/k/ h343 what are some good non fiction books having to

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dispathches by michael herr.

fantastic account of the vitnam v american conflict.

George Orwell - homage to catalonia

>>10010588
These
Herr is the meme Vietnam book but there's a reason for that. Kubrick fucked up so horribly considering the potential source material right in front of him.

>>10010578
8

>>10010578
Not exhaustive but a good overview of what I'm familiar with.

Ancient:
Anabasis
History of the Peloponnesian War
Commentaries on the Gallic War
>I regard these as being the three key contemporary texts on ancient warfare in the Greco-Roman world.

The American Civil War:
James McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom
>The Civil War continues to be a divisive subject, but probably the best one-volume history.
US Grant's Autobiography
>The greatest military memoir since Caesar.
The Cavalry at Gettysburg
>Kind of an oddball choice, but it's actually a pretty good book not just for the battle but for understanding the use of cavalry in the gunpowder age.

World War I:
The Storm of Steel
Rommel's Attacks
Tanks in the Great War
>Excellent tactical memoirs. Storm of Steel is more personal; the other two are rather technical in nature.

The First World War by John Keegan
>Pretty good entry-level overview

World War 2:
The Liberation Trilogy by Rick Atkinson
>America in the Western Theater

With the Old Breed
>America in the Pacific Theater

Lost Victories
>Be careful with this one, since it's basically a huge excuse by a German field marshal, but it gives you both a pretty good taste of the Eastern Front as well as being a key text in the post-WW2 mythology of German military prowess.

Iron Eagle
>Biography of Curtis LeMay, which also gives a pretty good rundown on the development of air power.

Korean War
The Korean War by Max Hastings
>This is what you want on the Korean War, more detailed histories exist if some aspect catches your fancy.

Vietnam

Street Without Joy
>The French in Vietnam

We Were Soldiers
>Good tactical memoir, but doesn't deal with the strategic situation at all

The Best and the Brightest
>What the fuck was everybody thinking?

Dispatches
>This book is largely responsible for the aesthetics of Vietnam in the public mind, IMO.

Hanoi's War
>Author is obnoxious, but the best overview of what the war looked like from the NVN perspective

Modern Wars:
Black Hawk Down?
It's too soon to tell, sorry. Dispatches wasn't published until 1977, and it has little value as a history. Either read lame memoirs, blatantly partisan screeds, or talk to a veteran, I guess.