NAVY SEAL RECOMMENDED READING LIST
LINK: http://www.sealswcc.com/navy-seals-motivational-reading.html
The following books provide insight into SEAL training, life as a SEAL operator and a view inside the minds of warriors. Each book was recommended by a member of the SEAL teams. These books are invaluable in helping you understand the regional and cultural sensitivities with which Navy SEALs are immersed.
Books appear in no particular order. They're listing represents a collection of books over time. As recommended to the Naval Special Warfare Recruiting Directorate for inclusion in the "Inspired Reading" list. No endorsement is implied.
The Making of Navy SEALs
- Warrior Elite by Dick Couch
- The Finishing School by Dick Couch
Warrior Mindset/Motivation
- Lone Survivor by Marcus Lutrell
- Sheriff of Ramadi by Dick Couch
- Brave Men-Dark Waters by Orr Kelly
- Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden
- Point Man by Chief James Watson and Kevin Dockery
- Spec Ops: Case Studies in Special Operations Warfare: Theory and Practice by William H. McRaven
Regional and Cultural Sensitivities
- Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
- Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
- The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror by Bernard Lewis
- Islam: A Concise Introduction by Huston Smith
- Understanding Arabs: A Guide for Modern Times by Margaret Nydell
Theory of War
- War of the Flea: The Classic Study of Guerrilla Warfare by Robert Taber
- Modern Irregular Warfare: In Defense Policy and as a Military Phenomenon by Von der Heydte
- Case Study in Insurgency and Revolutionary Warfare by Special Operations Research Office
- Guerrilla by Charles W. Thayer
- Undergrounds in Insurgent, Revolutionary and Resistance Warfare by Special Operations Research Office
- Human Factors Considerations of Undergrounds in Insurgencies by Special Operations Research Office
- Guerrilla Warfare by Ernesto Guevara
- Seven Pillars of Wisdom; a Triumph by T.E. Lawrence
- On Guerrilla Warfare by Mao Tse-Tung
- The Art of War by Sun Tzu
- Strategy by Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart
- On War by Carl von Clausewitz
- The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
- On Revolution by Hanna Arendt
- When Men Revolt and Why by James Chowning Davies
Guerrilla Warfare
- Guerrilla: Colonel von Lettow-Vorbeck and Germany's East African Empire by Edwin P. Hoyt
- We Remained: Three Years Behind the Enemy Lines in the Philippines by Russell Volkmann
- Secret Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines with the Elite Warriors of SOG by John Plaster
- The Jedburghs: The Secret History of the Allied Special Forces, France 1944 by Will Irwin
- War in the Shadows: The Guerrilla in History by Robert Asprey
Escape and Evasion
- Five years to Freedom by James N. Rowe
- Code-Name Bright Light: The Untold Story of U.S. POW Rescue Efforts During the Vietnam War by George J. Veith
- The Escape Factory: The Story of MIS-X by Lloyd R. Shoemaker
- The Escaping Club by A. J. Evans
- Saturday at M.I.9: A History of Underground Escape Lines in North-West Europe in 1940-5 by a Leading Organiser at M.I.9 by Airey Neave
- From Colditz in Code by J. M. Green
- The Wooden Horse by Eric Ernest Williams
Psychological
- Cease Resistance: It's Good for You; A History of U.S. Army Combat Psychological Operations by Stanley Sandler
- The Art and Science of Psychological Operations: Case Studies of Military Application. Volume One and Two by the American Institutes for Research
- Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes by Jacques Ellul
- You Can't Fight Tanks with Bayonets: Psychological Warfare Against the Japanese Army in the Southwest Pacific by Allison B. Gilmore
Special Operations Forces from Other Branches of Service
- U.S. Army Special Warfare: Its Origins: Psychological and Unconventional Warfare, 1941-1952 by Alfred H. Paddock Jr.
- From OSS to Green Beret: The Birth of Special Forces by Aaron Bank
- Operation White Star by Richard O. Sutton
- SOG: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam by John L. Plaster
- Tanks in the Wire: The First Use of Enemy Armor in Vietnam by David B. Stockwell
- Green Berets at War: U.S. Army Special Forces in Southeast Asia, 1956-1975 by Shelby L. Stanton
- Secret War against Hanoi: Kennedy's and Johnson's Use of Spies, Saboteurs, and Covert Warriors in North Vietnam by Richard H. Schultz
- Mobile Guerrilla Force: With the Special Forces in War Zone D by James C. Donahue
- Chosen Soldier by Dick Couch
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