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gute
06-14-2010, 07:41 PM
I am always reading a military book if it be fiction or non-fiction. Any recommendations from the council? I'm always lookin for that obscure book nobody else knows about. I do not care so much for military theory - much more interested in battles, wars, personal experience.

I have read the following (to name a few that might be mentioned a member):

Fields of Fire
With the Old Breed
BHD
Team Yankee
Red Storm Rising
Bravo-Two-Zero
Thunder Run
A Road We Do Not Know
War
Ghost Brigades (SF)
Armor (SF)
Old Man's War (SF)
Starship Troopers (SF)
When the Poor Boys Dance
The Five Fingers
A Gift of Valor
Not A Good Day to Die
Robert's Ridge
Lone Survivor
Black Hearts
Gates of Fire
They Fought for Each Other
The Pacific

davidbfpo
06-14-2010, 08:01 PM
Gute,

Try this 2007 thread 'Fiction Reading': http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/showthread.php?t=1723

There is of course the long running thread 'What are you reading?': http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/showthread.php?t=3192

I'd add two non-fiction titles: 'Quartered Safe Out There' by George MacDonald Fraser (the 'Flashman' series author), which is an account of his infantry platoon command in Burma and 'With the Jocks' by Peter White, again an infantry platoon commander and in Western Europe 1944-45.

karaka
06-14-2010, 08:01 PM
There's the Emberverse series (http://www.amazon.com/Dies-Fire-S-M-Stirling/dp/0451459792), starting with Dies the Fire, with SM Stirling if you want to get a little more medieval with your science fiction. There's some really engaging warfare in every book.

cdr
06-15-2010, 02:39 AM
Perhaps you might like some of these:

The Breaking Point: Sedan and the Fall of France 1940, Robert Doughty

Stalking the Vietcong: Inside Operation Phoenix: A Personal Account, by Stuart A. Herrington, originally published as Silence was a Weapon (1982).

On the Road to Stalingrad: Memoirs of a Woman Machine Gunner,Zoya Smirnova-Medvedeva

No Margin For Error: The Making of the Israeli Air Force, by Ehud Yonay (1993)

The Operators: On the Streets with Britain's Most Secret Service, by James Rennie, on 14 Company's undercover work in Northern Ireland in the 80's.

One Up: A Woman In Action With The SAS, by Sarah Ford, autobiography
of a woman who served with 14 Intelligence Company in Northern Ireland.

Wasp, Eric Frank Russell (SF, 1971) in which one man is dropped on an alien planet to keep them busy until they swat him.

Sleeping Planet, William R. Burkett (SF, 1965) in which aliens put everyone on earth to sleep except for a handful who conduct psywar ops against them. Fun but can be hard to find.

I won't list Daniel Suarez' recent Daemon and Freedom because they hardly count as obscure.

SteveMetz
06-18-2010, 01:25 PM
For military/historical fiction, my heartiest recommendations are for the Bernard Cornwell "Sharpe" series, the Gary Jennings "Aztec" series, and anything by Steven Pressfield.

bourbon
06-19-2010, 05:43 PM
I won't list Daniel Suarez' recent Daemon and Freedom because they hardly count as obscure.
I read both Daemon and Freedom(TM) and they were awesome. Captivating stuff, went through both of them in a weekend. They are not completely military fiction books, but there is a lot of relevant stuff in them.

I have been meaning to post something about those books. More detail will have to come later; perhaps a separate thread on them is necessary if others have read the books.

Has anyone else read the Suarez novels?

Steve Metz, you gotta check these out.

Steve, APH
06-22-2010, 06:14 AM
If you haven't yet I would recommend Bernard Fall. His books about France's experiences in Indo China are exceptional in my opinion.

My two favorites of his are:

Street Without Joy
Hell in a Very Small Place

They are quick reads, written very well, entertaining, educational and still very relevant.

William F. Owen
06-22-2010, 08:51 AM
Try "Blackfoot is Missing. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blackfoot-Missing-William-F-Owen/dp/0099441543)" - if you can find an unsigned copy they are worth quite a lot of money! :D

Chris jM
06-22-2010, 09:18 AM
Try "Blackfoot is Missing. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blackfoot-Missing-William-F-Owen/dp/0099441543)" - if you can find an unsigned copy they are worth quite a lot of money! :D

From "Book Worm Daniel" at Amazon book reviews: "William F. Owen ran secert missions in Cambodia and Laos during the Vietnam War between 1969 and 1971. Blackfoot is Missing is a fictional book based his own experiences during them missions."

"Them missions" are obviously not very "secert" anymore, if the Amazonian reviewers have got hold of your military record!!! :D

Any of the autobiographical works preserved from the Sir Harry Paget Flashmen, VC, KCB, KCIE, Chevalier, Legion of Honor, US Medal of Honor, San Serafino Order of Purity and Truth (4th Class) papers-series are well worth reading.

