McRaven’s ‘Simple’ Bullfrog Advice

Review by Bill Doughty––

Seventy-three years ago, September 15, 1950, Gen. Douglas MacArthur landed at Inchon, Korea. In the following weeks, U.S. forces began to rout the communist North Korean army and push them almost to the Yalu River near China. Then, in November the Americans encountered well-armed Chinese interventionists supporting the North Koreans.

“Hill 205 seemed an unlikely place for an Army legend to be born,” writes Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy, Ret.) at the beginning of chapter 7 of “The Wisdom of the Bullfrog: Leadership Made Simple (But Not Easy). McRaven recounts the actions of Army Ranger First Lieutenant Ralph Puckett, who in 2021 received the Medal of Honor, presented by President Joe Biden for actions in Korea. At great personal risk, Puckett helped his Rangers locate and attack camouflaged Chinese machine gun nests and mortar teams that pinned them down.

“Puckett, who had positioned himself at the front of the advancing Rangers, knew there was only one thing he could do. With complete disregard for his own life, Ralph Puckett rose from his foxhole and dashed out into the open field, forcing the Chinese to take aim at the young lieutenant. As the machine gunners began to fire a the sprinting Puckett, the Rangers spotted their positions and engaged them. Puckett returned to his foxhole only to catch his breath, and then leaped out and ran into the open again. With each dash by Puckett into the exposed terrain, the Rangers were able to isolate and destroy more enemy machine gunners.

“Having suppressed the small arms fire, the Rangers proceeded to take Hill 205. History would show that over the next two days, the Rangers under the command of Ralph Puckett would fight off wave after wave of Chinese assaults that took the lives of ten Rangers and left thirty-one wounded, including Puckett.”

Puckett would again serve with honor in Vietnam, where he earned the Distinguished Service Cross and two Silver Stars and was personally recognized by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

McRaven uses the story of Puckett’s heroism at Hill 205 to illustrate the Ranger motto “Sua Sponte” (“Of Your Own Accord”).  “In other words, doing what needs to be done without being told to do so,” McRaven explains.

“There is often the misguided belief that soldiers only follow orders, but the strength of the American military is that the great soldiers, the truly great leaders, do what is right without being told. They do what is right to protect their men and women.”

Senior military leaders expect even young and relatively junior service members to take the initiative when necessary. Such integrated empowerment is a cornerstone of leadership, and can be effective not only in the military but also in business, sports, medicine, citizenship, and developing a healthy family.

A simple, powerful concept. Which is also a good descriptor for this small but excellent book.

Memorial statue of Basilone in New Jersey

“Sua Ponte” is just one of the ideas presented here by the author of “Make Your Bed,” “The Hero Code,” and “Sea Stories.”

McRaven opens his latest book with a discussion with the most important aspects of being a good leader: Honor and integrity, captured in legendary United States Marine hero Sgt. John Basilone’s motto: “Death before Dishonor.” Honor and integrity are the foundation of a trustworthy leader.

Another motto explored in “Bullfrog” is the British Special Air Service’s Qui Audet adipiscitur: "Who dares, wins."

An honorable leader who demonstrates commitment, hard work, and initiative, will earn the trust of their followers, according to McRaven. Stamina, a willingness to sacrifice, and confidence, along with humility and the ability to make hard choices, are also important leadership qualities. Commanders “must have perseverance and, above all, confidence in ourselves.”

All the above qualities and more were personified by Adm. Chester W. Nimitz in World War II, particularly in the Battle of Midway: The great admiral faced a difficult choice about whether to ambush the Imperial Japanese Navy at Midway. “The fate of the entire Navy, and perhaps our nation, rested on this decision,” McRaven writes. “But history would show that the Battle of Midway was the single most decisive naval battle of the war and turned the tide in the Pacific.

Other legendary leaders highlighted in this outstanding book include father of the Navy SEALs, Adm. Chuck LeMoyne; WWII British officer and father of the SAS, Col. David Stirling; U.S. Special Operations leader Gen. Stanley McChrystal; Air Force visionary Billy Michell; Vietnam War hero Col. Elliot “Bud” Sydney; and former president Barack Obama, who, like Nimitz and Midway, faced a difficult decision, with uncertain information, about launching the mission to capture Osama bin Laden.

