an individual: an intellectual warrior-leader with a very distinguished naval and academic career and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and curiosity about the human condition and the invaluable truths we can learn from fine literature.
Stavridis, himself the author of fifteen books, sifted through his personal library of about five thousand books and selected twenty-five classics, fiction and nonfiction, which teach eternal life and leadership lessons regardless of your profession. Not only does he distill these classics down to their essence, but he also notes how he used these guide paths in his own storied career, and how occasionally he stumbled, strayed or ignored their guidance to his detriment. It was this candor and humility which sold these literary recommendations to me as worthy additions to my own library. Too often I read memoirs of famous people, including some senior intelligence officers, that cite only their so-called successes and ignore their failures, when frequently that is where you really learn a lesson and convey the indelible truth to your reader or listener. To his credit, Stavridis cites at least as many of his failures or shortcomings as successes and explains how if he had only hewn more closely to the principles in these books, he could have avoided considerable heartache and frustration.
Among his selections are The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway and its lesson of never surrender, and Crusade in Europe by Dwight D. Eisenhower about preparing deeply for key events. Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes teaches us to dream without boundaries, and the moving To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee on mentoring willingly. Nimitz at War by Craig Symonds illustrates Admiral Nimitz’s propensity to delegate freely and avoid micromanagement, something most of us abhor. Consistent with that principle, albeit in a fictional criminal context, Stavridis cites Mario Puzo’s The Godfather and how Don Vito Corleone had a talent for choosing the right people as part of his crime family. The Odyssey by Homer teaches patience, something we could all use more of. No list of leadership classics would be complete without reference to The Art of War by Sun Tzu and how to balance the tactical with the strategic.
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Other classic Stavridis choices include Candide by Voltaire on dealing in hope and avoiding pessimism, and the biography Steven Jobs by Walter Isaacson on seeking to innovate. Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale was chosen because it stresses thinking independently, and one of my all-time personal favorites, 1984, by George Orwell gets special mention for seeing danger in group think, not speaking out and the resulting tyranny.
Stavridis chose The Quiet Warrior: Admiral Raymond A. Spruance by Thomas Buell as a splendid example of a leader who never lost his temper. He stresses knowing your profession and its history by citing The United States Navy: 200 Years by Captain Edward L. Beach USN (ret.) This volume resonated particularly with me because of my lectures on famous intelligence operations and how few of my listeners are familiar with classics such as The Trust by Felix Dzerzhinsky, founder of the Russian Cheka.
The only slight downside to my reading this outstanding list of literary lifetime gems by Stavridis is that I will be obliged to run clandestine operations to slip these books into my personal library and not cause my wife to observe, “Oh no, not one more book!”
On a more serious note, I tend to judge a person by the books they read and their list of personal favorites. Using that standard, I can say without equivocation that I would have been blessed to have served in some capacity under Admiral James Stavridis and to have absorbed his leadership lessons firsthand. Not only did he have an outstanding career, but he has left a remarkable legacy of men and women who learned these valuable lessons from him. Well done, sir!
Editors note: For more on this book, check out Suzanne Kelly’s Cover Stories podcast with Admiral Stavridis at The Cipher Brief.
The Admiral’s Bookshelf earns a prestigious 4 out of 4 trench coats
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