Fud Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 (edited) "Boyd" and "American Patriot" by Robert Coram "The Pentagon Wars" by Colonel James Burton USAF (Ret.) "Eye of the Viper" forgot the author The top three books (two boy Coram, one by Burton) highlight the inadequacies in defense contracting, and how senior leadership, in all services, does not have the soldier's best interests in mind. I find it interesting that the majority of men who have been awarded the Medal of Honor (I know most receive it posthumously), do not make it past the grade of Colonel. There are exceptions, but I say this because most great warriors that I have encountered are not of high rank. These men (i.e. Boyd, Bud Day, and Burton) have done more important things that we can even imagine. I hope that I see "Boyd" on the CSAF's reading list one day. *"Boyd" also has some great chapters about how the USAF's promotion system works, and the intricacies of the service. I found those chapters very interesting, and have read them over and over again.* Edited February 15, 2009 by beast05 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08Dawg Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 2 on the Robert Coram books and the Broughton books. All are good reads. Not sure if it's been mentioned (and I'm too lazy to read 13 pages to see if it has been) but "The Eleven Days of Christmas", about the B-52s during the Linebacker II raids, is a good one as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cap-10 Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Debrief: A Complete History of U.S. Aerial Engagements - 1981 to the Present by Craig "Quizmo" Brown and forward by BGen Robin Olds. I beleive our very own Steve Davies helped out Quizmo as well. Cheers, Cap-10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brickhistory Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 (edited) Quizmo is the F-111 driver in my Weasel story thread. http://www.flyingsquadron.com/forums/index...showtopic=11369 Edited February 15, 2009 by brickhistory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fud Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Does anyone know if a book has been written about Robin Olds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schokie Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 I don't know of a book specifically about him, but Fast Movers by Sherwood (mentioned towards the beginning of this thread) has a significant portion of the book about him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afnav Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 I just finished reading Charlie Wilson's War, about the Texas Congressman and his efforts to support the Muj during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan (it's a great book if you are interested in the subject), and it got me to thinking that we could get a thread going on some recommended books. I know we've touched on this before, I just want to revive the topic. I just got my paperback copy of Tommy Frank's American Soldier and can't wait to start that, but I am also trying to finish Tom Clancy's Shadow Warriors--Inside the Special Forces (great insight into the development of US SF during VietNam, many of the lessons learned there parallel today's challenges in Iraq and, to a lesser degree, Afghanistan) as well as get started on Robin Moore's The Hunt For Bin Laden--Task Force Dagger, which interestingly enough has a picture of Jack Idema on the cover. Anyone else? Cheers! M2 Here's some: - Tornado Down: Relatively hard to find, but well worth the search. It was written by Flt Lts John Peters and John Nichol, a Tornado crew shot down and captured during the Storm. I flew with JP on E-3s in the OPC/ONW days, and a finer gentleman you'll never meet. He's now a motivational speaker in the UK. - A Wing and a Prayer: Written by Harry Crosby, a navigator legend in the Bloody 100th. A great story, with vivid descriptions on how much my navigator forefathers were oppressed by the man. The experiences of the 100th were supposedly adapted into 'Twelve O'Clock High'. - Courage and Air Warfare: Absolutely vital for my masters thesis, it describes how American and British bomber crews endured the terrible missions they had to fly during WWII. 8th Air Force losses were half of the entire Army Air Corps. - On Killing: Lt Col Dave Grossman's research into the act of killing in war opened my eyes on what I went through during OIF. I used it as reference material for my masters as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fud Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 I second "None Braver" about the PJs in the GWOT. Very good book so far. I'm also reading "We Were Soldiers Once...and Young", and "We are Soldiers Still..." by Hal Moore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Flyin' AF Hawaiian Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Just got done reading The Gamble, the sequel to Fiasco. Goes into detail about how the troop surge in Iraq was formulated. Good read, with a lot of info about Generals Petraeus and Odierno. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marjackson82 Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Not sure if it has been metioned, but The Sky Clowns by John Tomerlin was pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Davies Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 (edited) Just finished reading: Rampant Raider: an A-4 Skyhawk pilot in Vietnam Very well written and a pretty rare insight into Skyhawk ops in Vietnam. Edited February 26, 2009 by Steve Davies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brickhistory Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 "2" on Rampant Raider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireMission Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Debrief: A Complete History of U.S. Aerial Engagements - 1981 to the Present by Craig "Quizmo" Brown and forward by BGen Robin Olds. I beleive our very own Steve Davies helped out Quizmo as well. Cheers, Cap-10 Just got a copy from amazon.com. I've already read about half of the engagements. Excellent first person stories (for the most part) from guys who are MiG killers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 (edited) I recently read The