What is the best book you've read about the military?

I also can't forget The Art Of War by Sun Tzu! Centuries old yet still applicable today.

One of my all-time favorites is the Rogue Warrior by Richard Marchinko (retired Navy SEAL and founder of SEAL Team 6/DEVGRU). I've read this book multiple times and even have it in my NOOK library.

Though I never had any desire or motivation to want to be a SEAL myself, I am fascinated by what they and other SPECWAR/SPECOPS types do.

Moshe Dayan, 'The Story of My Life."


"I have traveled a long road from the battlefield to the peace table."

Moshe Dayan

"Israel cannot afford to stand against the entire world and be denounced as the aggressor."

Moshe Dayan

Once an Eagle. It's fiction but there's more leadership lessons inside than any other book I've read.

http://www.amazon.com/1794-America-Army-Birth-Nation/dp/ [login to see] /ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid= [login to see] &sr=1-1&keywords=1794

Level Zero Heroes by Michael Golembesky. A personal narrative by one of the first Marine JTACs. I'm a Sci-Fi nerd and have trouble keeping interest in historical works. This would be a great read for anyone who shares a similar reading taste.

Link here: http://www.amazon.com/Level-Zero-Heroes-Operations-Afghanistan/dp/ [login to see] /ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid= [login to see] &sr=8-1&keywords=level+zero+heroes

A Battle Won by Handshakes: The Story of Alpha Company 1/5. It's about a small Marine Corps Infantry unit in Afghanistan utilizing Counterinsurgency (COIN) to eliminate the Taliban and gain the trust of the local nationals.

CPT Chris Loomis

Although I have already responded to this, I want to make another comment/vote for another book that certainly meets my personal criteria for being one of the best books I have read about the military. The photo you posted with your question reminded me of it. It is right there on the bottom shelf, in the middle... "The Officer's Guide".

I remember my dad giving me a copy of that book long before I entered the Army. I read it, cover to cover, and studied it more than I ever studied anything in school, because, after all, I had no doubt that was going to be my chosen profession.

When I got commissioned a 2LT, my fiancé (now my wife of 43 years), gave me a new copy of that book as a commissioning present. To this day I still have both copies (the one my dad gave me and the one my fiancé/wife gave me). I have also bought several newer editions as they came out over the years.

What a wealth of information for a new, inexperienced officer.

When I was assigned as an Army ROTC instructor at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, I determined, from the questioned being asked by my cadets, that the required program of instruction (POI) did not cover some of the basic information that new officers needed to know. While the POI covered leadership and management, land navigation, map reading, military history, drill and ceremonies, first aid, weapons marksmanship, and many other "tools of the trade", it did little to cover things like customs and courtesies, wear and appearance of the uniform, pay and allowances, Army installations, and other "basic knowledge" information that, I guess, they were supposed to obtain through osmosis or something.

I decided to do something about that and started offering an optional/voluntary, unofficial weekly class, at night, to any of the MS-III and MS-IV cadets (third and fourth-year contracted cadets) who wanted to attend. In that class, I covered all those subjects and more, and had some very lively discussions about life in the military, etc. My wife even came in and we invited the cadets to bring their spouses, fiancés, and girlfriends/boyfriends to the class on those nights, and we talked about "military life" and what it was like to be a spouse/family member in the Army. Every one of my cadets attended and many told me that it was the best "preparatory training" they had received. The textbook I used for the class was "The Officer's Guide" and we went through it chapter by chapter. I purchased a copy for each cadet and gave it to them prior to the class starting.

It is a great book and chock full of information that is very useful to aspiring and new officers.

Tom Ricks' "The Generals" and Nigel Hamilton's "The Mantle of Command" are excellent overviews of some of the issues we handled correctly in WWII. I'll have to look at the bibliography on my thesis for more titles.

Flight of the Old Dog by Dale Brown which revolves a round a highly modified B52 on a top Secret Mission, (fiction) Dale Brown was a Captain in the USAF on a B52 crew. He write a lot about Military subjects and the action is fast paced and You can see in Your mind the people and the activity. He has written dozens of books and I've never been disappointed in any of them.