Military Book Club

[Tanksmasher]

Okay, so I was inspired to create a thread for discussion about great military books. There's been a lot of debate and interesting information in other threads about Special Operation Forces, military structure and organization, rank, fighter pilots and anything else under the sun. So I thought it would be a great idea to have a place for people to recommend their favorite military books, maybe provide a brief synopsis, or even a review.

Recently I bought Charles Henderson's Marine Sniper, which I'd read a long time ago and had forgotten until it was brought up in another thread. It's a great biography of Marine sniper Carlos Hathcock and his experiences in Viet Nam, and is now used as an informal text for sniper students. Hathcock is a renowned legend among snipers. He won several shooting championships, including the Wimbledon Cup for long-range shooting, and had 93 confirmed kills in Vietnam.
Curious about the lives of snipers, I decided to read this book again and couldn't put it down, and have since been looking for more books on the subject. I'm also interested in any recommendations on books about Special Operation Forces, dealing with Green Berets, Delta Force, SEALs or Pararescuemen. They can be books about personal stories or on the specific tactics and training of these units.
I obviously don't want to read just any book on these subjects, but a select few, perhaps books that you feel are the definitive books on the subject. I've read Black Hawk Down, which was even better than the movie, and provides some insight into the operations of Delta Force and Rangers, but I'd like to know more.
Here's a list of sniper books that I've come across, and would like to know which, if any, would be worth reading.

Snipers:
--One Shot, One Kill--by Charles Sasser and Craig Roberts
--Ultimate Sniper 2006: An Advanced Training Manual
--Hogs in the Shadows: Combat Stories from Marine Snipers in Iraq--by Milo Afong
--Shooter: The Autobiography of the Top-ranked Marine Sniper--by Jack Coughlin, et al

Green Berets:
--The Green Berets: The Amazing Story--by Robin Moore, et al
--War Stories of the Green Berets--by Hans Halberstadt
--Reflections of a Warrior--by Franklin Miller, et al

SEALs:
--Seals: The US Navy's Elite Fighting Force--by Mir Bahmanyar
--Lone Survivor--by Marcus Luttrel
--Death Before Dawn: SEAL Strike--by Martin Strong

Delta Force:
--Inside Delta Force: The Story of America's Elite Counterterrorist Unit--by Eric Haney
--Killer Elite: The Inside Story of America's Most Secret Special Operations Team--by Michael Smith

Rangers:
--Diary of an Airborne Ranger: A LRRP's Year in the Combat Zone--by Frank Johnson
--US Army Ranger Handbook--by US Department of Defense
--75th Rangers--Russ Bryant
--Rangers in Combat--by J.D. Lock
--Recondo: LRRPs in the 101st--by Larry Chambers

Pararescuemen:
--None Braver--by Michael Hirsh
--That Others May Live--by Pete Nelson, et al

[Zefram]

Check out a book called "Overlord - General Pete Quesada and the Triumph of Tactical Air Power in World War II" by T.H. Hughes. It's about the life and tactics of Gen Quesada, whose tactics on combining close air support with ground-pounders helped win many a victory in the European campaign in WW2. Sadly, they forgot those lessons in the cold war, which cost us dearly in Nam, only to blow the dust off them and use them to great success in Iraq and Afghanistan. To my knowledge, they still teach his tactics to this day.

I might be a little biased, though, since he also my uncle. Sadly, his relation to my family wasn't discovered until after he passed away, so unfortunately neither my mom nor me got to meet the man.

[Tanksmasher]

Originally Posted by Zefram

Check out a book called "Overlord - General Pete Quesada and the Triumph of Tactical Air Power in World War II" by T.H. Hughes. It's about the life and tactics of Gen Quesada, whose tactics on combining close air support with ground-pounders helped win many a victory in the European campaign in WW2. Sadly, they forgot those lessons in the cold war, which cost us dearly in Nam, only to blow the dust off them and use them to great success in Iraq and Afghanistan. To my knowledge, they still teach his tactics to this day.

I might be a little biased, though, since he also my uncle. Sadly, his relation to my family wasn't discovered until after he passed away, so unfortunately neither my mom nor me got to meet the man.

Cool, thanks man, I'll have to look it up. Sorry to hear about his passing.

[Troynos]

I'm trying to find the series I read as a kid. My school had this like 20+ volume on weapons and warfare, pretty sure it was from TimeLife books. Was pretty cool to be in 5th/6th/7th grade and reading books on weapons, wouldn't happen nowadays.

I'm really interested in that sniper one. That would be a good read.

[Buffalo_MC]

I usually just lurk around the boards but this thread caught my attention. I also look for the definitive books about a certain era or unit. You mention one book I read and loved, Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrel. One that I would also recommend is House to House by David Bellavia, it's about the battle for Fallujah and is an intense read. I'm going to have to look thru my bookshelf for others, but those stand out. I usually bop around amazon and buy based on reviews. I will have to check out the ones you listed as well.

[Tanksmasher]

Originally Posted by Buffalo_MC

I usually just lurk around the boards but this thread caught my attention. I also look for the definitive books about a certain era or unit. You mention one book I read and loved, Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrel. One that I would also recommend is House to House by David Bellavia, it's about the battle for Fallujah and is an intense read. I'm going to have to look thru my bookshelf for others, but those stand out. I usually bop around amazon and buy based on reviews. I will have to check out the ones you listed as well.

Hey, welcome to the tank and thanks for the recommendations. Lone Survivor and House to House--I'll check em out! Thanks.

[fogger1138]

Originally Posted by Troynos

I'm trying to find the series I read as a kid. My school had this like 20+ volume on weapons and warfare, pretty sure it was from TimeLife books. Was pretty cool to be in 5th/6th/7th grade and reading books on weapons, wouldn't happen nowadays.

I'm really interested in that sniper one. That would be a good read.

I remember those! My library had them.

[Troynos]

Originally Posted by fogger1138

I remember those! My library had them.

I'm having the hardest time finding 'em online.

Those things were like my bibles.

My friends and I started our own D&D type game using those books. We each took countries and outfitted our armies with actual vehicles and weapons from those books, as well as stuff we designed on our own.

[ReganOmics]

three great books:
~Killing Rommel
~Gates of Fire
Both by Steven Pressfield

~the things they carried-byTim o'brien

[Tanksmasher]

Tim O'brien is a fantastic literary writer. One of my favorites. And The Things They Carried is one my favorite collection of short stories--I'm glad you mentioned it.