Profiles in Courage
John F. Kennedy's 1956 book about eight U.S. senators who risked their careers on unpopular votes. It won the 1957 Pulitzer Prize for Biography, and his aide Ted Sorensen later wrote that he drafted much of it.
Tag: Leadership
Lessons from 33 years in corporate life and the books that build real authority. Managing people, communicating up, and why the smartest leaders put their expertise into a book instead of a slide deck.
LeadershipSoldier for Life: Leader Lessons from the 12th Sergeant Major of the Army
The memoir and leadership book of Jack Tilley, who rose from Vietnam-era private to the 12th Sergeant Major of the Army. Written with Army historian Dan Elder, it ends every chapter with the lesson behind the story.
LeadershipIt Doesn’t Take a Hero
The autobiography of General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, written with Peter Petre, covering his childhood, two tours in Vietnam and his command of the 1991 Gulf War from Central Command at MacDill. He retired to Tampa afterward.
LeadershipAmerican Soldier
General Tommy Franks's memoir, written with Malcolm McConnell, runs from an enlisted soldier in 1965 to the commander of U.S. Central Command who led the 2001 Afghanistan campaign and the 2003 invasion of Iraq from MacDill. It debuted at number…
LeadershipThe Melting Point: High Command and War in the 21st Century
General Frank McKenzie's account of commanding U.S. Central Command from MacDill between 2019 and 2022, a stretch that included the Soleimani strike, the fight against ISIS and the withdrawal from Afghanistan. He now leads a national security institute at the…
LeadershipMake Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe the World
Admiral William McRaven's short book of ten lessons from Navy SEAL training, grown out of a 2014 commencement speech that tens of millions of people have watched. He wrote it after commanding U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill.
LeadershipSea Stories: My Life in Special Operations
Admiral William McRaven's memoir of a life in special operations, from a childhood in France through SEAL training to the capture of Saddam Hussein, the Captain Phillips rescue and the bin Laden raid. He later commanded U.S. Special Operations Command…
HistorySailing True North: Ten Admirals and the Voyage of Character
Retired Admiral James Stavridis profiles ten naval commanders across 2,500 years, from Themistocles to Grace Hopper, to show how character is built and lost. It's a leadership book written through other people's lives.
LeadershipMy Share of the Task: A Memoir
General Stanley McChrystal's career memoir, from West Point to commanding Joint Special Operations Command in Iraq and the international force in Afghanistan. It's a long, detailed account of how he changed the way his task force fought.
Business BooksTeam of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World
General Stanley McChrystal and three co-authors turn the way his special operations task force fought in Iraq into a management book for any large organization. Its argument: in a fast, complex world, networks of small teams beat a top-down chain…
Business BooksA Higher Standard: Leadership Strategies from America’s First Female Four-Star General
General Ann Dunwoody, the first woman in U.S. military history to reach four-star rank, turns a 37-year Army career into a leadership book built on principles. She lives in Tampa.
LeadershipTop Sergeant: The Life and Times of Sergeant Major of the Army William G. Bainbridge
The autobiography of William Bainbridge, the fifth Sergeant Major of the Army, written with retired Sergeant Major Dan Cragg. It runs from a World War II prison camp to the Army's top enlisted post.