The Commandant’s Professional Reading Program, established in 1989, is a cornerstone of Marine professional development. It challenges every Marine to think critically, act ethically, and cultivate the intellectual readiness required to lead in a rapidly changing world. The program deepens understanding of war, leadership, and decision-making, while strengthening the shared identity that binds Marines across generations.
The FY26 Commandant’s Professional Reading List (CPRL) has been refined in preparation for the Corps’ 250th anniversary, aligning with the Commandant’s guidance to honor our heritage while preparing for the future fight. The updated list incorporates Semper Fidelis: 250 Years of U.S. Marine Corps Honor, Courage, and Commitment—a flagship publication from Marine Corps University’s History Division that serves as a centerpiece for 250th-anniversary communications and reflection.
The Commandant’s Choice for FY26, Once an Eagle by Anton Myrer, has been reaffirmed as a timeless study in leadership and character. Its inclusion underscores the Commandant’s emphasis on integrity, moral courage, and the enduring responsibilities of command.
The FY26 CPRL is organized into four categories—Heritage, Innovation, Leadership, and Strategy—providing Marines at all levels with resources to strengthen judgment, creativity, and warfighting excellence.
Personally selected by the Commandant of the Marine Corps, this category embodies the ethos and core values of the Corps. It invites Marines to reflect on the character, resilience, and moral strength that define our service and the profession of arms.
Once an Eagle traces the lifelong contrast between two officers—one driven by honor and selfless service, the other by ambition and personal gain—offering a timeless study of leadership, integrity, and moral courage in peace and war.
Illuminates the history, traditions, and identity of the Marine Corps and its role in the larger history of our Nation at war.
Origins
WW II & Korea
Vietnam to GWOT
How the Few Became the Proud shows how the Corps deliberately crafted its mystique in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
With the Old Breed is E.B. Sledge’s timeless account of Peleliu and Okinawa.
Corps Competency? analyzes the III MAF headquarters in Vietnam and the challenges of command.
Lejeune: A Marine's Life illustrates how one Commandant transformed the Corps into the Fleet Marine Force.
Delivering Destruction examines firepower coordination in the Central Pacific campaigns.
Targeted: Beirut reminds us of the 1983 Marine barracks bombing — one of the Corps’ deadliest days.
First to Fight remains the classic institutional account of why America needs a Marine Corps.
This Kind of War is the definitive narrative of the Korean War.
Echo in Ramadi tells a firsthand story of Marines in Iraq’s deadliest city.
Always Faithful tells 250 years of remarkable stories from the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
The Marines of Montford Point tells the story of the first Black Marines and the Corps’ path toward integration.
The American War in Afghanistan provides the authoritative history of our longest war.
Semper Fidelis: 250 Years is the official anniversary volume and captures the Corps’ history from its birth to today.
Code Talker highlights the unique contribution of the Navajo Marines in WWII.
On Contested Shores connects the past and the future of amphibious operations, with lessons for the next fight.
Explores adaptation, experimentation, and emerging technologies that shape the future of warfighting.
foundations
modern case studies
disruptive technology & future innovation
Learning War traces how doctrine evolved in the U.S. Navy between 1898 and 1945.
Where Good Ideas Come From explains the patterns behind how innovation happens.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution looks at broader technological disruptions across society.
A Game of Birds and Wolves shows how young women in the Royal Navy used wargaming to out-think German U-boats.
The Origins of Victory explains how disruptive innovation determines which great powers succeed or fail.
Soft-Wired shows how brain plasticity and training can sharpen cognitive performance — a different kind of “innovation.”
Playing War tells how Naval War College wargaming in the 1930s helped prepare the U.S. for World War II.
Evolution on Demand (MCUP essays) shows how the Corps is rethinking force design for the future fight.
Co-Intelligence explains how human-AI collaboration will change decision-making.
Neptune’s Inferno captures innovation under fire at Guadalcanal.
7 Seconds to Die examines how drones and loitering munitions decided the Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Generative AI for Leaders provides practical tools for commanders to harness AI responsibly.
A New Conception of War highlights Boyd, maneuver warfare, and the Marine Corps’ intellectual adaptation.
Next War projects forward with near-term scenarios that blend today’s lessons with tomorrow’s challenges.
The Arms of the Future explores new battlefield technologies reshaping ground combat.
Celebrates the profession of arms and the timeless burdens, responsibilities, and inspirations of leading Marines in peace and war.
personal
Small unit
organizational
Make Your Bed shows how daily discipline underpins success.
Matterhorn portrays platoon leadership in Vietnam with stark realism.
Call Sign Chaos captures lessons from command in peace and war.
You Are Worth It is an inspiring account of courage and resilience.
The Yompers recounts company-level leadership in the Falklands.
Risk: A User's Guide teaches how to build resilient organizations in uncertainty.
The White Donkey captures the everyday experience and challenges of service.
Generals and Admirals, Criminals and Crooks offers cautionary case studies of leadership failures.
Nimitz at War demonstrates calm, strategic leadership in a global conflict.
On Killing tackles the psychological and moral weight of combat.
Leadership Strategy and Tactics gives practical, field-level tools for junior leaders.
Five Generations at Work equips leaders to integrate and leverage a diverse, multigenerational force.
Wisdom of the Bullfrog distills decades of command experience into timeless lessons.
The Greatest Marine Corps Stories Ever Told collects authentic accounts highlighting courage, humor, and endurance.
Essentialism underscores the importance of focus, clarity, and disciplined prioritization in leadership.
Examines the art of aligning ends, ways, and means across personal, organizational, and national levels of strategy.
case studies
great power competition
The Closing of the American Mind – disciplined thought as a foundation.
Turn the Ship Around! demonstrates organizational transformation and distributed decision-making.
Command (Freedman) highlights the link between politics and military operations.
The Defence of Duffer’s Drift – parable teaching timeless tactical lessons.
On Grand Strategy (Gaddis) bridges history to modern operational thinking.
The Russian Way of Deterrence and Wars of Ambition offer insight into adversary strategic cultures (Russia, Iran).
Ender’s Game – fiction, but captures ethical and psychological burdens of leadership.
Speed Kills bridges Boyd’s decision-making theory to organizational and operational strategy, showing how leaders build agile, high-tempo institutions that out-think and out-adapt competitors.
The Long Game: China’s Grand Strategy to Displace American Order is an authoritative analysis of China’s long-term strategic intent.
Legacy – cultural values and team excellence.
The New Makers of Modern Strategy provides a wide-ranging anthology on strategy in practice.
Fleet Tactics and Naval Operations examines maritime operational art with grand strategic implications.
The Infinite Game – long-term perspective and resilience..
Ground Combat offers data-driven analysis of modern warfare’s enduring realities.
Chinese Amphibious Warfare analyzes a critical near-peer operational challenge.
The Generals’ War provides a detailed case study of operational-level success in Desert Storm.