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Developing Your Reading Plan
by Jakob Hutter During a speech in 1957, Dwight Eisenhower made a paradoxical statement about preparation when he told an anecdote about the maps used during military training in Leavenworth. He stated, “plans are worthless, but planning is...
Pay Heed to the Enlisted: Reading Recommendations for Lieutenants
Summer is a season of transition for newly commissioned officers. The new lieutenants and ensigns attend their officer basic courses and arrive at their first units of assignment. They are empowered to lead, train, and fight alongside some of the...
How I Learned to Get the Most Out of Reading
By Joe Byerly This month, as I transition out of another decade, I’m taking the opportunity to reflect and write on those things I adopted in my thirties that have proved beneficial to me. In this post, I want to share some of the...
Seven Books Every Company Commander Should Read
by Dan Vigeant Leaders worth following are readers. This is not an original, or even new thought. Countless General Officers, business professionals, and thriving entrepreneurs laud the benefits of reading for personal and professional...
Six Simple Steps to Start Reading Again… and Maybe Not Quit this Time
by Robert M. Kinney and Tara L. Kinney Dr. Seuss said “the more that you read, the more things that you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you will go.” He believed that reading is fundamental to a child’s development and we...
Read Voraciously: General Miller’s Reading Recommendations
By Joe Byerly During my recent interview with General Scott Miller, he said, “If you are a serious practitioner in the military, you have to be a voracious reader. If you’re not well-read, it becomes readily apparent.” He went on to say that...
Read Eclectically: Stan McChrystal’s Book Recommendations
In a recent interview on the From the Green Notebook Podcast, the team asked retired General Stanley McChrystal for book recommendations. He began by sharing the book that was the most influential to his military career. Once an Eagle by Anton...
MG JP McGee Recommends Five Books All Leaders Should Read
In the third episode of our second season, From the Green Notebook sits down with the Director of the Army Talent Management Task Force, Major General JP McGee, to discuss the purpose, construct and future of the Commander Assessment Program, as...
General Votel Recommends Leaders Read these 5 Books
From the Green Notebook sat down with former CENTCOM Commander, General Joseph Votel (U.S. Army, Retired), recently to discuss his leadership perspective, as well as his experience leading a combatant command in the first episode of our...
Top 10 Most-Read Articles of 2020
In 2020, a small team of volunteers worked behind the scenes at From the Green Notebook to produce over 100 published articles read by almost half a million people. This team is a great example of how a few people with a purpose can have an...
August Cole, Science Fiction, and Whiskey: It’s a Thing
As February comes to a close, where are you at with the status of those New Year’s goals you made over a month ago? Are those resolutions nothing more than a distant memory? Whether it was a plan to exercise more, eat healthy, or finally quit a...
5 Lessons Books Taught Me in 2018
Since 2013, I’ve written an annual blog post highlighting my favorite books from the previous 12 months. This year I wanted to try something different. I wanted to share some of the lessons I learned from the list of 40+ books I read....
8 Must-Read Science Fiction Books
Within the last few years, we’ve witnessed the evolution of biohacking, the rise of a state-based social credit system, and a US election influenced by the use of artificial intelligence. Futurists might be able to follow the thread...
So You Want to Study Military Adaptation and Innovation?
Adaptation and innovation are particularly relevant to today’s Army given the challenges faced in recent wars and the uncertainty of future armed conflict. Our ability to meet the operational demands posed by a variety of enemies and their...
The 2018 Ultimate Summer Reading List
With summer vacations quickly approaching I reached out to a group of successful leaders, authors, journalists, and podcast hosts for book recommendations. I asked them to suggest a book and why they picked it. The books on this list range from...
The Right Read Can Make You a Better Leader
From ARMY Magazine, Vol. 68, No. 4, April 2018. Copyright © 2018 by the Association of the U.S. Army and reprinted by permission of ARMY Magazine. Reading for professional growth is an important practice for military leaders. However, there can be...
Three Books You Should Read Before Company Command
For most officers, company command ranks in the top ten of their professional highlights reel. It’s a rewarding, yet humbling position for those who experience it. Over the course of 12 to 36 months, command provides captains with the authorities...
Why Aren’t There More Books About Communication On Military Reading Lists?
By Megan Jantos Leadership is communication, and communication is leadership. Don’t believe me? Try influencing others by providing purpose, direction, and motivation without communication. On the flip side, people naturally follow those who...
Become an Innovation Insurgent!
This post originally appeared on Linkedin here. By: William Treseder We love learning at BMNT. There are always ways to improve, and books are a fantastic source of distilled wisdom that you can apply in real-world situations. Below is a...
The Army Field Grade Starter Kit
“The Major runs on coffee and hate…and I think he’s out of coffee.” -Some Poor Staff Captain at NTC Last year I completed S3/XO time and there were a couple of things I wish I would have had in my cargo pocket when I walked...
