Michael Pillsbury’s The Hundred-Year Marathon: China’s Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower has been selected for the Secretary of the Air Force’s 2026 reading list, featured among works chosen to deepen Airmen’s and Guardians’ understanding of the United States’ pacing challenge — the People’s Republic of China.

Drawing on interviews with Chinese defectors and previously undisclosed security documents, the #1 national bestseller examines China’s long-term strategy to surpass the United States as the world’s leading power by 2049. As a Mandarin-speaking veteran of the U.S. national security establishment, Pillsbury draws on the traditional Chinese statecraft that shapes China’s military and intelligence agencies, and makes the case for a more competitive American approach to this pressing national security challenge.

The book appears alongside titles such as The Long Game, Destined for War, and The Trouble with Taiwan in a reading list aimed at strengthening the force’s knowledge of China’s history, strategy, and military modernization.

Source: https://www.af.mil/About-Us/SECAF26-Reading-List-Archive/