Episode · The Daily Stoic · 2021-10-29
Books mentioned on H.R. McMaster on the Power of Strategic Empathy
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Obstacle Is the Way
The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday is a popular book on stoic philosophy that reframes everyday trials and hardships as opportunities for personal growth and resilience.
Discussed“so so uh uh shake talk noon who's a friend of mine and we worked together on a number of initiatives in the middle east and beyond uh we he's he's an author himself he's very intellectually curious and he said hey i just i just read this great book called the obstacles the way and i and i'm going”
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Ego Is the Enemy
Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday is a philosophical examination of how unchecked ambition, arrogance, and self-absorption obstruct true success and fulfillment.
Discussed“and you know the and as well as the eagles the enemy and now the lives of the stoics you know so i'm um i'm a big fan”
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Lives of the Stoics
Lives of the Stoics by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman is a comprehensive biographical exploration of ancient philosophy, tracing the history of Stoicism from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius through the personal stories of its most notable practitioners.
Discussed“and you know the and as well as the eagles the enemy and now the lives of the stoics you know so i'm um i'm a big fan”
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Call Sign Chaos
Call Sign Chaos by James N.
Discussed“i was thinking about that quote from from your friend and colleague general mattis uh it's in it's in call sign chaos he says it's not just that you have to read he's like if you haven't read hundreds of books about your domain of of battle or or or industry or specialty”
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History of the Peloponnesian War
History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides is an ancient historical account chronicling the devastating conflict between Athens and Sparta during the fifth century BCE.
Discussed“i find this particularly true for like philosophy or if i'm trying to read some like greek play or like let's say someone you know hears that you know history of the peloponnesian war might help you understand the the the jostling between the united states and china”
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On the Origins of War
On the Origins of War by Donald Kagan is a comprehensive historical study analyzing the underlying causes and catalysts behind major global conflicts throughout antiquity and modern history.
Recommended“uh don kagan's one volume of that is brilliant or his essay on it in the book called on the origins of war and prospects for peace”
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Infantry Attacks
Discussed“now the rommel papers read that way as well very practical you know solutions or rommel's earlier book infantry attacks”
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The Future of War
Discussed“yeah i read um i read uh lawrence friedman's book and it's called the future of war”
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Strategy
Discussed“yeah i read um i read uh lawrence friedman's book and it's called the future of war i don't know if you read it but he wrote he wrote that great book strategy”
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A Sense Of The Enemy The High Stakes History Of Reading Your Rivals Mind
A Sense of the Enemy: The High Stakes History of Reading Your Rivals' Mind by Zachary Shore is a historical examination of how political and military leaders have attempted to understand the perspectives of their adversaries.
Recommended“so so but but uh but the historian named zachary shore wrote a great book called a sense of the enemy in which he develops this this idea of strategic empathy”
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The 48 Laws of Power
The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene and Joost Elffers is a provocative exploration of strategy, social dynamics, and historical power structures.
Discussed“so it's you know i think this is a key point in the 48 laws of power”
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First Principles
First Principles by Thomas E.
Discussed“yeah i had uh the historian tom rix on the podcast a couple months back and and uh his his book first principles”
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Deep Work
Deep Work by Cal Newport is a foundational guide that explores how to cultivate absolute concentration in a distracted world to achieve peak professional success.
Discussed“one of the other books that i connected with uh sheikh tanoon about was was cal newport's book deep work which he said he reads on a regular basis”
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Dying Every Day
Dying Every Day by James Romm is a historical biography examining the philosopher Seneca and his fraught relationship with the Roman emperor Nero.
Recommended“and and there's a fascinating book called dying every day about seneca and nero's court by james rahm who's a writer i love and and you know he's just talking about um you know was was seneca motivated by selfishness or selflessness”
Other mentions in this episode (4) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“I was wondering, are you comfortable telling the story of how you ended up hearing about 'The Obstacle Is the Way'?”
“yeah it's interesting when i was writing lives of the stokes i was looking at some of the early greek stokes and i was it was interesting their relationship with these sort of kings and princes that they were advising”
“and the the ego is the enemy ryan seneca says you know to study philosophy is to annex all the ages into your own”
“and i i had really this this benefit as i mentioned of writing dereliction of duty you know the book about how why vietnam became an american war”