Books??

Let's see, you want good, recent military history? Try anything by John Keegan, but start with The Face of Battle. You want to learn why the West fights the way it fights, read Carnage and Culture by Victor Davis Hanson. Mind you, these are top-flight military historians. Keegan teaches at Sandhurst in the UK. Hanson is a classics professor at Cal-State Fullerton and part time raisin farmer and works at Stanford's Hoover Institution.

You want good historical military fiction, read Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels, which is about the Gettysburg campaign. There is no better fictional account of the American Civil War.

You want to learn about the American Civil War on an intimate but readable level, read Shelby Foote's Civil War: A Narrative. Do not let the 2,700 pages put you off, it is easily readable.

You want good modern, explosive, gooey sci-fi/military writing, read John Birmingham out of Australia. I would recommend the Axis of Time trilogy and his current After America trilogy, which is in progress.
 
Though its fiction, you may like 'Johnny Got His Gun' by Dalton Trumbo. Masterfully written, it shows you a side of being a soldier that many try to sweep under the carpet. To give you an idea: "Joe Bonham, a young soldier serving in World War I, awakens in a hospital bed after being caught in the blast of an exploding artillery shell. He gradually realizes that he has lost his arms, legs, and face, but that his mind functions perfectly, leaving him a prisoner in his own body. He tries to die by suffocating himself but he has been given a tracheotomy, which he cannot remove or control." (from wikipedia)
 
axtalan0 said:
Though its fiction, you may like 'Johnny Got His Gun' by Dalton Trumbo. Masterfully written, it shows you a side of being a soldier that many try to sweep under the carpet. To give you an idea: "Joe Bonham, a young soldier serving in World War I, awakens in a hospital bed after being caught in the blast of an exploding artillery shell. He gradually realizes that he has lost his arms, legs, and face, but that his mind functions perfectly, leaving him a prisoner in his own body. He tries to die by suffocating himself but he has been given a tracheotomy, which he cannot remove or control." (from wikipedia)
Click to expand...

The song and video "One" by Metallica is based on this book/movie.


[youtube]WM8bTdBs-cw[/youtube]
 
Ok, I have a new one: The Tiger by John Vaillant. I'm halfway through and it just SO enjoyable. It has it all:
True Story
Frontier Life
Colorful Characters (Hard as nails men)
Hunting
Nature Conservancy
Fascinating science about predators, evolution, human-animal interactions
Interesting tidbits about Russian history (some of it sad and terrifying)
Very nice writing style

Puts you in the mindset of a tiger hunting people hunting the tiger
Highly recommended!
 
Into the Mouth of the Cat: The Story of Lance Sijan - Malcolm McConnell
Guns Up!- Johnnie M. Clark
The Story of the Malakand Field Force: An Episode of Frontier War - Winston Churchill
 
Oh Lordy. I would give a years pay to own all the books listed on this thread to date. Outstanding choices.
I would venture to suggest that most of those who have made suggestions to the OP have worn a uniform of various colours and patterns over the years. It shows.

My own humble suggestion is Andy McNab's "Bravo Two Zero", a true story of British SAS soldiers adrift in Iraq in Gulf War One. An incredible tale of courage and endurance in adversity.
 
read about the original home land security forces: The Killing of Crazy Horse by Thomas Powers
 
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