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REQUEST: Good aviation/military books

invertedflyer

500 ft. from said obstacle
Angles of Attack: An A-6 Intruder Pilot's War by Peter Hunt.

This one is for you Intruder Driver, a truly exceptional recollection of a navy intruder pilot's fight over Iraq. Not only is it extremely detailed and well written, but its downright hilaroius to read at times. Its hard to find in local book stores, I'd check amazon if you're serious about purchasing it.
 

Rasczak

Marine
Afterburner:Naval Aviation and the Vietnam War by John Darrell Sherwood

Launch the Intruders by Carol Reardon

The Wild Blue : The Novel of the USAF by Steven Thomson

Afterburner is fairly good. It's similar to a collection of stories from different men/aviators during Vietnam. It's not a comprehensive study of Naval Aviation and Vietnam, but I think it's good and worth the read.

Launch the Intruders is pretty good. I like it quite a bit. It's about the '71-'72 Sunday Punchers Attack Squadron. I haven't quite finished it but from what I've read it worth the mention.

The Wild Blue is actually a pretty good FICTIONAL book based on fact. From the reviews I've read it acurately depicts the AF from '45 to about the end of the Vietnam war. It's a pretty good read. I had trouble putting it down.
 

scoober78

(HCDAW)
pilot
Contributor
Making The Corps By Thomas E. Ricks. Story of young men going through boot camp and then their experiences for a few years afterwords. Also has very good comparisons of Army v. Marine Corps. The author is the man who ispired Nathaniel Fick, who was a Marine Force Recon Captain during the Iraq invasion (2003) and is now an author of an equally intresting book that has already been listed above called One Bullet Away: The Making Of A Marine Officer



Just wanted to second this reccomendation. Making the Corps is a very interesting read from a very interesting perspective. Well worth the time and an easy read.
 

FastMover

NFO
None
Feet Wet by Adm. Paul Gillchrist. I'm in the middle of this one now. Chronicles the career of a Navy pilot over three decades. He began training in SNJ's and made his final flight in an F-14.

Secret Commandos-Behind Enemy Lines with SOG by John Plaster. Very good read about Special Forces operations across the fence into Laos and Cambodia.

The Jolly Rogers by Capt. Tom Blackburn. F4 Corsairs in the Pacific, also very good.
 

EM1

Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit
Thunder Below! - ADM Eugene B. Fluckey
By far the best submarine warfare book I've ever read. These diesel boat sailors were CRAZY. My CMC in New York used to tell stories from it during GMT. Much better than the stupid annual OPSEC slide show :)
Dark Waters - Lee Vyborny and Don Davis
Pretty much a cult classic around here. An interesting perspective on what was the cold war, and how ADM Rickover used it to get what he wanted.
 

scoober78

(HCDAW)
pilot
Contributor
Thunder Below! - ADM Eugene B. Fluckey
By far the best submarine warfare book I've ever read. These diesel boat sailors were CRAZY. My CMC in New York used to tell stories from it during GMT.

HA! I read a passage from Thunder Below! when I got my dolphins...topside floating over the Tongue of the Ocean, Bahamas....June 2000...awesome.
 

bogey1

New Member
Craig Symonds- Decisions At Sea
George Gay- Sole Survivor

Midway era classics. Symonds looks at the 5 Naval battles that changed history, and Ensign Gay's water survival story is awesome. Check it out.
 
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HercDriver

Idiots w/boats = job security
pilot
Super Moderator
In honor the recent death of Pulitzer prize winning journalist and author David Halberstam, who died on the 23rd of April, I recommend:

The Best and the Brightest: His book about the whiz-kids who surrounded JFK (Robert McNamara, Dean Rusk, McGeorge Bundy) and the entry into Viet Nam. A classic. He was also one of the top reporters during the Viet Nam war.

I'm also going out on a limb and recommend some poetry; Barracks Room Ballads: by Rudyard Kipling. Here was someone who through his writing of the common British soldier (Tommy Atkins in that era's parlance) and the conditions he experienced brought about reform and better treatment. Poems like "Tommy" that discuss the publics wartime regard/peacetime disregard for the common soldier:
..."For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Chuck him out, the brute!”
But it’s “Saviour of ’is country” when the guns begin to shoot;
An’ it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ anything you please;
An’ Tommy ain’t a bloomin’ fool—you bet that Tommy sees! "

The well known "Gunga-Din", and one of my favorites, "The Young British Soldier", which is from the viewpoint of the seasoned vet speaking to the neophyte and ends with:

"When you’re wounded and left on Afghanistan’s plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An’ go to your Gawd like a soldier.
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
So-oldier of the Queen!"
 

BarrettRC8

VMFA
pilot
Echoing Fastmover's sentiment, The Jolly Rogers: The Story of Tom Blackburn and Navy Fighting Squadron VF-17 is excellent.
 

Swanee

Cereal Killer
pilot
None
Contributor
Every Man a Tiger by Gen. (ret) Chuck Horner and Tom Clancy- Yes it's an AF book but it's fairly detailed about how Horner became in charge of the AF and how they worked Desert Storm. Good stuff and I really haven't heard anyone say anything bad about Chuck Horner.

Fighter General- The Story of Adolf Galant- not sure who it's by, but it's a great read about the Luftwaffe and one of their leading aces in WW2.
 
The Sudden Sky by Michelaard, B- great book about two German brothers flying and fighting from the 30s to the 50s. This will be very hard to find but it is worth it. The author is a former pilot, though I'm not sure which service.

The Northwest Passage by Kenneth Roberts- tells the story of Major Rogers and his rangers through first the French and Indian War and later the exploration of the North American Continent. Anyone who's interested in this time period would love this book. The author went on to continue the series with the books Arundel and Rabble in Arms which focus on the battles of the Revolutionary War. Haven't read these ones yet.

Inside Delta Force by Eric Hanley- founding member of Delta Force tells the story of the recruitment process, the intense training, and the missions that followed. This exclusive look into Delta Force has rendered the author something of a pariah in the Delta community. Definitely worth checking out.
 

Nose

Well-Known Member
pilot
I cant believe that in 6 pages of recommended books on a site pretty much overrun by Navy Pilots, not one person has mentioned what I believe is the quintessential book on the carrier navy - "The Bridges at Toko Ri" by Michener.

If you have never read it, go buy it right now and read it. It is unusually short for a Michener book and he nails what being a warrior and a leader in Naval Aviation is all about. If there are any USAF weenies on the board, this book sums up why you are on the "B" team. The movie is not bad too.

"Nightengale's Song" is also excellent. For you Severen Trade School girls, that is a must read.

Mooch Carroll's books are great reads. Unlike Clancy (who is basically a clueless hack when it comes to details), Mooch nails the little things and that makes the overall story flow and work for people like you guys who are in the know.

Just finished "1776" which is germane to what is happening in America today (If Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi were alive in 1776, we'd all be having tea at 1600 every day).

You young guys, you SNAs and SNA hopefuls, get a copy of "Bridges at Toko Ri" and read it. Then read it again. Brubaker is the guy you want to be when you get your wings.

Best,

Nose
 

whitesoxnation

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
I dont know if they've been posted already, but I've read and liked the following:

Killer Elite - book about the ISA

Generation Kill - First Recon Bn in Iraq

Chosen Soldier: The Making of a Special Forces Warrior - What the title says

Panzer General - About Heinz Guderian

Gates of Fire - Battle of Thermopylae

Marine Sniper - About Carlos Heathcock
 
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