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Military History Novels

Discussion in 'Books & Comics' started by Lock_S_Foils, Jan 25, 2018.

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  1. Lock_S_Foils

    Lock_S_Foils Red Leader

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    Cantina, let's talk military history nonfiction or fictional novels. A passion of mine, been reading books about war or battles all my life. Here are some of my most favorites.

    1. For Crew and Country - Probably my most favorite novel about war. By John Wukovits, tells the story of the USS Samuel B. Roberts, a small destroyer escort ship in WWII. Incredibly detailed and stirring novel, tells of the forming of the crew, follows the ship's skipper, Captain Copeland, and his incredible leadership under fire. The battle of Leyte Gulf at the end of the Pacific War in late 1944 featured an amazing "David vs Goliath" engagement where several US destroyers and destroyer escorts (very small warships) held off Japanese Battleships (incuding the Yamato, the largest ever built), heavy cruisers. The USS Roberts was amazing. Must read this book!!

    2. Gates of Fire - Fictional novel about an actual historical event, the battle of Thermopylae. by Steven Pressfield, follows one member of the Spartans in their epic stand against the Persians. Much better than the historically inaccurate movie "300" - another must read!

    3. With the Old Breed by Eugene Sledge. Brutal first hand true story of US Marine Eugene Sledge in the Pacific theater in WWII. Incredible characters, courage, and battle accounts of the 1st US Marine Division.

    4. The First Heroes - About Jimmy Doolittle's raid on Tokyo with 16 US B-25 bombers, APril 18, 1942. Incredibly detailed accounts of what happened to all 16 crews as they bombed Tokyo then attempted to make it to China.
     
    #1 Lock_S_Foils, Jan 25, 2018
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  2. Use the Falchion

    Use the Falchion Jedi Contrarian

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    I don't know anything about military fiction, but you've convinced me to read some of your suggestions! ...after I get through a majority of the list I'm currently working through...
     
    #2 Use the Falchion, Jan 25, 2018
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  3. Lock_S_Foils

    Lock_S_Foils Red Leader

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    @Use the Falchion No problem! Come back on here sometime to discuss, if you get a chance to read any of them. As I said, For Crew and Country is incredible.....once you get into the battle portion you cannot put it down, about 200 pages will fly by.

    What is on your list right now, if you don't mind me asking?
     
    #3 Lock_S_Foils, Jan 25, 2018
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  4. Use the Falchion

    Use the Falchion Jedi Contrarian

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    Right now, Lonesome Dove. After that, some YA stuff by Tamora Pierce and Claudia Gray. After that, I should get back to Malazan (I want to finish the series before 2019, but I'm not sure if I can feasibly do it with everything else on my list), but I'll probably try Brent Weeks' Lightbringer series instead. Or Sufficiently Advanced Magic by Andrew Rowe.

    By the end of the summer I'll read Django Wexler's The Infernal Battalion, Pierce Brown's Iron Gold, Anthony Ryan's Draconis Memoria 2&3, Brian McClellan's Gods of Blood and Powder series, and the latest Expanse novel.

    More nebulous on the list are: The Odyssey (Emily Wilson's new translation and a more classical version), War and Peace, Catch-22, Angle of Repose, Brave New World (I read this one in high school, but I want to see if my perspective has changed on it since then), the Thrawn Trilogy, and a book by Guy Gavriel Kay (The Lions of Al-Rassan is the most likely).

    ...I'm trying to branch out...

    What's on your list?
     
    #4 Use the Falchion, Jan 25, 2018
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  5. Addi Ras

    Addi Ras MASTER TEA MAKER
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    Some meny books I could list here
    Gates of Fire is a fantastic read as his novel on the Sparta Athens war Tides of War.

    If you like ancient military then check out Conn Iggulden Emperor series about the rise of Julius Caesar.

    I'm also really into Alternative History novels.
     
    #5 Addi Ras, Jan 25, 2018
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  6. Lock_S_Foils

    Lock_S_Foils Red Leader

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    Wow, @Use the Falchion , great list!

    On my list to read, next, in no particular order:

    SW Books:
    Catalyst
    Tarkin
    Thrawn
    TLJ Novel
    Other SW movie novels, all you guys say that ROTJ is very good, will get that
    SW Prequel movie novels, have heard they are great too

    Books I have read, and re-read, and re-re-read....

    All works of Tolkien but especially the LOTR Trilogy and the Letters of JRR Tolkien, my favorites -- must have re-read portions of LOTR hundreds of times!!!
    For Crew and Country
    Gates of Fire
    The First Heroes
    With the Old Breed
    Helmet for my Pillow - another WWII Marine novel, also used as source material for the Miniseries "The Pacific"
    At Dawn We Slept - About the attack on Pearl Harbor
    Incredible Victory - Awesome book by Walter Lord about the Battle of Midway - just superb, highly recommended

    ...let me think some more and I will be back
     
    #6 Lock_S_Foils, Jan 25, 2018
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  7. Choose Light

    Choose Light Mando Maven and Brown Eyes Backer

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    If you're interested in historical fiction in a military setting, a series I heartily recommend is the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian. (If you saw the movie Master and Commander with Russell Crowe, that was kind of an amalgam of the events of a few books in the series.) These take place during the Napoleonic Wars from a British (and Irish/Catalan) point of view.

    (FYI, Keith Richards said if he was stuck on a desert island he'd want these books with him...which is what convinced my nonfiction- and musical biography-loving husband to read them rather than any persuasion of mine. :p)

    There's not a moment to lose! ;)
     
    #7 Choose Light, Jan 25, 2018
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  8. Lock_S_Foils

    Lock_S_Foils Red Leader

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    Your behavior, @Choose Light , is continually unexpected.....