“It was an enormous risk, but one the president knew he had to take. I admired his guts –– Who Dares Wins –– but more importantly,” McRaven reflects about Obama, “I admired his intellect for understanding the nature of the risks he was assuming.”

Good leaders attack problems aggressively. “Mistakes of action are far less consequential than mistakes of inaction,” he notes. Hope, luck, and desire are important, but they are not a strategy. “Be a risk-taker, but manage the risk through extensive planning, preparation, and proper execution.”

All Hands: McRaven speaks to service members at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, Thanksgiving Day, 2013. (Army Staff Sgt. Osvaldo Equite)

Each chapter features an insightful epigram quotation by well-known and sometimes surprising people: Abraham Lincoln, Marie Curie, Alvin Toffler, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, William Shakespeare, Tacitus, Booker T. Washington, Coach Mike Krzyzewski, and Taylor Swift.

Yes, Taylor Swift.

In fact, her epigram quote for chapter ten, titled “No Plan Survives First Contact with the Enemy,” is a found haiku:

Just because you made

a good plan doesn’t mean that’s

what’s gonna happen

McRaven discusses the importance of planning, inspecting, and always having a plan B.

When one of their helicopters became damaged in the bin Laden raid, the well-trained and ready SEALs adjusted, overcame, and accomplished their mission. Training mitigates risk and saves lives.

Importantly, McRaven notes that even the best leaders will have setbacks and seemingly insurmountable challenges. But how they deal with failures and obstacles makes all the difference.

This is a great book for any new leader, would-be commander, and anyone interested in the importance of character, competence, and ethical behavior –– integrity –– in military and national leadership.

There are many references in “Bullfrog” to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, Coronado, and San Clemente. But there is an unexpected thread throughout the book leading through Hawaii, which help illustrate key leadership principles.

“The Wisdom of the Bullfrog” concludes with a spotlight on Navy SEAL Lt. Michael Murphy’s favorite book, “Gates of Fire” by Steven Pressfield. "Gates of Fire" is also a favorite of Gen. James Mattis (USMC, Ret.) and is a recommendation by Adm. James Stavridis (USN, Ret.). The novel is or has been on the reading lists of many military leaders, including the Commandant of the Marine Corps (currently a vacant position).

Pressfield speaks to Marines and fellow veterans at Camp Pendleton in 2011. (Sgt. Skyler Tooker)

“Gates of Fire” imagines the 300 Spartans who fought valiantly in the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BCE. In the fictionalized account, Pressfield, a former Marine, channels what the last Spartan may have said about his king, King Leonidas, and what made his king such a great leader: “A king does not abide within his tent while his men bleed and die upon the field. A king does not dine while his men go hungry, nor sleep when they stand at watch upon the wall, A king does not command his men’s loyalty through fear nor purchase it with gold; he earns their love by the sweat of his own back and the pains he endures for their sake. That which comprises the harshest burden, a king lifts first and sets down last. A king does not require service of those he leads but provides it to them…”

While not always easy –– and often extremely hard to live by –– McRaven’s leadership principles are actually “simple” he says. He offers a list of sayings taken from his chapter headings and a QR code at the end of the book for readers to obtain a printable version of the “Wisdom of the Bullfrog.” (The term Bullfrog refers to the the longest serving Navy SEAL on active duty, which McRaven once was for nearly 40 years.)

Sometimes advanced age has its leadership advantages.

Mattis on Preventing Leadership Failure

Review by Bill Doughty

General Jim Mattis, former Secretary of Defense, says a commander who hasn't read hundreds of books is functionally illiterate and will be a failure in a position of leadership.

In his new memoir, "Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead" (Penguin Random House, 2019), he writes, “If you haven’t read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate, and you will be incompetent, because your personal experiences alone aren’t broad enough to sustain you,” Jim Mattis writes in his memoir. 

“Any commander who claims he is ‘too busy to read’ is going to fill body bags with his troops as he learns the hard way,” Mattis says.

