CHARLESTON, W. Va. –
West Virginia's Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Bill Crane, and Senior Enlisted Leader Command Sgt. Maj. James Jones are avid readers who often share book titles among each other, their office, family members and friends.
This is the second year Crane has shared his reading list across the force, emphasizing that reading is part of both personal and professional development. It's essential for Soldiers and Airmen in the West Virginia National Guard to stay abreast of current and developing issues impacting the Guard, our military in general, and our Nation, says Crane.
Jones said that in their office wing at Joint Forces Headquarters, it's non unusual for a few of them to read the same book around the same time, discussing it during travel or a few minutes of down time here and there.
The senior leaders encourage all Guard Members to pack a book or two during drill weekends and Annual Training, or any time they can. While Jones prefers paperback, he listens to audiobooks during his long daily commutes and plane flights. He also visits the library and bookstores often with his kids, and likes to read what they're reading just for fun.
Connecting over a book - whether it's fiction or non-fiction, a technical manual, how-to book, or kids story, is a great way to strengthen relationships and spend time together.
Crane's reading list has been published on the WVNG's social media throughout 2024, but here's the comprehensive list in time for summer:
TAG's Reading List 2024
1. The Hundred-Year Marathon, Michael Pillsbury
2. The Accidental Superpower, Peter Zeihan
3. Call Sign Chaos, Jim Mattis, Bing West
4. Like War, P. W. Singer, Emerson T. Brooking
5. Switch, Chip Heath, Dan Heath
6. Radical Inclusion, Martin Dempsey, Ori Brafman
7. How to Have a Good Day, Caroline Webb
8. Boundaries, John Townsend, Henry Cloud
9. Meditations, Marcus Aurelius
10. Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell
11. Adaptation Under Fire, Lt. Gen. Barno, David, Nora Bensahel
12. Tiger Tracks-The Classic Panzer Memoire, Wolfgang Faust
13. Upstream, Dan Heath
14. Tribe, Sebastian Junger
15. The Gatekeepers, Chris Whipple
16. War Without Rules, Gen. Robert Spalding
17. The Kill Chain, Christian Brose
18. Sandworm, Andy Greenberg
19. The Coddling of the American Mind, Haidt and Lukianoff
20. Breaking History: A White House Memoir, Jared Kushner
21. The Coming Wave, Mustafa Suleyman