Books Recommended by Jocko Willink
Jocko Willink is a decorated retired United States Navy SEAL, co-founder of Echelon Front, author and podcaster.
A legend in the special operations world, Jocko has spent 20 years in the U.S. Navy SEAL Teams, rising through the ranks to become a SEAL officer. He was awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star for his service in the Iraq War.
In 2010, Jocko retired from the Navy and launched Echelon Front firm together with Leif Babin, a fellow former SEAL. It’s a consulting firm where he teaches the leadership principles he learned on the battlefield to help others lead and win.
Willink is the author of the books Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win – written together with Leif Babin, and Discipline Equals Freedom: Field Manual. He also keeps a Jocko Willink book list on his website and we recommend some of them below.
Willink also hosts the Jocko podcast together with his friend and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, Echo Charles.
Also, here are two collections of books curated by the best entrepreneurs in the world here:
Books written or recommended by Jocko Willink:
Books by Jocko Willink
7 books recommended by Jocko Willink
Blood Meridian
The other book that I've read multiple times is Blood Meridian [by Cormac McCarthy].
About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior
At some point about halfway through my 20-year career in the SEAL Teams, I read About Face by Colonel David H. Hackworth. I haven’t stopped reading it since. Hackworth came up through the ranks and served as an infantry officer in the Korean and Vietnam… Read the full quote
At some point about halfway through my 20-year career in the SEAL Teams, I read About Face by Colonel David H. Hackworth. I haven’t stopped reading it since. Hackworth came up through the ranks and served as an infantry officer in the Korean and Vietnam wars. He was revered by his men and respected by all who worked with him. While the stories of combat are incredible and there is so much to be learned about battlefield tactics in the book, the real lessons for me are about leadership. I adapted many of his leadership principles over the years and still continue to learn from his experiences. Thanks for everything, Colonel Hackworth.
Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters
by Dick Winters
Beyond Band of Brothers by Dick Winters [...] Again, it’s not always clear that oh, here’s the leadership principle; here’s what you should be doing. No, it’s not always clear like that. But when you understand what people are going through emotionally and you start… Read the full quote
Beyond Band of Brothers by Dick Winters [...] Again, it’s not always clear that oh, here’s the leadership principle; here’s what you should be doing. No, it’s not always clear like that. But when you understand what people are going through emotionally and you start to get a glimpse at human nature and how people react in certain situations and how their egos flare up, that’s what makes these books good. Because it gives you a frame of reference.
I Remember the Last War
by Bob Hoffman
I Remember the Last War by a guy named Bob Hoffman [...] Again, it’s not always clear that oh, here’s the leadership principle; here’s what you should be doing. No, it’s not always clear like that. But when you understand what people are going through… Read the full quote
I Remember the Last War by a guy named Bob Hoffman [...] Again, it’s not always clear that oh, here’s the leadership principle; here’s what you should be doing. No, it’s not always clear like that. But when you understand what people are going through emotionally and you start to get a glimpse at human nature and how people react in certain situations and how their egos flare up, that’s what makes these books good. Because it gives you a frame of reference.
Steel My Soldiers’ Hearts: The Hopeless to Hardcore Transformation of U.S. Army, 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry, Vietnam
Another book by Hackworth called Steal My Soldier’s Heart [...] Again, it’s not always clear that oh, here’s the leadership principle; here’s what you should be doing. No, it’s not always clear like that. But when you understand what people are going through emotionally and… Read the full quote
Another book by Hackworth called Steal My Soldier’s Heart [...] Again, it’s not always clear that oh, here’s the leadership principle; here’s what you should be doing. No, it’s not always clear like that. But when you understand what people are going through emotionally and you start to get a glimpse at human nature and how people react in certain situations and how their egos flare up, that’s what makes these books good. Because it gives you a frame of reference.
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
by Tom Wolfe
I needed a little bit of a mental rest and I was just embroiled, everything was war all day long, and eventually I needed a mental break from that. And a random book that happened to be in this location I was at was The… Read the full quote
I needed a little bit of a mental rest and I was just embroiled, everything was war all day long, and eventually I needed a mental break from that. And a random book that happened to be in this location I was at was The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe. Which is about the 60' and it's about hippies and it's abot psychedelics drugs and it was a good mental break because it was obviously the complete opposite of what I was experiencing at the time. And it kind of got me out of it.
The Killing Zone
Another good Vietnam one, The Killing Zone by Frederick Downs [...] Again, it’s not always clear that oh, here’s the leadership principle; here’s what you should be doing. No, it’s not always clear like that. But when you understand what people are going through emotionally… Read the full quote
Another good Vietnam one, The Killing Zone by Frederick Downs [...] Again, it’s not always clear that oh, here’s the leadership principle; here’s what you should be doing. No, it’s not always clear like that. But when you understand what people are going through emotionally and you start to get a glimpse at human nature and how people react in certain situations and how their egos flare up, that’s what makes these books good. Because it gives you a frame of reference.