The most recommended military books

Who picked these books? Meet our 39 experts.

39 authors created a book list connected to military, and here are their favorite military books.
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Book cover of The Soul of Battle: From Ancient Times to the Present Day, How Three Great Liberators Vanquished Tyranny

John Koopman III Author Of George Washington at War - 1776

From my list on a fresh look into the past.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been interested in history and in particular military history for my entire life. Since 2006 I have been a George Washington interpreter. I portray the great man in first person live presentations and in documentary film. I have devoted a great deal of time in study of him. As a result of my studies of Washington, I felt compelled to write a book about him. I wanted to capture aspects of him not covered in most books or in film. Four of the books I reviewed involve George Washington.

John's book list on a fresh look into the past

John Koopman III Why did John love this book?

Victor Davis Hanson, a PhD classics professor and historian, puts forth a fascinating account of three military leaders who brought an end to powers who held people in bondage. Which three? 

Epaminondas broke the power of Sparta by freeing the Helots. The Spartans held the Helots in slavery to do all the farming so they could focus on military training. Epaminondas not only defeated the Spartans in battle, but he also brought an end to the slavery that empowered them.

William Tecumseh Sherman, in his famous march to the sea, broke the Confederacy. When all seemed lost for Lincoln, word came like a thunderbolt from Sherman that, “Atlanta is ours, and fairly won.” Shermans Army of the West proved that the South could be defeated. This bringing an end to slavery.   

George Patton, “…you will continue your victorious course to end that tyranny…” Hanson speculates that the war could have…

By Victor Davis Hanson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Soul of Battle as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Victor David Hanson, author of the highly regarded classic The Western Way of War, presents an audacious and controversial theory of what contributes to the success of military campaigns.

Examining in riveting detail the campaigns of three brilliant generals who led largely untrained forces to victory over tyrannical enemies, Hanson shows how the moral confidence with which these generals imbued their troops may have been as significant as any military strategy they utilized. Theban general Epaminondas marched an army of farmers two hundred miles to defeat their Spartan overlords and forever change the complexion of Ancient Greece. William Tecumseh Sherman…


Book cover of Super Max's Hero Surprise

Shermaine Perry-Knights Author Of I Miss My Friend And That's Okay

From my list on military family life.

Why am I passionate about this?

I empower military-connected kids through books that support their mental and emotional growth, ensuring they feel "heard, seen, and chosen”. I draw from my bi-cultural military upbringing and global experiences to deliver keynotes and workshops on resilience and change management. My mission is to create empathy and curiosity beyond comfort zones, advocating for representation of kids who moved frequently worldwide. Through my children's book series, And That's Okay, I sparked a movement to inspire a growth mindset, empathy, and authentic connections through meaningful conversations. Writing the books that I wanted as a child, I understand the power of representation. Every child must see themselves and their lived experience to believe, dream, and achieve great things.

Shermaine's book list on military family life

Shermaine Perry-Knights Why did Shermaine love this book?

This book is a great reminder of the sacrifices that military families make for our country. I know all too well that the cycle of deployment is extremely emotional.

Dr. Robyn creates empathy for the rollercoaster of emotions that military-connected children endure during deployment. Super Max’s Hero Surprise is one of the few moments that are often televised about military life. It brings tears from everyone within sight (online or in-person) who witnesses the powerful and emotional moment of seeing a loved one after an extended period of time.

I recommended this book because it captures the strength of family ties. More times than not, our service member was on special assignment away from the family. Creating empathy for military kids is at the heart of why I continue to publish books.

By Heather E Robyn, Zoe Mellors (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Super Max's Hero Surprise as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 7, 8, 9, and 10.

What is this book about?

Max has a loved one currently on a military deployment. Or so she thought.

During a class assembly, Max gets some strong "Super Max" vibes. A special visitor has arrived at the school, and all eyes are now staring at her.

Why is everyone looking at her, and who is the special visitor to the assembly?

She saw a face that mirrored hers, with eyes so full of mist.

A beaming loving grin and daisies clutched inside his fist.

She recognized the uniform with black and brown and green,

and on his chest, her last name sewn, could easily be…


Book cover of Isabella: She-Wolf of France, Queen of England

Gordon Corrigan Author Of A Great and Glorious Adventure: A Military History of the Hundred Years War

From my list on the Hundred Years' War.

Why am I passionate about this?

I decided to write this book because while there are many works on the Hundred Years War, they tend to dwell on the political and diplomatic, rather than the military aspects. I considered that this period marked a real revolution in military affairs, led by England. It was England that had the world’s only professional army since the collapse of the Roman Empire in the west in the 5th Century, that used technology (the longbow) as a force multiplier, and while moving on horseback did its fighting on foot. It was these three legs of the revolution that allowed tiny English armies to defeat far larger French feudal ones.

