The top five U.S. Armed Forces presses in the country—each affiliated with a U.S. Armed Forces university—publish works offering unmatched expertise and insights that illuminate military history and experience. Here’s more about the five:
The academic publisher for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force, Air University Press, headquartered in Maxwell AFB, Ala., began operations in 1947 and has 186 books in print. It publishes five books each year, as well as journals, that examine the roles of air, space, and cyberspace power in national security. Sharing Success, Owning Failure by Gen. David Goldfein is among its most popular works.
Based in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., Army University Press focuses on advancing the ideas that military professionals need to lead and is the army’s entry point for cutting-edge thought and discussion on topics important to the service and national defense. The press, which has 75 books in print and publishes journals as well as 10 new books each year, was established in 2015, the result of a merger of Military Review Journal, first published in 1922, and Combat Studies Institute Press. Army University Press has a staff of 55 and, fun fact, also makes films.
Marine Corps University Press, founded in 2008 and located in Quantico, Va., publishes open-access, scholarly books and journals on military history and heritage and national security topics, with the goal of inspiring debate and advancing knowledge for a diverse community of scholars, U.S. and allied military leaders, and policymakers. The press has a staff of eight, publishes 11 new titles each year, and has 300 books in print. Its highly anticipated new project is Always Faithful: 250 Years of Remarkable Stories from the Collection of the National Museum of the Marine Corps, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps.
The oldest U.S. Armed Forces press, Naval Institute Press, based in Annapolis, Md., is the book publishing division of the U.S. Naval Institute. A self-funded, independent, nonprofit publisher, the press publishes professional books for the sea services, as well as books and journals on naval and military history and contemporary strategic issues. The press also publishes fiction—Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy is among its titles—and just launched a digital program focused on delivering interactive books to readers.
Located in West Point, N.Y., West Point Press, launched in 2023, has six books in print—and counting. The publishing arm of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, it publishes journals and practical guides for students, scholars, and global leaders and occasionally works by students. Among its anticipated new projects is an artificial-intelligence-focused legal manual similar to the Tallinn Manual on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Operations.
