DODReads

Helping you read the right things….

Author: Jessica

Military Book Reviews
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White Sun War: The Campaign for Taiwan

Ryan ensures the readers do not lose the human factors. Friction, uncertainty, fear, and exhaustion beguile the characters on the ground throughout the campaign. The taxes these characteristics impose on each of the military actors are ever present in the text. Perhaps more critically, Ryan pulls on his voluminous knowledge of military history to offer compelling notional instances by which the miscalculation of senior leaders can lead rational actors to make decisions that, in hindsight, are anything but rational.

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Military Book Reviews
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The Wingmen: The Unlikely, Unusual, Unbreakable Friendship Between John Glenn and Ted Williams

The Wingmen is a captivating story about the friendship between two iconic figures – astronaut John Glenn and baseball legend Ted Williams. The book sheds light on their unique camaraderie but falls short in delivering its impact. Lazarus delves into the lives of Glenn and Williams, providing readers with a compelling account of their friendship. He juxtaposes their different backgrounds and highlights the curious circumstances that brought them together.

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Military Book Reviews
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Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men

In Invisible Women, Perez weaves a powerful narrative that reveals how the gender data gap affects every part of a woman’s life. The gender data gaps, Perez argues, develop not from deliberate or malicious action, but from centuries of one way of thinking (and not thinking). Its impact is far more than simply silencing the interests of one group. The gap comes from historical tendencies to prefer men in society, from treating data about men as equally representative of women, and from not collecting data on women. As Perez bluntly states, “these silences, these gaps, they have consequences.”

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Military Book Reviews
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Tales from the Cold War

His memoir speaks of sage leadership advice from mentors and commanders, the tough and spartan living conditions he and his family often had to occupy, and the unique challenges that came with command in an overseas billet during the Cold War. Another interesting aspect of this book are the abundant stories about training while in Europe and the challenges faced by his fellow soldiers. Some of these challenges involved training areas littered with hidden remnants from past wars, making for dangerous conditions that compounded the nature of the threat they were training against.

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Military Book Reviews
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Show the Value of What You Do: Measuring and Achieving Success in Any Endeavor

The authors explain the importance of collecting and analyzing the right data based on a measure of success. There is a need for both hard and soft data. These measures only highlight what matters to success—converting intangibles and soft data to monetary impact. People must score their projects by using fully loaded, conservative, believable, money quantities only. The bottom line is the only thing that is convincing and universally understood. This fully loaded concept requires accounting for everything that goes in and everything that goes out. If one is going to spend time, money, blood, sweat, or tears, it is essential to count the cost, know what success means, and what the true result is. In the end, it is imperative to show the value of key contributors and decision makers.

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Military Book Reviews
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Our Best War Stories

We’ve all heard it: the blustering War Story that starts with “So there I was…” and invokes a mental eye-roll, an internal response that is partly “Here we go again” and mostly “I really wish I had topped off my beer.” The anthology Our Best War Stories is the opposite of that. It is a riveting collection of short stories and poetry written by brave people who have clearly grappled with the highs and lows of the human condition. 

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Military Book Reviews
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From CO to CEO: A Practical Guide for Transitioning from Military to Industry Leadership

From CO to CEO is a treasure trove of wisdom for those suffering from the “unknown unknowns” of the transition process or those who seek to clarify their knowledge from someone who has been there before. This book provides the unvarnished truths that will answer most questions and then help veterans ask better questions in light of their new knowledge. From CO to CEO should be assigned reading for all service members and especially those within two years of transitioning.

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Military Book Reviews
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Into Enemy Waters: A World War II Story of the Demolition Divers Who Became the Navy SEALs

Andrew Dubbins wrote Into Enemy Waters: A World War II Story of the Demolition Divers Who Became the Navy SEALs so one of last surviving members of the UDT, 95-year-old George Morgan, can tell his version of the heroic stories from WWII. Dubbins introduces Draper Kauffman, an officer who joined the navy through an unusual route, established the UDT training pipeline, and led the UDT community throughout WWII.

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Military Book Reviews
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Developing the Naval Mind

The authors’ overall theme is understanding how naval professionals think and how they should learn. More than that, the authors operationalize each of these essays for military educators. Each selection includes discussion questions crafted by the authors, equipping a seminar leader both with reading material and a path to guide a dialogue in seminar. Readers can use it as a template to develop syllabi tailored to the educational objectives of their own organizations

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Military Book Reviews
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From CO to CEO: A Practical Guide for Transitioning from Military to Industry Leadership

Capt. Toti addresses the million-dollar question for service members–when is the right time to leave the military and start a civilian career? Using relatable examples from his navy career, he methodically guides the reader through common mistakes, attributes needed to succeed, and the defense contractor landscape most veterans transition into. He relates how private industry functions, the potential opportunities for veterans, resumes, targeting jobs, interviewing, and tricky subjects like defining one’s compensation. Capt. Toti is candid as he comments on poor practices, not sugar-coating his words as other civilian self-help books might do.

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Military Book Reviews
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Dodgebomb: Outside the Wire in the Second Iraq War

The author’s detailed description of the Iraq landscape plus the care and attention he gives to the development of his characters are both prime points of this quick read. He does an excellent job of providing a familiar environment to those who have served while simultaneously bringing along the uninitiated reader. The reader will identify with 2LT Fitz as he navigates the early days of his army career in the most inhospitable of environments.

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