I recommend this book:

[midnight Target]

lazs et al.. Have you ever read Stephen Hunter's books?

Point of Impact and Black Light are both good. I just picked up "Time to Hunt". Looks like another winner.

[Vudak]

Churchill's six volume set on WW2 is a wonderful read.  The way he constructs sentences and the words he chooses just make them a blast to read.  Furthermore, there are important lessons to be learned.  I suggest anyone who was against attacking Iraq should read "The Gathering Storm".

Also, if you enjoyed Beevor's "Stalingrad", I believe he also wrote "The Fall of Berlin".  It was also very good (I've read both).

Matthew Cooper's "The German Army 1933-1945" was also interesting, especially how it details the Army's growth.

I'm currently reading Arthur Hermann's "To Rule the Waves".  It's about the Royal Navy's rise to the world's first policeman.  I've only got through a few chapters so far, but if the first one doesn't suck you in, I'm not sure what will.

Another good book was "Dresden" but Frederick Taylor.  I'm amazed Hollywood hasn't tried to make a recent movie about it.

I've also read "Rising: '44" which really is a must read for all of Polish descent.

And, if you're interested in various times of history and are looking for a good bathroom reader, may I suggest the TimeFrame series?  They're by Time Life Books and really are enjoyable reads.

Maybe I'll post more later.

[mosca]

I'm almost finished with First Light, an account of flying Spitfires during BoB and Malta, by Geoffrey "Boy" Wellum. It's more of a memoir than a factual account, but it is entirely excellent. Most thrilling to me was his account of going out on CAP one cold, foggy, rainy day with a ceiling of about 500', chasing a JU-88 in the mist and fog, then getting lost and trying to find his way home; I felt "there".
Amazon link for First Light

Also absolutely excellent is The Last Cruise of the Emden, an account of a German light cruiser that was stationed in China at the start of WW1. It's an incredible story, involving tremendous ingenuity, bravery, and willingness to persevere.
Amazon link for Emden


Tom

[JoOwEn]

Churchill, Stallin, Joe foss hum ok,  any other recomendations?

[Gunthr]

I read SAMURAI! by Saburo Sakai, Slim. Very informative and a great read. You're gonna be flying Zekes for a while

Also enjoyed "The Blonde Knight of Germany" - about Erich Hartmann

and  "I FLEW FOR THE FUEHRER" by Heinz Knoke.

Also the Martin Caiden book about the Schwienfurt Raid. Think it was called "Black Thursday." All worthwhile...

[DREDIOCK]

My reccomended reading list. though not in any particular order

 Good reading.

"The Patton Papers"
(read both volumes..twice)

Also BH Liddell Hartt "Strategy" and "the German Generals talk"

Sun Tsu "the Art of War"

Bernard Montgomery "a History of Warfare"

Ambrose- "D-Day",  "Citizen Soldiers".
"the Victors" (basically a condenced version of the previous two)
and of course "Band of Brothers"

All outstanding books.

As well as "the Wild Blue" (not one of his better works)

Bill Mauldin- "Up Front" (very good book)

And a host of others too long to list

Currently reading on and off

Heinz Guderian- Panzer Leader

Richard Tregaskis "Guadal Canal Diary"

[mosca]

The best Ambrose is Pegasus Bridge, imo. More concise than BOB, which is also great; I think PB is better for being more focused.

Tom

[slimm50]

Originally posted by Gunthr
I read SAMURAI! by Saburo Sakai, Slim. Very informative and a great read. You're gonna be flying Zekes for a while

Heh, you called it!:aok

[indy007]

Originally posted by DREDIOCK
Also BH Liddell Hartt "Strategy" and "the German Generals talk"

I just picked up the revised edition from Barnes & Knobles yesterday. So far it's been a great read.

Skunk Works : A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed by Leo Janos & Ben R. Rich is also a really good book.

[Curval]

Vudak...I own both too...but Stalingrad is much better IMHO.

[Biggles]

Originally posted by mechanic
i love fiction and historical books.

if you like medievil battles, try a book called 'Heretik' by....er....crap. hes good anyhow.

also, anything by Wilber Smith i find seriously fun to read.

and of course there is Biggles by Capt. W.E. Jones.

Capt. W.E. Johns is correct (in case anyone goes googling for more info)

[USHilDvl]

Here's a suggestion for all you folks who love to read military non-fiction.

Try Harry Turtledove for outstanding, very entertaining alternate history fiction.  He writes novels whose framework is essentially based in history, with historical characters, but with significant twists which put everone and everything in a completely different context.  Then he runs with it...

'The Guns of the South'  (what would one significant change in technology do to the outcome of the Civil War?)

'In the Presence of Mine Enemies'  (the Germans win WWII)

'Household Gods'  (be careful what you wish for...)

'Ruled Brittania'  (the Spanish Armada didn't sink)

'The Two Georges', written with Richard Dreyfuss (yup, the actor)  (actually a who-dun-it, but in a world where the Revolution was never fought)

Not to mention a bunch of series novels...The Great War series, American Empire series, Worldwar series, etc...

Great stuff, very engaging and makes a great re-read!  Since it's historically based, you often find very subtle references that only come out the second and third time you read it.  The 'what-if' nature of these stories is just plain kewl...

[USHilDvl]

BTW...for clarity's sake...

The above are clearly fiction.  But I thought they would appeal to lovers of military non-fiction.  Right?  Ok, good...

[Hangtime]

A few I've enjoyed...

War of the Rats... good read. The mythical Sniper Duel; well written but likely bogus. Puts the Battle of Stalingrad in perspective very well.

Gates of Fire. Steven Pressfield. Stunning read, historicaly accurate novel of the battle of Thermopylae.. 300 Spartans vs 250,000 Persians. Couldn't put it down.

We Were Soldiers Once..  Hal Moore. Riveting. True. Should be required reading in every highschool history class.

To Fly and Fight. Bud Anderson. Best Fighter Pilot biography out of WWII I've ever read. A must read if your into WWII thru Vietnam combat Aviation.

[Mister Fork]

Of course, Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden. The Philly Inquirer has most of the book with audio and video available online: http://inquirer.philly.com/packages/somalia/sitemap.asp
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STAFF SGT. Matt Eversmann's lanky frame was fully extended on the rope for what seemed too long on the way down. Hanging from a hovering Blackhawk helicopter, Eversmann was a full 70 feet above the streets of Mogadishu. His goggles had broken, so his eyes chafed in the thick cloud of dust stirred up by the bird's rotors.

 It was such a long descent that the thick nylon rope burned right through the palms of his leather gloves. The rest of his Chalk, his squad, had already roped in. Nearing the street, through the swirling dust below his feet, Eversmann saw one of his men stretched out on his back at the bottom of the rope.

   He felt a stab of despair. Somebody's been shot already! He gripped the rope hard to keep from landing on top of the guy. It was Pvt. Todd Blackburn, at 18 the youngest Ranger in his Chalk, a kid just months out of a Florida high school. He was unconscious and bleeding from the nose and ears.

The raid was barely under way, and already something had gone wrong. It was just the first in a series of worsening mishaps that would endanger this daring mission. For Eversmann, a five-year veteran from Natural Bridge, Va., leading men into combat for the first time, it was the beginning of the longest day of his life.  
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Being a former army grunt, serving two special service force tours (one UN, the other Desert Storm), I find this account very gripping. Awesome read!