Here are 100 books that The Forgotten War fans have personally recommended if you like
The Forgotten War.
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I am an author and veteran journalist who reported for The Washington Post for more than two decades, and I write frequently about military history. As a reporter, I covered conflicts in Iraq, the Balkans, Somalia, and Rwanda, among other places, often living with troops off the grid. I’ve always been attracted to stories off the beaten track, the ones that most people know little or nothing about. That may be why I’ve written two books about “forgotten” wars – the War of 1812 and the Korean War.
Hampton Sides for me is the gold standard for narrative history, whether writing about the Old West or World War II, and this book about Chosin Reservoir ranks among his finest.
What I always appreciate about his books is his ability to find humanity and wit in many dark episodes of American history.
"Superb...A masterpiece of thorough research, deft pacing and arresting detail...This war story — the fight to break out of a frozen hell near the Chosin Reservoir — has been told many times before. But Sides tells it exceedingly well, with fresh research, gritty scenes and cinematic sweep."—Washington Post
From the New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Soldiers and In the Kingdom of Ice, a chronicle of the extraordinary feats of heroism by Marines called on to do the impossible during the greatest battle of the Korean War
On October 15, 1950, General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of UN troops…
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
I am an author and veteran journalist who reported for The Washington Post for more than two decades, and I write frequently about military history. As a reporter, I covered conflicts in Iraq, the Balkans, Somalia, and Rwanda, among other places, often living with troops off the grid. I’ve always been attracted to stories off the beaten track, the ones that most people know little or nothing about. That may be why I’ve written two books about “forgotten” wars – the War of 1812 and the Korean War.
This magisterial work of history by Halberstam – sadly, his final before his death – captures for me the wild swings of fortune that, for me, make the first year of the Korean War unmatched in historical drama.
Halberstam is unsparing in his judgment of the mistakes made by the American high command. I’ve long held Halberstam to be one of our finest journalists/historians, and this book matched my expectations.
Up until now, the Korean War has been the black hole of modern American history. The Coldest Winter changes that, giving readers a masterful narrative of the political decisions and miscalculations on both sides. He charts the disastrous path that led to the massive entry of Chinese forces near the Yalu, and that caught Douglas MacArthur and his soldiers by surprise. He provides astonishingly vivid and nuanced portraits of all the major figures -- Eisenhower, Truman, Acheson, Kim, and Mao, and Generals MacArthur, Almond, and Ridgway. At the heart of the book are the individual stories of the soldiers on…
I am an author and veteran journalist who reported for The Washington Post for more than two decades, and I write frequently about military history. As a reporter, I covered conflicts in Iraq, the Balkans, Somalia, and Rwanda, among other places, often living with troops off the grid. I’ve always been attracted to stories off the beaten track, the ones that most people know little or nothing about. That may be why I’ve written two books about “forgotten” wars – the War of 1812 and the Korean War.
This book may be the best-written narrative account of Chosin, but I must include a caveat. Russ justly lionizes the performance of the U.S. Marines and their heroic breakout from Chosin, but he unfairly denigrates the U.S. Army soldiers who fought in the same campaign.
Russ was a Marine who served in Korea, so I read his book with a grain of salt. But this absorbing, funny, and deeply human account of one of the most brutal battles the U.S. ever fought is nonetheless a classic of narrative history.
On General Douglas MacArthur's orders, a force of 12,000 U.S. Marines were marching north to the Yalu river in late November 1950. These three regiments of the 1st Marine Division--strung out along eighty miles of a narrow mountain road--soon found themselves completely surrounded by 60,000 Chinese soldiers. Despite being given up for lost by the military brass, the 1st Marine Division fought its way out of the frozen mountains, miraculously taking thier dead and wounded with them as they ran the gauntlet of unceasing Chinese attacks.This is the gripping story that Martin Russ tells in his extraordinary book. Breakout is…
Sine, a professor of creative writing, accompanies Sam, a neuroscientist, on a conference trip to a Hotel Castle. Sam wants to present a new device, the "monitor." Sine hopes to recover from tending to her mother who just passed away.
When they arrive, Sine is in a dream-like state. Real…
I am an author and veteran journalist who reported for The Washington Post for more than two decades, and I write frequently about military history. As a reporter, I covered conflicts in Iraq, the Balkans, Somalia, and Rwanda, among other places, often living with troops off the grid. I’ve always been attracted to stories off the beaten track, the ones that most people know little or nothing about. That may be why I’ve written two books about “forgotten” wars – the War of 1812 and the Korean War.
I consider Millett the finest historian of the Korean War, and this, Volume Two of his trilogy, makes that case abundantly clear.
The sheer scope of his research, the clarity of his writing, his grasp of the overarching strategy, and his understanding of Korean history run through this book.