Also, a plug for our big brother: http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/2010/06/swj-reading-list-work-in-progr/

William F. Owen
06-22-2010, 09:37 AM
From "Book Worm Daniel" at Amazon book reviews: "William F. Owen ran secert missions in Cambodia and Laos during the Vietnam War between 1969 and 1971. Blackfoot is Missing is a fictional book based his own experiences during them missions."
Yeah.... it's embarrassing.
Despite what it written in the Acknowledgements, a lot of folks I meet and who e-mail me, assume its semi-autobiographical.
I keep having to explain, I was never there. I just wrote down what those who were told me...... :eek:

Tukhachevskii
06-22-2010, 01:39 PM
...then I can heartily recommend

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (www.randomhouse.com/crown/worldwarz/) / World War Z (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Z)- (Wiki synopsis)

It's actually a lot better than the title, and the Zombie Survival Guide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Zombie_Survival_Guide) to which it is the sequel, would suggest. The author has really thought hard about what a "zombie" outbreak would do to the world political system and to the art of war; i.e., the return of infantry lines and squares:D; the need for new TTPs to deal with the undead (do not use land-mines because you want zombies standing upright to get the headshots needed for the HEI rounds to work:cool:); the development of the "lobo" a dual entrenching and lobotomisation hammer-thingy:eek:; the destruction of the three gorges dam in China as viewed from the international space station; the initial outbreak in China and its rapid spread throughout the world (think Stephen King's The Stand (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stand) written as a global military history) et al. Although a work of fiction it is very plausibly done...I read it in a day and it gave me the heebeegeebees:o

Rex Brynen
06-22-2010, 02:26 PM
...then I can heartily recommend

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (www.randomhouse.com/crown/worldwarz/) / World War Z (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Z)- (Wiki synopsis)

I have to say--as a big fan of zombies (well, the genre: shelf of Romero movies, various Zombies boardgames, etc)—I was really disappointed by the book. Many of the characters (the living ones, that is) seemed so very artificial.

On the plus side, Wilf would like it. No undead-centric Counter-Zombism (COZO?) here, which apparently doesn't work when they don't have working hearts and minds. Rather, its all kill, kill, kill... :D

Tukhachevskii
06-22-2010, 03:25 PM
Rather, its all kill, kill, kill... :D

You say that like it's a bad thing:D!!!!!

William F. Owen
06-23-2010, 07:21 AM
On the plus side, Wilf would like it. No undead-centric Counter-Zombism (COZO?) here, which apparently doesn't work when they don't have working hearts and minds. Rather, its all kill, kill, kill... :D

I'm not sure I would. I view war as a strictly human activity. In fact I think Zombies may provide an excellent teaching point to emphasise some fundamentals.... no really. They do!

Do the Zombies have a policy?

Tukhachevskii
06-23-2010, 09:38 AM
I'm not sure I would. I view war as a strictly human activity.

#1 In fact I think Zombies may provide an excellent teaching point to emphasise some fundamentals.... no really. They do!

#2 Do the Zombies have a policy?

Re: #2, yes, if consuming every animal on the planet can be considered a policy (or just blind impulse)

Re: #1 Correct, I found that reading about warfare waged against an unthinking opponent (hardly Clausewitz's dialectic of wills) really did bring up issues that would provide a new perspective on proper warfare (rather than pest control/extermination:wry:)

gute
06-25-2010, 03:44 AM
Just finished Fawkes Nature of the Beast - decent book, but definitely not in the same class as Armor, Starship Troopers and Old Man's War. 7 out opf 10 stars.

Also read Rakkasans by E.M. Flanagan. This book was okay, 5 out of 10 stars. Seemed to me most of the writing was taken from after action reports, which read like a report and not a story.

slapout9
06-25-2010, 03:06 PM
gute,if you are into Systems Thinking this is a good simple book to read. Simple as in very clearly written, not a lot of fluff but plenty of meat. The guy that wrote it is in your area to.

http://www.workthesystem.com/

gute
06-25-2010, 03:24 PM
gute,if you are into Systems Thinking this is a good simple book to read. Simple as in very clearly written, not a lot of fluff but plenty of meat. The guy that wrote it is in your area to.

http://www.workthesystem.com/

Thanks for the link.

Finished another one - Shadow of the Sword by Jeremiah Workman (Marine who fought in Fallujah). 4 out of 10. A little too dramatic for me and not as good as House to House.

Lena
06-29-2010, 10:30 AM
hi,

I would also recommend "One Bullet Away" by Nathaniel Fick and "Generation Kill" by Evan Wright. Also very good are "My War: Killing Time in Iraq" by Colby Buzzell and "The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell" by John Crawford.

If you'd like to read something about World War I, I would recommend "All Quite at the Western Front" as this is a classic of the war literature genre.

Lena

Granite_State
06-29-2010, 02:26 PM
Any of the autobiographical works preserved from the Sir Harry Paget Flashmen, VC, KCB, KCIE, Chevalier, Legion of Honor, US Medal of Honor, San Serafino Order of Purity and Truth (4th Class) papers-series are well worth reading.

[/url]

Those are about as good as it gets.

