Love Monroe Doctrine? Readers share 100 books like Monroe Doctrine...

By James Rosone, Miranda Watson,

Here are 100 books that Monroe Doctrine fans have personally recommended if you like Monroe Doctrine. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War

FX Holden Author Of Aggressor

From my list on war stories you probably haven’t read yet.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a former journalist and intelligence officer turned writer, so I seek out authenticity in my reading, especially when it comes to war stories. I look for fiction from people who have been there or know how to listen to those who have, and be their voice. When I write, I always put together a team of veterans and specialists in their fields to challenge my work and make sure I get it right, too!

FX's book list on war stories you probably haven’t read yet

FX Holden Why did FX love this book?

I was researching a novel and wanted to know more about the Cuban Missile Crisis. This non-fiction book reads like an action thriller, going hour by hour, sometimes minute by minute.

I finished this one in a single weekend and felt almost physically sick at the thought of how close the world had come to Armageddon in those few tense days and how lucky we were the leaders of the time were so determined to avoid it.

Would our leaders today be as level-headed? You judge!

By Michael Dobbs,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked One Minute to Midnight as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

October 27, 1962, a day dubbed Black Saturday in the Kennedy White House. The Cuban missile crisis is at its height, and the world is drawing ever closer to nuclear apocalypse.

As the opposing Cold War leaders, John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev, mobilize their forces to fight a nuclear war on land, sea and air, the world watches in terror. In Bobby Kennedy's words, 'There was a feeling that the noose was tightening on all of us, on Americans, on mankind, and that the bridges to escape were crumbling.'

In One Minute to Midnight Michael Dobbs brings a fresh…


Book cover of The Dawn Attack

FX Holden Author Of Aggressor

From my list on war stories you probably haven’t read yet.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a former journalist and intelligence officer turned writer, so I seek out authenticity in my reading, especially when it comes to war stories. I look for fiction from people who have been there or know how to listen to those who have, and be their voice. When I write, I always put together a team of veterans and specialists in their fields to challenge my work and make sure I get it right, too!

FX's book list on war stories you probably haven’t read yet

FX Holden Why did FX love this book?

This is a book I read as a teen that inspired me to write war stories. I loved it because it doesn’t glorify war; Brian Callison is a master of writing about war as it is, from multiple perspectives, in all its bloody, brutal horror.

The action is great but almost secondary to the memorable characters he creates, and Brian Callison writes dialogue the way soldiers really talk. If you like this one, he's written a dozen more like it, and they haven't aged.

By Brian Callison,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Dawn Attack as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

His third novel about an amphibious assault on a Norwegian coast town during World War II.


Book cover of Weapons of Choice

FX Holden Author Of Aggressor

From my list on war stories you probably haven’t read yet.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a former journalist and intelligence officer turned writer, so I seek out authenticity in my reading, especially when it comes to war stories. I look for fiction from people who have been there or know how to listen to those who have, and be their voice. When I write, I always put together a team of veterans and specialists in their fields to challenge my work and make sure I get it right, too!

FX's book list on war stories you probably haven’t read yet

FX Holden Why did FX love this book?

I love a good "what if" plot, and they don’t get much more "what if" than this one, which kicks off a great series.

The plot is mind-blowing, but it’s the gritty characters I love. I also loved the fact they don’t all make it through. There is no "plot armor" for the heroes in this one.

By John Birmingham,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Weapons of Choice as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

On the eve of America’s greatest victory in the Pacific, a catastrophic event disrupts the course of World War II, forever changing the rules of combat. . . .

The impossible has spawned the unthinkable. A military experiment in the year 2021has thrust an American-led multinational armada back to 1942, right into the middle of the U.S. naval task force speeding toward Midway Atoll—and what was to be the most spectacular U.S. triumph of the entire war.

