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31 Best Military Books

Goal: Find the best Military books according to the internet (not just one person's opinion).

Method:

  1. Search for "best military books" and study the top 5+ pages.
  2. Add only the books mentioned 2+ times.
  3. Rank the results neatly here.

31 Best Military Books

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1

The Guns of August

The Pulitzer Prize-Winning Classic About the Outbreak of World War I

by Barbara W. Tuchman

Also recommended by:

Doris Kearns Goodwin

2

Band of Brothers

E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest

by Stephen E. Ambrose

3

Black Hawk Down

A Story of Modern War

by Mark Bowden

5

One Bullet Away

The Making of a Marine Officer

by Nathaniel C. Fick

Also recommended by:

Peter Attia

6

With the Old Breed

At Peleliu and Okinawa

by E. B. Sledge

Also recommended by:

Jocko Willink, Howard Stern, Paul Graham

7

We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young

Ia Drang—The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam

by Harold G. Moore

Also recommended by:

Jocko Willink

8

A Higher Call

An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II

by Adam Makos

9

Dispatches

by Michael Herr

10

Flyboys

A True Story of Courage

by James Bradley

11

Six Frigates

The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy

by Ian W. Toll

12

Lone Survivor

The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10

by Marcus Luttrell

Also recommended by:

Larry Ellison, Marc Andreessen

13

The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant

by Ulysses S. Grant

Also recommended by:

Mark Twain, Jamie Dimon

14

No Easy Day

The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Laden

by Mark Owen

Also recommended by:

Paul Graham

15

On Killing

The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society

by Dave Grossman

Also recommended by:

Noah Kagan

16

1776

by David McCullough

17

A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier

Some Adventures, Dangers, and Sufferings of Joseph Plumb Martin

by Joseph Plumb Martin

18

America's War for the Greater Middle East

A Military History

by Andrew J. Bacevich

19

American Sniper

The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History

by Chris Kyle

20

Blood on the Risers

An Airborne Soldier's Thirty-five Months in Vietnam

by John Leppelman

21

Call Sign Chaos

Learning to Lead

by Jim Mattis

22

Flags of Our Fathers

by James Bradley

23

Generation Kill

by Evan Wright

24

If You Survive

From Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge to the End of World War II, One American Officer's Riveting True Story

by George Wilson

25

The Forever War

by Dexter Filkins

26

The Good Soldiers

by David Finkel

27

The Liberator

One World War II Soldier's 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau

by Alex Kershaw

28

The Longest Day

by Cornelius Ryan

29

The Outpost

An Untold Story of American Valor

by Jake Tapper

30

The Pentagon Wars

Reformers Challenge the Old Guard

by James G. Burton

31

Unbroken

A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

by Laura Hillenbrand

Sources

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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