Sergeant T
06-30-2010, 02:00 AM
Finished Kaboom: Embracing The Suck In A Savage Little War (http://www.amazon.com/Kaboom-Embracing-Suck-Savage-Little/dp/0306818809/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277862484&sr=8-1) a few weeks ago. Enjoyed it immensely. Read it because I was an avid follower of his blog until the army pulled the plug. The blog was good enough to get him a book deal after his tour.

Culpeper
07-01-2010, 01:16 AM
Fiction

An Honorable German
http://www.amazon.com/Honorable-German-Charles-L-McCain/dp/044653899X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277946886&sr=1-1

Nonfiction

Always Faithful: A Memoir of the Marine Dogs of WWII
http://www.amazon.com/Always-Faithful-Memoir-Marine-Dogs/dp/157488719X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277947071&sr=1-1

Valin
07-28-2010, 09:40 PM
New Dawn, The Battles for Fallujah (http://ourhistoryprojectbookreview.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-dawn-battles-for-fallujah-by.html)


New Dawn, The Battles for Fallujah
Richard S. Lowry
Savas Beatie Publishing 2010
352 pages including index

I have heard of Richard Lowry, however before "New Dawn" had not the chance to pickup one of his books. After reading this one, I believe it was a huge mistake on my part and I will actively seek out his other works. This book and the stories contained within are amazing. Honestly while reading I could not put this into a definite category - it is the Non-Fiction which reads like a Fiction.

Available at all the usual places.

Valin
07-28-2010, 09:41 PM
Finished Kaboom: Embracing The Suck In A Savage Little War (http://www.amazon.com/Kaboom-Embracing-Suck-Savage-Little/dp/0306818809/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277862484&sr=8-1) a few weeks ago. Enjoyed it immensely. Read it because I was an avid follower of his blog until the army pulled the plug. The blog was good enough to get him a book deal after his tour.

Oh sure force me to go buy another book sigh
I just hope you can live with yourself. :D

Sasquatch
08-30-2010, 09:49 PM
Non Fiction:

The Devil's Butcher Shop by Roger Morris. Try: http://www.amazon.com/Devils-Butcher-Shop-Mexico-Uprising/dp/0826310621

There are worse places to be than deployed, all about the New Mexico Prison Riot in 1980. Engrossing. UNM Press keeps it in print.

T. R. Fehrenbach. This Kind of War (title?) (The US in Korea); one of the key readings on why we entered Vietnam with a fairly decent army....See:http://www.amazon.com/This-Kind-War-Fiftieth-Anniversary/dp/1574882597

Tom Odom
08-31-2010, 01:53 PM
Oh sure force me to go buy another book sigh
I just hope you can live with yourself. :D

here is a FREE one

the OEF version of On Point is avaliable for download at

Combat Studies Institute

A Different Kind of War: the US Army in OEF Oct 2001-SEP 2005 (http://usacac.army.mil/CAC2/CSI/LongWarOpHistorySeries.asp)

gute
09-03-2010, 02:55 PM
Transforming an Army at War: Desigining the Modular Force, 1991-2005 by William M. Donnelly.

Yep, the above topic has been discussed a great deal on this site, but when I did a search on this site the author's name did not come up so this book might be an nknown and it might be of interest to some of the members.

A very short read at less then 100 pages. It covers the development of the HBCT, IBCT, and support brigades. Some names mentioned in the book are Generals Schoomaker, Byrnes, Mixon, Sullivan.

Nothing earth shattering, but it does expalin the thought process and requirements imposed on the developers. Key points:

- the new HBCT same/improved lethality and capabilities of legacy BCT

- make five HBCTs out of three legacy brigades (3ID)

- Schoomkaer wanted three maneuver battalion HBCT, but wars in Iraq and Afghanistan made that impossible.

- to meet the lethality and capabilites requirements the legacy three BCT could only expand to four not five.

- much debate about reconnaissance units done by Cav or done by the CABs.

gute
09-14-2010, 02:40 PM
I'm reading a number of books right now including Frontiersman in Blue: The U.S. Army and the Indian 1848-1865 by Robert Utley. Good book, but what I have found most interesting is the similarities of the U.S. Cav and their outposts and missions during this time period to the mission of the Army and USMC in Afghanistan and Iraq. Of considerable interest was the description of the Cav mission (page 110) where soldiers did not march west as conquerers, but to serve as policemen. Obviously the book goes on to describe much more then I am willing to go into here.

Steve Blair
09-14-2010, 02:41 PM
I'm reading a number of books right now including Frontiersman in Blue: The U.S. Army and the Indian 1848-1865 by Robert Utley. Good book, but what I have found most interesting is the similarities of the U.S. Cav and their outposts and missions during this time period to the mission of the Army and USMC in Afghanistan and Iraq. Of considerable interest was the description of the Cav mission (page 110) where soldiers did not march west as conquerers, but to serve as policemen. Obviously the book goes on to describe much more then I am willing to go into here.

You'll find even more similarities when you read Utley's second book.