Air Force chief of staff releases 2011 reading list

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  • Air Force News Service
The Air Force chief of staff announced his latest professional reading list Jan. 21.

"Effectively operating within our increasingly dynamic, interconnected and complex world requires steadfast commitment to personal and professional growth," Gen. Norton Schwartz said in a letter to Airmen.

"Therefore, professional reading will continue to be vital as we maintain our initiative today and prepare for the future," General Schwartz said. "I am pleased to announce my 2011 reading list, which provides worthwhile options for all Airmen to further their professional education and augment their leadership skills."

This year's list contains 14 books divided into three categories: leadership, strategic context and military heritage. General Schwartz will highlight these books throughout the year, and for the first quarter recommends these three:

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, is part of the leadership category and offers an account of a dedicated individual striving to establish peace in Central Asia one school at a time.

Technology Horizons: A Vision for the Air Force Science and Technology, by Dr. Werner Dahm, is a selection from the strategic context category that highlights the need for Airmen to anticipate emerging science and technology advances that have the greatest military potential.

Finally, The All Americans, by Lars Anderson, is featured in the military heritage category and gives a unique insight into the lives of four football stars who, after playing each other in the 1941 Army-Navy football game just days before the attack on Pearl Harbor, were later united in fighting the Axis powers during World War II.

The other books in this year's reading list are:

Leadership
Partners in Command: George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower in War and Peace, by Mark Perry

The Lost Peace: Leadership in a Time of Horror and Hope, 1945-1953, by Robert Dallek

Secrets of Special Ops Leadership: Dare the Impossible; Achieve the Extraordinary, by William Allen Cohen

Strategic Context
Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power, by Robert Kaplan

Cyber War: The Next Threat to National Security and What to Do About It, by Richard Clarke and Robert Knake

The Return of History and the End of Dreams, by Robert Kagan

A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962, by Alistair Horne

Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia, by Ahmed Rashid

Military Heritage
Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds, by Robin Olds, Christina Olds and Ed Rasimus

Red Eagles: America's Secret MiGs, by Steve Davies

Cataclysm: General Hap Arnold and the Defeat of Japan, by Herman S. Wolk

Read General Schwartz's letter to Airmen. More information on the 2011 reading list can be found at http://www.af.mil/information/csafreading/index.asp .