YABT: Looking for military literature to read

[GasX]

Originally posted by: GuybrushThreepwood

Originally posted by: Mwilding

Originally posted by: GuybrushThreepwood


which ones are really nitty gritty?

define "nitty gritty"

nitty gritty as in realistic characters and a general sense of dread aka "there are no winners in war"

Tom Clancy - Without Remorse
or Stephen Pressfield - Gates of Fire

The first is the tale of a baddass seeking revenge
The second is the tale of 500 brave men on a suicide mission

The first is pulpy fiction - even if Clancy is a good pulp fiction writer
The second is historical fiction

The first has one man taking out many
The second has a few men taking out thousands.

You will enjoy immensely either one.

 

[LordMorpheus]

new book, Flyboys, sobering look at the pacific theater.

Pressfield's Gates of Fire is absolutely completely one of the best books I've read. The badassness is through the roof, and its even historical!

 

[StevenYoo]

Originally posted by: Mwilding

Originally posted by: GuybrushThreepwood

Originally posted by: Mwilding

Originally posted by: GuybrushThreepwood


which ones are really nitty gritty?

define "nitty gritty"

nitty gritty as in realistic characters and a general sense of dread aka "there are no winners in war"

Tom Clancy - Without Remorse
or Stephen Pressfield - Gates of Fire

The first is the tale of a baddass seeking revenge
The second is the tale of 500 brave men on a suicide mission

The first is pulpy fiction - even if Clancy is a good pulp fiction writer
The second is historical fiction

The first has one man taking out many
The second has a few men taking out thousands.

You will enjoy immensely either one.

thanks for the recommendations!

i'll definitely check these out

 

[imported_sphinx]

William L. Shirer - The Rise & Fall of The Third Reich

It's a long book, but, an excellent read.

 

[Ausm]

Originally posted by: sphinx
William L. Shirer - The Rise & Fall of The Third Reich

It's a long book, but, an excellent read.

:thumbsup:

Ausm

 

[PanzerIV]

Originally posted by: pyonir
Paging PanzerIV....paging PanzerIV....

He'll list hundreds. 😉

LOL! I bet you still haven't even read my recommendations yet. 🙂

As for the OP I am not much into fiction military books but I have some good WWII and Vietnam non fiction recommendations if you're interested. I am not good at titles so I will have to dig out some of the books when I get home.

The ones I do recall are as follows:

1): Ripcord: Screaming Eagles Under Siege by Keith W. Nolan (Vietnam era)

2): The 900 Days: The Siege of Leningrad by Harrison E. Salisbury (WWII era)

3): Crisis in the Pacific by Gerald Astor (Very good WWII oral history)

4): To Hell and Back by Audie Murphy (WWII)

5: Oba, the Last Samurai by Don Jones (WWII Saipan, South Pacific)

6): HILL 488 By Ray Hildreth (excellent Vietnam narrative)

 

[ThePresence]

Originally posted by: LordMorpheus
new book, Flyboys, sobering look at the pacific theater.

I 2nd that. The book gave me a whole new prespective on the pacific, the war, and humanity in general.

 

[Vanman]

One non-fiction war / military book that I highly recommend is About Face.

I also agree that from a pure military stand point the W.E.B. Griffin books are great, while Tom Clancy is more espionage / thriller type genre.

Dirk

 

[GasX]

I just remembered another fantastic book

John M Del Vechio - The 13th Valley
It's a Vietnam War Story

 

[fenrir]

You mentioned Sci-Fi so I have to recommend Armor by John Steakley. I loved this book when I read it 12 years ago.

Link to Amazon listing

Matt