Thousands died in the chaos, but the ripples had only begun. For these veterans of Pearl Harbor—led by Admirals Nimitz, Halsey, and Spruance—have…


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Book cover of The Ballad of Falling Rock

The Ballad of Falling Rock by Jordan Dotson,

Truth told, folks still ask if Saul Crabtree sold his soul for the perfect voice. If he sold it to angels or devils. A Bristol newspaper once asked: “Are his love songs closer to heaven than dying?” Others wonder how he wrote a song so sad, everyone who heard it…

Book cover of White Sun War: The Campaign for Taiwan

FX Holden Author Of Aggressor

From my list on war stories you probably haven’t read yet.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a former journalist and intelligence officer turned writer, so I seek out authenticity in my reading, especially when it comes to war stories. I look for fiction from people who have been there or know how to listen to those who have, and be their voice. When I write, I always put together a team of veterans and specialists in their fields to challenge my work and make sure I get it right, too!

FX's book list on war stories you probably haven’t read yet

FX Holden Why did FX love this book?

Great narration is essential to any audiobook, and Joshua Saxon, who reads this over-the-top techno-thriller, nails it!

I don’t like waiting for the future to arrive; I want to read about it now, and this story from the pen of a real-life warrior put me right there, just five years into the future.

By Mick Ryan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked White Sun War as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

After decades of poising on the brink, the United States and China finally go to war when China invades the island of Taiwan. Deploying their most futuristic technologies in this grand strategic competition of the 21st century, the stakes could not be higher. Not only the future of the Taiwanese people but the fate of the world lies in the balance. In an era when humans no longer just use machines, but partner with them in all aspects of military operations, this fictional account views this future war through the eyes of the American, Chinese, and Taiwanese caught up in…


Book cover of AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order

Gabriella Rosen Kellerman Author Of Tomorrowmind: Thriving at Work with Resilience, Creativity, and Connection—Now and in an Uncertain Future

From my list on how work is changing and what it means for workers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve devoted my career to helping people achieve their potential and improve their wellbeing. One of the greatest challenges we’re all facing today is the highly unnatural world of work in which we all must perform. I’ve been fortunate both to lead large teams in this environment and to guide the Fortune 1000 on how to help their people thrive in its midst. Achieving sustainable peak performance requires that we understand what we are up against. This book list is a great place to start!

Gabriella's book list on how work is changing and what it means for workers

Gabriella Rosen Kellerman Why did Gabriella love this book?

Kai-Fu Lee, once himself an AI pioneer, wrote AI Superpowers to help non-technical readers understand how and why AI is changing our world, with an emphasis on how it’s reshaping work. Lee breaks down which types of jobs are most vs. least likely to be replaced by AI, and offers wisdom on which skills it makes sense for all of us to lean into given those shifts. He also offers clear-eyed predictions about the potential for AI innovations to reshape global politics. 

I enjoyed this book from page one. Lee’s prose is crisp and his points sharp. I appreciated his occasional meanderings into humanistic realms. This also feels like a personal book, given how much Lee himself has done to accelerate the AI revolution.

By Kai-Fu Lee,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked AI Superpowers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER

"Kai-Fu Lee believes China will be the next tech-innovation superpower and in AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order, he explains why. Taiwan-born Lee is perfectly positioned for the task."-New York Magazine

In this thought-provoking book, Lee argues powerfully that because of the unprecedented developments in AI, dramatic changes will be happening much sooner than many of us expected. Indeed, as the US-Sino AI competition begins to heat up, Lee urges the US and China to both accept and to embrace the great responsibilities that come…


Book cover of The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare

Christopher Kirchhoff Author Of Unit X: How the Pentagon and Silicon Valley Are Transforming the Future of War

From my list on how technology is changing the future of war.

Why am I passionate about this?

I think technology is the closest thing to magic we have in our world, and I’ve always been fascinated by its impact on our lives. During the Obama Administration, I worked as the senior civilian aide to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the National Security Council, and as a founder of the Pentagon’s Silicon Valley Office, Defense Innovation Unit. This gave me a front-row seat to how quickly technology changes war and geopolitics. I’m passionate about sharing what I’ve seen and think will likely happen shortly and helping people everywhere grapple with the changes unfolding in places like Ukraine and the Middle East.

Christopher's book list on how technology is changing the future of war

Christopher Kirchhoff Why did Christopher love this book?

This is a book about how the U.S. military missed every major technology revolution in the 2010s: the shift to modern software development methods, cloud computing, the revolution in commercial space, and, most critically, artificial intelligence.

