I get it. A lot of people struggle with having the attention span to read through an entire book. I do to. But reading is a critical skill. It’s where you’ll gain knowledge about history and about life’s challenges. It’s where mentors and role models divulge their secrets to success, leadership, money management, and an endless array of technical topics. Think of it as a gift of knowledge that someone laid out across 1,000 pages, and it’s for you.
Readers are Leaders
About Face: Odyssey of an American Warrior
Col. David H. Hackworth delivers a visceral and unflinching memoir of his decades-long military career, spanning the waning years of WWII and the battlefields of Korea to the jungles of Vietnam. Hackworth’s account is a powerful blend of patriotism, searing critique of high command, and raw honesty. He vividly portrays his rise from a young enlistee to a decorated, field-commissioned officer, only to become a vocal critic of the Pentagon’s mismanagement of the Vietnam War. Hackworth’s direct prose and sharp insights into leadership and the human cost of war make this memoir a must-read, offering a timeless lesson in integrity and the moral responsibility of command.
“I began to think about all the generals’ proclamation concerning this war: that we’d be home before Christmas, that the Chinese would not intervene, that we’d hold here or hold there. All of it was bullshit, and I started to wonder how they could possibly make so many dumb statements when each, invariably, fell apart when put to the test. Then I thought, Well, maybe they just don’t know—we never saw a general on the front. We seldom saw a colonel, a lieutenant colonel, or a major either. And at squad level, we only on the rarest occasion saw a captain. So how could the brass know how defeated its army was if they weren’t there to see an exhausted guy lie down on the road and just give up? How could they know how cold and ill equipped we were if they weren’t there to see blue, gloveless hands stick to the frozen metal of weapons? How could they know how steep and rugged the terrain was if they never climbed a hill?” - David Hackworth