100 books like How to Avoid Being Killed in a Warzone

By Rosie Garthwaite,

Here are 100 books that How to Avoid Being Killed in a Warzone fans have personally recommended if you like How to Avoid Being Killed in a Warzone. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of You Don't Belong Here: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War

Lorissa Rinehart Author Of First to the Front: The Untold Story of Dickey Chapelle, Trailblazing Female War Correspondent

From my list on female war correspondents.

Why am I passionate about this?

Against all odds, women journalists have built a robust tradition of telling the truth and getting to the heart of the story no matter the obstacles. In a world where the Fourth Estate is ever more crucial, the history of female reporters is all the more relevant as a source of information and inspiration for the next generation of correspondents. As a woman’s historian and passionate supporter of freedom of the press I’m always on the lookout for great histories of these intrepid reporters whose lives also happen to make for great reads. 

Lorissa's book list on female war correspondents

Lorissa Rinehart Why did Lorissa love this book?

Vietnam was a big war, as they say, and though it ended almost 50 years ago, its full story has yet to be told. However, many of its pieces lay in the much-overlooked yet incredibly nuanced reporting that women did in the war. 

Elizabeth Becker’s book explores the legacy of three of Vietnam’s unsung journalistic heroes. Each covered the war with a different angle, sense of purpose, and understanding of its—and their—place in geopolitical history. 

Becker’s vivid writing puts you next to photojournalist Catherine Leroy in the plane as she prepares to jump with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in the war’s only airborne assault. Readers can almost hear the glasses clinking with ice around the Hotel Continental pool while intellectual Frances Fitzgerald shrewdly plums the unsuspecting diplomatic class for details that she’ll weave into her groundbreaking long-form reporting on the war. And my only heart nearly stopped the minute Kate…

By Elizabeth Becker,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked You Don't Belong Here as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The long buried story of three extraordinary female journalists who permanently shattered the official and cultural barriers to women covering war.

Kate Webb, an Australian iconoclast, Catherine Leroy, a French dare devil photographer, and Frances FitzGerald, a blue-blood American intellectual, arrived in Vietnam with starkly different life experiences but one shared purpose: to report on the most consequential story of the decade.

At a time when women were considered unfit to be foreign reporters, Frankie, Catherine and Kate paid their own way to war, arrived without jobs, challenged the rules imposed on them by the military, ignored the belittlement and…


Book cover of On the Front Line: The Collected Journalism of Marie Colvin

K. Lee Lerner Author Of Government, Politics, and Protest: Essential Primary Sources

From my list on women journalists working in dangerous places.

Why am I passionate about this?

K. Lee Lerner is an author, editor, and producer of science and factual media, including four editions of the Gale Encyclopedia of Science and the Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security. His expansive writing on science, climate change, disasters, disease, and global issues has earned multiple book and media awards, including books named Outstanding Academic Titles. An aviator, sailor, and member of the National Press Club in Washington, his two global circumnavigations and portfolio of work in challenging and dangerous environments reveal a visceral drive to explore and investigate. With a public intellectual's broad palate and a scientist's regard for evidence-based analysis, Lerner dissects and accessibly explains complex issues. 

K.'s book list on women journalists working in dangerous places

K. Lee Lerner Why did K. love this book?

On the Front Line is an award-winning collection of stories by veteran war correspondent Marie Colvin. Prior to being targeted for assassination by the Syrian government in February 2012 while she covered the civil war there, Colvin's career and writing showed peerless courage in the pursuit of stories that revealed the inhumanities of war and civil strife. The book contains insightful accounts of interviews of Arafat and Gadaffi as well as her intimate reporting of fighting in Kosovo, Chechnya, East Timor, Afghanistan, Iraq, and the chaos of the Arab Spring uprisings. Blinded in one eye shrapnel while reporting on the Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers, Colvin's style and legendary courage live on in this select collection of her work.

By Marie Colvin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked On the Front Line as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Veteran Sunday Times war correspondent, Marie Colvin was killed in February 2012 when covering the uprising in Syria.

On the Front Line is an Orwell Special Prize winning journalism collection from veteran war correspondent Marie Colvin, who is the subject of the movie A Private War, starring Rosamund Pike and Jamie Dornan.

Marie Colvin held a profound belief in the pursuit of truth, and the courage and humanity of her work was deeply admired. On the Front Line includes her various interviews with Yasser Arafat and Colonel Gadaffi; reports from East Timor in 1999 where she shamed the UN into…


Book cover of Disappeared: A Journalist Silenced

K. Lee Lerner Author Of Government, Politics, and Protest: Essential Primary Sources

From my list on women journalists working in dangerous places.

