Read by Jocko Willink
What books does Jocko Willink recommend?
Retired Navy SEAL Jocko Willink, who commanded Task Unit Bruiser and now hosts the Jocko Podcast, treats his book recommendations the way he studies leadership: as hard-won lessons that transfer to any arena. These 13 titles come mostly from episodes of his podcast, along with a Tim Ferriss Show appearance, and they concentrate on history, biography and memoir, philosophy, and psychology. His benchmark pick is David Hackworth's About Face, which he calls simply "the benchmark for leadership." The list draws deeply on war and its aftermath, from Eugene Sledge's With the Old Breed, "one of the best combat memoirs ever written," to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago and Christopher Browning's Ordinary Men, which he says "shows how ordinary people can be convinced to do terrible things." Willink has also authored five books of his own, including the bestseller Extreme Ownership.
Last updated February 2026 · Every recommendation cited to its original source.
About Face
The Odyssey of an American Warrior
byDavid H. Hackworth, Julie Sherman
1989875 Pages“The benchmark for leadership.”
— Jocko Willink
Source: Jocko Podcast 2
Musashi
An Epic Novel of the Samurai Era
byEiji Yoshikawa
2012984 Pages“This book is a manual for life.”
— Jocko Willink
Source: Jocko Podcast 100
Read by Tim Ferriss, Charlie Munger, Sam Altman and 22 others
Man's Search for Meaning
An Introduction to Logotherapy
byViktor E. Frankl
2006165 Pages“One of the most powerful books ever written.”
— Jocko Willink
Source: Jocko Podcast 78
Ordinary Men
Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland
byChristopher R. Browning
2017384 Pages“It shows how ordinary people can be convinced to do terrible things.”
— Jocko Willink
Source: Jocko Podcast 85
Read by Marc Benioff, Phil Knight, Larry Ellison and 7 others
The Art of War
The Essential Translation of the Classic Book of Life
bySun Tzu
2009384 Pages“The concepts in this book are critical.”
— Jocko Willink
Source: Jocko Podcast 23
Read by Jocko Willink
byEugene B. Sledge
2007352 Pages“One of the best combat memoirs ever written.”
— Jocko Willink
Source: Jocko Podcast 10
The Gulag Archipelago
An Experiment in Literary Investigation
byAleksandr Solzhenitsyn
2007528 Pages“Everyone should read this book.”
— Jocko Willink
Source: Jocko Podcast 155
Read by Jocko Willink
Blood Meridian
Or the Evening Redness in the West
byCormac McCarthy
1985368 Pages(224,542)
“Was able to show the darkness in humanity and there's nothing pleasant in any way, shape or form.”
— Jocko Willink
Source: Tim Ferriss Show #107
Read by Jocko Willink
Steel My Soldiers' Hearts
The Hopeless to Hardcore Transformation of U.S. Army, 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry, Vietnam
byDavid H. Hackworth, Eilhys England
2002464 Pages“It is about the hopeless to hardcore transformation of U.S Army 4th Battalion 39th Infantry in Vietnam.”
— Jocko Willink
Source: Jocko Podcast 28
Read by Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Jordan Peterson and 11 others
byGeorge Orwell
1949328 Pages(4,800,000)
“Do not take freedom for granted. We have to preserve it.”
— Jocko Willink
Source: Jocko Podcast 263
The Terminal List
A Thriller
byJack Carr
2018416 Pages(125,000)
“So powerful, so pulse-pounding.”
— Jocko Willink
Source: Jocko Podcast 183
Read by Rich Roll, Peter Attia, Jocko Willink and 1 others
The Comfort Crisis
Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self
byMichael Easter
2021320 PagesSource: Jocko Podcast 279
Read by Jocko Willink
Battle Leadership
Some Personal Experiences of a Junior Officer of the German Army with Observations on Battle Tactics and the Psychological Reactions of Troops
byAdolf von Schell
2015106 PagesSource: Jocko Podcast 4
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Frequently asked questions
What books does Jocko Willink recommend?
His 13 recommendations include About Face by David Hackworth, Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa, Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, The Art of War by Sun Tzu, and With the Old Breed by Eugene Sledge.
What is Jocko Willink's most recommended book?
David Hackworth's About Face, which he calls "the benchmark for leadership." He also names Eiji Yoshikawa's Musashi "a manual for life" and Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning "one of the most powerful books ever written."
Where do Jocko Willink's book recommendations come from?
Most come from episodes of the Jocko Podcast, where he discusses individual books in depth, along with an appearance on the Tim Ferriss Show (episode 107).
Has Jocko Willink written any books?
Yes, five, including Extreme Ownership (2015), The Dichotomy of Leadership (2018), Leadership Strategy and Tactics: Field Manual (2020), the Way of the Warrior Kid series, and the novel Final Spin (2021).
What genres does Jocko Willink read most?
History and biography and memoir lead his list, followed by philosophy, psychology and human behavior, and leadership and management. War memoirs and military history recur throughout, valued for the leadership lessons he draws from them.
All 13 Books Jocko Willink Has Recommended
- About Face · David H. Hackworth
- Musashi · Eiji Yoshikawa
- Man's Search for Meaning · Viktor E. Frankl
- Ordinary Men · Christopher R. Browning
- The Art of War · Sun Tzu
- With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa · Eugene B. Sledge
- The Gulag Archipelago · Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
- Blood Meridian · Cormac McCarthy
- Steel My Soldiers' Hearts · David H. Hackworth
- 1984 · George Orwell
- The Terminal List · Jack Carr
- The Comfort Crisis · Michael Easter
- Battle Leadership · Adolf von Schell