Good Books? (marine corps)

[stevo01]

just finished War Stories by Oliver north. It was decent but, Generation Kill by Evan Wright was truly intertaining. I enjoyed the fact that he quoted the young Marines, word for word, on many instances.

So, I was wondering what were some good books out right now dealing with current marine corps.....as well as some good leadership books?

cheers..stevo

 

[Slammer2]

just finished War Stories by Oliver north. It was decent but, Generation Kill by Evan Wright was truly intertaining. I enjoyed the fact that he quoted the young Marines, word for word, on many instances.

So, I was wondering what were some good books out right now dealing with current marine corp.....as well as some good leadership books?

cheers..stevo

I liked War Stories. And aside from the whole "Officers are scum" sentiment by the guys in Generation Kill, it was great. That was a tough one to put down. A good book on leadership is called "The Challenge of Command" by Roger H. Nye. Retired Colonel in the Army. Commissioned in 1946. He served under Gen. Patton during WW2. One of the nicer things about it is that at the end of each chapter, it has reading lists pertaining to the topics discussed.

Another good leadership book is called "Leadership: The Warrior's Art" by Christopher Kolenda. Its put out by the Army war college foundation press. I haven't quite finished that one just yet though. Right now, I'm in the process of reading 3 different books at the same time. I don't know why I do such things.

 

[gaijin6423]

One that's on my bookshelf is "The March Up". It's about a couple old, salty dogs that tagged along w/ the 1st Marine Division from the opening of Iraqi Freedom to Bagdad. It's a pretty easy read, too.

One of my absolute favorite Marine Corps books is "The Root". It's about the Marine involvement in Beruit, and despite it taking a bit to spool up, once it does... Wow. It's out of print now, unfortunately, and some theiving bastard swiped my copy a couple years ago.

There are hundreds of good Marine/other military books out there. I suggest trying the history (or military if they have it) section of your local Barnes&Noble or Borders. If you can't find something to satiate your palate, try the Marine Corps Association--Memebership is fairly cheap, and you'll get a magazine subscription and discounts on their books.

 

[pjxc415]

Generation Kill by Evan Wright is a must read.

 

[helldog]

I heard the Marine Corps Officer's Guide by Kenneth Estes is a good read...I read Spare Parts by Buzz Williams...having a good friend who's a reservist SGT to confirm much of this stuff made it a relevant read. A good view on how the Reserves are becoming more battle ready for today's situations and the problems that still plague this force.

 

[gaijin6423]

The Officer's Guide has a lot of good info in it, but I'd generally consider it reference material. As in, if you need an answer to a specific question, you can look it up in there. Use caution, though, because there are a few items in there that are outdated/antiquated. But if you want to know how to tie the knot on your sword, etc., it's a great place to look.

 

[stevo01]

I liked War Stories. And aside from the whole "Officers are scum" sentiment by the guys in Generation Kill, it was great. That was a tough one to put down. A good book on leadership is called "The Challenge of Command" by Roger H. Nye. Retired Colonel in the Army. Commissioned in 1946. He served under Gen. Patton during WW2. One of the nicer things about it is that at the end of each chapter, it has reading lists pertaining to the topics discussed.

Another good leadership book is called "Leadership: The Warrior's Art" by Christopher Kolenda. Its put out by the Army war college foundation press. I haven't quite finished that one just yet though. Right now, I'm in the process of reading 3 different books at the same time. I don't know why I do such things.

yeah, enlisted men have a way to persuade civilians of their opinion. some of it must have been true, do to the actions of Lt. Fick.

what about The corps reading list? any good ones on the list?

 

[BrandonJ1780]

good reads...

"Faith of the American Soldier" has some good words about Marines...not really a Marine Corps book, but I enjoyed it...Read a book not too long ago written by a Navy Chaplain who served with Marines going into Baghdad I believe...I'll go back and look it up on my shelf, can't recall the name...GREAT story...insane amount of respect for the Corps, stories you ain't never gonna see on the news...