Why am I passionate about this?

K. Lee Lerner is an author, editor, and producer of science and factual media, including four editions of the Gale Encyclopedia of Science and the Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security. His expansive writing on science, climate change, disasters, disease, and global issues has earned multiple book and media awards, including books named Outstanding Academic Titles. An aviator, sailor, and member of the National Press Club in Washington, his two global circumnavigations and portfolio of work in challenging and dangerous environments reveal a visceral drive to explore and investigate. With a public intellectual's broad palate and a scientist's regard for evidence-based analysis, Lerner dissects and accessibly explains complex issues. 

K.'s book list on women journalists working in dangerous places

K. Lee Lerner Why did K. love this book?

June Carolyn Erlick, editor-in-chief for ReVista, the Harvard Review of Latin America, casts a seasoned journalist’s eye on the 1980 abduction of  Guatemalan journalist Irma Flaquer. Returning home, Flaquer was pulled from her car and was never seen again. Flaquer, a popular and respected journalist with an influential column, Lo Que Otros Callan or "What Others Don't Dare Write",  was also the founder of the first Guatemalan Human Rights Commission. Throughout her career, Flaquer survived beatings, car bombs, and drive-by assassination attempts that did not daunt her from doing her job as a reporter to expose Guatemalan suffering at the hands of their corrupt U.S.-backed government and the cost the Guatemalan people paid as Cold War pawns.

By June Carolyn Erlick,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

"If I die, don't cry for me—because I was fighting for what I love."—Irma Flaquer

On a quiet October evening in 1980, Guatemalan journalist Irma Flaquer, returning to her downtown apartment after a visit with her four-year-old grandson, was dragged from her car, never to be seen again. Founder of the first Guatemalan Human Rights Commission, she was a crusading reporter who did not tolerate corruption or repression. Best known for her weekly column that ran for over twenty years in various Guatemalan newspapers—Lo Que Otros Callan or "What Others Don't Dare Write"—Flaquer criticized presidents, politicians, and the heads of…


Book cover of It's What I Do: A Photographer's Life of Love and War

Lorissa Rinehart Author Of First to the Front: The Untold Story of Dickey Chapelle, Trailblazing Female War Correspondent

From my list on female war correspondents.

Why am I passionate about this?

Against all odds, women journalists have built a robust tradition of telling the truth and getting to the heart of the story no matter the obstacles. In a world where the Fourth Estate is ever more crucial, the history of female reporters is all the more relevant as a source of information and inspiration for the next generation of correspondents. As a woman’s historian and passionate supporter of freedom of the press I’m always on the lookout for great histories of these intrepid reporters whose lives also happen to make for great reads. 

Lorissa's book list on female war correspondents

Lorissa Rinehart Why did Lorissa love this book?

Whenever I give a talk about Dickey Chapelle, I’m always asked why she did it. Why did she risk her life for so many years to cover conflict? I, too, wondered this same thing when I started writing about her, and in truth, I didn’t have a clue. 

I began to turn to accounts by other women photojournalists for insight, and I found a great deal in this book. Like Chapelle, Addario has an incredible capacity to connect with those she photographs. There is a palpable sense of empathy in her work—and one that is not easily come by. 

From Afghanistan to Iraq, Libya to Pakistan, Addario put herself in harm's way to capture the story—and she brought me as a reader right along with her. Through her lens, I was better able to see the geopolitical forces that shape individuals' lives, the stakes they face, and their bravery in…

By Lynsey Addario,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked It's What I Do as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“An unflinching memoir . . . [that] offers insight into international events and the challenges faced by the journalists who capture them.” —The Washington Post

War photographer Lynsey Addario’s memoir is the story of how the relentless pursuit of truth, in virtually every major theater of war in the twenty-first century, has shaped her life. What she does, with clarity, beauty, and candor, is to document, often in their most extreme moments, the complex lives of others. It’s her work, but it’s much more than that: it’s her singular calling.

Lynsey Addario was just finding her way as a young…


Book cover of One Dog at a Time: Saving the Strays of Afghanistan

Jane Harvey-Berrick Author Of Troll: My Life in Bomb Disposal

From my list on first-hand accounts of warzones.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have no expertise in the military – I wish I did. But I have incredible respect for their work. I remember reading about the death of Oz Schmid, a bomb disposal officer who was killed in Afghanistan. It was the bravery of his widow, Christina, discussing the appalling lack of equipment and her quiet dignity that touched me profoundly. I asked myself, what can I do to help? Being a writer, I decided to write about it. I quickly realised that I needed an insider’s insight, and found Troll through Felix Fund, the bomb disposal charity. Troll and I wrote the play Later, After, seeing it performed was the proudest moment of my career. 

