Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis will publish a new book in July called “Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead,” according to publishing company Random House.
This book deal was signed before he became a member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet and was put on hold while he was Defense Secretary, according to Random House.
But anyone expecting him to reveal the inside story of his time in the Trump administration is likely to be disappointed.
“I’m old-fashioned: I don’t write about sitting presidents, so those looking for a tell-all will be disappointed,” Mattis said in a news release from the publisher. “I want to pass on the lessons and experiences that prepared me for challenges I could not anticipate, not take up the hot political rhetoric of our day.”
The book was written with Bing West, who has published 10 books about combat, according to Random House, and “served as a Marine grunt in Vietnam and was later an assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration.”
In a stunning move in December, Mattis resigned as Defense Secretary after Trump’s plans to withdraw troops from Syria became public, citing irreconcilable policy differences with the President. Mattis wrote a resignation letter rebuking several of Trump’s foreign policy views and touting the importance of US alliances. The letter was devoid of any praise of the President.
In his book, Mattis, a retired Marine General, “recounts his foundational experiences as a leader, and extracts the lessons he has learned about the nature of warfighting and peacemaking; the importance of friends and allies; and the strategic dilemmas – and short-sighted thinking – now facing our nation,” according to the release.
“My purpose in writing this book is to convey some of the lessons I learned in forty-three years of service for those who might benefit, whether in the military or in civilian life,” Mattis said in the release.
The title comes from “Mattis’ days commanding the 7th Marine Regiment in the mid-1990s, when he was given ‘Chaos’ as his call sign by Marines under his command,” the release states.
The book is an “expansive account of Mattis’ storied career, from Marine recruit to four star general and his leadership roles in three wars to his command at CENTCOM of a quarter million troops across the Middle East,” according to the release.