On Sunday's Global Public Square with Fareed Zakaria, Mattis explains: "Life is too short and leadership roles are too short ... to learn everything you need to know based on your own experience."

As a leader of Marines and Sailors, Mattis says many of his best "new" ideas came from old books. Reading not only quenched his thirst for knowledge but also sharpened his critical thinking skills and strategic competency.

"Everyone has got to lead in their own way," Mattis told Zakaria. "But I would say you have to have a curiosity about life, you have to have a thirst for learning. You have to be committed to your own development if you're going to be a leader."

Written with Bing West, "Call Sign Chaos" is a fast-paced, no-nonsense jog through Mattis's career, with a long focus on his role as a warrior and leader of warriors in what he calls the War of Terrorism (not Terror).

“Reading sheds light on the dark path ahead,” Mattis says. “By traveling into the past, I enhance my grasp of the present.” The book is meant for leaders in the military as well as in business, sports, politics or other endeavors.

Among the best parts of the Mattis memoir are the appendices, including his resignation letter to President Trump, a memo justifying awards for his troops, and an insightful article in Business Insider about Mattis's book and author suggestions.

Here are Mattis's recommended books when he served as Secretary of Defense:

"With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa" by E. B. Sledge (1981)
"One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer" by Nathaniel Fick (2005)
"Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, Robert McNamara, The Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam" by H.R. McMaster (1997)
"Fighting Talk: Forty Maxims on War, Peace, and Strategy" by Colin Gray (2007)
"The Future of Strategy" by Colin Gray (2015)
"Military Innovation in the Interwar Period" by Williamson Murray (1996)
"Before the First Shot Is Fired: How America Can Win Or Lose Off The Battlefield" by Tony Zinni (2014) 
"Scipio Africanus: Greater Than Napoleon" by Basil H. Liddell Hart (1926)
"My American Journey" by Colin Powell (1995)
"The Forgotten Soldier" by Guy Sajer (1971)
"Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela (1994) Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield (1998)
"Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War" by Robert Gates (2014)
"The Lessons of History" by Will and Ariel Durant (1968)
"The Greatest Raid of All" by Lucas Phillips (1958)
"The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant" by Ulysses S. Grant (1885) March of Folly: "From Troy to Vietnam" by Barbara Tuchman (1984) The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman (1962)
"Alexander Hamilton" by Ron Chernow (2004)
"Rise and Fall of the Great Powers" by Paul Kennedy (1987)
"Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD)
"Diplomacy" by Henry Kissinger (1994)
"World Order" by Henry Kissinger (2014)
"Defeat into Victory" by Viscount Slim (1956)
"Just and Unjust Wars" by Michael Walzer (1977)
"War, Morality, and the Military Profession" by Malham Wakin (1979)
"For Country and Corps: The Life of General Oliver P. Smith" by Gail Shisler (2009) "Sherman: Soldier, Realist, American" by Basil H. Liddell Hart (1929)
"The Rules of the Game" by Andrew Gordon (1996)
"The Far Pavilions" by M. M. Kaye (1978)

Earlier in his career, as a leader of Marines, Mattis recommended or required a variety of books for his warriors. Among the recommendations are these titles:

"Gates of Fire: Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae" – Stephen Pressfield
"A Bell for Adano" – John Hersey
"One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer" – Nathaniel Fick
"Achilles in Vietnam" – Jonathan Shay
"The Crusades Through Arab Eyes" – Amin Maalouf 
"The Village" – Bing West
"The Utility of Force" – General Rupert Smith
"The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror" – Bernard Lewis
"Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia" – Ahmed Rashid
"Taliban" – Ahmed Rashid
"Imperial Grunts" – Robert Kaplan
"What Went Wrong?: The Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East" – Bernard Lewis
"From Beirut to Jerusalem" – Thomas Friedman
"Bear Went Over the Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics in Afghanistan" – Lester Grau
"The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War" – Ali Ahmad Jalali and Lester Grau
"The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power" – Max Boot
"Soldiers of God: With Islamic Warriors in Afghanistan and Pakistan" – Robert Kaplan
"Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia" – Ahmed Rashid
"The Punishment of Virtue" – Sarah Chayes
"Afghan Guerrilla Warfare" – Ali Ahmad Jalali
"What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam" – John Esposito
"The Battle for God" – Karen Armstrong
"Islamism and its Enemies in the Horn of Africa" – Alex De Waal
"No God but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam" – Reza Aslan
"The Idea of Pakistan" – Stephen Cohen

This Marines' Marine also reads poetry. “Other Men’s Flowers,” an anthology by Lord Wavell, is one of his personal favorites.