Gordon's book list on the Hundred Years' War

Gordon Corrigan Why did Gordon love this book?

"The Fair" Phillip IV of France died in 1314. His three sons ruled after him in turn, and none provided a legitimate heir, so when the youngest son, Charles IV, died in 1328, the Capetian dynasty, which had ruled France for over 300 years, came to an end. 

But Phillip IV had a daughter, Isabella, who had married Edward II of England, and so their son, the future Edward III, was the nearest male relative to the deceased Charles IV.

Isabella was adamant that her son was the legitimate heir to the French throne, and it was this claim that was pursued throughout the Hundred Years War and which was only relinquished in 1802.

Isabella has not had good press. Derided as "the she-wolf of France," she was an adulteress, waged war against her husband, and was probably complicit in his murder. In fairness, she had much to contend with. Edward II…

By Alison Weir,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Isabella as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Described by Christopher Marlowe as the 'She-Wolf of France', Isabella was one of the most notorious femme fatales in history. According to popular legend, her angry ghost can be glimpsed among church ruins, clutching the beating heart of her murdered husband. But how did Isabella aquire this reputation?

Born in 1292 she married Edward II of England but was constantly humiliated by his relationships with male favourites and she lived adulterously with Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March. Had it not been for her unfaithfulness, history might have immortalised her as a liberator- the saviour who unshackled England from a…


Book cover of Deployment: Strategies for Working with Kids in Military Families

Jerilyn Marler Author Of Lily Hates Goodbyes

From my list on military families dealing with deployment.

Why am I passionate about this?

I know the pain of separations. Navy doctor father. Missionary kid at boarding school in India. Military wife. Military mother. Separations suck. So when my three-year-old grandchild Lily struggled with her daddy’s deployment in 2010, I felt her pain. I composed the story and used personal photos to illustrate Lily Hates Goodbyes. Whenever we read about book Lily’s emotions, my Lily would say, “Just like me!” Wanting other children to have this cathartic experience, I hired Nathan Stoltenberg, a brilliant illustrator, and self-published the book. It’s available in a Navy version and an All Military version—the only difference is daddy’s uniform. Book Lily is a friend to young military children around the world. 

Jerilyn's book list on military families dealing with deployment

Jerilyn Marler Why did Jerilyn love this book?

Whether you are a parent, teacher, caregiver, grandparent, or friend of a military child, you’ll gain understanding and develop strategies that help you to help the child through the pain and frustrations of deployment. The child needs you. This book will help you meet that need.

By Karen Petty,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Deployment as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Military kids face many unique stressors and difficult transitions related to deployment, relocation, separation from loved ones, and changes in family structure. Caring for these kids requires a clear understanding of the challenges and triumphs military families deal with so that you can offer the best support possible.

Based on current research and best practices in child development and early education, Deployment provides purposeful information and theory-based strategies


Book cover of Jackson's Sword: The Army Officer Corps on the American Frontier, 1810-1821

Brian McAllister Linn Author Of Elvis's Army: Cold War GIs and the Atomic Battlefield

From my list on the peacetime US Army.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a historian of modern (post-1898) American military history who has been fortunate enough to be at a university that supports my research. I have always been fascinated by the “black holes” in military history, the topics that are not glamorous like the big wars, charismatic generals, or Washington-level civil-military relations. This has led me to study such obscure topics as the conquest and pacification of the Philippines, the forty-year plans for Pacific defense prior to World War II, and how military officers have envisioned future war. The peacetime US Army is a terrific “black hole” because so many people, civilians, and military, assume that they already know that history.

Brian's book list on the peacetime US Army

Brian McAllister Linn Why did Brian love this book?

Sam Watson’s two volumes fully integrate the US Army into the history of the Jacksonian Era. These works demonstrate the Army’s vital role in issues as diverse as populism, professionalism, federalism, military policy, and the controversial suppression, dispossession, and forced relocation of Native Americans. His extensively-researched work not only shows the Army’s diplomatic-police role, but why, despite the Jacksonian’s ideological opposition to a standing army, they made it so central to national policy on the frontier.

By Samuel J. Watson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Jackson's Sword as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Jackson's Sword is the initial volume in a monumental study that provides a sweeping panoramic view of the U.S. Army and its officer corps from the War of 1812 to the War with Mexico, the first such study in more than forty years. Watson's chronicle shows how the officer corps played a crucial role in stabilising the frontiers of a rapidly expanding nation, while gradually moving away from military adventurism toward a professionalism subordinate to civilian authority.

Jackson's Swordexplores problems of institutional instability, multiple loyalties, and insubordination as it demonstrates how the officer corps often undermined-and sometimes supplanted-civilian authority with…


Book cover of Blue Moon Over Cuba: Aerial Reconnaissance during the Cuban Missile Crisis

Francis Gary Powers Jr.

From my list on the Cuban Missile Crisis and aerial reconnaissance.

