Colin L. Powell: By the Book

What book is on your night stand now?

"The Summer of 1787," by David O. Stewart. As I grow older, I am increasingly fascinated by our founding fathers. The challenges they faced and the compromises they made, good and bad, to create a nation have inspired us and people around the world. I wish today's political leaders, especially in Washington, would show the courage and willingness to fight for what they believe in, but possess an understanding of the need to compromise to solve the nation's problems. They all need to go off and read "1787."

When and where do you like to read?

On a plane. No phones, e-mails or meetings to interfere. I used to read in bed, until I started to fall asleep after two minutes of reading anything. 

What was the last truly great book you read?

Sorry, can't answer. I find some greatness in almost every book. It's like asking which is my greatest kid.

Are you a re-reader? What book do you read over and over again?

It's a book I've had for over 50 years called "The Armed Forces Officer." It was written by Brigadier S. L. A. (Slam) Marshall. After World War II he was commissioned to review the actions of our soldiers and provide a historically based book of guidance for Army officers. It is one of the finest leadership books I've ever read and was given to every officer back then. It was always with me and is right in front of me now. It once went out of print, and I was able to persuade the Pentagon to reissue it with a new cover and an update. The book has received more updates and can now even be found on Amazon.

Right next to it is "The Professional Soldier," by Morris Janowitz. It was published in 1960, two years after I became an officer. It is a sociological analysis of the military officer at that time. I learned that the average senior Army officer was white, a West Pointer, rural and an Episcopalian from South Carolina. I nailed one out of five. In my early years in the Army, my focus was on learning about and understanding my chosen profession. I was studying to be a good lieutenant. And, of course, the Bible.

What was the best book you read as a student? What books over the years have most influenced your thinking?

In high school, I finally was required to do serious reading. I don't recall how or why, but the first big, serious adult book I picked up was "Tales of the South Pacific," by James Michener. Romance, mystery, geography, geology, culture, history, language and fauna, all blended together in one hypnotic book. I couldn't wait for "Return to Paradise." And I read every single one until there were no new ones. For most of my military career, my reading was historical, leadership, management theory, and military and political autobiographies and biographies. Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs and Dean Acheson's were standards to be inhaled. "Street Without Joy," by Bernard Fall, was a textbook for those of us going to Vietnam in the first wave of President Kennedy's advisers. "This Kind of War," by T. R. Fehrenbach, was a classic history of the Korean War and the cost of unpreparedness. 

If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be? What book would you require all heads of state to read? 

"The Best and the Brightest," by David Halberstam. Theories and grand ideas are important. But they seldom unfold as planned. People — it is all about people. 

Do you tend to hold on to books or give them away? 

We have hundreds of books in our home; my wife, Alma, is a voracious reader. We purge them once a year and give the purged ones to the annual book fair at the State Department conducted by the Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide. We purge until we have several empty bookshelves waiting for new books. I have a pretty good collection of books on African-American history, especially military history. I never purge those, and they will be sent to a library after I've passed on to the remainder table. 

What were your favorite books as a child? Did you have a favorite character or hero? 

There is only one that I remember vividly, "My Antonia," by Willa Cather. Growing up in the South Bronx, the story of a couple of kids my age growing up on the great prairie of Nebraska was exciting and took me to a place far away from "Fort Apache, the Bronx." I loved the story of life in a full circle touching on love, adversity, tragedy, hope and optimism.

Disappointing, overrated, just not good: What book did you feel you were supposed to like, and didn't? 

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