No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy audiobook

I listened to the audiobook edition while tucking. It was a great book to listen to and I learned much more about General Mattis, who is one hell of a Marine and combat veteran. Care deeply about his marines and trusted them to do their jobs, even with everything on the line.

This is the first book on James Mattis. Mattis is probably our generation’s best combat general. A career Marine who served in uniform for forty four years he also went on to become the Secretary of Defense and one who received nearly unanimous bipartisan support for his nomination which is quite impressive in a day and age of much political division and partisanship in the United States. For years I have been amazed at how low profile General Mattis have been compared to how much public attention the US media has given other Army generals. It seem overnight a few years ago Mattis started to finally receive a lot of attention and praise and usually through the medium of social media making jokes about his exploits and strength. Yet people’s hunger to know more about this tough talking and private general has only increased when news broke that Trump wanted him to be Secretary of Defense. Personally as a Marine who served under General Mattis’ 1st Marine Division in Iraq I am glad that the author wrote this book. I actually think it has been long overdue.While the book comes in at 416 pages don’t let the number fool you. The book’s font is rather large print. After an introduction there are ten chapters followed by an epilogue. The work is written in a journalistic style. The author Jim Proser didn’t narrate chronologically but each chapter goes back and forth in time. For instance the first four chapters focus largely on the invasion of Iraq in 2003 but then chapter five looks at a Jim Mattis’ youth and also his interests of a young woman that he almost married but didn’t. Jim Mattis would go on to become a lifelong bachelor with the nickname of Warrior Monk (among other things such as Chaos). Then chapter six looks at Mattis pre-Gulf War Marine Corps career followed by a chapter on Mattis’ service during the Gulf War. Chapter eight explores the pre-9/11 years while chapter nine looks at Mattis leading Task Force 58 which was the Marine and Navy task force that spearheaded the invasion into Afghanistan. Chapter ten then looks at Mattis’ involvement in Iraq after the Iraq war invasion.It felt the first four chapters quoted a lot more online internet sources that many fans of Mattis would have been familiar with through searches engines of the internet. Also the book quotes heavily from Generation Kill in the opening of the book and Thomas Ricks’ books and articles throughout the book (who is a writer with excellent insight by the way). For those who have read these works at times it seems the block quotes from these works was a revisit of previous materials. Yet I don’t want to fault the author too much since the author is writing about a man who would not enjoy the limelight and no sources of this book came from direct interviews of Mattis as far as I can tell from the end notes. The part of the book that I thought was the most richest in terms of new contents comes from the book’s look at Mattis’ early years, Mattis’ leadership in the Persian Gulf War and also the invasion of Afghanistan. Here the author is to be commended for the great work of personal interviews with Mattis’ superiors and subordinates. Also there’s sources from Mattis’ career record, other official studies and publication and those who fought under Mattis. I learned the most from this book in those time of Mattis’ life. As a result of reading this book I appreciated not just only Mattis but Marine Desert Storm veterans much more as a result of hearing what Mattis’ infantry battalion and his task force went through during the invasion of Kuwait. I was genuinely surprised to learned that at one point Mattis’ unit was surrounded by the enemy in the front and rear of where they were at; that’s pretty crazy! Also I appreciated reading about the incredible feat of Mattis in mobile warfare while also being an expert of counterinsurgency. It is not every day that you get a military expert in either of those area but to have a guy expert in one is truly incredible. Also it is incredible to think that General Mattis led not just only the invasion of Afghanistan but also Iraq. Most people might be accustom to think of General being in a place safer than the average grunt but what I appreciate the most about Mattis from this book is his love for the infantry. He would be visiting the front often. Also I was very moved to read of the danger Mattis put himself in in order to lead effectively. His “jump platoon” that protected him received higher casualties than any infantry platoon in the Marines; out of 29 Marines 17 would be killed or wounded. The book talks about Mattis’ convoy being ambushed in Afghanistan and his escort taking casualties and killing the insurgents with Mattis’ uniform being bloodied as he showed up late to the meeting with the local leaders will blood on his uniform. This was the context for the (in)famous quote where Mattis said he didn’t bring the artillery but he pleads with tears in his eyes not to mess with him. A book that was worth reading. A book worth buying. I hope more critical and analytical biographies would come out on Mattis in the future.

As I read this "Life of General Mattis", there are questions swirling around the media asking if Trump will fire him from his Secretary of Defense position. Currently Mattis has told the troops on the Mexican Border not to read media about what they are doing but to do what their superiors say to do.Enjoyed the way the book was easy to read when not trying to read every word in the battle scenes. What I liked was the description of Mattis' character, beliefs and way he studied history to came up with strategies to reuse and others that are totally new and his. His attention to doing with passion what has been best for the country in his view makes him a standout in todays world.