Mattis on 9/11

At last year's 9/11 commemoration ceremony at the Pentagon, then-SecDef Mattis said, "We commit ourselves to remembering and honoring the lives that might have been. They endowed us forever with an enduring sense of purpose," he said, and "in their passing they empowered us."

On Sunday's Face the Nation, Margaret Brennan asked Mattis whether the Taliban can be trusted "to make a clean break with terrorists and honor a diplomatic deal."

Mattis responded, "Well, you're going to the heart of the issue right there: can they be trusted? You remember when we reduced nuclear weapons with Russia we talked about 'trust, but verify.' In this case with this group, I think you want to verify then trust. We've asked them – demanded – that they break with Al-Qaeda since the Bush administration; they've refused to do so," Mattis said. 

"They murdered three thousand innocent people. Citizens of 91 countries on 9/11. We should never forget that."

Stavridis’s Novel Approach to Summer

(With permission, Navy Reads offers this repost of a list of 20  titles suggested by former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, Adm. (ret.) James Stavridis.  The list of novels was published in May, 2012 but the titles are timeless. -- Bill Doughty)

by Adm. (ret.) James Stavridis

We learn so much from reading. In a sense, every novel we pick up and read allows us to live another life entirely.

As we head into the summer, I went back to some of the great reads of the last century in fiction.  Some are famous and well known to generations of high school and college students -- but might deserve a re-read. Others are less well known to broad audiences.

I'm interested in hearing from others with recommendations -- and here are my 20 novels for summer reading:

"Flashman" by George MacDonald Fraser. A rollicking (and secretly flawed) soldier from Victorian England finds himself in the middle of a disastrous retreat from Kabul in 1847.

"The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway. A timeless study of the lost American post-WWI generation in Europe in the 1920s.

"The Great Gatsby," by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The American dream spun out as tragedy in the roaring 20s.

"Gates of Fire," by Stephen Pressfield. Lessons learned from the Greek's heroic stand against the Persians at Themopylae.

"Dune," by Frank Herbert. An imagined world of jihad, drugs, court intrigue, and love set on a mythical dry planet.

"Never Let Me Go," by Kazuo Ishiguro. An atmospheric tale of the near-future, in which the protagonists struggle to learn why they exist. To say more would spoil the story.

"The Last Picture Show," by Larry McMurtry. Coming of age in a small west Texas town, by one of the best and most prolific writers of the American West.

Cormac McCarthy speaks with Oprah Winfrey.

"As I Lay Dying," by William Faulkner. Gothic southern journey, by the best chronicler of the American south.

"All the Pretty Horses," by Cormac McCarthy. Two young men and the adventure they discover across the Mexican border, by one of the best pure writers in American literature.

"Master and Commander," by Patrick O'Brian. First volume of 20 in an incredible series about a 19th century British naval Captain and his embarked surgeon.

"The White Tiger," by Aravind Adiga. Modern India depicted in all its corruption, energy, and beauty.

Ian Fleming, creator of 007.

"Casino Royale," by Ian Fleming. First and best of the James Bond books.

"Bonfire of the Vanities," by Tom Wolfe. The mega-wealth of the New York city blue bloods, before it all comes crashing down.

"Sophie's Choice," by William Styron. Tragic and moving, the tale of a holocaust survivor and her broken life.

"Atonement," by Ian McEwan. A British family confronts the nightmare of the first World War, and their internal drama unfolds alongside global tragedy.

"I Claudius," by Robert Graves.  Augustus and his times, seen through the eyes of the often under-estimated and eventual emperor Claudius.

Stephen King stands for imagination.