A former advisor to the legendary Senator John McCain, Brose’s diagnosis of how the U.S. military was so “ambushed by the future” in his memorable phrase is as sharp as his prescriptions for what to do about it. Brose also has a thorough overview of the rise of China and why the People’s Liberation Army is on its way to achieving a near-parity with U.S. forces in the Pacific.

By Christian Brose,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Kill Chain as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From a former senior advisor to Senator John McCain comes an urgent wake-up call about how new technologies are threatening America's military might.

For generations of Americans, our country has been the world's dominant military power. How the US military fights, and the systems and weapons that it fights with, have been uncontested. That old reality, however, is rapidly deteriorating. America's traditional sources of power are eroding amid the emergence of new technologies and the growing military threat posed by rivals such as China. America is at grave risk of losing a future war.

As Christian Brose reveals in this…


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Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan. The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced, it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run the…

Book cover of 2034: A Novel of the Next World War

Bill Emmott Author Of Deterrence, Diplomacy and the Risk of Conflict Over Taiwan

From my list on how to avoid WWIII starting in Asia.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been addicted to Asia ever since serving in Tokyo for three marvelous years as The Economist’s correspondent in 1983-86 and since watching the rise of China, India, and South-East Asia from my privileged perch as editor-in-chief of The Economist in 1993-2006. For much of those years I have been writing about politics and economics rather than war and peace, but two key events recently convinced me to study something new. These were Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and then my beloved Japan’s decision to shake off its post-war shackles and build up its own defense forces in order to help prevent something like that from happening in Asia, too. 

Bill's book list on how to avoid WWIII starting in Asia

Bill Emmott Why did Bill love this book?

Even when dealing with serious matters, we all need to stretch our imaginations. Elliott Ackerman and James Stavridis’s novel did that for me, exploring with the expertise of a former US Marine and of a veteran of the US Navy quite how a modern war might break out and play out, with artificial intelligence, electronic warfare and, yes, nuclear weapons all playing a part in the scenario this novel sketched out.

By Elliot Ackerman, James Stavridis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked 2034 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A chilling geopolitical thriller and real-world cautionary tale presenting a dark yet very possible future of war between the US and China - from two former military officers and award-winning authors

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * 'A rippingly good read' Wired
______________

12 March 2034.

In the South China Sea, US Navy Commodore Sarah Hunt is conducting routine freedom of navigation patrol while US Marine aviator Major Chris 'Wedge' Mitchell tests a new stealth technology near Iranian airspace.

By the end of the day, Wedge will be an Iranian prisoner, and Hunt's destroyer will lie at the bottom of…


Book cover of Consider Phlebas

Tony Benson Author Of Galactic Alliance: Betrayal

From my list on exploring the dangers of discovering new worlds.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve loved all kinds of science fiction since I was a child, and always enjoy discovering new worlds, and the frisson of danger that inevitably accompanies the discovery. After a successful career in science and engineering, spanning more than three decades, I left the corporate world to make stringed instruments and to write fiction and non-fiction. My two novels are An Accident of Birth, and the space opera, Galactic Alliance: Betrayal, and I’ve written a non-fiction reference book Brass and Glass: Optical Instruments and Their Makers. I live in Kent, England with my wife, Margo, and our cat.

Tony's book list on exploring the dangers of discovering new worlds

Tony Benson Why did Tony love this book?

Ian Banks is as well known for his science fiction as for his mainstream and literary fiction. This is the first book in his Culture series, in which the Culture is a galaxy-wide advanced technological society with complex attitudes to how it should interact with other civilizations. The Culture is at war with the Idrians. Consider Phlebas is the story of a mercenary lone operative on a quest to retrieve a stranded Culture AI mind from an abandoned world to further the Idrian cause. The problem is that he is not the only one going there to find it, and nobody is playing nicely – not even the stranded AI mind. The wide-ranging inventiveness, subtle humour, and gritty realism of this story makes for highly compelling reading.

