Never surrender : The old man and the sea by Ernest Hemingway -- Pick the right people : The godfather by Mario Puzo -- Be your own spokesman : It worked for me by Colin Powell -- Write with simplicity and precision : The elements of style by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White -- Use humor often : A confederacy of dunces by John Kennedy Toole -- Prepare deeply for the key events : Crusade in Europe by Dwight David Eisenhower -- Stay physically fit : The boys in the boat by Daniel Brown -- Seek to innovate : Steven Jobs by Walter Isaacson -- Work smart : Flashman by George MacDonald Fraser -- Think independently : The handmaid's tale by Margaret Atwood -- Dream without boundaries : Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes -- Be patient : The odyssey by Homer -- Balance the tactical with the strategic : The art of war by Sun Tzu -- Mentor willingly : To kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee -- Know the borders : Catch-22 by Joseph Heller -- Deal with loss : Beloved by Toni Morrison -- Understand the process : The Caine mutiny by Herman Wouk -- Never lose your temper : The quiet warrior : A biography of Admiral Raymond A. Spruance by Thomas Buell -- Delegate freely : Nimitz at war by Craig Symonds -- Never obsess : All the pretty horses by Cormac McCarthy -- Deal in hope : Candide by Voltaire -- Know your profession : The United States Navy : 200 years by Capt. Edward L. Beach, USN (Ret.) -- See the danger : Nineteen eighty-four by George Orwell -- Reach for glory carefully : The great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald -- Understand the history : The guns of August by Barbara Tuchman -- Conclusion. What's on YOUR bookshelf?

"Admiral James Stavridis, a leader in international business, national security, and global philanthropy, shares the books that facilitated his success. A guide to living and leading through reading, The Admiral's Bookshelf links twenty-five essential life lessons and leadership principles to the books that best illustrate them"--