In ""The War for Korea, 1945-1950: A House Burning"", one of our most distinguished military historians argued that the conflict on the Korean peninsula in the middle of the twentieth century was first and foremost a war between Koreans that began in 1948. In the second volume of a monumental trilogy, Allan R. Millett now shifts his focus to the twelve-month period from North Korea's invasion of South Korea on June 25, 1950, through the end of June 1951 - the most active phase of the internationalized 'Korean War'. Moving deftly between the battlefield and the halls of power, Millett…
I’ve lived across America and have become acutely aware that our country, for all its checkered history, is the greatest multicultural experiment in the history of the planet, with a military that is a huge force for good. These beliefs were the impetus for my book, a book that has brought me into contact with people of all ages whose love for our country expresses itself in selfless service and sacrifice. They inspire me to be of service, too. Love for a nation that exists by social contract is not automatic. It has to be nurtured. I hope this booklist inspires kids and adults alike to cultivate that love.
I read this book as a boy, and I couldn’t put it down. It’s the story of American PT boats in the South Pacific during World War II, and the story behind the title captivated me. Every soldier knows that he or she might be sacrificed by a commander to gain time for a retreat or as part of a super-dangerous mission.
The sailors on the boats in White’s story were living examples of how they could be expendable. Even as a boy, this book made me grateful for what I had and grateful to the members of the uniformed services who protected us. That they would make such a commitment makes me love America even more.
A national bestseller when it was originally published in 1942 and the subject of a 1945 John Ford film featuring John Wayne, this book offers a thrilling account of the role of the U.S. Navy's Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three during the disastrous Philippine campaign early in World War II. The author uses an unusual, but thorough, spellbinding format to tell the story: an interview with four heroic young participants. Ranked "with the great tales of war" by the Saturday Review of Literature, it is a deeply moving book that describes the four officers' extraordinary exploits from the first appearance…
I love a good story that takes me deep into the person or organization who engaged in an action or a lifetime of service, working for others. They show me how humility, character, and a focus on taking care of those around them, still exists in this world. Characters who have overcome significant challenges, fought uphill battles, literally and figuratively, and thrived are my idols. I don’t need the hyperbole, larger-than-life, or caricature. These are just stories I can appreciate and try to relate to.
I love a story in which the central character is approachable and authentic. Joshua Chamberlain had no family legacy of military service, but putting his academic background to use, in understanding the purpose of his unit, the mission, and the war, I found myself reliving every moment of his life, as if I was a member of his unit.
His humility and genuine appreciation for those serving with him was yet another example of how I sought to lead those I served. I found myself immersed in who he was and how he was able to put into context the struggles of those serving with him. I, too, try to ‘live the talk’ as he did during and after the Civil War.
Deserve[s] a place on every Civil War bookshelf.""-- New York Times Book Review ""[Trulock] brings her subject alive and escorts him through a brilliant career. One can easily say that the definitive work on Joshua Chamberlain has now been done.""--James Robertson, Richmond Times-Dispatch ""An example of history as it should be written. The author combines exhaustive research with an engaging prose style to produce a compelling narrative which will interest scholars and Civil War buffs alike.""-- Journal of Military History ""A solid biography. . . . It does full justice to an astonishing life.""-- Library Journal This remarkable biography traces…
In an age of splendor, a heretic king strips Egypt bare—forcing his queen to quell rebellion and plunging his children into a conspiracy against the crown.
Salvation in the Sun follows Nefertiti as she ascends the throne beside Pharaoh Amenhotep—soon to become Akhenaten—just as he declares war on Egypt’s ancient…
I grew up near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and was fascinated by American history. My initial fascination with the history of the Civil War in the Harrisburg area turned into my first book and the start of my career as a historian of the Underground Railroad and the Civil War. This list reflects my early interest in the lesser-known aspects of the famous Gettysburg Campaign by recommending books that expand our scope beyond the three-day battle.
Confederate soldiers spent much of their brief time in the Keystone State antagonizing Pennsylvania civilians.
I find Wynstra’s book particularly powerful because he shows how senior Confederate generals struggled to rein in their enlisted men’s overwhelming desire for revenge. Furious over what they perceived as Northern abuses on the Southern homefront, rank-and-file Confederates wanted Northern civilians to feel the brunt of the war.
As Wynstra also shows, African American civilians fared far worse than their white counterparts. Confederate soldiers, furious over years of Underground Railroad activity, seized free Blacks and carried them back south into enslavement.
After clearing Virginia's Shenandoah Valley of Federal troops, Gen. Robert E. Lee's bold invasion into the North reached the Maryland shore of the Potomac River on June 15, 1863. A week later, the Confederate infantry crossed into lower Pennsylvania, where they had their first sustained interactions with the civilian population in a solidly pro-Union state. Most of the initial encounters with the people in the lush Cumberland Valley and the neighboring parts of the state involved the men from the Army of Northern Virginia's famed Second Corps, commanded by Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell, who led the way as Lee's…
My father was a Civil War historian, and literally, every vacation was spent traipsing over battlefields, with him pointing out the position of cannons and armies and, invariably, what military mistakes were made. Sometimes, we’d squat in the tall grass and imagine what it would look like when the enemy charged over the hill. My father related family tales with great relish, which are the basis of many of my historical stories. As a genealogist and family story lecturer, the past (especially the Civil War) has been a lifelong love. However, I must admit, I wouldn’t want to leave behind present-day comforts to live in the past.