 

[DocT]

"Once an Eagle" by Anton Myrer is an excellent book, not a Marine Corps book by any means, but entertaining and full of lessons on leadership. It was STRONGLY recommended by who I thought was the best academics instructor at OCS, Capt. Orient. It didn't let me down. Then there's the old standbyes of "Fields of Fire" by James Webb, "A Rumor of War" by Phillip Caputo, "Generation Kill", "One of Us", "Jarhead", etc.

As for obtaining these books inexpensively, even if they're out of print, use Amazon. I've been able to get screaming deals on alot of these books by buying used copies on-line. My hardcover copies of "Fields of Fire" and "Once an Eagle" cost me a whopping .75 cents and $4.75 respectively. Can't be beat.

 

[E5B]

"Marine Sniper, 91 confirmed kills" is a must for all Marines, not to mention it's an outstanding book!

"Flags of our fathers" by James Bradley is a great book about the flag raisers and the battle of Iwo Jima. I'm about to start another one of his books called "Fly Boys".

not really a USMC book, but "Airwarrios, the making of a Naval Aviator" was a great book, very informative and helps quell the anxiety.

I'd be insterested in knowing the name of the book/author about the Chaplain in Baghdad.

 

[DocT]

I'd be insterested in knowing the name of the book/author about the Chaplain in Baghdad.

"A Table In the Presence" by Lt. Carrey Cash USN

It's really good and a unique perspective on Marines in Iraq

 

[sonshine]

"Marine Sniper, 91 confirmed kills" is a must for all Marines, not to mention it's an outstanding book!

"Flags of our fathers" by James Bradley is a great book about the flag raisers and the battle of Iwo Jima. I'm about to start another one of his books called "Fly Boys".

not really a USMC book, but "Airwarrios, the making of a Naval Aviator" was a great book, very informative and helps quell the anxiety.

I'd be insterested in knowing the name of the book/author about the Chaplain in Baghdad.

James Bradley's Books are great. I really enjoyed Flags of Our Fathers and you will love Fly Boys!

 

[BrandonJ1780]

threadjack...but worth it

E5B--DocT is right--the book is called "A Table in the Presence". Like I said, great book. If you're spiritual or not, you'll be amazed at some of the miracles the Chaplain describes--accounts of RPG's being shot point-blank (no joke) at our Marines in alleyways, unexplicably veering off and missing everything...another Marine turned around in his turret to see two of the enemy just about ready to take him out, when all of a sudden they just dropped the tube and bolted--he cut them down...a 'mystery convoy' of humvees...--it's a spook book by no means, just shows a good account of faith...THREADJACK--writing this got me remembering a story my little brother (senior in hs) heard in his government class...this soldier--graduated hs a few years behind me--was in Iraq, riding in the back of some rig, when he was shot by a sniper on a bridge, could've been a building, i can't recall. i'm sure he's a great soldier, been in for a few years now, but man, he could be a wild kid...anyway, he was shot by this sniper, and the round went through his helmet and right down his scalp...right down the middle...but didn't wound him...pretty sure my bro said he was crying as he told the gov't class...this 'wild kid' had a life-changing experience that day, he told the teacher (our old fb coach, great Christian guy) that he accepted Christ now too...say what you want, but that's powerful...

 

[stevo01]

Brandon, not that is good info. I really like current Marine warrior stories. I know enough about USMC history, but my interest lay within the new age and the young devil dogs who are our paying the price for the Nasty Civilians.

the snipper with 91 kills looks really good aswell. just read the back cover summary...

thanks gents. stevo

 

[riley]

McCoy's Marines: Darkside to Baghdad is another good book. I forget the author, but he is a journalist that was embedded with a Marine Unit. Lt. Col or Col. McCoy (shame on me, I forget) spoke to our TBS class during MOUT - told us of some of his experiences over there - pretty motivating talk. He is also mentioned a lot in "The March Up" by Bing West.