Comments on: A Combat Vet’s Reading List

By: Dr. Fred in PA

Dr. Fred in PA — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 04:29:35 +0000

One can’t go wrong with anything by Joseph Alexander, John Keegan or Victor David Hanson.

By: muggedbyreality

muggedbyreality — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 13:42:22 +0000

I am not a vet but I think that “On Combat” by LTC Dave Grossman is a must read for all sheepdogs and those who love them.

By: Literature » Maya Lin: Systematic Landscapes: Music | KQED Public Media for ...

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 06:04:20 +0000

[...] Jules Crittenden » A Combat Vet’s Reading List… 1st Cav Division, veteran of the Ia Drang battles of 1965 and author of “Baptism: A Vietnam Memoir,” spent many years trying to understand war and find some context for his own horrific combat experience by exploring war literature. … [...]

By: MikeHu

MikeHu — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:48:54 +0000

OK – trying again with that link:

Stephen Ambrose’s review of Gerald Astor’s Operation Iceberg

By: MikeHu

MikeHu — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:46:06 +0000

As a postscript to my earlier post, I would also add Gerald Astor’s book, Operation Iceberg, about the Okinawa campaign – surely a “special” part of hell for a lot of Americans. Here’s Stephen Ambrose’s review of the book: a href=”http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3651/is_/ai_n8728657″>Operation Iceberg by Gerald Astor

By: tcopeland

tcopeland — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:29:04 +0000

If folks want to track the books that they’ve read off the official service reading lists, they can use the little site I put up:

http://militaryprofessionalreadinglists.com/

It’s got the reading lists from the five services there… next up, I need to add a search feature since there are over 150 books listed.

Also, an interesting factoid – Bernard Lewis’ “Crisis of Islam” is featured on 4 of the 5 lists!

By: Tralfaz

Tralfaz — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:06:20 +0000

I would like to add Ernie Pyle’s “Brave Men”

How does the Vietnam War book “The 13th Valley” hold up to this list?

By: MikeHu

MikeHu — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:20:22 +0000

I'm not a vet, but I am always looking out for books on "The Bulge". Two that stood out for me were Charles B. MacDonald's "Company Commander" and Gerald Astor's "A Blood-Dimmed Tide" - the first a memoir and the second an oral-history based on interviews long after the fact.

By: justjon

justjon — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 03:01:20 +0000

Not to lower the academic standard of the reading list, but I must admit that I really enjoyed James Brady’s second book “Flyboys.” Written from the leftover notes from “Flags of Our Fathers”, I found it to be just profound.

By: leucanthemum

leucanthemum — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 01:57:18 +0000

I’m by no means a combat vet, but a voracious reader. On the lighter side of this discourse, how about Up Front, by Bill Mauldin? Or, for that matter, his more complete Willie and Joe: The WWII Years…