Books Are Integral One’s Progress as an Officer

Reading, once cultivated as a hobby can overtime become a habit which is difficult to break. For military officers, this habit should be a part of training discipline, because not only reading opens the mind to new ideas, it also makes the mind supple enough to absorb and challenge those ideas. Both are integral to learning and one’s progress as an officer. Books have always been my companion. While in service I was not able to read as much as I would have liked, today I make up for all those years. Read as much as you can is my one message to all young officers. Here’s my short list of must-read books.

Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha

Monsoon by Robert D. Kaplan is a must-read book for naval officers. It was written at a time when China and other country were rising in the Indo-Pacific littorals. The attention of the world was shifting from the continent to maritime domain. He has taken the journey of maritime world from one end to the other in