War - Books?
 

:cd:


Of all books about war or warfare (its conduct, history, aftermath or cause), WHICH one, only one, would you deem "the best" you personally would recommend, and the name of its author???

My choice would be:

A TALE OF TWO CITIES, by: Charles Dickens

:cl:

Tough one.

"The Art of War", Tuz (Sp?)

Hello,
Wow this has to be one of the best questions (so i can see other people's answers and read those books haha). Lets see Stephen Ambrose is my favourite history writer I just finished "Americans at war" today couldn't put it down its a series of essays or lessons if you will. But I am bias cause i enjoy all his books. All time though if you will allow it would be "The Illiad" thats goin way back but that book i read in junior high and high school and something about it always got me goin so much more vivid and interesting than television.

I have several books about wars, some are third hand observations, some are personal stories. My favorite is "Quartered Safe Out Here" by George MacDonald Fraser (the author of the "Flashman" series). It's his story of WWII in the Far East fighting the Japanese. The guy is a great story teller. I also recommend his post WWII short stories (fiction, but based on real people) about his service in what was then Palestine and his pre-demobilization time in Scotland. Good stuff and very funny.

Robert Leckie"s
"A Helmet For My Pillow". Non-fiction. For fiction, I might go with Norman Mailer's "The Naked and the Dead".

I bet if someone would logically collate some of the posts on this site into related chapters , the resulting book would be a best seller.

Not long ago I finished an eye-opener book about the happenings in Afghanistan, which I would highly recommend and be interested in knowing other people's impressions of:

"Taliban, Militant Islam, Oil & Fundamentalism in Central Asia"
By: Ahmed Rashid
Yale University Press
2001

Catch 22 - Joseph Heller... Classic!

Gates of Fire - Steven Pressfield... well-researched fiction work covering the Spartans at Thermopole - great book, a must-read for anyone interested in small unit leadership or the hardship and glory of battle.

"The Things They Carried' Non-fiction novel by Tim O'Brien