Just finished No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy: The Life of General James Mattis by Jim Proser, a book recommended to me by a retired Marine buddy. The timing of reading this book in light of this past week’s headlines is fortuitous. Jim Mattis is brilliant yet humble man, notably refereed to as the Warrior Monk, a nickname he much prefers to Mad Dog. He is a really interesting person, life long bachelor, food bank volunteer, carries his own bags, extremely well read, the list goes on and on. I highly recommend this book!

I read this because James Mattia is from Central Washington & held the post of Secretary of Defense for Donald Trump.he is a no nonsense kind of guy, as you’d expect with someone who held that position.his roots in the military run deep. I suspect that we’ll see him again.

Great book. Amazing man. A little too deep into the endeavors of the Marines and the military as a whole.

GOOD

This book increases my admiration for the current Secretary of Defense, General James “Mad Dog” Mattis. With the nickname of “The Warrior Monk” and his studying of history in the carrying out of war and conflict. His humility, dedication of service, studying of conflicts and lessons learned from others who’ve gone before us. He really is a remarkable leader that Americans should be proud and glad he is at the top. Learning more about him personally was also cool, such as reasons he’s stayed a bachelor, his role in the Iraq war and how he was unanimously confirmed beyond party lines despite being disqualified for his recent service in the military. It’s also inspiring that he has a personal library of over 7,000 books which he’s read. This book explains why he is a better person to have as a friend and how you couldn’t find a worse person to be an enemy against. This is worth reading if you want to understand current events and military conflict and strategies better. I would love to see what his library consists of and his thoughts on those books. As it would be a serious masterclass to gain knowledge and insight from. This book mentions his thoughts on a few books and how it influenced his thinking, but it only scrapes the surface. Will look forward to reading his memoir one day.

You can't go wrong with General Jim Mattis. On a personal basis or on a professional basis, this is the man to emulate. The writing is crisp, reveals things I didn't know (he's from Richland, WA; he got sucked in by the Theranos garbage show; he doesn't like the nickname Mad Dog). Some of the quotes are semi-famous, but others, like the one about making it a traumatic experience for the enemy, are not.I also got a very interesting insight about Donald Rumsfeld who plays some role in this: leaning out the Pentagon was the right thing to do. However, the way you run the Pentagon is NOT the way you take over Iraq, with minimum personnel. I'll be taking notes on this book before returning it to the library. Highly recommended.

Fantastic book and I did not want to put it down. Proser has done a fantastic job writing about one of America's premier leaders and warriors. A man Proser describes as a Spartan warrior leading a spartan life. Mattis is a down-to-earth leader and cares about those under his charge. A Marine that carried the burden of command and loved those who served with him. Proser cites an example of General Mattis' leadership when he is found inside a fighting hole carrying on a conversation with two of his Marines in the cold, dark, and desolate Afghan desert. As a Marine I highly recommend this book to other Marines and to anyone who is a leader or aspires to be a leader.

Much like Mattis, Proser unwinds the life of Gen Mattis in straightforward, unadulterated prose. However, the book is long on strategy and tactics and far too succinct on Mattis' life; which has to be more than just Jim Mattis the Marine. Ergo, the 4-star rating.Much like Trump, what you see is what you get in Jim Mattis. He puts on no aires. And you have to love a warrior who loves his troops and leads by example. This is a man's man. One you would share your foxhole with 24/7. It's a real shame his former boss doesn't embrace his leadership qualities. This nation would be far better off under the leadership of James Mattis.

The title of this book is a phrase taken by General Mattis from a great Roman general, as a motto for a marine. He lives a life of strong moral values and strict code of conduct and wanted all Marines to feel that they personally could be a standard bearer for No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy. The majority of the book deals with his life in service and his drive to help everyone he meets. Chosen by President Trump for Secretary of Defense he is admired by many in Washington, D.C. A wonderful biography of a man who has dedicated his life to service. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated this look at Secretary of Defense James Mattis. My only reservation is that I wish that it had delved a bit more deeply into Mattis' life prior to the Marine Corps, but the substance of it spot on. I can think of no better way to a get a clear picture of the sort of man who currently leads the Department of Defense.

Not the book i expectedI was expecting a in-depth look at the Sec Def's life. Instead I got a book with a decent timeline of his time in the Middle East with a few details about his life. Still a good read though.

I think this book would be better described as a study of the wars in the Middle East with added emphasis on General Mattis. However, it was a perfect length and kept me interested from start to end.

Great bookOnly into chapter three and an already convinced this is a great book!!Wasn't quite sure why he stayed with Trump. But John Kelly cleared it up. "Marines don't quite". Thanks for the book