Call Sign Chaos

Learning to Lead

By: Jim Mattis, Bing West

Narrated by: Danny Campbell

Length: 12 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's Summary

Number one New York Times best seller

A clear-eyed account of learning how to lead in a chaotic world, by General Jim Mattis - the former Secretary of Defense and one of the most formidable strategic thinkers of our time - and Bing West, a former assistant secretary of defense and combat Marine.

“A four-star general’s five-star memoir.” (The Wall Street Journal)

Call Sign Chaos is the account of Jim Mattis’ storied career, from wide-ranging leadership roles in three wars to ultimately commanding a quarter of a million troops across the Middle East. Along the way, Mattis recounts his foundational experiences as a leader, extracting the lessons he has learned about the nature of warfighting and peacemaking, the importance of allies, and the strategic dilemmas - and short-sighted thinking - now facing our nation. He makes it clear why America must return to a strategic footing so as not to continue winning battles but fighting inconclusive wars. 

Mattis divides his audiobook into three parts: Direct Leadership, Executive Leadership, and Strategic Leadership. In the first part, Mattis recalls his early experiences leading Marines into battle, when he knew his troops as well as his own brothers. In the second part, he explores what it means to command thousands of troops, and how to adapt your leadership style to ensure your intent is understood by your most junior troops so that they can own their mission. In the third part, Mattis describes the challenges and techniques of leadership at the strategic level, where military leaders reconcile war’s grim realities with political leaders’ human aspirations, where complexity reigns and the consequences of imprudence are severe, even catastrophic.

Call Sign Chaos is a memoir of a life of war-fighting and lifelong learning, following along as Mattis rises from Marine recruit to four-star general. It is a journey about learning to lead and a story about how he, through constant study and action, developed a unique leadership philosophy, one relevant to us all.

©2019 Jim Mattis and Bing West (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic Reviews

“Combining simplicity and thoughtfulness, Jim Mattis has produced a classic account of a lifetime of service. Call Sign Chaos is a lesson in leadership and an evocation of humanity in the cause of peace.” (Henry Kissinger)

“In this magnificent memoir, Jim Mattis details many important events in his career, but he also does much more: He explains how he is informed by his experiences in a way that teaches you how to learn from your own. Read, enjoy, and learn.” (George Shultz)

A pleasant surprise

This book surpassed my expectations. Unlike so many books by people who have recently left the Trump White House, this is not a politicized expose. It is both a memoir and a book about leadership. Mattis devotes little space to his personal life, instead spending large chunks of the book on Desert Storm, Afghanistan, and the second Iraq War, all done as an exploration of leadership (what he did right, what he needed to improve, and what he recommends for others).

Very little of the book is about Mattis' time as Secretary of Defense. He does make it clear that he resigned due to a difference of opinion with the administration, but he focuses more on a general climate of tribalism in America as his principle cause for worry going forward.

All told, I came away with a great respect for both his skill as a soldier and his thirst for improvement through learning. He and Bing West put together a solid book, accessible to advanced high school students and up, all while largely staying above the political fray.

Narration is horrible

I absolutely love Jim Mattis and Bing West but I only got as far as the prologue and stopped listening. The reader's voice is not suitable for audio books, it's not engaging at all. I certainly can't do 12 hours of this. Contrast this with the readers for other books like Sea Stories and Greg Hurwitz's books and this is a giant snooze fest.

Fortunately I have a hard copy from a book signing.

Must Listen 👍🏼

As a vet and a Marine, I ate up every ounce of this audiobook. Mattis is a legend to us USMC grunts, and his decentralized leadership style is exemplary. I aspire to continue to grow in personal competencies, education, and leadership skills, and through his stories Mattis outlines good ways to do just those things. I'm thankful that he decided to release a book, better yet an audiobook, that we can digest & take notes on.

The narrator/voice is respectable; it wasn't too great a stretch of the imagination to liken his voice to Mattis'. I did, however, keep it at ~1.30 speed, as it was pretty slow otherwise.

10/10, glad it includes Mattis' list of books to read in the appendices.

great listen, increase speed to 1.05

Memorable account of a truly dedicated American. Speeding up the narration to 1.05 was perfect.

This book needs to be on Gen.Mattis’s Reading list

This book is a must read for every soldier, sailor, airmen and marine on active duty. General Mattis lays out his thoughts on leadership which has been honed by 40 years of service to our country. Furthermore, General Mattis’s consul has been honed by reading hundreds of books on war, politics, anthropology and world history. To quote General Mattis “if you haven’t read hundreds of books as an adult, you are functionally illiterate.”

This book is an example of what it means to lead men and women at war and do it with the least amount of loss of life on our side and inflicting maximum pain on the enemy.