By Iain M. Banks,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Consider Phlebas as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Dazzlingly original." -- Daily Mail"Gripping, touching and funny." -- TLSThe war raged across the galaxy. Billions had died, billions more were doomed. Moons, planets, the very stars themselves, faced destruction, cold-blooded, brutal, and worse, random. The Idirans fought for their Faith; the Culture for its moral right to exist. Principles were at stake. There could be no surrender. Within the cosmic conflict, an individual crusade. Deep within a fabled labyrinth on a barren world, a Planet of the Dead proscribed to mortals, lay a fugitive Mind. Both the Culture and the Idirans sought it. It was the fate of Horza,…


Book cover of On

Peter J. Bentley Author Of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics: Ten Short Lessons

From my list on no hype and no nonsense artificial intelligence.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been a geeky kid all my life. (I don’t think I’ve quite grown up yet.) Born in the 1970s, my childhood was a wonderful playground of building robots and software. I was awarded one of the early degrees in AI, and a PhD in genetic algorithms. I’ve since spent 25 years exploring how to make computers think, build, invent, compose… and I’ve also spent 20 years writing popular science books. I’m lucky enough to be a Professor in one of the world’s best universities for Computer Science and Machine Learning: UCL, and I guess I’ve written two or three hundred scientific papers over the years. I still think I know nothing at all about real or artificial intelligence, but then does anyone?

Peter's book list on no hype and no nonsense artificial intelligence

Peter J. Bentley Why did Peter love this book?

This is another break from AI, and it’s another bizarre world. Why do computer scientists like this kind of thing? I think it’s because we invent mind-bending mathematical worlds in which our algorithms live – we like to explore the strange and weird. When reading this book, at first you wonder if this is science fiction at all – the story seems fantastical. But check out the Appendix and there’s the scientific explanation, complete with equations for the weird laws of physics. Now, this is a proper hard science fiction book… somehow disguised almost as a fairy tale. A lovely read and the ending is suitably in keeping with the rest of the story… Unexpected.

By Adam Roberts,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked On as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Tighe lives on the wall. It towers above his village and falls away below it. It is vast and unforgiving and it is everything he knows. Life is hard on the wall, little more than a clinging on for dear life. And then one day Tighe falls off the wall. And falls, and falls, and falls ...Lavishly praised everywhere from Asimov's magazine to Interzone, ON is proof positive that Adam Roberts is a new author whose potential for greatness is rapidly being realised. ON is at once a vertiginous concept novel, a coming of age saga, a picaresque journey across…


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Book cover of Kurtz

Kurtz by John Lawson III,

Annie Kurtz joins the Marines, deploys to Afghanistan, and has to make a split-second decision. She can follow her orders. Or she can follow her conscience. Nick Willard is a journalist who has pined for Annie since they were in prep school together. While doing his job, he discovers what…

Book cover of The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

Adam Gaffen Author Of The Road to the Stars

From my list on to learn about hopepunk SF and why we need it.

Why am I passionate about this?

Why hopepunk, and why me? Look, it’s no surprise that you can look around today and find all sorts of indicators that we are entering Heinlein’s “Crazy Years.” Imagining a dystopian or grimdark future isn’t difficult; all you have to do is read the news. But I think that we are writing the history of the future right now, by the choices we make every day. Writing stories that present that optimistic view of the future is not just the right thing to do but necessary, at least to me. As Heinlein said, “A pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun…”

Adam's book list on to learn about hopepunk SF and why we need it

Adam Gaffen Why did Adam love this book?

I’m going old-school, back to one of the grandfathers of science fiction, Robert Heinlein.

Not only is his book a masterful example of character-driven storytelling, but it takes a critical eye to many of the things our current society takes for granted as being “true” and “right,” finding them wanting. It’s also been a huge influence on me in my writing, as have many of Heinlein’s other works, and I couldn’t not put it in here.

By Robert A. Heinlein,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In 2075, the Moon is no longer a penal colony. But it is still a prison...

Life isn't easy for the political dissidents and convicts who live in the scattered colonies that make up lunar civilisation. Everything is regulated strictly, efficiently and cheaply by a central supercomputer, HOLMES IV.

When humble technician Mannie O'Kelly-Davis discovers that HOLMES IV has quietly achieved consciousness (and developed a sense of humour), the choice is clear: either report the problem to the authorities... or become friends.

And perhaps overthrow the government while they're at it.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress has been called…


Book cover of One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War
Book cover of The Dawn Attack
Book cover of Weapons of Choice

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