Celebrate the Navy's 236th birthday with this recommended reading list

Yesterday – Oct. 13, 2011 – was the 236th birthday of the United States Navy.

On that day, over two centuries ago, the Continental Congress in Philadelphia voted to outfit two ships with guns and crews and sent them on three month missions to intercept British ammunition transports to America. From those humble beginnings, the Navy has developed into the most technologically advanced fighting force in the world.

I admit to a lifelong interest in the Navy and life on the high seas, and a couple of years ago I struck gold when I ran across a brochure that detailed the U.S. Navy’s Professional Reading Program. For anyone interested in learning more about the Navy, you’d be hard pressed to find a better group of books about the Navy.

According to the Navy Reading Web site, www.navyreading.navy.mil, the Navy Professional Reading Program was developed to “encourage a life-long habit of reading and learning among all sailors. The books included in these collections can provide readers with a deeper understanding and appreciation for naval heritage, the profession of arms and the complex modern world in which we operate.”

The list consists of 12 books in… Without further ado, here’s the list in alphabetical order by title:

- “1776” by David McCullough (2006)

- “Aircraft Carriers at War” by James L. Holloway III (2007)

- “American Government” by Robert A. Heineman, Steven A. Peterson and Thomas H. Rasmussen (1995)

- “The Art of the Long View: Planning for the Future in an Uncertain World” by Peter Schwartz (1994)

- “Billy Budd and Other Stories” by Herman Melville (1992)

- “The Caine Mutiny” by Herman Wouk (1992)

- “The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror” by Bernard Lewis (2004)

- “The Cruel Sea” by Nicholas Monsarrat (2000)

- “D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II” by Stephen E. Ambrose (1995)

- “The Declaration of Independence and Other Great Documents of American History, 1775-1865,” edited by John Grafton (2000)

- “Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism” by Robert Pape (2006)

- “Eagle Against the Sun: The American War With Japan” by Ronald Spector (1985)

- “The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What It Means for All of Us” by Robyn Meredith (2008)

- “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card (1994)

- “Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done” by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan (2002)

- “The Fate of Africa: From the Hopes of Freedom to the Heart of Despair” by Martin Meredith (2006)

- “Flags of Our Fathers” by James Bradley (2006)

- “Forgotten Continent: The Battle for Latin America’s Soul” by Michael Reid (2007)

- “Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything” by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (2006)

- “From Beirut to Jerusalem” by Thomas L. Friedman (1990)

- “The Golden Thirteen: Recollections of the First Black Naval Officers,” edited by Paul Stillwell with a foreword by Colin L. Powell (2003)

- “The Good Shepherd” by C.S. Forester (2007)

- “Goodbye, Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War” by William Manchester (2002)

- “The Great Wall at Sea: China’s Navy Enters the Twenty-First Century” by Bernard D. Cole (2001)

- “Imperial Grunts: The American Military on the Ground” by Robert D. Kaplan (2008)

- “Implementing Diversity: Best Practices for Making Diversity Work in Your Organization” by Marilyn Loden (1995)

- “The Innovator’s Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book That Will Change the Way You Do Business” by Clayton M. Christensen (2003)

- “Jefferson’s War: America’s First War on Terror, 1801-1805” by Joseph Wheelan (2004)

- “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini (2004)

- “The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy’s Finest Hour” by James D. Hornfischer (2005)

- “Leadership” by Rudolph W. Giuliani

- “Leadership: The Warrior’s Art,” edited by Christopher Kolenda with a foreword by General Barry R. McCaffrey, USA (Ret.) (2001)

- “Life in Mr. Lincoln’s Navy” by Dennis J. Ringle (1998)

- “Lincoln on Leadership” by Donald T. Phillips (1993)

- “Lone Survivor” by Marcus Luttrell (2007)

- “Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time” by Dava Sobel (2007)

- “Master and Commander” by Patrick O’Brian (1990)

- “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game” by Michael Lewis (2004)

- “Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda” by Sean Naylor

- “On the Origins of War: And the Preservation of Peace” by Donald Kagan (1996)

- “One Hundred Years of Sea Power: The U.S. Navy, 1890-1990” by George W. Baer (1996)

- “A Passage to India” by E.M. Forster

- “The Pursuit of Victory: The Life and Achievement of Horatio Nelson” by Roger Knight (2007)

- “Recognizing Islam: Religion and Society in the Modern Middle East” by Michael Gilsenan

- “Rethinking the Principles of War,” edited by Anthony D. McIvor (2007)

- “The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning” by Henry Mintzberg (1994)

- “A Sailor’s History of the U.S. Navy” by Thomas J. Cutler (2004)

- “The Sand Pebbles” by Richard McKenna (2000)

- “The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power” by Max Boot (2003)

- “Scenarios: The Art of Strategic Conversation” by Kees van der Heijden (2006)

- “The Second World War, Volume 1: The Gathering Storm” by Winston S. Churchill (1996)

- “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey (2004)

- “Shackleton’s Way: Leadership Lessons From the Great Antarctic Explorer” by Margot Morrell and Stephanie Capparell (2002)

- “The Sheriff: America’s Defense of the New World Order” by Colin S. Gray (2004)

- “Shield and Sword: The United States Navy in the Persian Gulf War” by Edward J. Marolda and Robert J. Schneller Jr. (2001)

- “Six Frigates” by Ian W. Toll (2003)

- “Starship Troopers” by Robert A. Heinlein (1997)

- “Thinking in Time: The Uses of History for Decision Makers” by Richard E. Neustadt and Ernest R. May (1998)

- “Time Management From the Inside Out: The Foolproof Plan for Taking Control of Your Schedule and Your Life” by Julie Morgenstern (2000)

- “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference” by Malcolm Gladwell (2002)

- “To the Shores of Tripoli: The Birth of the U.S. Navy and Marines” by A.B.C. Whipple

- “Two Souls Indivisible: The Friendship That Saved Two POWs in Vietnam” by James S. Hirsch (2005)

- “Victory at Yorktown: The Campaign That Won the American Revolution” by Richard M. Ketchum (2004)

- “White-Jacket: or The World in a Man-of-War” by Herman Melville

- “The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century” by Thomas L. Friedman (2007)

In the end, how many of these books have you had the chance to read? Which did you like or dislike? Which would you recommend and why? Let us know in the comments section below.