The Mastermind is not read. It is applied. The difference between a student and a practitioner is the decision to use what is being learned — beginning immediately, not after the curriculum is complete. Start with the first lesson. Apply what it covers to something real in your life before you move to the next one.
Begin with The Foundation. It is the operating system on which every other subject runs. Every concept in Chess, Warfare, Politics, Economics, and Deduction becomes more powerful once the Foundation is in place. When you are ready to prove it, the War Academy holds the exams that earn your rank.