Brian in Mesa

Timely thread.

There are tons of books on war, fiction and non-fiction.

Any favorites?

Non-Fiction: I've read The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (think I have the name and title correct).

Fiction: The line of books involving the character Bob Lee Swagger, a Vietnam Veteran (sniper), by Stephen Hunter. They include Point of Impact, Dirty White Boys, Black Light, and Time to Hunt.

I've also read a Jack Higgins novel or two and a couple by an author named Pollock also.

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Dback Jon

Great book - became the movie "Gettysburg"

Joshua Chamberlain is one of my all-time favorite historical figures.
A university professor who became a soldier and officer, and help change the course of history.

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AZCB34

Being a History major in college (specialized in WWII) I have read so many books about war I cannot see straight. A couple of favorites: Battles Won and Lost - details significant battles in WWII, Death March - about the Bataan/Corregidor "survivors", and a very good WWII historical overview of WWII is called "Delivered From Evil". There is a collection of WWII books by Churchill that I have recently acquired and am looking forward to reading those.

About the only fiction war books I really read are the Tom Clancy books.

There are a couple of books about the Middle East I have read previously (I want to read alot more about that region) called "The Plaestinian Uprising" and "From Beirut to Jerusalem". Both good reads IMO.

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mdamien13

Point of Impact is one of my all-time favorites. What a great book!

My favorite non-fiction war books come from the Vietnam conflict. "Rumour of War" by Philip Caputo(sp) and "Bloods", an anthology of anecdotes from African-American vets.

"Rumour of War" really showed the bravado of the American soldier at the eve of the conflict and we get to see the wear and tear of combat on the human mind. "Bloods" is an absolutely brutal read just because everything is told firsthand and no details are left out. It pains a reader to hear accounts of soldiers fighting and dying for a country that turned its back on them.

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AZCB34

I agree 100% about "Rumour of War". An excellent book and other than a book about the overall history of Vietnam, that is one of the only Vietnam books I have read.

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jw7

I haven't read "Point of Impact".

I have read almost all the "Jack Ryan" Clancy books. All excellent.

The way he described an Airliner crashing in to the Capitol was just eerie when 9/11 happened.

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FischerKing

Anyone read "Band of Brothers" by Ambrose? I just finished watching the DVD's this weekend and it was just absolutely amazing. I was thinking about picking up the book and checking it out.

Thanks,

Shawn

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Dan H

"Fiction: The line of books involving the character Bob Lee Swagger, a Vietnam Veteran (sniper), by Stephen Hunter. They include Point of Impact, Dirty White Boys, Black Light, and Time to Hunt."

Thanks for the recommendation! I picked up Point of Impact and Time to Hunt.

I finished the first, and am halfway through Time to Hunt . . . I'm guessing I'm reading in the wrong order, though?

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Chandler Mike

Pretty much just read Clancy stuff as well, Red Storm Rising was my favorite Clancy book by far.

Mike

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KingofCards

I read it, right before the series started on HBO. Excellent.

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AZCB34

I think this was Clancy's best effort of the total. It was very realistic...more so than some of his other stuff which has bordered on fantasy and a few of his more recent books have had quite a bit of evilness in the main "good" characters.

My one overall complaint with Clancy...and many other authors as well...is the predictability of their books. I love books with twists and turns that are never expected. Clancy's latest "Red Rabbit" was so incredibly predictable. Oh well.

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DbaxJ

Cant remember the author, but the book is called "Into the Wild Blue". Its a great story, fiction, from the early beginings of the Air Force, when it started its break away from the AAC. Goes through all the conflicts from WWII to past Nam.