"The Stand" by Stephen King. A dystopic future, and among the best works of one of the most prolific writers of our time.

"The Catcher in the Rye," by J.D. Salinger. Re-read it and discover a completely different and vastly better book than you will remember from 10th grade.

"Wolf Hall," by Hilary Mantel. The story of Sir Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell brilliant re-imagined with a different hero altogether.

"Heart of Darkness," by Joseph Conrad. A long, dark, and tragic journey up a river in Africa; but really about so much more.

Good reading -- and let me hear from you!

Confidence, Commitment, Character

Review by Bill Doughty

On Sept. 11, 2001 Michael P. Murphy was an ensign in Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training.

Michael Murphy, a graduate of Penn State University, who grew up in Patchogue, Long Island, New York, internalized and personalized what happened on 9/11, according to colleagues, mentors and writer Gary Williams, author of SEAL of Honor: Operation Red Wings and the Life of Michael P. Murphy, USN.

Murphy led a SEAL team into Afghanistan in 2005 where he faced a profound ethical dilemma after capturing some civilian non-combatants.  His dilemma and moral decision is examined in detail in another book about Operation Red Wings, Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell.

The team then endured a prolonged firefight against a larger Taliban force.  At the end of the terrifying and deadly fight, Murphy faced a second, more personal moral choice.  At great personal risk, he put himself directly in the path of enemy fire in order to call in help for his team.

In SEAL of Honor Williams introduces us to Murphy’s family, shows in detail his training regimen as a Navy SEAL, describes the mission Murphy led in Afghanistan during Operation Red Wings, and describes the honors paid to Murphy and his family after he was killed.  SEAL of Honor  preserves history and offers a well-documented biography of an American hero.  

Murphy’s bond with first responders from his home state is legendary.  He had his unit wear the bright orange patch of FDNY Engine Co. 54, Ladder Co. 43 -- “El Barrio’s Bravest” -- on their uniforms as a team symbol and constant reminder of 9/11 and why the SEALs were in Afghanistan, according to Williams.

Marcus Luttrell refers to the patch several times in Lone Survivor.

Luttrell’s book is understandably an autobiographical account.  Before describing Operation Red Wings, Lone Survivor explores Luttrell’s upbringing in Texas, his SEAL training in San Diego and a mission in Iraq desperately searching in vain for weapons of mass destruction: “chasing shadows out there in that burning hot, sandy wilderness.”

Luttrell’s telling of the firefight with the Taliban in Operation Red Wings is gripping and graphic, but at the end of Luttrell’s book the reader is left with a hunger to know more about the hero of the tale, leading protagonist Michael P. Murphy.

Spartan warrior culture depicted in the movie 300.

Seal of Honor shows us how Murphy’s qualifications as a leader developed starting in early childhood.  As a toddler, Michael’s favorite book was Wally Piper’s The Little Engine that Could.  He was a voracious reader at Canaan Elementary School.  

According to Williams, Murphy’s favorite book was Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield, a historical fiction novel about the 480 B.C. Battle of Thermopylae, in which 300 brave Spartans protected their homeland and democracy from an invading Persian Army.

Greek warrior culture is part of the SEAL tradition.

The never-give-up attitude, willingness to sacrifice for a cause and strong personal ethos all contribute to what makes a Navy SEAL, provided the individual can tough it through BUD/S training, described in detail by Williams.

Despite the brutal training, Michael soon realized that almost anyone could meet the physical requirements of the SEALs, but the unending challenge from day one would be the mental toughness, that never-ending inner drive that pushes you forward when every nerve and muscle fiber in your body tells you to stop -- to quit.  That warrior mind-set -- the mental toughness -- is what separates a Navy SEAL...

SEAL of Honor includes inspiring SEAL Creed excerpts or, in some cases, complete remarks from SEAL leaders like Adm. Eric T. Olson, Chief Warrant Officer Mike Loo and Commodore Pete Van Hooser.  All focus on leadership expectations and maintaining high standards.

Williams describes the tragic rescue attempt in which Lt. Cmdr. Erik S. Kristensen and 15 other would-be rescuers were killed when their MH-47E Chinook helo, call sign Turbine 33, was shot down by the Taliban.

