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43 Books About War Every Man Should Read
Art of Manliness ^ | 12-2-13 | Ryan Holiday.

Posted on 01/10/2014 5:48:26 PM PST by dynachrome

War is unquestionably mankind at his worst. Yet, paradoxically, it is in war that men — individual men — often show the very best of themselves. War is often the result of greed, stupidity, or depravity. But in it, men are often brave, loyal, and selfless.

I am not a soldier. I have no plans to become one. But I’ve studied war for a long time. I am not alone in this.

The greats have been writing and reading about war — its causes, its effects, its heroes, its victims — since the beginning of written text. Some of our most powerful literature is either overtly about war or profoundly influenced by it. Homer’s epic poems are about war — first, ten years of battle against Troy and then ten years of battle against nature and the gods. Thucydides, our first great historian, wrote about the Peloponnesian War — the great war between Sparta and Athens. Rome was built by war and literature, and the world has been influenced by that ever since. The American Empire is no different — our men came home and wrote about the Civil War, about the Spanish-American War, about WWI, about WWII. A new generation has come home and has written (and is still writing) powerful books about the counterinsurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The study of war is the study of life, because war is life in the rawest sense. It is death, fear, power, love, adrenaline, sacrifice, glory, and the will to survive.

(Excerpt) Read more at artofmanliness.com ...


TOPICS: Books/Literature; Chit/Chat; Reference
KEYWORDS: bookclub; bookreview; books; literature; war
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To: dynachrome
Great list, actually. I have some additions but no deletions. Been doing quite a bit of reading on the topic courtesy of a few boxes of books left to me by my late Dad, and here are some that stand out:

Lost Victories by von Manstein. One of the most brilliant German generals speaks about what it was like obeying a fool and playing with a losing hand.

The Real War, 1914-1918 by B. Liddell Hart. A guy who interviewed all of the WWII generals on an even basis. This is his take on WWI.

The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer. Astonishing.

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer. Take your time with this one. It's worth it.

The Second World War Six volumes by somebody named Churchill. If you have to ask you'll never know.

Anything by John Keegan, Victor Davis Hanson, or Bruce Catton.

It isn't so much war, I think, it's about war as a facet of the overall human condition. Why can we not do this? What is it about war that is so inextricably linked with what we are? Good stuff...

21 posted on 01/10/2014 6:18:46 PM PST by Billthedrill
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Comment #22 Removed by Moderator

To: Billthedrill

I’m disappointed that Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo didn’t make the list.

At the very least the opening paragraph, where Ted Lawson mentions that he watched as a friend sawed off one of his legs, makes it a worthy contender.


23 posted on 01/10/2014 6:21:53 PM PST by tanknetter
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To: dynachrome

Victor Davis Hanson is controversial? Right away I have to disregard whatever this person has to say.


24 posted on 01/10/2014 6:23:54 PM PST by csmusaret (Will remove Obama-Biden bumperstickers for $10)
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To: Monterrosa-24

He also has a book by vicious, anti-American, NY Slimes writer Chris Hedges. Anything by Hedges is guaranteed to slime the U.S. It looks like there are some good books on this list, but I’d beware a lot of them.


25 posted on 01/10/2014 6:25:00 PM PST by driftless2
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To: dynachrome
504th, Afghanistan, May 2012 photo 504thParaInfRegt82ndABGhazniProvAfghanistanMay2012.jpg One of the largely forgotten classics on war is THE TASTE OF COURAGE: THE WAR, 1939-1945 as edited by Desmond Flower and James Reeves. It runs over 1100 pages but has the greatest quotations from privates to generals and civilians from all sides.
26 posted on 01/10/2014 6:25:19 PM PST by Monterrosa-24 (...even more American than a French bikini and a Russian AK-47)
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To: Billthedrill

The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer

Try not to be on the losing side. (I guess debunked, but even if mostly fiction,a very good depiction of the horrors on the eastern front. You might try Siege, A Novel of the Eastern Front. about the siege of Cholm. pretty depressing to be a common soldier for Hitler. http://www.amazon.com/Siege-Novel-Eastern-Front-1942/dp/1582880468/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389407054&sr=1-1&keywords=siege+a+novel+of+the+eastern+front )


27 posted on 01/10/2014 6:25:54 PM PST by dynachrome (Vertrou in God en die Mauser)
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To: SkyDancer
Another GREAT book, and one I highly recommend reading the next time you're having a bad day. The author is a female too, if you can believe that! ;)

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption - Laura Hillenbrand


28 posted on 01/10/2014 6:26:41 PM PST by Errant (Surround yourself with intelligent and industrious people who help and support each other.)
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To: Errant

Just did a search on it. Yep, will hit the library to see if I can get it.


