Book Reviews

Driving Thought-Leadership & Engagement

The National Defense University Foundation taps into the knowledge of the world’s national security and diplomatic leaders, NDUF partners, the National Defense University faculty and students, and our own leadership to share recommended reading picks about national security, diplomacy, economics, leadership, innovation and more. Here’s a sampling of our 2022 book reviews. Review these and other recommended readings at www.ndufoundation.org

Managing the Military: The Joint Chiefs of Staff and Civil-Military Relations by Sharon K. Weiner

Managing the Military is a pioneering analysis of the power of the chairman of the JCS that sheds new light on civil-military relations in the United States. Using detailed case studies of debates over defense budgets since the end of the Cold War, Sharon K. Weiner examines when and how the JCS chairman opposes civilian defense policy preferences.

Learn How to Lead to Win: 33 Powerful Stories and Leadership Lessons -

By Mike Manazir

Learn How to Lead to Win will help you crush barriers to your success. Be as bold as a Top Gun fighter pilot, as decisive as the commander of a carrier in a typhoon. Have the courage to push to the edge of the leadership envelope and be an even better leader than you are today.

To Risk It All: Nine Conflicts and the Crucible of Decision by Admiral James Stavridis, USN, (Ret.)

Adm. James Stavridis (U.S. Navy, ret.) enjoyably and admirably presents nine lives in the belief that their aptitudes for decision-making, if not always their methods, offer the rest of us lessons in leadership.

How To Lead: Wisdom from the World’s Greatest CEOs, Founder and Game Changers by David M. Rubenstein

In this book review, we take a seat next to David Rubenstein, the cofounder of the Carlyle Group, as he interviews 30 world-renowned leaders about how they define the qualities of leadership. From General Colin Powell to Bill Clinton, the book also delves into leadership from a military and diplomatic perspective.

ark Horse: General Larry O. Spencer and His Journey from the Horseshoe to the Pentagon by General Larry O Spencer, USAF Ret.)

In this book review, we take an inside look at the life of retired Air Force four-star general, General Larry Spencer. Wrapped within his life story of a 44-year military career, we also gain a unique insight into the racial aspect of being a black officer with a long and successful military leadership journey.