Blue & Gold Professional Library books in order

The Blue & Gold Professional Library series by James Stavridis is a fifteen-book series running from 1902 to 2021, starting with The Bluejacket's Manual.

Reading order

# Title Published Author Buy on Amazon
1 The Bluejacket’s Manual 1902 James Stavridis Buy
2 Division Officer’s Guide, 12th Edition 1972 James Stavridis Buy
3 Command at Sea 1998 James Stavridis Buy
4 Dutton’s Nautical Navigation 2003 James Stavridis Buy
5 A Sailor’s History of the U.S. Navy 2004 James Stavridis Buy
6 Dictionary of Naval Abbreviations 2004 James Stavridis Buy
7 NavCivGuide 2008 James Stavridis Buy
8 The Citizen’s Guide to the U.S. Navy 2013 James Stavridis Buy
9 Saltwater Leadership 2013 James Stavridis Buy
10 Naval Innovation for the 21st Century 2013 James Stavridis Buy
11 International Law for Seagoing Officers, 7th Edition 2014 James Stavridis Buy
12 Fleet Tactics and Naval Operations 2018 James Stavridis Buy
13 General Naval Tactics 2020 James Stavridis Buy
14 Fighting the Fleet 2020 James Stavridis Buy
15 Developing the Naval Mind 2021 James Stavridis Buy

The Blue & Gold Professional Library is a fifteen-volume naval reference series spanning over a century, from The Bluejacket’s Manual (first published in 1902) through to Developing the Naval Mind in 2021. The titles cover a wide range of naval subjects: navigation (Dutton’s Nautical Navigation), leadership (Saltwater Leadership, Command at Sea), tactics (Fleet Tactics and Naval Operations, General Naval Tactics), law (International Law for Seagoing Officers), and history (A Sailor’s History of the U.S. Navy).

The series also includes practical reference works like the Division Officer’s Guide, Dictionary of Naval Abbreviations, and the NavCivGuide, making the library a broad resource rather than a single-thread narrative. Several titles were added in the 2010s and 2020s — including Naval Innovation for the 21st Century (2013) and Fighting the Fleet (2020) — reflecting the library’s ongoing expansion to cover contemporary naval subjects.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Blue & Gold Professional Library series?

There are fifteen books in the Blue & Gold Professional Library series, published between 1902 and 2021.

What is the first book in the Blue & Gold Professional Library series?

The first book in the Blue & Gold Professional Library series is The Bluejacket’s Manual, published in 1902.

Do you need to read the Blue & Gold Professional Library books in order?

Reading the Blue & Gold Professional Library series in publication order starting with The Bluejacket’s Manual (1902) is recommended, as characters and storylines develop across the fifteen books.

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