I love a book with maps, and this has two. The author crafted sixteen fictional characters, each with their own voice, no two alike, populating both sides of the Civil War. Male, female, black, white, Northern, or Southern, these fictional characters represented all aspects of the population.
I was halfway through the book, flipping back and forth to keep the characters straight when I realized a list at the back identified each character's affiliation. Who was my favorite? Each touched me, although my heart lurched when the teen who joined to escape his father’s beatings was killed.
I am humbled by the author’s tight writing and accomplishment in weaving so many characters together. I’ll definitely read it again.
Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction * ALA Best Book for Young Adults * ALA Notable Children's Book
In this brilliant fictional tour de force, which the New York Times called "a deft, poignant novel," Newbery Medal-winning author Paul Fleischman re-creates the first great battle of the Civil War from the points of view of sixteen participants.
Northern and Southern, male and female, white and black. Here are voices that tell of the dreams of glory, the grim reality, the hopes, horror, and folly of a nation discovering the true nature of war.
I have been interested in the Nazi-Soviet War since my high school years, and I am happy to say my views have become more sophisticated in the intervening 50 years! During the Cold War I served as a US Army Armor officer for 28 years and globally across 18 time zones (retired lieutenant colonel). Thereafter, I earned a PhD in modern European history, specializing in the 20th-century German military, from Purdue University. I have researched, taught, and written extensively on all aspects of military history, particularly WWII. My latest book, an operational level [of war] history of Barbarossa for the Campaigns and Commanders series (University of Oklahoma Press, in preparation as of mid-2024).
I give retired US Army Colonel Glantz pride of place here because of his leading role in correcting the history of this conflict. Cold War politics made the Germans ironic but underserving heroes.
Glantz sets the story straight and shows how and why the Soviet Union and Red Army earned the title of victors. This book is very readable and covers the entire four-year war in surprising detail. I consider it a great introduction to his massive body of work.
On first publication, this uncommonly concise and readable account of Soviet Russia's clash with Nazi Germany utterly changed our understanding of World War II on Germany's Eastern Front, immediately earning its place among top-shelf histories of the world war. Revised and updated to reflect recent Russian and Western scholarship on the subject, much of it the authors' own work, this new edition maintains the 1995 original's distinction as a crucial volume in the history of World War II and of the Soviet Union and the most informed and compelling perspective on one of the greatest military confrontations of all time.…
Born the heir of a master woodcutter in a queendom defined by guilds and matrilineal inheritance, nonbinary Sorin can’t quite seem to find their place. At seventeen, an opportunity to attend an alchemical guild fair and secure an apprenticeship with the…
I’ve been a fan of military history since I was an army officer in the 1970s. Military history is fascinating, dynamic, exciting—it deals with people on the edge of real-world circumstances making life-or-death decisions. Of all military history, the Revolutionary War in the South is my favorite. It has been blessed with the richest trove of intriguing stories. Southerners love a great tale, and the southern war has provided volumes of them. The Southern Campaign teemed with such larger-than-life characters as Banastre Tarleton, the British officer everyone loved to hate, as well as Francis Marion, the beloved Swamp Fox of legend. Anyone who enjoys a great story will love the lore of the southern war.
Who was Nathanael Greene? An excellent question, and one that has puzzled Americans since he took command of the southern army in 1780.
He was a man of intense contradictions. A lapsed Quaker from Rhode Island, his claim to fame had been as a staff officer to George Washington. Unused to command, he lost battles but conducted the most successful campaign in the war. How he did it is a tale for the ages, brilliantly brought to light in this book.
Golway covers the campaign’s strategy and battle tactics admirably, but there was much more. There are many legends of Greene. Lord Cornwallis, we are told, said Greene was as dangerous as Washington, and he never felt secure when camped near him.
My favorite story of Greene holds that when he arrived in Salisbury, North Carolina, in early 1781, exhausted and beaten, a local woman took pity on him and…
The overlooked Quaker from Rhode Island who won the American Revolution's crucial southern campaign and helped to set up the final victory of American independence at Yorktown
Nathanael Greene is a revolutionary hero who has been lost to history. Although places named in his honor dot city and country, few people know his quintessentially American story as a self-made, self-educated military genius who renounced his Quaker upbringing-horrifying his large family-to take up arms against the British. Untrained in military matters when he joined the Rhode Island militia in 1774, he quickly rose to become Washington's right-hand man and heir apparent.…