Coldest Winter and I loved how it wove the bigger story of the Korean War with the small stories of individual soldiers themselves. And I like reading about famous fighter engagements as much as the next guy.. but with a couple years of airlift in me I'm starting to feel like I should know more about the heritage in my community. It would be nice to feel a better connection to our past... we don't have enough of that. Any good air transport-related books out there any of y'all have read? About Operation Vittles, the Hump or any of the WWII drops, etc etc? The more more stories about the individuals involved and their traditions the better. Edited April 7, 2009 by DC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WillysJK Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 "Guests of the Ayatollah: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam," Mark Bowden, 2006. About the hostage crisis of 1979-1980. x2! Well written and very pertinent in today's political climate! i.e. Diplomacy w/Iran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brickhistory Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 (edited) x2! Well written and very pertinent in today's political climate! i.e. Diplomacy w/Iran I'm not sure which side of the fence you are taking, but let me be very clear. The book doesn't, in my view, take a position on it. edited to add: that I recall. My position is it pointless to talk with Iran. Live up to the agreements you made with the UN and we can chat. Otherwise, they are not ever going to see past the "Great Satan" politically and we can't deal with Armydinnerjacket as the front man for the ayatollah. They will/do see us as weak by sucking up to them. Fine you think otherwise, I'm not interested in a debate. Sorry for the minor thread hi-jack here. Edited April 7, 2009 by brickhistory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brickhistory Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 "Ironclaw" by Sherman Baldwin. 'Nugget' pilot in the EA-6B for Desert Storm. Not a lot of "how great am I" combined with good descriptions of carrier life, flying with a crew, self-induced pressure to be professional, and bringing it back aboard, at night, on a deck where the anti-skid coating has been worn away and it's rubber on wet steel, oil, and hydraulic fluid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck17 Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Gents - I just finished "Lone Survivor" by Marcus Luttrell, a US Navy SEAL who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2005 and was the only one left alive from his SEAL teams engagement in the Hindu Kush. It was the best and most unbelievable tale I have read since I put down "Boyd" by Robert Corum. There are now three books at my bedside... The other one is The Bible. This book will make you laugh, cry and hurt. This guy is the "lucky" one who lived thanks to the efforts of his teammates, to include USN Lt. Mike Murphey, who was posthumously awarded the CMOH for his actions and leadership in what may be the most gut wrenching firefight described out of the GWOT. Youll find out why when you read it. It will make you want to be a better warriror. Dont pass it up. Its the only thing on the NYT Bestseller list that isnt a POS (Besides Denis Leary's book, which is fooking hilarious). Get it. NOW. Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bayonet29 Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 (edited) Tiger Force It didn't win the Pulitzer prize for nothing. Edited May 23, 2009 by Bayonet29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsplayr Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 I just finished "Lone Survivor" by Marcus Luttrell... Great story that I read prior to going up to SERE. Kinda make you feel like a wussy little girl when you're bitching about it being cold and miserable and you know dudes are out there surviving situations like his. Interestingly enough, I looked at the NY Times bestseller's list after you knocked it and found Horse Soldiers. Anyone read it? My recommendation is The Unforgiving Minute by Craig Mullaney. Excellently written, great personal look at West Point, Ranger School, Oxford, and Afghanistan by a really smart former soldier and Rhodes Scholar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fud Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 2 on lone surivor. The book is incredible, and I hear the movie studios are trying to make it into a movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marjackson82 Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Reading TRs autobio right now "The Rough Riders". Good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M2 Posted May 23, 2009 Author Share Posted May 23, 2009 Reading TRs autobio right now "The Rough Riders". Good stuff. TR would kick Chuck Norris' ass! Cheers! M2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marjackson82 Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 TR would kick Chuck Norris' ass! Cheers! M2 Damn right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Day Man Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 (edited) Gents - I just finished "Lone Survivor" by Marcus Luttrell, a US Navy SEAL who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2005 and was the only one left alive from his SEAL teams engagement in the Hindu Kush. It was the best and most unbelievable tale I have read since I put down "Boyd" by Robert Corum. There are now three books at my bedside... The other one is The Bible. This book will make you laugh, cry and hurt. This guy is the "lucky" one who lived thanks to the efforts of his teammates, to include USN Lt. Mike Murphey, who was posthumously awarded the CMOH for his actions and leadership in what may be the most gut wrenching firefight described out of the GWOT. Youll find out why when you read it. It will make you want to be a better warriror. Dont pass it up. Its the only thing on the NYT Bestseller list that isnt a POS (Besides Denis Leary's book, which is fooking hilarious). Get it. NOW. Chuck Wow...just finished that one too. 4 on "Lone Survivor" and 2 on Leary's book ("Why We Suck") Edited May 24, 2009 by day man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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