War
War
The Menstuff® library lists pertinent books on War. Photo above: credit Thomas Frederick Arndt.
Ambrose, Stephen E., The Wild
Blue: The men and boys who flew the B-24s over Germany.
The author is the acknowledged dean of the historians of World War
II in Europe. In three highly acclaimed, bestselling volumes, he
has told the story of the bravery, steadfastness, and ingenuity of
the ordinary young men, the citizen soldiers, who fought the enemy
to a standstill - the band of brothers who endured together. The
very young men who flew the B-24s over Germany in World War II
against terrible odds were yet another exceptional band of
brothers and, in this book, he recounts their extraordinary brand
of heroism, skill, daring and comradeship with the same vivid
detail and affection. It makes clear the contribution these young
men of the Army Air Force stationed in Italy made to the Allied
victory. Simon & Schuster, www.simonsays.com
2001, ISBN 0-7432-0339-9 Buy
This Book!
Cowley, Robert, What If? The world's
foremost military historians imagine what might have been.
"What if?" is the historian's favorite question. What if a
Confederate aide hadn't accidentally lost Robert E. Lee's plans
for invading the North? What if the Mongols had succeeded in
conquering Europe? It is these very crucial turning points in
history that historians and philosophers alike have pondered for
years. How different would our lives be today if the Allied
invasion on D-Day had failed for example? Both fascinating and
frightening, this collection of "what ifs?" poses questions
that for many would be unthinkable if true. What if Hitler had
won? What if Alexander the Great had actually died during
battle instead of being saved?" What if? Both fascinating and
frightening, it offers in-depth reflections on the monumental
events of the past and amazing speculations as to what our world
might be like had things gone diffeently in a singular moment in
time. Berkley Trade Paperback, www.penguinputnam.com
2000. ISBN 0-425-17642-8 Buy
This Book!
Ehrhart, W. D., Ordinary
Lives: Platoon 1005 and the Vietnam war. In the
summer of 1966, in the middle of the Vietnam War, eighty young
volunteers arrived at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot on Parris
Island, South Carolina, from all over the eastern United States.
For the next eight weeks, as Platoon 1005, they endured one of the
most intense basic training programs ever devised. Parris Island
was not a place for idle conversation or social gatherings, and
these men remained from start to finish almost complete strangers.
In 1993, the author began what became a five-year search for the
men of his platoon. Who were these men alongside whom he
trained? Why had they joined the Marines at a time when
being sent to war was almost a certainty? What do they
think of the war and of the country that sent them to fight
it? What the author learned offes an extraordinary
window into the complexities of the Vietnam Generation and the
United States of America then and now. Temple University Press
www.temple.edu/tempress
1999 ISBN 1-56639-674-3 Buy
This Book!
Hamill, Sam (ed), Poets Against the War. Thunder's Mouth
Press/Nation Books, 2003. ISBN; 1560255390 Buy
This Book!
McCown, Clint, War Memorials. From
screenwriter and two-time American Fiction Prize winner comes this
wickedly funny novel about a small southern town and its odd
preoccupation with war. By most standards, Lincoln, Tennessee,
seems an ordinary place. Its men, having fought in every conflict
from the War of 1812 to Desert Storm, now fill their time with
visits to famous battlefields and with tales of heroism
egregiously inflated. But for Nolan Vann, the feckless son of
Lincoln's local war hero, another kind of battle is being fought
altogether, a battle to reclaim his life (and, with any luck, his
wife). His tour of duty takes hiim to the back yards and bingo
halls of Lincoln's unsund heroes, including a Jesus impersonator,
a snake-handling evangelist, an aspiring zookeeper, even an
inconvenient corpse. Gradually, through a series of tiny
victories, some minor enough to be confused with defeats, Nolan
begins to see that he actually can be the hero of his own life.
This is a prime piece of storytelling, rich in the rough and
tumble of everyday life, as well as laugh-out-loud funny. Mariner
Books, www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com,
2000, ISBN 0-618-12847-6 Buy
This Book!
Nelson, Pam, Cool Women: The thinking girl's guide
to the hippest women in history. This book is not about
heroine worshop - on the contrary, it's about taking our heroines
down from their pedestals where we can get a good, hard look at
them. Because only there, at eye level, can we see what's truly
inspiring, even stratling, about their stories - that they're not
all that different from our own. Because with the exception of a
few fictional characters, what made each of these women glorious
was not her flawlessness, but her humanity. Look into the eyes of
their pictures - the courage that stares back at you is not about
fearless ness, it's about fears that have been overcome, mistakes
that have been made, and lives that have been lived from the sheer
adventure of it. So, sure, this book is about great stories from
the past, but more importantly it's about stories still to come.
It aims for that moment of recognition that Eureka that comes when
a girl or woman finds the story that sings to her. That instant is
about more than inspiration, or even transformation, that instant
is about takeoff. Girl Press, 1998 ISBN 0-9659754-0-1
Buy
This Book!
Raphael, Ray, A People's History of
the American Revolution: How common people shaped the fight
for independence. A sweeping narrative of the wartime
experience, this book is the first to view the Revolution through
the eyes of common folk. Their stories have long been overlooked
in the mythic telling of America's founding but are crucial to a
comprehensive understanding of the fight for independence. Now,
the experiences of farmers, laborers, rank-and-file soldiers,
women, Native Americans, and African Americans - found in diaries,
letters, memoirs, and other long-ignored primary sources - create
a gritty account of rebellion, filled with ideals and outrage,
loss, sacrifice, and sometimes scurrilous acts...but always
ringing with truth. Perennial, www.harpercollins.com
2002 ISBN 0-06-000440-1 Buy
This Book!
