Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead by Jim Mattis (and Bing West) - 3.5 stars

[Charlie]

A recommendation from my Dad, who is a Vietnam vet (Marine). The title is a little deceiving in that about 75% of the book is a mix of recent history (post 9-11 wars in the Middle East) and what Mattis learned from them during his various tours of duty. At times though, the mix is heavier on the history (vs. the leadership learnings). This is my rationale for it fitting the tag.

Mattis is definitely a character. His career ascent seems impressive, although nothing makes a general like war, especially the longest one in US history. He is known for being blunt and opinionated and there is no shortage of stories in the book to support this reputation. Some of the tales seem pretty tall in my opinion. Also, Mattis definitely doesn't take any political sides in that he has the same amount of disdain for all the recent presidents/executive branches he's served in the last 20 years. There were four key points in time (Tora Bora, Fallujah, The Surge and eventual evacuation from Iraq) that he is very harsh on decisions made by the executive branch and let's it be known he was opposed to every one. Not sure how much of this is hindsight being 20:20. He does not go directly after President Trump but in the end of the book he outlines some key attributes of leadership (most notably how important allies are) and then says once he realized he would have to compromise these leadership principles, he resigned his post as Secretary of Defense.

Mattis is a BIG reader and his nickname is the War Monk. He has a list of books in the appendix and the book is peppered with various quotes that he uses to convey his eclectic and learned point of view. In terms of sharing his leadership lessons the book is just ok. Like I said, the lessons are intertwined within the biography/history and sometimes they get lost in the shuffle. He lasted 712 days in the Trump Administration and was one the last of the original cabinet members when he left. I think that's a testament to his love of country, sense of duty and familiarity/experience with thriving in a war zone. Semper Fi!

[Joanne]

I love listen to Mattis when he is with the talking heads! He is one on my wish list to have a dinner party with!