well i do read A LOT of military books, and i have narrowed it down to 3 of my top favorites, it was tough, really tough,

3-The March Up, Taking Baghdad w/ the 1st marine division, my dad knows bing west an author of the book.

2-blood red snow-memoir of a german machine gunner (Gunther K.) as he escapes from stalingrad(one of the few) and fights other battles on the eastern front

1*********-my favorite-The Forgotten Soldier, german memoir of Guy Sajer an Alsacian drafted into the German army and fights on the eastern front later joining ranks with the Elite Großdeutschland Division. fighting in Kursk, kiev, belogord, minsk and other important battles....

just wanted to let some of you know what good books are out there

Forgotten Soldier seem to be a consistent winner. Try Manchester's "Good bye Darkness" for a superb run down on the Pacific War.
DJ

One problem with Forgotten Soldier is that it is actually ficticious. Check these links out and follow them through.

Sajer

sajer 2

My favourite books are hard to clsoe down but authurs might be easier:

John Terraine

John Keegan

Max Hastings

Martin Middlebrook

These are just to name a few and all of there books are great.

I'll be darned. Well Sajer certainly wrote a great work of fiction.
thanks
DJ

Forgotten Soldier may be fiction, but still a great book. Better than the Sven Hassel series although they're still good reads.
The books in my collection that get the most use are:
'Encyclopedia of British and American Tanks of World War 2' &'Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War 2' ; both by Chamberlain and Ellis, and Bart Vanderveens 'Historic Military Vehicles Directory'

how is it fiction, and if it is, my fun has definetly been spoiled.....

Well, if you check out the links Mahross provided you will read some convincing evidence that is fiction.

bummed me out....well, Blood Red Snow IS NOT fiction, so if you wanna read something real, read that...

I have a tough time with any Russian front book. I am one of those people who cannot visualize the battle without an accurate map. Most of the books now a days fail to contain reliable maps. As a result, you read and try to figure out "where are these guys?" I am reading one now on the Battle of the Bulge and be danged if the author does not support his discussion of a given maneuver with a map. So, I have my standar set and try to figure out where the unit is located.
DJ

A bit
I have to agree 100% about the maps DJ. I was reading a book about the Kursk with almost no reference maps and finally got so cunfused I gave up. Like Animal says,
"Shaun wants maps!"

Shaun

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I am reading "Light This Candle : The Life & Times of Alan Shepard--America's First Spaceman"
by Neal Thompson. Would rate it excellent as far the history of the space program is concerned. Pretty topical too, since his first flight was May 5th, 1961.

I've been reading mostly about modern African conflicts recently and a bunch about the Balkans too. To be honest, it's heart breaking, sad stuff.

A very well done book about the horrors of Rwanda is Fergal Keane's Season of Blood . Its a quick read, but powerful.

Just kind of burnt out on WWII. I spend so little time on other conflicts that are still burning, I felt it was a good idea to try and expand my horizons a bit.

Of course the Middle East books are aways a constant and I can recomend War Without End by Anton LaGuardia as a good look into the Isreali/Palestinian conflict.

In the middle of My War Gone By, I Miss It So by Anthony Loyd. It's about Yugoslavia and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.

Steve

Steve-- interesting. Certainly this is an area that we seldom explore in the forum. You might wish to start a thread based on what you discover.
DJ

Here are my two favorites.

"The Iron Brigade" by Alan T. Nolan. Civil War Times Illustrated put it on its 100 best books written on the Civil War. It's the book, the source. Still stands the test of time.

"Incredible Victory" by Walter Lord. Great book on The Battle of Midway. Tells the story of the men as well as the battle.

-Charlie

And Brave Men Too.

I might commend to you "The First World War" by Hew Strachan. British author who very effectively examines the causes and effects of the first world war. I am a fairly well-read person on the subject, but Strachan opens up new discussion points. Which is what reading is all about.
DJ

How about Ambrose - his books on the US Army in WWII,
Band of Brothers
D-Day
The Victors
All provide a view into the lives of the oridinary soldier in war.

Cornelius Ryan
A Bridge too Far
Longest Day
The Last Battle - The first account of the Russians and the horrors imposed upon the female population of Berlin.

Both authors are very easy to read and I have enjoyed the titles abouve as well as other books.

I could not agree with you more regarding the Ryan series of books. They are well written and contain a wealth of information. I loved Ambrose "Band of Brothers" but I have to say that his follow-on works largely repeat what you read in BoB. I shy away from his other books (Victors, Eisenhower's Boys, etc).
DJ

This may sound odd but one of my favorite books is by Martin Caiden (the guy who invented the Six Million Dollar Man). He wrote "The Tigers are Burning". It's a story about the Kursk salient.

Yes, I'm also a fan of John Keegan, H. Liddell Hart, Col Gen. H. Guderian, Rommell (Infantry Attacks) and a couple of others but I forget authors too quickly. Also, too many of my books are by Stephen Abrose.

Hello all,
This is excellent, finally a place to discuss true history. Books, I am student with triple major in economics, history and political science. History, wow, a list of good books on conflict between armies and individuals. The feel for being there. Men, and women do what they must, and it is up to those who live to pass on the stories. It is equally up to those who do not know to pay respect to those who give us the good things in life we have.

World War II
With The Old Breed (US Marines)

Hitler Moves East (Paul Carell) One of the best books ever written on the Eastern Front from both a grand strategy and an indiviudal soldiers point of view.

Scorched Earth (Paul Carell) Second Best Book on the Eastern Front. This book begins with the battle of Kursk.

Vietnam
We Were Soldiers Once and Young (Joe Galloway)

Guns Up (Johnny Clark) !!!!!!

Various
The Only Way To Die (Johnny Clark) Fiction based on the life of a real 3 war Marine.

Those are the ones I can come up with off the top of my head. Sorry to hear there is a possibility that the Forgotten Soldier might be fictitious. For some reason the book didnt grasp me like I thought it would. If I think of anymore, I will add.

2 books not to be missed are Stalingard and Berlin by Antony Beevor true accts of what happened during the battles for these cities has loads of 1st hand accts by vets of both sides and also war without garlands all about Op Barbarossa with a lot of 1st hand accts as well

Yes, I read those two books but out of order. I was suprised at how easy they were to read. I spent most of my time reading Keegan and since I'm American, I had to get used to the proper English.

My first WWII books were by Stephan Ambrose.

I am still ambivalent about Ambrose. His "Band of Brothers" is fantastic reading. However, the follow-on works "D-Day," "Eisenhowers' Boys," and severalothers have huge segments from the BoB work. Most of his subsequent writing is repetitive.
DJ

i'm also reading a book by keegan about greek infantry battle, very interesting stuff

Now, there is a superb writer-- John Kegan. Wrote some powerful books, what is the title of the Greek Infantry one?

I read a lot of non-fiction military books but it's seldom that I read a book more than once. But there are a few,

The Civil War by Shelby Foote (what a writer!)

Wartime by Paul Fessel

On the Front Lines by Ellis

Fielding's The Worlds Most Dangerous Places

Lyn McDonalds WW1 books (Somme, Paschendale, 1915)

PB