Book cover of An Army Afire: How the US Army Confronted Its Racial Crisis in the Vietnam Era

Book description

By the Tet Offensive in early 1968, what had been widely heralded as the best qualified, best-trained army in US history was descending into crisis as the Vietnam War raged without end. Morale was tanking. AWOL rates were rising. And in August of that year, a group of Black soldiers…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked An Army Afire as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Blending extensive research with masterful analysis, Beth Bailey explains the US Army’s resolution of racial turmoil in the post-Vietnam era.

Bailey skillfully places what the Army termed “the race question” within the broader spectrum of societal and generational unrest in American society. She artfully intersects ‘big narrative’ with detailed micro studies on points of conflict and conciliation, such as Darmstadt 27 and the “salt and pepper” Davisons.

Through it all, Bailey illustrates how an institutional culture founded on discipline and leadership struggled to overcome internal evidence that it was providing neither.

This is a book that is both disturbing in…

If you love An Army Afire...

Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Want books like An Army Afire?

Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like An Army Afire.

Browse books like An Army Afire

Book cover of The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation
Book cover of When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America
Book cover of Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,397

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like An Army Afire, you might also like...

The Tao of Poison by Isham Cook,

Book cover of The Tao of Poison

A poisonous maiden, a Daoist sex cult, and a violent insurgency.

The polyandrous Yan family in China's rural Shaanxi Province takes in two carpenter brothers. When one brother is convicted of murder after killing their neighbor in a dispute, a constable threatens to expose the family's rumored polyandry and extorts…

Draakensky by Paula Cappa,

Book cover of Draakensky: A Supernatural Tale of Magick and Romance

A wind sorcerer. A dark spirit. An unsolved murder.

On the haunted Draakensky Windmill Estate, sketch artist Charlotte Knight arrives to live on the property, hired to illustrate the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke—a bright and lucrative opportunity to boost her struggling art career. 

She meets the reclusive spinster Jaa…

5 book lists we think you will like!