Recommendations on my next non fiction book to read?

Sir, congrats on your selection for Battalion Command. One of my favorite O6 level commanders keeps the Servant Leader by James C. Hunter on his desk and gives a copy to his junior leaders when he can. He even invited Mr. Hunter to speak at a Dining Out. It is a simple but inspiring study of why successful leaders do what they do. Good for introspection.

Not military related, but....If you were interested at all in the story of Whitey Bulger (the movie The Departed was loosely -I mean really loosely-based on this) the book The Black Mass is a outstanding read. Shows corruption in the FBI and documents a modern crime boss.

Oliver North wrote the book Special Operations, which is a series of shorts of all the special forces, Rangers, SF, PJ, Delta, DEA, SEALS etc. What is interesting is that a brief story is told about a snapshot in time, and then he provides the actual citations for valor that accompanied. It is a great series of valorous acts that make you proud to be in the company of great men and women of our Nation.

I've looked at all of the recommendations here and found one worth seconding. Many of the others are excellent reading, but suspect in their value to someone in your position.

I'm going to take off in another direction and recommend a book that is influenced by the biblical injunction to "Know thine enemy".

The Devil We Know: Dealing With the New Iranian Superpower by Robert Baer

I'm going to save myself some effort and simply paste the book's description from Amazon

"Over the past thirty years, while the United States has turned either a blind or dismissive eye, Iran has emerged as a nation every bit as capable of altering America’s destiny as traditional superpowers Russia and China. Indeed, one of this book’s central arguments is that, in some ways, Iran’s grip on America’s future is even tighter.

"As ex–CIA operative Robert Baer masterfully shows, Iran has maneuvered itself into the elite superpower ranks by exploiting Americans’ false perceptions of what Iran is—by letting us believe it is a country run by scowling religious fanatics, too preoccupied with theocratic jostling and terrorist agendas to strengthen its political and economic foundations.

"The reality is much more frightening—and yet contained in the potential catastrophe is an implicit political response that, if we’re bold enough to adopt it, could avert disaster.

"Baer’s on-the-ground sleuthing and interviews with key Middle East players—everyone from an Iranian ayatollah to the king of Bahrain to the head of Israel’s internal security—paint a picture of the centuries-old Shia nation that is starkly the opposite of the one normally drawn. For example, Iran’s hate-spouting President Ahmadinejad is by no means the true spokesman for Iranian foreign policy, nor is Iran making it the highest priority to become a nuclear player.

"Even so, Baer has discovered that Iran is currently engaged in a soft takeover of the Middle East, that the proxy method of war-making and co-option it perfected with Hezbollah in Lebanon is being exported throughout the region, that Iran now controls a significant portion of Iraq, that it is extending its influence over Jordan and Egypt, that the Arab Emirates and other Gulf States are being pulled into its sphere, and that it will shortly have a firm hold on the world’s oil spigot.

"By mixing anecdotes with information gleaned from clandestine sources, Baer superbly demonstrates that Iran, far from being a wild-eyed rogue state, is a rational actor—one skilled in the game of nations and so effective at thwarting perceived Western colonialism that even rival Sunnis relish fighting under its banner.

"For U.S. policy makers, the choices have narrowed: either cede the world’s most important energy corridors to a nation that can match us militarily with its asymmetric capabilities (which include the use of suicide bombers)—or deal with the devil we know. We might just find that in allying with Iran, we’ll have increased not just our own security but that of all Middle East nations.The alternative—to continue goading Iran into establishing hegemony over the Muslim world—is too chilling to contemplate."

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Obviously, much has happened since this book was written, including the development of a nuclear weapon which some now believe that Iran possesses. Armed with the knowledge I gleaned from this book, I have been able to keep abreast of these developments sifting the wheat from the chaff of propaganda.

Also, I find that having read T.E. Lawrence's "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom" provides an excellent historical perspective on the entire region.

Just this morning I finished Mosquito Empires: Ecology and War in the Greater Caribbean, 1620-1914 (New Approaches to the Americas) [J. R. McNeill]

Herein we learn of the General that was absolutely vital to the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. That General was Anopheles quadrimaculatus.

Learn how France, Spain and Britain all managed to lose over 90% of some expeditionary forces in this hemisphere before any serious engagement in combat.

"Head Strong" by Michael Matthews.

It's a look at the possibilities in our future pertaining to the military and psychology.

The author actually leaves his email in the Forward so I was able to have some great correspondence with him via email. I was taking notes on this book as I read. A first since I finished school. It really makes you think because the majority of the ideas are theoretical. Highly recommend it.

Sir, how about PowerPoint Zombies. Because we all know how PowerPoint sucks our brains out within seconds of the start of any training/brief etc.

If you have sons,...grandsons, or your troops are like your sons...every parent should read this, especially if you have boys. You will not be disappointed with this book, there is a Christian slant...but it conveys raising a strong boy...

13 Hours: The inside account of what really happened in Benghazi.

The harrowing, true account from the brave men on the ground who fought back during the Battle of Benghazi.

13 HOURS presents, for the first time ever, the true account of the events of September 11, 2012, when terrorists attacked the US State Department Special Mission Compound and a nearby CIA station called the Annex in Benghazi, Libya. A team of six American security operators fought to repel the attackers and protect the Americans stationed there. Those men went beyond the call of duty, performing extraordinary acts of courage and heroism, to avert tragedy on a much larger scale. This is their personal account, never before told, of what happened during the thirteen hours of that now-infamous attack.

does Calvin and Hobbs count as non fiction since most of us did the insane antics depicted in those books?????