Why am I passionate about this?

Both my parents worked for the CIA in the 1950s and 1960s. On May 1, 1960 my father was shot down over the Soviet Union while on a CIA U-2 spy flight and spent nearly 2 years in a Soviet prison before being exchanged for Soviet KGB Spy Colonel Rudolph Abel in 1962 as recently depicted in Steven Spielberg’s Cold War thriller, Bridge of Spies. As a result of growing up in this family I have always been interested in espionage and the Cold War. In 1996, I founded The Cold War Museum to honor Cold War veterans, preserve Cold War history, and educate future generations about this time period.

Francis' book list on the Cuban Missile Crisis and aerial reconnaissance

Francis Gary Powers Jr. Why did Francis love this book?

Kenneth Jack and I first met in July 2012 when I was in the process of organizing the 50th Anniversary Conference on the Cuban Missile crisis for The Cold War Museum and George Mason University. As a result of his interest in preserving a firsthand account of the Cuban Missile Crisis he was able to get Captain Ecker’s memoir published in 2012 (3 years after Capt Ecker’s death) just in time for the 50th anniversary of the crisis. Captain Ecker was the commanding officer of the US Navy Light Photographic Squadron (VFP-62) during the Crisis. Under heavy enemy fire, he and his fellow pilots flew numerous low-level photo reconnaissance missions over Cuba in their RF-8A Crusaders.

As a result of these flights over the missile launch sites in Cuba and high-altitude photos taken by the U-2, President Kennedy was able to show the world irrefutable proof that the Soviets were…

By William B. Ecker, Kenneth V. Jack,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Blue Moon Over Cuba as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Most books on the Cuban Missile Crisis tell the story using the memoirs of those who advised President Kennedy as he struggled to avoid World War III. This book is the only known personal account of the lead photographic reconnaissance squadron's scouting dangerous low-level operations, flying the supersonic RF-8A Crusader, during the classified Operation Blue Moon. Captain Ecker was the commanding officer of US Navy Light Photographic Squadron 62 (VFP-62, otherwise known as "Fightin' Photo") during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a team created for reconnaissance and aerial photography, and consulted on the movie Thirteen Days, which included dramatic scenes of…


Book cover of Naughty Heroes: In And Out Of Uniform

Dee S. Knight Author Of Naval Maneuvers

From my list on erotic romance with a military theme.

Why am I passionate about this?

Passionate military members are my jam, and I feel pretty confident writing about them. First, I write erotic romance myself, giving me something of an inside view of what makes a good erotic romance with a military vibe. Second, I read a lot of them. Even if the story is a mite slow, you’ve got that alpha military guy who’s going to pull the story out. Or at least, that’s the way it’s worked in every military erotic romance I’ve read. Last, as I mentioned earlier, I was raised in the Navy. I’ve seen lots of men in uniform and the sight never fails to give me a thrill. I think I recognize that passion when I see it.

Dee's book list on erotic romance with a military theme

Dee S. Knight Why did Dee love this book?

Sometimes I don’t have time for my steamy military fixes. In those cases, I like to read novellas or even short stories. Naughty Heroes is just that. Sitting in the doctor’s office (free, guilt-free reading time), I can get through at least one of these sexy stories. Have just half an hour to yourself at lunch? One of these tales will fit neatly into that time frame. I like killing two birds with one stone if it means I can enjoy a naughty Marine at break time…

By Nicole Austin, N.J. Walters, Belle Scarlett , Katherine Kingston , Elizabeth Lapthorne

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Naughty Heroes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NAUGHTY HEROES
In And Out Of Uniform

A collection of UNFORGETTABLE HEROES

Featuring NY Times, USA Today, Amazon & International bestselling authors!
Written by the Naughty Literati™
N.J. Walters, Nicole Austin, Belle Scarlett, Katherine Kingston, and Elizabeth Lapthorne.

Contents

MARINE ON A MISSION
N.J. Walters
When Mitch McCoy left rural Kentucky to join the U.S. Marines he never thought he'd return. Now he's undercover with a state drug task force. He's not only facing his past, but also Sara Hawkins, the woman who broke his heart. This investigation will risk their lives and their hearts.

SEX BOMB
Nicole Austin
From…


Book cover of Women Warriors: An Unexpected History

Shelley Puhak Author Of The Dark Queens: The Bloody Rivalry That Forged the Medieval World

From my list on nonfiction about overlooked historical figures.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a child, I was drawn to the silences in family stories and as a young adult, the gaps in official records. Now I’m a former English professor turned full-time writer who is fascinated with who gets written out of history, and why. I love exploring overlooked lives, especially women’s lives—from Stalin’s female relatives to nineteenth-century shopgirls, and most recently, a pair of early medieval queens.

Shelley's book list on nonfiction about overlooked historical figures

Shelley Puhak Why did Shelley love this book?

