
The Admiral's Bookshelf
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Narrated by:
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Basil Sands
About this listen
In The Admiral's Bookshelf, Adm. James Stavridis shares the books that facilitated his success. The Admiral's Bookshelf links twenty-five essential life lessons and leadership principles to the books that best illustrate them. Each chapter covers a single work of literature and showcases Stavridis' deft analysis of its significance and impact. The result is a rewarding and compelling volume that shows how anyone can use expansive reading to develop essential skills and values for successful leadership.
Stavridis' eclectic collection covers both fiction and nonfiction, ranging from explicitly instructive works to philosophy, history, biography, and memoir. The wisdom he gleans from these books and their parallels to his own life is often surprising and deeply resonant.
The life of Admiral Stavridis, as he reveals it to audiences book by book, chapter by chapter, and lesson by lesson, makes a compelling case for the importance of reading to acquire practical life skills and to enrich one's character. Stavridis offers sound advice on what and how to read, how to build an extensive personal library, and how to become wiser, savvier, and more resilient in positions of responsibility. Anyone seeking to become a better leader—or a better reader—will find The Admiral's Bookshelf an invaluable guide.
©2025 James G. Stavridis (P)2025 Tantor MediaPeople who viewed this also viewed...
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For the last several years Adm. James Stavridis and his co-author, R. Manning Ancell, have surveyed over 200 active and retired four-star military officers about their reading habits and favorite books, asking each for a list of titles that strongly influenced their leadership skills and provided them with special insights that helped propel them to success in spite of the many demanding challenges they faced. The Leader's Bookshelf synthesizes their responses to identify the top 50 books that can help virtually anyone become a better leader.
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- By Joe Dokes on 04-06-19
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The Sailor’s Bookshelf
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Admiral Stavridis, a leader in military, international affairs, and national security circles, shares his love of the sea and some of the sources of that affection. The Sailor's Bookshelf offers synopses of fifty books that illustrate the history, importance, lore, and lifestyle of the oceans and of those who "go down to the sea in ships." Divided into four main categories, Admiral Stavridis's choices will appeal to "old salts" and to those who have never known the sights of the ever-changing seascape, nor breathed the tonic of an ocean breeze.
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Sail the world with Admiral Stavridis!
- By Mike on 05-21-23
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Goodbye, Darkness
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
This memoir offers an unrivaled firsthand account of World War II in the Pacific - what it looked like, sounded like, smelled like, and most of all, what it felt like to one who underwent all but the ultimate of its experiences.
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The best war memoir ever
- By Doug on 05-31-07
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Sea Power
- The History and Geopolitics of the World's Oceans
- By: Admiral James Stavridis USN - Ret.
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- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
From the time of the Greeks and the Persians clashing in the Mediterranean, sea power has determined world power. To an extent that is often underappreciated, it still does. No one understands this better than Admiral Jim Stavridis. In Sea Power, Admiral Stavridis takes us with him on a tour of the world's oceans from the admiral's chair, showing us how the geography of the oceans has shaped the destinies of nations and how naval power has in a real sense made the world we live in today and will shape the world we live in tomorrow.
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Highly Recommend. Brilliant, engaging & thoughtful
- By Francis Claro on 06-22-17
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Sailing True North
- Ten Admirals and the Voyage of Character
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In Sailing True North, Admiral Stavridis offers lessons of leadership and character from the lives and careers of history's most significant naval commanders. He also brings a lifetime of reflection to bear on the subjects of his study—naval history, the vocation of the admiral, and global geopolitics. Above all, this is a book that will help you navigate your own life's voyage: the voyage of leadership of course, but more important, the voyage of character. Sailing True North helps us find the right course to chart.
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Did not enjoy
- By AgJeff on 01-20-20
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The Restless Wave
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Scott Bradley James arrives in Annapolis, Maryland, as a plebe in the class of 1941 without a terribly good idea why he wants to be a naval officer, other than that his father was a sailor, and he wants to see the world, whatever that means. Scott and his roommate become fast friends, and, after surviving scrapes of their own making, the two fetch up at Pearl Harbor. War is brewing, and their class has graduated early. They have been sent to battle stations.