Very Respectfully,

CPT Jeffrey Burke, USA

Awesome Read

Take it from a 30 year Marine Corps Enlisted Veteran, this book is a must read. This should be on any corporations "MUST READ" list for all Managers, Directors, Vice Presidents, Presidents and CEO's. Its not just about how the Marine Corps or Joint Military operations function, its about Leadership!!!! Its about trust and the hard decisions that come with positions of responsibility.
Read it, Study it and learn from it!!! ONE GREAT READ!!!!

Great book but the reader is terrible

As a USMC Veteran I’m a huge fan of Gen Mattis and his leadership style. These lessons can be used in all situations, even outside of the service.
HOWEVER, the reader that was selected does not do justice to this book. Only by speeding up the playing speed makes his whiny and monotone voice bearable.

I love Audibles but I would recommend buying the book than the “torture” of listening to this reader.

Semper Fi
Gunny

Bland military biography + Obama criticism

First of all - This is the first audiobook that I listened to the entire book on 1.25 speed. The narrator is terrible, but on 1.25 it’s not bad.

Mostly a bland military biography. Mattis is the guy you want to poke holes in enemy lines, but doesn’t have a mind for grand strategy and was a terrible choice for Secretary of Defense.

Plenty of criticism of Obama in the book. Mattis wanted to fight in Syria and Iran and continue the fight in Afghanistan and Iraq - Obama didn’t. That’s the general complaint from Mattis.

I would say skip the book and read a good article about the book instead.

Miserable to listen to

As a Marine Corps veteran I was super excited to listen to this book. At the hour mark I wanted to throw my phone out a window. Instead, I'll write this review...

I'd rather read the book in reverse and write a report in a foreign language I don't understand than listen to this. There's a dozen things I'd rather do than listen to this. I'd rather go through legitimate sound torture than listen to this. Who thought this was a good idea?

Really disappointed with the audio. Bland, flat, and zero emotion. Performance? 0 stars. Message and Story 5/5. Overall 3/5. I'll never finish this audiobook, I'm going to buy it and read a hard copy. You should do the same.

Uodate: Audible allows for any reason return/exchange so I returned it. It's not a good listen...

Great book, terrible narrator

Secretary Mattis provides a wonderful and pointed guide to leadership. I fully recommend this book to anyone seeking leadership examples and lessons. This book will be on the Commandant's Reading List in the near future. I plan to buy the physical book.

The one downside is the speed of the narrator. He was sloooooooooooooooooooooooow. This book is the only book I've ever listened to on 1.25x speed. I don't think I would have survived listening to the narrator at normal speed. I was prepared for the speed issue because of other reviews.

Couldn’t put it down

Wow! Enthralling from start to finish, what a leader, what a warrior and hero! Highly recommended.

Gen Mattis' review of how great Gen Mattis is.

There are several nuggets of wisdom and useful anecdotes but the main bulk of the book is rambling, egotistical fluff about how amazing the USMC and Gen Mattis is. He mentions that he has made mistakes then never gives details except the single quarry incident in 1991. I had respect for the man before listening to this book but that has now evaporated.

I have no idea why this is recommended reading for several courses. It probably goes down well with Americans however who will react favourably to the constant oo-rah moments and his insistence on the traditional altruism of the USA and US military.

I wish I had not wasted my time by listening to this book.

excellent

superb. possibly the best book on leadership and strategic thinking ive come across. great storytelling style to it.

Good book but nothing on trump

I really like James mattis but book is okay nothing on his opinion on donald trump yet instead his leadership.

the best book

excellent book! i enjoy it very much! i loves it! i learned a lot! i recommend iz to every leader!

must read for anyone interested in leadership

incredibly insightful and well delivered book. while it's holds back from mattis' personal opinions nonetheless incredibly reflective and thought provoking

If you're going to take Vienna, TAKE FCKING VIENNA

This audiobook is well-written and well-performed! Enjoyed every chapter!

A fascinating insight into the world of Mattis and the struggles he endured throughout his military career: I particularly enjoyed Mattis' story of the role he played in USMC occupied Falluja, this was written and performed in such a way that you can share in his frustrations but have a clear understanding as to why the situation unfolded the way it did.

Full of integrity and values, with good anecdotes.

The General explains with clarity and humility his experiences. He is good at creating strategic vision and solutions. His use of referencing other texts and leaders is very informative and insightful. He seems very human and a boss that I would want.
The only criticism is that on 3 occasions he used examples of him applying his mantra - however they were ironically, country to his other principles and values.
Overall, well scripted and an enjoyable journey.

Lessons of Leadership from a Hardened Scholar

I cannot recommend this enough. Mattis provides excellent lessons in leadership and decentralised command which hopeful and serving members of the military will certainly value and benefit from, as well as civilians too. A fascinating insight into the two Gulf Wars too, as well as revealing details of more recent administrations' stances on foreign policy in the region.


Incidentally, the narrator sounds very much like Damien Lewis when in an American role (BoB, Billions etc).

Good book

This is a good book and have interesting take on leadership. It is just that looks to me that is more of a autobiography than an actual book on leadership. Maybe you need to be in a military to understand the message. But non the less this is a good book