General James Mattis has the dubious distinction of having being sacked by two US presidents. And yet he is the stuff of legends, admired by his troops for his blunt, no-nonsense talking, and respected by civilians for his principled stand against torture and for urging for the US State Department to be fully funded.
His memoir (co-written with Bing West), Call Sign Chaos, details his rise over four decades through the ranks of the marines to become a four-star general and then secretary of defence under Donald Trump, learning on the way from his mistakes, from mentors, and from reading history.
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