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

2014-11-05T12:03:42-05:00

Response by MAJ Dallas D. made Nov 5 at 2014 12:37 PM

2014-11-05T12:37:45-05:00

We Were Soldiers Once… And Young by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.) and war journalist Joseph L. Galloway

Great book

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 5 at 2014 2:48 PM

2014-11-05T14:48:46-05:00

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.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 5 at 2014 3:31 PM

2014-11-05T15:31:42-05:00

Lone Survivor. I read it before the movie was made, which wasn't nearly as good as the book.

Response by SSgt Lucas Dyer M.S. made Nov 14 at 2014 4:19 PM

2014-11-14T16:19:37-05:00

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.

Response by PFC Zanie Young made Nov 16 at 2014 11:01 AM

2014-11-16T11:01:32-05:00

Though it's fiction, I always liked books written by W.E.B. Griffin, namely The Corps and the Brotherhood of War.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Nov 16 at 2014 12:23 PM

2014-11-16T12:23:20-05:00

I read everything I could find about the Civil War until my wife began bringing me diaries that she found. One written by a Confederate chaplain and another written by a Confederate officer who served on the staff in Richmond after being wounded in battle. Thereafter, I was hooked on reading the words of those who lived the war. Most recently I finished reading The Somme: The Darkest Hour on the Western Front by Peter Hart. This book is filled with quotes from letters and diaries of those who fought the battle, glued together with just enough narrative to provide context. I wish more authors would use this technique. I tried in my book about Castro's revolution in Cuba, but sadly most of the participants were illiterate and the few writings left by the principle actors such as Castro and Che were little more than blatant propaganda. Still, I used their own words from speeches to provide dialog and common sense and infantry training to speculate on the battles from the little evidence available.

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 16 at 2014 1:16 PM

2014-11-16T13:16:07-05:00

Here's one that is near the top of my all-time best books ever list: Unbroken

http://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-World-Survival-Resilience-Redemption/dp/ [login to see]

What a great book and what a fantastic story about guts, determination, resilience!

There's a movie coming out about this story (around Christmas 2014): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1809398/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Response by Sgt Richard Martin made Mar 20 at 2015 10:02 AM

2015-03-20T10:02:45-04:00

Pirate Coast: Thomas Jefferson and the Barbary Pirates War 1805

Was a great book to read. Told the story of Lt. Presley O'Bannon and the Marines movement to Tripoli to oust the Barbary Pirates. It is where we get "To the shores of Tripoli" in the Marine's Hymn. Of course, most of you knew that already. But this is a great read!!!

Response by ENS Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 20 at 2015 4:08 PM

2015-03-20T16:08:12-04:00

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

Amazon.com: Level Zero Heroes: The Story of U.S. Marine Special Operations in Bala Murghab,...

Amazon.com: Level Zero Heroes: The Story of U.S. Marine Special Operations in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan (9781250030405): Michael Golembesky, John R. Bruning: Books

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 20 at 2015 6:59 PM

2015-03-20T18:59:15-04:00

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

1794: America, Its Army, and the Birth of the Nation: Dave R. Palmer: 9780891415237: Amazon.com:...

1794: America, Its Army, and the Birth of the Nation [Dave R. Palmer] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Examining the turbulent decade between 1783 and 1794--when America was determining the role of its military--a soldier-scholar finds similar struggles reappearing today. Palmer's engaging narrative explores the futile efforts to forge a peacetime military force in the wake of the revolutionary war

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 29 at 2015 7:49 AM

2015-03-29T07:49:22-04:00

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

Response by CW4 Dan Mcmahon made Apr 8 at 2015 2:55 PM

2015-04-08T14:55:37-04:00

Long gray line (atkinson) by far the best written account of the vietnam war.

Response by SFC Collin McMillion made May 3 at 2015 9:24 PM

2015-05-03T21:24:16-04:00

Catch 22

Response by MSgt Mike Brown; MBTI-CP; MA, Ph.D. made Jun 14 at 2015 4:39 AM

2015-06-14T04:39:42-04:00

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

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jun 14 at 2015 5:14 AM

2015-06-14T05:14:59-04:00

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.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jun 14 at 2015 5:16 AM

2015-06-14T05:16:16-04:00

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

Response by SGM Paul Shenep (R) made Jun 14 at 2015 6:47 AM

2015-06-14T06:47:27-04:00

Looked at all the responses thinking Outpost Keating would be chosen:

Response by SGM Steve Wettstein made Jun 14 at 2015 9:12 AM

2015-06-14T09:12:20-04:00

Thunder Run by David Zucchino.

Response by SGM LaMar Stellfox made Jun 14 at 2015 9:29 AM

2015-06-14T09:29:05-04:00

I'd have to include more than one. But at the top of my recent list would have to be Jake Tapper's The Outpost, Peter Hart's Gallipoli, and William Dalrymple's Return of a King. All fantastic histories; the first from OEF, the second from the First World War, and the last about the First Anglo-Afghan War. If you haven't read them I recommend all three. Plus James Donovan's The Blood of Heroes about the Alamo and Texas' war for independence is absolutely awesome and highly readable. An old favorite would be Stephen E. Ambrose's Pegasus Bridge, a great story of courage on D-Day.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 10 at 2015 1:38 AM

2015-07-10T01:38:30-04:00

I liked Catch 22 when I read it in high school.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 20 at 2015 6:47 PM

2015-09-20T18:47:08-04:00

This Kind of War

Excellent Korean War tome by somebody who was actually there. Very illustrative of what happens when a hollowed out Army is mobilized for war.

Response by SSG Michael Hathaway made Sep 21 at 2015 8:50 AM

2015-09-21T08:50:18-04:00

I used to read some military fiction and non-fiction books, but honestly they were few. Then I joined the Army, I brought with me a copy of House to House which I read in my off time as we were able to read something military related. It was an interesting read to say the least, it got my heart pounding at times during some of the combat situations and it broke my heart when the author wrote about the ramifications of war that he experienced with his family.

Amazon.com: House to House: An Epic Memoir of War (9781416596608): Sgt. David Bellavia, John...

Amazon.com: House to House: An Epic Memoir of War (9781416596608): Sgt. David Bellavia, John Bruning: Books

Response by SSG John Jensen made Oct 7 at 2015 1:57 AM

2015-10-07T01:57:45-04:00

Catch-22

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 30 at 2015 5:58 PM

2015-10-30T17:58:00-04:00

For me this would be the Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant. I'm not really into non-fiction books though to be honest.

Response by CPT Jim Schwebach made Nov 16 at 2015 9:53 AM

2015-11-16T09:53:08-05:00

The Raid: The Son Tay Prison Rescue Mission: Benjamin F Schemmer

Almost a textbook on planning and execution of direct action missions.

Response by LCpl Tim George made Dec 5 at 2021 8:07 PM

2021-12-05T20:07:54-05:00

That's a tough question. Team Yankee is up there. As an 19 y/o l/cpl I tried to read the staff study that Team Yankee was written from. Multiple nuclear exchange as I recall. Might be time to listen to it again.

Response by SMSgt Lawrence McCarter made Dec 5 at 2021 9:59 PM

2021-12-05T21:59:07-05:00

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.