whatever war it might be? what are your fav's?
my all time favorite is ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
any other reccomendations?

One of my favorites is called You're Stepping On My Cloak And Dagger by Roger Hall. It's a sometimes light hearted, sometimes hilarious tale about Hall and his life in the O.S.S. during WW2. Unfortunately it's pretty hard to find a copy as it's been out of print for over 40 years. My copy is only in ok condition and it still cost me $30.

The best war novel I have ever read is "Johnny Got His Gun"
by Dalton Trumbo

Killer Angels

Very good book.

The best war books are the real ones (non-fiction)..I would say Flag Of Our Fathers and Band Of Brothers are my top two

we were soldiers once and young by harold moore

great non-fiction book about the first large scale vietnam war battle

highly reccommended

The Short-Timers by Gustav Hasford is one of my all time favorites. It's the book Full Metal Jacket was made from, and as much as I like that movie, it just doesn't do the book justice.

If you haven't read it, I reccomend it completely. It's a short read, although I believe it is now out of print. You can probably find a copy in a used book store though.

Hey folks - the topic is war novels. So non-fiction doesn't count.

These are my favorites:
A Farewell to Arms - Hemingway
Classic romance amid war

The Beardless Warriors - Richard Matheson
While obviously inspired by All Quiet..., this novel is probably the best WWII story I've ever read. Truly worth the read.

Where Eagles Dare - Alister MacLean
So much better than the film

Fields of Fire - James Webb
The best Vietnam novel I've ever read

Damnit, BoatDrinks, I was all primed to mention Dispatches by Michael Herr, an incredible stream-of-consciousness mind trip through the jungles of Vietnam. But it's non-fiction, so I won't mention it.

"The Things They Carried", by Tim O'Brien. A series of vignettes and short stories about Vietnam. As I read it, I wanted to howl, and foam at the mouth, and tear my teeth out -- it was that good!

Another great one for you is Those Devils in Baggy Pants by Ross S. Carter. Carter was one of three survivors of his original paratroop platoon which served in Europe & Africa during WWII. An excellent down to earth look at how things were. My copy is an old paperback from 1951, but I believe this one was reprinted not to long ago and should be available.

"Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara is one of my absolute favorite books.

Thin Red Line is excellent. MUCH better than the movie IMO.


edit -- another interesting trilogy (i think) is the British one "An Officer and a Gentleman", etc. It paints an interesting picture of the general ineffectualness and lack of preparation of the British army at the beginning of WWII -- esp in N. Africa. I read 2 of them this summer. Very interesting characters too.

Tuan Jim

Anything by Tim O'Brien

Going After Cacciato
In The Lake Of The Woods
The Things They Carried
If I Die In A Combat Zone

Trust me, if you like war stories/novels, check him out. He is one of the best authors out there.

Yep. The book that leapt immediately to mind.

The prequel "Gods and Generals" written by the son is not bad.

Check out W.E.B Griffin. He has several series of books dealing with WWII. I just finished reading his Men at War novels. Incredible stories dealing with the start of the CIA or "aka" the OSS.

The Last Heroes,Men at War Series , Vol 1

The Secret Warriors,Men at War, vol 2

The Soldier Spies, vol 3

The Fighting Agents, vol 4



He also has two an older series called The Brotherhood of War and The Corps I'm going to start these soon.

[Edited by Chili Palmer on 04-27-01 at 09:43 PM]