Richmond, Peter, My Father's War: A
Son's Journey. To the generation whose understanding of the
military was shaped by the Vietnam War, those who fought in it, as
well as those who did not or would not have, it is difficult even
today to conceive of a cause so righteous that they would be
willing to risk their lives for it. To the generation that fought
World War II, such a sentiment is truly unthinkable. For they went
off in service of something much larger than themselves. This is
about a father who went off to war, and came back, but always held
a portion of himself and his experiences in reserve. Having died
in a domestic plane crash when Peter was six, there was a longing
to know more about who his father was and what he went through.
So, he sought out the men who knew his father, who fought under
him and commanded him, who were wounded alongside him and who
risked their lives on his command. It is Peter's task, his own
duty, to bear witness to the courage of the men who sacrificed so
much for their ideals and their buddies, to hear and understand
and describe both the heroism and the extraordinary ordinariness
of their actions. Part history, part memoir, part search for
identity and meaning and part exploration of the nature of
manhood, this is a compelling, moving story that has great
resonance both for the men it describes and for their sons who can
only now, as they have become men themselves, appreciate the
sacrifice and purpose representing by their father's war. Simon
& Schuster, 1996
Shaara, Jeff, Gods & Generals: A novel of the Civil
War. The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara's classic Civil War
novel about the men who led the fight at the Battle of Gettysburg,
was a major literary event, winning the Pulitzer Prize, becoming a
#1 bestseller, and selling more than two million copies. Now, Jeff
carries forward his father's vision in an epic story that traces
the lives, passions and careers of these great military leaders
from the first gathering clouds of the Civil War. We follow Thomas
"Stonewall" Jackson, a hopelessly by-the-book military instructor
and devout Christian. There's Winfield Scott Hancock who quickly
establishes himself as one of the finest leaders in the Union
army. Then there's Joshua Chamberlain, who gives up his promising
academic career to volunteer for service in the new army only to
become one of the most heroic soldiers in American history. And
here too is a brilliant portrait of the complex, aristocratic
Robert E Lee, who is faced with the agonizing decision of
resigning from a distinguished army career in order to defend his
home, never believing until too late that a civil war would ever
truly come to pass. Beautifully written, compelling in its vivid
portrait of the battlefield and profound in its insights into the
minds and hearts of those who fought, this is truly a worthy
companion volume to the timeless The Killer Angels. Ballantine,
1996
Slagter, Sidney R., Mark Victor Hansen, Jack Canfield, Chicken
Soup for the Veteran's Soul: Stories to stir the pride and
honor the courage.This book is a compilation of true stories
about the lives of the extraordinary men and women who served to
defend and preserve our freedom. The stories take place during
wartime and in the years that followed. The book also includes
anecdotes about their families and friends who have a connection
to the military and played a role in their lives. The reader will
find a wide variety of themes. Topics include heroism, bravery,
comradery, laughter from the front lines, patriotism, leadership
and much more. Of the 3000+ submissions received, those chosen for
the book include tales from many different conflicts such as the
Civil War, World War I and II, Korea, Vietnam and the Persian
Gulf. Look for gripping as well as heartfelt tales. This book will
take you on a journey of military history like you have never
experienced before. It allows the reader to experience the
miraculous feats of our World War II pilots, feel the
compassion of Vietnam War nurses, or empathize with a wife waiting
to hear from her husband serving in Korea. These are just a few of
the many adventures you will have the opportunity to enjoy. It
will appeal to all generations, male and female, to stir the pride
and honor the courage of veterans everywhere. Health
Communications, www.hcibooks.com
2001 ISBN 1-55874-937-3 Buy
This Book!
Tick, Edward, War and the Soul: Healing
our nation's veterans from Post-TraumaticStress Disorder. PTSD
increasingly afflicts veterans of modern warfare. It is estimated
that at least 20% of soldiers returning from Iraq have it.
Tragically, PTSD impacts all aspects of life. Some vets can't hold
jobs or sustain relationships. Others have recurrent nightmares or
won't leave home, fearing they may attack "the enemy" seen in the
facers of those they meet. To begin healing, says the author, we
must see PTSD as a disorder of identity itself. War's violence can
cause the very soul to flee and be lost for life. Drawing on
history, mythology, and thirty years of experience, the author
reveals the universal dimensions of veterans' soul wounding. He
uses methods from ancient Greek, Native American, Vietnamese and
other traditions to restore the soul so that the veteran can, at
least, truly return home. His work is invaluable for veterans of
any war as well as for their families and all who would help them.
Quest Books, www.questbooks.net,
2005, ISBN 0-8356-0831-X 
Tomp, Sarah Wones, Illustratoins by Ann Barrow,
Red, White and Blue Good-bye.
Daddy was a navy man. He loves his family, but sometimes duty
calls. And when it's time for him to ship out, it's difficult for
his young daughter to accept. Saying good-bye can be upsetting.
But the fun moments and special rituals they share make parting
easier. Daddy's uplifting red, white and blue good-bye reminds us
all that we can stay connected with our loved ones in our hearts,
even when we can't be close to them in person. Walker
& Co, www.walkeryoungreaders.com
2005, ISBN 0-8027-8961-7 
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