Getting the Cannons to Boston: Henry Knox
You’re reading an excerpt from Serial Box and the Associated Press’s new series, 1776: A World Turned Upside down Learn more about this project here. Between chatting up customers, Knox was also reading all he could lay his hands on about...
Bookish, Bold, and Jolly: Henry Knox
You’re reading an excerpt from Serial Box and the Associated Press’s new series, 1776: A World Turned Upside down Learn more about this project here. Paine provided the intellectual and emotional flint to spark colonists’ feelings into flames, Knox...
The Founding Failure: Part 2
You’re reading an excerpt from Serial Box and the Associated Press’s new series, 1776: A World Turned Upside down Learn more about this project here. After his most recent failure of employment, Paine was contemplating forming a “Salt-Peter...
The Founding Failure
You’re reading an excerpt from Serial Box and the Associated Press’s new series, 1776: A World Turned Upside down Learn more about this project here. The Founding Corset-Maker Tom Paine had been a dabbler at many things, a failure...
What Happens When Robots Gain Human Rights?
I recently read Annalee Newitz’s debut sci-fi novel, Autonomous. The page-turning book follows the story of Jack, an anti-patent scientist turned drug pirate, and the human/robot team hot on her trail after one of her latest drug hacks...
The Coming Age of Artificial Intelligence
I recently picked up a copy of Amir Husain’s The Sentient Machine: The Coming Age of Artificial Intelligence. The book reminds me of Bill Gates’ The Road Ahead, published in 1997 when VHS was king, everyone went to Blockbuster, and the...
Our Year of War: An Interview with Lieutenant General (RET.) Daniel Bolger
Last month I had the privilege of reading LTG (RET.) Bolger’s latest book Our Year of War: Two Brothers, Vietnam, and a Nation Divided and it quickly became a page turner. The book not only tells the story of Chuck and Tom Hagel and...
Introducing Legacy Magazine
While the content of From the Green Notebook is focused on the professional growth of service members, I love supporting those connected to the military who venture out to launch noteworthy initiatives. In this case, a group of spouses came...
When War Comes Home: An Interview
I heard about American War back in December, and finally got my hands on a copy a few days after it was available for purchase. After reading the first couple of pages, I was hooked. It wasn’t only the subject matter that pulled me in,...
The Truth in Fiction: An Interview
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with author Mike Bond and discuss his latest book Assassins as well as the importance of fiction to military professionals. If the interview piques your interest, I encourage you to check out his book...
August Cole, Science Fiction, and Whiskey: It’s a Thing
As February comes to a close, where are you at with the status of those New Year’s goals you made over a month ago? Are those resolutions nothing more than a distant memory? Whether it was a plan to exercise more, eat healthy, or finally quit a...
5 Lessons Books Taught Me in 2018
Since 2013, I’ve written an annual blog post highlighting my favorite books from the previous 12 months. This year I wanted to try something different. I wanted to share some of the lessons I learned from the list of 40+ books I read....
8 Must-Read Science Fiction Books
Within the last few years, we’ve witnessed the evolution of biohacking, the rise of a state-based social credit system, and a US election influenced by the use of artificial intelligence. Futurists might be able to follow the thread...
So You Want to Study Military Adaptation and Innovation?
Adaptation and innovation are particularly relevant to today’s Army given the challenges faced in recent wars and the uncertainty of future armed conflict. Our ability to meet the operational demands posed by a variety of enemies and their...
The 2018 Ultimate Summer Reading List
With summer vacations quickly approaching I reached out to a group of successful leaders, authors, journalists, and podcast hosts for book recommendations. I asked them to suggest a book and why they picked it. The books on this list range from...
The Right Read Can Make You a Better Leader
From ARMY Magazine, Vol. 68, No. 4, April 2018. Copyright © 2018 by the Association of the U.S. Army and reprinted by permission of ARMY Magazine. Reading for professional growth is an important practice for military leaders. However, there can be...
Three Books You Should Read Before Company Command
For most officers, company command ranks in the top ten of their professional highlights reel. It’s a rewarding, yet humbling position for those who experience it. Over the course of 12 to 36 months, command provides captains with the authorities...
Why Aren’t There More Books About Communication On Military Reading Lists?
By Megan Jantos Leadership is communication, and communication is leadership. Don’t believe me? Try influencing others by providing purpose, direction, and motivation without communication. On the flip side, people naturally follow those who...
Become an Innovation Insurgent!
This post originally appeared on Linkedin here. By: William Treseder We love learning at BMNT. There are always ways to improve, and books are a fantastic source of distilled wisdom that you can apply in real-world situations. Below is a...
The Army Field Grade Starter Kit
“The Major runs on coffee and hate…and I think he’s out of coffee.” -Some Poor Staff Captain at NTC Last year I completed S3/XO time and there were a couple of things I wish I would have had in my cargo pocket when I walked...
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