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A fine story, well told by this talented officer!
- By N. Carey on 01-25-25
-
The Leader's Bookshelf
- By: R. Manning Ancell, ADM. James Stavridis USN - Ret.
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For the last several years Adm. James Stavridis and his co-author, R. Manning Ancell, have surveyed over 200 active and retired four-star military officers about their reading habits and favorite books, asking each for a list of titles that strongly influenced their leadership skills and provided them with special insights that helped propel them to success in spite of the many demanding challenges they faced. The Leader's Bookshelf synthesizes their responses to identify the top 50 books that can help virtually anyone become a better leader.
-
-
Mostly about warfighting
- By Joe Dokes on 04-06-19
By: R. Manning Ancell, and others
-
The Sailor’s Bookshelf
- Fifty Books to Know the Sea
- By: Adm. James Stavridis USN (Ret.)
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Admiral Stavridis, a leader in military, international affairs, and national security circles, shares his love of the sea and some of the sources of that affection. The Sailor's Bookshelf offers synopses of fifty books that illustrate the history, importance, lore, and lifestyle of the oceans and of those who "go down to the sea in ships." Divided into four main categories, Admiral Stavridis's choices will appeal to "old salts" and to those who have never known the sights of the ever-changing seascape, nor breathed the tonic of an ocean breeze.
-
-
Sail the world with Admiral Stavridis!
- By Mike on 05-21-23
-
Goodbye, Darkness
- A Memoir of the Pacific War
- By: William Manchester
- Narrated by: Barrett Whitener
- Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This memoir offers an unrivaled firsthand account of World War II in the Pacific - what it looked like, sounded like, smelled like, and most of all, what it felt like to one who underwent all but the ultimate of its experiences.
-
-
The best war memoir ever
- By Doug on 05-31-07
-
Sea Power
- The History and Geopolitics of the World's Oceans
- By: Admiral James Stavridis USN - Ret.
- Narrated by: Marc Cashman
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the time of the Greeks and the Persians clashing in the Mediterranean, sea power has determined world power. To an extent that is often underappreciated, it still does. No one understands this better than Admiral Jim Stavridis. In Sea Power, Admiral Stavridis takes us with him on a tour of the world's oceans from the admiral's chair, showing us how the geography of the oceans has shaped the destinies of nations and how naval power has in a real sense made the world we live in today and will shape the world we live in tomorrow.
-
-
Highly Recommend. Brilliant, engaging & thoughtful
- By Francis Claro on 06-22-17
-
Sailing True North
- Ten Admirals and the Voyage of Character
- By: Admiral James Stavridis USN
- Narrated by: Marc Cashman, Admiral James Stavridis USN
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Sailing True North, Admiral Stavridis offers lessons of leadership and character from the lives and careers of history's most significant naval commanders. He also brings a lifetime of reflection to bear on the subjects of his study—naval history, the vocation of the admiral, and global geopolitics. Above all, this is a book that will help you navigate your own life's voyage: the voyage of leadership of course, but more important, the voyage of character. Sailing True North helps us find the right course to chart.
-
-
Did not enjoy
- By AgJeff on 01-20-20
-
The Restless Wave
- A Novel of the United States Navy (Scott Bradley James, Book 1)
- By: Admiral James Stavridis USN
- Narrated by: Marc Cashman
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Scott Bradley James arrives in Annapolis, Maryland, as a plebe in the class of 1941 without a terribly good idea why he wants to be a naval officer, other than that his father was a sailor, and he wants to see the world, whatever that means. Scott and his roommate become fast friends, and, after surviving scrapes of their own making, the two fetch up at Pearl Harbor. War is brewing, and their class has graduated early. They have been sent to battle stations.
-
-
A fine story, well told by this talented officer!
- By N. Carey on 01-25-25