"Duty First is a fascinating, highly readable and instructive view of the challenges our nation faces in shaping tomorrow’s leaders in the military sphere and beyond."

--Ralph Peters, author of Fighting for the Future and Traitor

"A remarkably incisive and candid portrayal Ruggero is a gifted storyteller who introduces us to some memorable individuals."

--Chicago Tribune

"Ruggero’s engagingly anecdotal approach provides a candid update on West Point for the nation it defends. The most honest and enlightening book about West Point published in many years."

--Kirkus Reviews

Duty First is a penetrating account of a year inside one of America’s premier schools for leadership--the United States Military Academy--as it celebrates the bicentennial of its founding. Ed Ruggero, a former West Point cadet and professor, takes an incisive look at how this elite school builds the "leaders of character" who will command the nation’s military.

Writing with deep insight and superb narrative skill, Ruggero follows the cadets’ tumultuous lives: the initial grueling training, the strict student hierarchy and intense classroom work, and the interaction between the lowly first-year plebes and the upper-class cadets who train them. Duty First also shows the role played by the majors, captains, and sergeants who oversee everything that happens at this unique institution.

Introduction

Day One: We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

Beast

Prepare for Combat

The End of the Beginning

Learning to Follow  

Cruible

The Front Rank

Trust Between Leader and Led

Every Cadet an Athlete

The Harder Right

We’ve Not Much Longer

The Way He Should Go

Graduation Day

Epilogue: Summer 2000

Acknowledgments