29 posted on 01/10/2014 6:28:18 PM PST by SkyDancer ("How Can People Ask Forgiveness If They Won't Forgive Others?")
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To: Billthedrill

The Forgotten Solder by Sajer, is really something.

Everyone should read that.


30 posted on 01/10/2014 6:29:04 PM PST by ansel12 ( Ben Bradlee -- JFK told me that "he was all for people's solving their problems by abortion".)
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To: Zuben Elgenubi
Smedley Butler: War is a Racket
31 posted on 01/10/2014 6:30:48 PM PST by Trailerpark Badass (There should be a whole lot more going on than throwing bleach, said one woman.)
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To: Monterrosa-24
 photo France1944002_zps46543141.jpg A picture is worth a lot of words. This one was taken by Norman Dankelman of the 208th ECB. It is near St. Lo. France in 1944.
32 posted on 01/10/2014 6:31:32 PM PST by yarddog (Romans 8: verses 38 and 39. "For I am persuaded".)
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To: doc1019

After the first shot all plans go to hell.


33 posted on 01/10/2014 6:33:18 PM PST by piroque ("In times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act")
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To: dynachrome

Cripes. A swipe of 43 titles. That’ll take 15 min just to scroll past.


34 posted on 01/10/2014 6:36:48 PM PST by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Technological progress cannot be legislated.)
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To: driftless2
SS tanks in Kharkov, Ukraine photo tanks-of-the-1st-SS-Panzer-Division-Leibstandarte-SS-Adolf-Hitler-n-Kharkov-March-1943_zps045da970.jpg There are so many classics that bring the perspectives of we common folks when confronted by war. One such book is THE FALL OF HONG KONG: THE LASTING HONOUR OF A DESPERATE RESISTANCE about Brit reservists pressed into service and ill supplied facing off against the peak of Japanese momentum. That fine book is by Tim Carew. I love much of the humor and common sense in WAR AS I KNEW IT by George S. Patton, Jr. He paints with a broad brush but he has some great and often ignored advice. He made the case that having military cemeteries on the approach roads to the front does nothing for morale except for the graves registration units. He consistently makes the case that accepting horrific casualties to cover ground fast (or get inland quickly in amphib ops) saves lives in the long run.
35 posted on 01/10/2014 6:38:59 PM PST by Monterrosa-24 (...even more American than a French bikini and a Russian AK-47)
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To: dynachrome

Face of Battle by John Keegan is a book that follows a handful of important battles. Each is from the view of an actual specific soldier or low officer fighting it. Fascinating and sobering. Needs to be in the top five here.

J.F.C. Fuller’s classic two volume tome: Decisive Battles of the Western World is important in that it contradicts the modern psuedo-wisdom that the tides of history are such that the battles are unimportant. No, often it is a closely won battle that changes the tides.

I’m surprised, but I’ve read about half of these listed books.

Oldplayer


36 posted on 01/10/2014 6:41:00 PM PST by oldplayer
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To: dynachrome
"War Story" by Jim Morris. First person story of Special Forces at war in Vietnam in the earlier days.

He also wrote the movie "Operation Dumbo Drop" for Disney.

37 posted on 01/10/2014 6:41:01 PM PST by PLMerite (Shut the Beyotch Down! Burn, baby, burn!)
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To: Zuben Elgenubi; Larry Lucido
Did you know that Leo Tolstoy was going to name his book War and Peace, "War - What is it good for?"
38 posted on 01/10/2014 6:43:02 PM PST by Perdogg (Ted Cruz-Rand Paul 2016)
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To: dynachrome

Anyone else notice that nearly all of his Civil War books are by Union Generals. None by Confederate ones.


39 posted on 01/10/2014 6:43:10 PM PST by yarddog (Romans 8: verses 38 and 39. "For I am persuaded".)
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To: Errant

+1 for Unbroken! It is like three books in one. Each segment of Louis Zamperini’s life could be a book in itself. Good thing this is non-fiction. Were it a novel, no one would buy into it because the story is too fantastic to believe.

Oldplayer


40 posted on 01/10/2014 6:43:53 PM PST by oldplayer
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