    Wow, I had never heard of that series of books before, thanks so much. Just read all of the reviews on Amazon from your link....

    It doesn't hurt that:

    1. I am a huge fan of Master and Commander, in my Top 10 military/battle movies of all time.
    2. I am a huge fan of Keith Richards
     
    #8 Lock_S_Foils, Jan 25, 2018
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  9. FN-3263827

    FN-3263827 First Order CPS
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    some of my favorites (all American Civil War-period):

    By Antietam Creek by Don Robertson
    Prisoners of Twilight by Don Robertson
    (really, pretty much anything Civil War by Don Robertson)​
    A Soldier's Book by Joanna Higgins
    Andersonville by MacKinley Kantor
    Shiloh by Shelby Foote
    Ambrose Bierce's Civil War (short story collection)
    Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (an oldie but a goodie)
     
    #9 FN-3263827, Jan 25, 2018
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  10. Lock_S_Foils

    Lock_S_Foils Red Leader

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    Definite Lando rating on this....solely for the RB of C....one of my fave war novels of all time.

    Although I am a huge Civil War buff, haven't read a lot as far as novels (have read a lot of battle summaries, watched and loved Gettysburg....and Glory!

    By the way, we might need another thread just on war movies, but Glory is in my estimation one of the Top 5 war movies of all time!
     
    #10 Lock_S_Foils, Jan 25, 2018
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  11. FN-3263827

    FN-3263827 First Order CPS
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    what's this "top 5" you speak of? Glory is no. 1!
    and its soundtrack is unparalleled (rest in peace, James Horner).

    but yeah, i highly recommend all of the above. : D
     
    #11 FN-3263827, Jan 25, 2018
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  12. Choose Light

    Choose Light Mando Maven and Brown Eyes Backer

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    Ah, Gettysburg... Was I the only person who got geek-mad when RotS stole its best line?




    :p

    Of course, everyone knows the actual best line is "Fix bayonets!" :D
     
    #12 Choose Light, Jan 26, 2018
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  13. FN-3263827

    FN-3263827 First Order CPS
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    i love that movie for its ambition, but my goodness the speechifyin' that goes on for three hours straight ~ hahahaha
     
    #13 FN-3263827, Jan 26, 2018
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  14. Ruralfarmboy

    Ruralfarmboy Jedi General

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    WOAH ! Easy Girl.

    I am a former Am. Civil War Re-enactor of 15 years.
    (Co. C 63rd Pa Vol. Inf, "Kearney's Thieves")

    And, Yes I Know you are involved with Historical Documentation.

    BUT !

    I hold that as your opinion.

    Neither Right Nor Wrong.

    Just Your Opinion, To You.

    LOVE LOVE LOVE Ya The Same.


    --- Double Post Merged, Jan 26, 2018, Original Post Date: Jan 26, 2018 ---
    @Stormagadon can speak for me.
    He and I, Well We shared some things ... Info, Photos and Such.

    Yep.
     
    #14 Ruralfarmboy, Jan 26, 2018
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  15. Lock_S_Foils

    Lock_S_Foils Red Leader

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    Wow, this is why I love the Cantina! Great to meet someone with the same taste in war movies.....ok I agree Glory! is the greatest ever. I’ve actually done some research into that movie and found it pretty historically accurate. For example the many Union flags seen in the background are period accurate including the one with the stars arranged in a star pattern. Also it is amazing to me the physical resemblance (facial features) of Broderick and Col Shaw.....have u ever seen pictures side by side? I think Broderick did great in his portrayal of the young guy from Boston leading those brave men.
     
    #15 Lock_S_Foils, Jan 26, 2018
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  16. FN-3263827

    FN-3263827 First Order CPS
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    i'm not involved in "historical documentation", and yes, i'm expressing my opinion.
    wow. maybe chill out a bit, eh? : o p

    the watermelons are wrong though. totally out of season ~ hahahaha
    but yes, Broderick was inspired casting.
    wish they had used Morse (factual) instead of Forbes (fictional) as his friend, though i loved Cary Elwes in this too.
     
    #16 FN-3263827, Jan 26, 2018
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  17. Lock_S_Foils

    Lock_S_Foils Red Leader

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    Agreed! The Harlem Boys Choir at the end, from when Shaw falls and the 54th fights their way up the hill is just absolutely awe inspiring!!!
     
    #17 Lock_S_Foils, Jan 26, 2018
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  18. Ruralfarmboy

    Ruralfarmboy Jedi General

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    OH ! My! Gawd !
    Ain't !
    It !
    JUST !??

    Still .. Haunts Me To This Very Day.
    ... suspect Some too ....
    --- Double Post Merged, Jan 26, 2018, Original Post Date: Jan 26, 2018 ---
    @FN-3263827 Yep,
    I am More than, as You say, 'Chill'

    I Get Ya.

    We ?
    We're Good.
    Yer's an' Mine.
    We're Good.
     
    #18 Ruralfarmboy, Jan 26, 2018
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  19. Lock_S_Foils

    Lock_S_Foils Red Leader

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    You just had to go and mention Glory! didn't you....!!??? I am crying here watching this scene.....god what a great movie.....you are right Horner's score is incredible....

    GIVE 'EM HELL 54TH!!!!

     
    #19 Lock_S_Foils, Jan 26, 2018
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  20. Lock_S_Foils

    Lock_S_Foils Red Leader

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    Col Joshua Chamberlain...."Well if we don't hold them, they go on by, right over the hill, and the whole flank caves in"......"Well....we can't run away....and if we stay here we can't shoot.....so let's fix bayonets....we'll have the advantage of moving down the hill.....the Rebs gotta be tired......."

    BAYONETS!!
     
    #20 Lock_S_Foils, Jan 26, 2018
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