Both Lone Survivor and SEAL of Honor showcase the importance of the concept: “no one left behind.” 

Near the end of SEAL of Honor, Williams lists each of the warriors who died trying to rescue Murphy and his team.

Lt. Michael P. Murphy.  U.S. Navy photo.

He describes the many tributes to Lt. Michael P. Murphy, including the awarding of the Medal of Honor by President George W. Bush.  One of the most significant tributes, especially as far as Sailors are concerned, is the naming of an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer for him, dedicated May 7, 2008.  

During his remarks, Secretary Donald C. Winter predicted, “Every Sailor who crosses the bow, every Sailor who hears the officer of the deck announce the arrival of the commanding officer, and every Sailor who enters a foreign land representing our great nation will do so as an honored member of the USS Michael Murphy,” writes Williams.

Osama bin Laden haunts both books, written prior to President Barack Obama’s authorization to kill or capture the terrorist leader of al-Qaida, the group responsible for the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.  After a Muslim ceremony, bin Laden was buried at sea from USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) just days before the USS Michael Murphy christening.

USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) was christened at Bath Iron Works, Maine on May 7, 2011 (after publication of Williams’s book), on what would have been Murphy’s 35th birthday.

“It is my sincere belief that this ship will build on the momentum gained by our special operations forces in the fight against extremism and sail the seas in a world made more peaceful by sustained American vigilance, power and dignity,” said Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead. “This ship will carry Michael’s legacy and values to Sailors several decades from now and to a new generation of Americans...”

C2 It: Mattis's Recommendation – Grant

Review by Bill Doughty

Mattis addresses the Naval War College

Secretary of Defense James Mattis, a former U.S. Marine Corps General, is known as a reader, leader and critical thinker – the so-called warrior monk.

Among the dozens of books he recommends as an avid reader, as reported in the Washington Post, is "Grant Takes Command: 1863-1865" (Little Brown and Company, 1968, 1969, and Castle Books, 2000).

Mattis says the book shows the importance of commanders' relationships, even more important than command relationships.

General Ulysses S. Grant, who would go on to become the 18th president, achieved command and control in a fractious environment in what, to date, has been the most fractious time in our nation's history: the Civil War fought to maintain the Union and end slavery in the United States.

General Ulysses S. Grant

On one hand, Grant was challenged with difficult generals such as Banks, Butler, Rosecrans and Thomas. Some of his subordinates were outrageously insubordinate or incompetent. Some went behind his back to members of Congress to complain or spread rumors about their adjutant general.

At the War Department, precursor of the Department of Defense, Grant found "... a crippling knot of jealousy, suspicion and self-seeking ... and furious back biting."

On the other hand, Grand had strong bonds with capable Generals like Sherman, Sheridan and Schofield (among many others) and with Navy Admiral David Dixon Porter, "whom Grant held in high regard." Most of all he had a good relationship with President Lincoln.

Lincoln depicted listening to Generals Sherman and Grant and Adm. Porter.

Catton, a Pulitzer Prize winning author and historian, shows that "Grant placed a high value on harmony ... and Lincoln placed a high value on Grant."

U.S. Grant, no grandstander or faker, was focused on substance over celebrity or appearance. He personified toughness. In the field, "The man seemed wholly unmilitary, not to say slouchy, and he went stumping about headquarters in an unbuttoned coat an a battered hat, head down, hands in pockets ... worn down by hard service," Catton writes. "Grant was not interested in parades."

Yet, his mind was sharp and focused, as evidenced by his writing and decisions in support of President Lincoln, including his commitment to bring harmony not only in the field but also to the nation. And "Grant was inclined to be optimistic" as he fought for a lasting peace.

Federal volunteers from Ohio form an honor guard.

Grant wrote, "The North and South could never live at peace with each other except as one nation, and that without slavery." He came to support African American Soldiers and integration of his Army, and he demanded equal treatment for prisoners of war, black or white.

Interestingly, "Grant had never been an antislavery man," Catton writes, "but he had said long ago the war for reunion must destroy slavery." The two simple but sublime points demanded by Grant and Lincoln to the South: "that the Union should be preserved" and "that slavery should be abolished."

