# Need Recommendations for Military Biographies



## imon32red (Jun 15, 2009)

I have read a couple of military biographies lately that I really enjoyed. These books were well above the average books for their genre's. They were well written, very engaging, and hard to put down. I read each one in a couple of days. I don't normally read this type of thing but I can't get the stories from these books out of my mind. I figure that I might as well read another one but I want something that is strongly recommended, not just an average book. The books that I read are:

  ​
[Sgt. Nibley is a hardcover]


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Some favorites of mine:

 

Not on Kindle:

 

Of those, _Always Faithful_ and _Under the Wire_ would be my best recommendation for "page-turners".


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## nelmsm (Dec 24, 2009)

I highly recommend "With the Old Breed" by Eugene Sledge. It was one of the two books that they based the HBO series "The Pacific" on.

http://www.amazon.com/Helmet-My-Pillow-Pacific-ebook/dp/B0035J5DJ6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1296855495&sr=1-1


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

On Kindle, _Unbroken_ by Laura Hillenbrand.

Not on Kindle, _Peter the Great_ by Robert Massie.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

I read this during the Fall semester for my History class. I thought it was very interesting.


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## imon32red (Jun 15, 2009)

Excellent suggestions.  I read the descriptions and several reviews for each of them.  I am going to purchase a couple of these this weekend, and quite possibly read all of them.  I will tell you what I thought of them after I finish.

Thanks for the suggestions!


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## R. Doug (Aug 14, 2010)

Not strictly "military," but for great WWII spy stuff it's hard to beat A Man Called Intrepid by William Stevenson. Fascinating true story. Unfortunately not available on Kindle.

Also really enjoyed Chuck Yeager's autobiography.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

I'm not sure that it is exactly a military biography, but I've heard good things about _Secrets of the Cold War_.

http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Cold-War-Intelligence-Counterintelligence/dp/1906033919

I haven't read it--not something I'm interested in, but for what it's worth you might take a look.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

The Kindle store has it's own category for this, have you checked out the highest rated books in it? http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1296898707/ref=sr_st?page=1&rh=n:133140011,n:!133141011,n:154606011,n:154754011,n:154786011,n:154787011&sort=reviewrank_authority


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## Strapped-4-Cache (Dec 1, 2010)

Here's one of my favorites:



And another favorite:



I'd link to some of the Civil War biographies that I really like, but they haven't been made available for the Kindle yet.


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## brian70 (Mar 26, 2010)

nelmsm said:


> I highly recommend "With the Old Breed" by Eugene Sledge. It was one of the two books that they based the HBO series "The Pacific" on.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Helmet-My-Pillow-Pacific-ebook/dp/B0035J5DJ6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1296855495&sr=1-1


The best one I have read in a long time. You will almost feel like you are there.

_Lone Survivor_ by Marcus Luttrell was pretty amazing too.


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## Randy Kadish (Feb 24, 2010)

Bruce Catton's two-volume biography of Grant. Don't think it's on ebook format.
Randy


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## imon32red (Jun 15, 2009)

brian70 said:


> _Lone Survivor_ by Marcus Luttrell was pretty amazing too.


That is what started me on this new kick. I highly recommend it. I read it in a couple of days, and I had family that read the entire book in less than 24 hrs.

​


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## planet_janet (Feb 23, 2010)

nelmsm said:


> I highly recommend "With the Old Breed" by Eugene Sledge. It was one of the two books that they based the HBO series "The Pacific" on.


This is a fantastic book. I also recommend Unbroken, as someone else previously mentioned.


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## Harry Shannon (Jul 30, 2010)

Patton by Ladislas Farago is a classic. Loved Unbroken. William Manchester's forgotten memoir Goodbye Darkness.


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## nelmsm (Dec 24, 2009)

I'm about 20% into this one and finding it interesting and the price is right for $0.99. A memoir by a common Civil War soldier.

The Story of a Common Soldier by Leander Stillwell
http://www.amazon.com/STORY-COMMON-SOLDIER-1861-1865-ebook/dp/B002EEN6ZG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1297025639&sr=1-1


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## Ruth Harris (Dec 26, 2010)

My DH wrote about his H-bomb year in the Pacific Proving Ground in his memoir THE ATOMIC TIMES. A young soldier sent to "observe" US nuke bomb testing, Michael wrote about that experience in a book that is raunchy, horrifying, hilarious & tragic. TAT is about a little known and mostly forgotten aspect of military history and has been widely praised by readers from Henry Kissinger to Robert Parker (author of the Spenser series). Originally published by Presidio/Ballantine, a division of Random House, TAT is now available in e-version for @2.99.


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## imon32red (Jun 15, 2009)

I really like the book Chesty. If you haven't read it yet, pick up a copy. Its a great book.
​I haven't had a ton of time lately because of school, but I will definitely be reading more of these.


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## brian70 (Mar 26, 2010)

Ruth, I haven't read that one yet, but I have it on my Kindle. It looks good.

Imon32red, I am currently reading that one.


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## Michael Harris (Jan 1, 2011)

> Ruth, I haven't read that one yet, but I have it on my Kindle. It looks good.


Hi Brian. I saw this email of yours to my wife Ruth and I hope you enjoy reading The Atomic Times. "Enjoy" is a strange word for me to use since I had nightmares about my 12 months on Eniwetok for so many years after I left. I started writing the book while I was still on the island and it took me 50 years to finish. The only way I was able to complete this strange memoir was to realize that if I couldn't laugh about what happened to me and the other guinea pigs who were my friends, then I'd never stop crying. This particular "philosophy," if that's the right word, ends up in the mouth of one of the men in the book. And it's the reason, I guess, why so many readers tell me the book is hilarious and compare it to Catch 22.

Thank you for the purchase, Brian. I hope you'll let me know how hou react to the oddest year of my life.


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## Randy Kadish (Feb 24, 2010)

I liked this one, an it's available as an ebook:

http://www.amazon.com/Washington-A-Life-ebook/dp/B003ZK58SQ/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1298212920&sr=1-12

Randy


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

Randy Kadish said:


> I liked this one, an it's available as an ebook:
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Washington-A-Life-ebook/dp/B003ZK58SQ/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1298212920&sr=1-12
> 
> Randy


Shame about the pricing. $19.99 is way out of line. Even $14.99 would be too high, but understandable. Wait until its released in paperback.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

About Audie Murphy.

There are others, but this was the only one I could find Kindled.


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## sifiauthor (Feb 20, 2011)

As a former special operator, I was not a fan of Lone Survivor.  The mission was poorly planned, and poorly executed.  Many brave men died.  I'd recommend Andy McNabb's books for those who want to read about Special Operations.  Also, Inside Delta Force is well written and intriguing, especially as it shows the subterfuge of the world of covert operations.


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