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Good military/aviation books


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I believe it was mentioned before, so I second it..."By Any Means Necessary" by William E Burrows is a well researched book on the cold war overflights of the USSR. It brings to light a lot of men who were shot down or went missing that never got the heroe's burial they deserved.

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  • 2 weeks later...

"War," by Sebastian Junger (same guy wrote "The Perfect Storm")

Pretty good read about 15 months with a Army platoon in an observation outpost in Afghanistan. I'll give the writer a lot of credit for living, patrolling, and helping with the platoon during its tour in Afghanistan.

Good battle descriptions, along with living descriptions. This may get into the "why" of war, but the author does bring in some Army studies, along with his own observations, of why combat can be an adrenaline rush, in fact something to be looked forward to, and why a small unit becomes the family, and how the standards of the family are harsh because so much depends upon maintaining those standards, i.e, somebody can get killed if you are a fcuk up or get careless. How living up to the ideal breeds good combat soldiers.

I made the leap from that to why flyers think somewhat the same thing; if you don't meet the standards and don't do what you are supposed to do, somebody can get killed, and you'd rather die yourself than have that happen.

And for an aviation flavor, he describes what it's like to be on the receiving end of B-1, A-10, Apache support; the sounds made as ordnance drops, impacts, etc.

The descriptions of small unit combat, and much better writing about the above than I just did. A worthwhile read.

edited to add:

A search initially turned up nothing on this book. Went back and added the author and scored this:

Posted by JarheadBoom on 26 July 2011 - 06:04 AM in General Discussion

Some contributions to the list...

War by Sebastian Junger - the basis for the movie Restrepo

Edited by brickhistory
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Searched but nothing came back....

The book is called "Danger Close: Tactical Air Controllers in Afghanistan and Iraq"

Just finished reading it for the second time; I'm a little biased towards it because my uncle is mentioned in it.

ImagesDanger_Close_Cover_crop_sm.jpg

http://www.amazon.co...d/dp/1585446246

An E-9's brain just exploded looking at that uniform.

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I'll echo Flynn. Also try Memories of an Emerald World, by Michael Bleriot. Stories of the C-27 in Panama.

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Good read! I flew for a civilian outfit in Colombia and have an idea where some of this took place. Excellent flying stories. I know the Army liked the C-27 and was never sure why the Air Force got rid of it. Probably cost but now they're buying it right back again, so how much did they really save. The flyleaf says Bleriot wrote two more books - The Jungle Express and Flying Naked - but don't see them anywhere. Not out yet?... Bueller?...

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"Zero Dark Thirty" by Samuel Brantley. Biographical, Vietnam-era, the guy flew A-4's (Marine) before getting switched over to do a tour as a JTAC or FAC or whatever they were back then. He also goes into detail about his homecoming experience, which needless to say wasn't ideal. Very powerful book.

Also, I have a fascination with WWII in general and the RAF in particular, "With Wings Like Eagles" by Michael Korda was a pretty good Battle of Britain read.

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Good read! I flew for a civilian outfit in Colombia and have an idea where some of this took place. Excellent flying stories. I know the Army liked the C-27 and was never sure why the Air Force got rid of it. Probably cost but now they're buying it right back again, so how much did they really save. The flyleaf says Bleriot wrote two more books - The Jungle Express and Flying Naked - but don't see them anywhere. Not out yet?... Bueller?...

I can answer my own question: they didn't save anything since it was just announced that DoD is cancelling the C-27. The only way we'll see it is if Bleriot writes more books.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Has anyone read Robert Coram's biography on Col. John Boyd?

If you haven't read this book yet, then reading it is a must. I also highly recommend reading "Pentagon Wars" by James Burton as well. "To Do or To Be".

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  • 2 months later...

I have to highly recommend "The Wrong Stuff" by Truman Smith.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Wrong-Stuff-Adventures-Misadventures/dp/0806134224/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336982915&sr=8-1#reader_0806134224

This book is the best I have ever read about being a B-17 pilot during WWII. The part I really liked was that he did not hide anything like most of the guys did. In other words, he is not scared of getting crap from his wife because he tells the stories of going to London, sleeping with multiple women and the daily life of a crew dog without fear of making them look bad.

I have met Mr. Smith in person. It was a real honor. At any rate, put this on your reading list ASAP.

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  • 2 months later...
Does anyone know of a good book about the Tuskegee Airmen? Or any good books about the Vietnam or Korean wars.

I've read a lot of good Vietnam books lately... Just off the top of my head (I'd post nice links but I'm on my phone):

-When Thunder Rolled by Ed Rasimus (just finished it and I think I'll read Palace Cobra next)

-Rescue of Streetcar 304

-Robin Olds' book

-Pak Six by G. I. Basel was okay; really short though like I read it in one sitting

I know there were a couple more but I'll have to look when I get home.

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Does anyone know of a good book about the Tuskegee Airmen? Or any good books about the Vietnam or Korean wars.

Hand down my favorite was My Secret War...A-1 driver tells his story of Vietnam.

Misty by Don Sheppard

Flying Through Midnight by John T. Halliday

War for the Hell of It by Ed Cobleigh

When Thunder Rolled by Ed Rasimus

Place Cobra by Ed Rasimus

Bury us Upside Down by Don Sheppard

Rupert Red Two by Jack Broughton (goes from post WWII P-47 pilot to Vietnam flying F-105s)

Chickenhawk by Robert Mason

A Lonely Kind of War by Marshall Harrison

One Hundred Feet over Hell by Jim Hooper

My Secret War by Richard S. Drury (Start here!)

For Korea, I haven't read it but I have heard Officers in Flight Suits is a good book.

Edited by SocialD
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It's worth it! But, you can find it on amazon much cheaper.

You're right! I snagged a copy last night on Amazon marketplace for $17 shipped. There were 3 or 4 more copies on there for around $20. Looking forward to reading this one!

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