In Women Warriors, the footnotes are every bit as informative and bitingly funny as the text itself. Toler travels across many cultures and eras, from ancient times up until the 20th century, to show that, like it or not, “women have always gone to war.” She covers some women you’ve likely heard of before—like Boudica, Hua Mulan, and Joan of Arc—as well as many others you probably haven’t—like Tomyris, Artemisia II, and Lakshmi Bai. These mini-biographies, taken together, provide an eye-opening and unforgettable corrective about women and warfare.

By Pamela D. Toler,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Women Warriors as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Who says women don’t go to war? From Vikings and African queens to cross-dressing military doctors and WWII Russian fighter pilots, these are the stories of women for whom battle was not a metaphor.

The woman warrior is always cast as an anomaly—Joan of Arc, not GI Jane. But women, it turns out, have always gone to war. In this fascinating and lively world history, Pamela Toler not only introduces us to women who took up arms, she also shows why they did it and what happened when they stepped out of their traditional female roles to take on other…


Book cover of Daniel Morgan: A Revolutionary Life

Andrew Waters Author Of To the End of the World: Nathanael Greene, Charles Cornwallis, and the Race to the Dan

From my list on the "Race to the Dan" and the American Revolution.

Why am I passionate about this?

Although I’ve been an avid reader of histories and biographies all my life, I didn’t become passionate about the American Revolution until moving to South Carolina in 2013. That’s when I began to learn about the South’s rich American Revolution history and become fascinated with Nathanael Greene’s role in it. So far, this fascination has inspired me to write two histories on Nathanael Greene, and I hope to keep going. Today, we tend to think about the American Revolution in terms of its northern battles, but if you want to understand the war’s end game, you need understand what happened in the South. These books are a great place to start.

Andrew's book list on the "Race to the Dan" and the American Revolution

Andrew Waters Why did Andrew love this book?

Forget about George Washington. Daniel Morgan was the best American battlefield general of the Revolutionary War. And anyone who wants to tell the story of the Race to the Dan has to start with Daniel Morgan’s miraculous victory at the Battle Cowpens on January 17, 1781.

Zambone’s book is by far the best contemporary biography of this important but little-known American hero, not only explaining the genius of Morgan’s Cowpens victory, but also covering how Morgan’s early life in the American frontier prepared him to be the American Revolution’s most significant innovator in military tactics. 

By Albert Louis Zambone,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Daniel Morgan as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A Major New Biography of a Man of Humble Origins Who Became One of the Great Military Leaders of the American Revolution
On January 17, 1781, at Cowpens, South Carolina, the notorious British cavalry officer Banastre Tarleton and his legion had been destroyed along with the cream of Lord Cornwallis's troops. The man who planned and executed this stunning American victory was Daniel Morgan. Once a barely literate backcountry laborer, Morgan now stood at the pinnacle of American martial success. Born in New Jersey in 1736, he left home at seventeen and found himself in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. There he…


Book cover of The Sacrifice of Singapore: Churchill's Biggest Blunder

Cecil Lowry Author Of Frank Pantridge MC: Japanese Prisoner of War and Inventor of the Portable Defibrillator

From my list on prisoners of war held by the Japanese during WW2.

Why am I passionate about this?

My father was taken prisoner by the Japanese at the fall of Singapore on the 15th of February 1942. He spent three and a half years slaving on the Thai Burma railway. During my early years growing up, my father rarely talked about his experiences, and it wasn't until after he died in 1990 that I became interested in what he went through as a prisoner of war. Since then, I've spent my time researching the Japanese prisoner of war experiences and have read countless books on the subject. I myself have published four books and I consider myself one of the leading experts on the Japanese prisoner of war experience.

Cecil's book list on prisoners of war held by the Japanese during WW2

Cecil Lowry Why did Cecil love this book?

The fate of Singapore was sealed long before the Japanese attack on Malaya in December 1941. The blame lay with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill who refused to listen to warnings from military advisers to reinforce defences in Singapore and Malaya. Her was convinced the Japanese would never dare to attack a white power. Obsessed with beating Rommel, Churchill poured into the Middle East massive resources that should have gone to the Far East. However, when inevitably Singapore fell to the Japanese in February 1942, Churchill attempted to deflect criticism by accusing the defenders of spineless capitulation.

By Michael Arnold,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Sacrifice of Singapore as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The fate of Singapore was sealed long before the Japanese attack in December 1941. The blame lay with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill who refused to listen to warnings from military advisors to reinforce defences in Singapore/Malaya, convinced the Japanese would never dare to attack a white power . Obsessed with beating German General Erwin Rommel, he poured into the Middle East massive resources that should have gone to the Far East. However when, inevitably, Singapore fell to the Japanese in February 1942, Churchill attempted to deflect criticism by accusing the defenders there of spineless capitulation. Recently released information from…