Grant at City Point, Virginia in 1864.

To his boyhood friend and naval officer Dan Ammen, Grant wrote that any peace with the South must be unconditional: "A 'peace at any price' would be fearful to contemplate. It would be the beginning of the war. The demands of the South would know no limits. They would demand indemnity for expenses incurred in carrying on the war. They would demand the turn of all their slaves set free in consequence of war. They would demand a treaty looking to the rendition of all fugitive slaves escaping into the Northern states, and they would keep on demanding until it would be better dead than to submit longer."

Catton shows how Grant and his generals fought at places like Chattanooga, Spottsylvania/Cold Harbor and Fort Fisher, where the Navy and Army coordinated in amphibious warfare. His writing occasionally becomes almost McCullough-esque when describing Civil War battlefields. For example, at Cold Harbor, which, in the summer of 1864, was neither cold nor a harbor for warfighters:

"The Cold Harbor plain looked empty, and the fact that everybody knew that it ws not empty made it sinister, like the blank face of a dreadful haunted house. The ground was broken here and there by swamps and little ravines, in front of the Federal lines it rose after a few hundred yards to a low chain of flat hills, and all along this higher ground there was a scar on the earth – a trench of freshly turned dirt, zig-zagging in and out, disappearing in thin mist to right and left. It was marked by regimental flags, limp in the windless wet morning, and there did not seem to be anybody in it. Nobody was in the least deceived; and yet, except for the Rebel skirmishers, who were posted far out in front, the advancing Federals could see hardly any of their enemies. They could not see many friends, either, because there were gaps between the army corps, so that each division would have to fight its own battle. No Federal soldier could see more than a fragment of the field."

Battle of Spottsylvania

We see and feel the tension of media coverage during war in how General Meade punished a reporter (with the unfortunate name Crapsey) who misreported with what today are called "fake facts" about leadership in the Cold Harbor battle. Meade had him tied up, set backward on a mule and paraded around the camp wearing a big placard proclaiming him a libeler. In another case, Grant himself had to intercede when General Burnside wanted to shoot another reporter, named Swinton. Grant saved him, and Swinton got a one-way ticket back to Washington. "But (thereafter) neither Meade nor Burnside ever got any favors from the press."

Catton reveals how Grant and Lincoln kept an unswerving focus not on petty concerns but on the bigger picture: unconditional peace and a united nation with no slavery.

When the Confederacy's Gen. Robert E. Lee reached out to discuss ending the fighting, but with conditions, Grant and Lincoln remained resolute and tough. And when peace did come, Grant ensured there was no "poison" of reprisal against Lee and the South.

General Douglas MacArthur and President Harry Truman would take a similar approach with Imperial Japan 80 years, retaining the emperor as figurehead while helping Japan establish a constitutional democracy that embraced human rights and shifting power to the people.

General Mattis visited both Korea and Japan earlier this month to reaffirm U.S. support to both countries.

This book ends with the end of the Civil War and tragic assassination of President Lincoln, setting the stage for General Grant as a "stranger in a strange land," poised to find the next stage in duty to country.

Earlier this month the Associated Press reported that historian Ron Chernow is writing a "painstakingly researched" biography on Grant, due for publication in October 2017. Chernow is the author of "Hamilton," the book that inspired Lin-Manuel Miranda's historical and now historic broadway smash of the same name. Chernow's "Grant" is expected to reevaluate the life of the general and president who has been largely misunderstood and under-appreciated.

T.E. Lawrence of Arabia

Other recommended books by Mattis include T. E. Lawrence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom," Stephen Pressfield's "Gates of Fire: Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae," John Hersey's "A Bell for Adano," Bing West's "The Village," Karen Armstrong's "The Battle for God," Reza Aslan's "No God but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam," Bernard Lewis's "The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror," and Tom Clancy's "Battle Ready."

Mattis's reading lists include several titles by authors familiar to readers of the Navy Reads blog: Robert Kaplan, Thomas Friedman, Bernard Lewis and Peter Bergen.