Jane's book list on first-hand accounts of warzones

Jane Harvey-Berrick Why did Jane love this book?

I read a newspaper article about Pen Farthing in 2008. At the time, I wrote topical assemblies for primary school children and I featured his story about rescuing dogs from Helmand while he was a Royal Marine. Several children wanted to write to Pen. I became the go-between, and Pen and I became friends. He asked me to read his book when it was still in manuscript … the rest is in the news!

By Pen Farthing,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked One Dog at a Time as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“Kindness flourishes in an Afghan war zone, where British Royal Marine Farthing begins rescuing the starving strays nosing their way onto his compound...Readers will come to know and love each mutt and to admire Farthing, whose caring doesn't end when his tour does.” ―People

The remarkable true story of one man's fight to save the stray dogs of Afghanistan.

In the remote outpost of Now Zad, Afghanistan, Pen Farthing and his troop of young Royal Marines survive frequent engagements with the Taliban and forge links with the local community. Appalled by the horrors of local dog fighting, Pen has no…


Book cover of George Cross Heroes

Jane Harvey-Berrick Author Of Troll: My Life in Bomb Disposal

From my list on first-hand accounts of warzones.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have no expertise in the military – I wish I did. But I have incredible respect for their work. I remember reading about the death of Oz Schmid, a bomb disposal officer who was killed in Afghanistan. It was the bravery of his widow, Christina, discussing the appalling lack of equipment and her quiet dignity that touched me profoundly. I asked myself, what can I do to help? Being a writer, I decided to write about it. I quickly realised that I needed an insider’s insight, and found Troll through Felix Fund, the bomb disposal charity. Troll and I wrote the play Later, After, seeing it performed was the proudest moment of my career. 

Jane's book list on first-hand accounts of warzones

Jane Harvey-Berrick Why did Jane love this book?

Lord Ashcroft is a great supporter of veterans, and his book dedicated to the bravest of the brave is required reading. Troll gave me a copy while he was writing his own memoirs and I feel proud that I was able to encourage him.

By Michael Ashcroft,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In a broadcast to the nation in September 1940 King George VI announced the institution of the George Cross - a civilian equivalent of the Victoria Cross awarded to recognize the many acts of supreme gallantry being performed outside of the battlefield.

From Thomas Alderson, the first recipient of the medal, who heroically rescued several people from trapped houses during one terrible Blitz night, to Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher, who threw himself onto a live grenade in the Helmand province to save the lives of his comrades (and somehow survived), to Barbara Harrison, an air stewardess who died in 1968…


Book cover of The Bear Went Over the Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics in Afghanistan

Jane Harvey-Berrick Author Of Troll: My Life in Bomb Disposal

From my list on first-hand accounts of warzones.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have no expertise in the military – I wish I did. But I have incredible respect for their work. I remember reading about the death of Oz Schmid, a bomb disposal officer who was killed in Afghanistan. It was the bravery of his widow, Christina, discussing the appalling lack of equipment and her quiet dignity that touched me profoundly. I asked myself, what can I do to help? Being a writer, I decided to write about it. I quickly realised that I needed an insider’s insight, and found Troll through Felix Fund, the bomb disposal charity. Troll and I wrote the play Later, After, seeing it performed was the proudest moment of my career. 

Jane's book list on first-hand accounts of warzones

Jane Harvey-Berrick Why did Jane love this book?

Troll told me that he read this book in preparation for his own deployment to Afghanistan. Winston Churchill said about campaigns in Afghanistan, “Financially it is ruinous. Morally it is wicked. Militarily it is an open question, and politically it is a blunder.”

It doesn’t feel like much has changed. 

By Lester W. Grau,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Bear Went Over the Mountain as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This rare 10th anniversary edition (published in 2007) contains a new introduction by expert Soviet historian David M. Glantz. In addition all maps and graphics have been enhanced from the 1996 edition. "When the Soviet Union decided to invade Afghanistan, they evaluated their chances for success upon their experiences in East Germany, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Unfortunately for their soldiers, as well as the people of Afghanistan, they ignored not only the experiences of the British in the same region, but also their own experience with the Basmachi resistance fighters in Central Asia from 1918-1933. Consequently, in Afghanistan the Soviet army…


Book cover of Wellington: The Years of the Sword

Jane Harvey-Berrick Author Of Troll: My Life in Bomb Disposal

From my list on first-hand accounts of warzones.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have no expertise in the military – I wish I did. But I have incredible respect for their work. I remember reading about the death of Oz Schmid, a bomb disposal officer who was killed in Afghanistan. It was the bravery of his widow, Christina, discussing the appalling lack of equipment and her quiet dignity that touched me profoundly. I asked myself, what can I do to help? Being a writer, I decided to write about it. I quickly realised that I needed an insider’s insight, and found Troll through Felix Fund, the bomb disposal charity. Troll and I wrote the play Later, After, seeing it performed was the proudest moment of my career. 

Jane's book list on first-hand accounts of warzones

Jane Harvey-Berrick Why did Jane love this book?

I read this when I was reading Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe books, and I thought Longford’s account of a flawed but brilliant man was astounding. Very readable with in-depth insight and research. It sparked a lifelong fascination with the Peninsular War.

By Elizabeth Longford,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Biography


Book cover of The Survival Handbook: Essential Skills for Outdoor Adventure

Juan Pablo Quiñonez Author Of Thrive: Long-Term Wilderness Survival Guide

From my list on survival for staying alive in the wild.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a survival expert and outdoor professional with over ten years of experience in outdoor recreation and survival. Recently, I became the winner of Season 9 of the survival TV series Alone after surviving for 78 days with just ten items in the unforgiving wilderness of Labrador. I have lived for six months in the boreal forest with my fiancée, foraging to complement our meager rations, and I have also spent one hundred days foraging in solitude during the Canadian winter. Currently I’m building an off-grid homestead that I hope one day will turn into an off-grid community.

Juan's book list on survival for staying alive in the wild

Juan Pablo Quiñonez Why did Juan love this book?

This book contains the topics you would expect inside a survival manual, such as navigation, fire, shelter, food, water, and so on.

What I really like about it are the colourful, realistic illustrations, and the easily digestible layout of the information. It covers a very wide range of topics related to wilderness survival and overall it provides a well-balanced approach. It comes in multiple editions and some formats are more suitable as field books than others.

It is a solid book that I would recommend to anyone wanting a classic-style survival manual to use as reference at home or in the field.

By Colin Towell,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

From planning an expedition, to packing essential kits, to discovering what to do on a trail, The Survival Handbook is an invaluable tool when you're in the great outdoors.

Among a myriad of outdoor skills, it teaches readers how to make shelters, find water, and spot, catch, and cook wild food. And if there's an emergency, it shows which essential first-aid techniques to use when, how to mount a rescue, and even how to get yourself found. Now in Paperback!


Book cover of My Side of the Mountain

Margaret Dulaney Author Of Whippoorwill Willingly

From my list on healing power of nature.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been writing for the past 21 years on mystical themes with a good dose of Mother Earth Love tossed in. Fifteen years ago, I launched the spoken word website, offering one ten-minute recorded essay monthly on mystical/philosophical themes. Having published three nonfiction books, I decided to take my love of nature and interest in mysticism and write a novel for young philosophers and Earth-loving elders. My book follows the mystical journey of a rather practical eleven-year-old to an enchanted lake in the high Alps. It contains gentle animals, wise trees, kindred spirits, and healing waters.

Margaret's book list on healing power of nature

Margaret Dulaney Why did Margaret love this book?

This book is the story of a boy who runs away from his chaotic but loving home in New York City to try his hand at living in the wilderness of upstate New York.

I found it totally charming and instructive. He hollows out a tree to make himself a comfortable place to observe and embrace the Winter on the side of a mountain. This book is written more for child philosophers than Earth-Loving elders, but I read it to my husband, and we both enjoyed it greatly.

It is a different take on mother nature love than the others I have recommended, yet it still shines.

By Jean Craighead George,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked My Side of the Mountain as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

"Should appeal to all rugged individualists who dream of escape to the forest."-The New York Times Book Review

Sam Gribley is terribly unhappy living in New York City with his family, so he runs away to the Catskill Mountains to live in the woods-all by himself. With only a penknife, a ball of cord, forty dollars, and some flint and steel, he intends to survive on his own. Sam learns about courage, danger, and independence during his year in the wilderness, a year that changes his life forever.

"An extraordinary book . . . It will be read year after…


Book cover of You Don't Belong Here: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War
Book cover of On the Front Line: The Collected Journalism of Marie Colvin
Book cover of Disappeared: A Journalist Silenced

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