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Those who study history are doomed to stand by helplessly while everyone else repeats it.

I went a little crazy one day and catalogued part of my bookshelf. This is what I've been reading lately…

General History

AuthorTitle
Robert Joseph AllenThe Story of Superstition Mountain
and The Lost Dutchman Gold Mine
John BarronMIG Pilot
Edward L. BeachAround The World Submerged
Mark BowdenBlack Hawk Down
Henri CharrierrePapillon
John ConwayThe Apache Wars
Rhonda CornumShe Went to War
Clive Cussler, Craig DirgoThe Sea Hunters
Peter Deriabin, Frank GibneyThe Secret World
Peter DickensSAS
Secret War in South-East Asia
Richard DillonThe Legend of Grizzly Adams
Roger C. DunhamSpy Sub
Jeffrey Ethell, Alfred PriceAir War South Atlantic
Richard P. FeynmanSurely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!
John F. KennedyProfiles in Courage
Ken FollettOn Wings of Eagles
Andrew GarciaTough Trip Through Paradise
Joseph C. GouldenThe Death Merchant
Doris Kearns GoodwinNo Ordinary Time
Anatoli GranovskyI Was an NKVD Agent
Lillian HellmanScoundrel Time
Homer HickamOctober Sky
Homer HickamSky of Stone
Peter HopkirkThe Great Game
Peter HopkirkTrespassers on the Roof of the World
Peter Huchthausen
Igor Kurdin, R. Alan White
Hostile Waters
Sebastian JungerThe Perfect Storm
Ronald KesslerInside The CIA
Bob KingThe Final Mission: Spooky 8
Jon KrakauerInto Thin Air
Peter MaasThe Terrible Hours
Robert K. MassiePeter The Great
Dr. John L. McClureSoldier Without Fortune
Dan McKinnonBullseye One
Andy McNabBravo Two Zero
Andy McNabImmediate Action
Col. Joseph B. MitchellDecisive Battles of the American Revolution
Jim MorrisThe Devil's Secret Name
Farley MowatNever Cry Wolf
Farley MowatPeople of the Deer
Charles G. MullerThe Proudest Day
Jean P. SassonPrincess
Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia
Jean P. SassonPrincess Sultana's Daughters
Alan Shepard, Deke SlaytonMoon Shot
Victor SheymovTower of Secrets
Sherry Sontag, Christopher DrewBlind Man's Bluff
Cameron SpenceSabre Squadron
William StevensonStrike Zion!
Henri TroyatIvan The Terrible
Gary E. Weir, Walter J. BoyneRising Tide
Tom WolfeThe Right Stuff
Chuck Yeager, Leo JanosYeager
An Autobiography
Chun YuLittle Green: Growing Up During the Chinese Cultural Revolution
The Sunday Times InsightRainbow Warrior

It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

— Robert F. Kennedy, South Africa, 1966

The American Civil War

AuthorTitle
James R. ArnoldGrant Wins the War
Donald R. BurgettCurrahee!
Adam Goodheart1861
Doris Kearns GoodwinTeam of Rivals
Allan KellerThunder at Harper's Ferry
Ralph J. Roske, Charles Van DorenLincoln's Commando
Sam R. WatkinsCo. Aytch
A Confederate Soldier's Memoirs

Men make history, and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.

— Harry S. Truman, 1884 - 1972

World War I

AuthorTitle
Donald Barr ChidseyThe Day They Sank The Lusitania
Pierce G. FredericksThe Great Adventure
Brian GardnerOn To Kilimanjaro
Edwyn GrayThe Underwater War
Edwyn A. GrayThe Killing Time
Barrie PittZeebrugge
Frank RichardsOld Soldiers Never Die
Peter Shankland, Anthony HunterDardanelles Patrol
Colin SimpsonThe Ship That Hunted Itself
Richard SuskindDo You Want To Live Forever!
Lowell ThomasWith Lawrence in Arabia
Lowell ThomasCount Luckner, The Sea Devil
Barbara W. TuchmanThe Zimmermann Telegram
Barbara W. TuchmanThe Guns Of August
Leon WolffIn Flanders Fields

Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.

— Hermann Goering at the Nuremberg trials

World War II

AuthorTitle
Robert H. Adleman, Col. George WaltonThe Devil's Brigade
Stephen E. AmbroseBand of Brothers
Gerald AstorOperation Iceberg
Vernon J. Baker, Ken OlsenLasting Valor
Clay Blair, JrCombat Patrol
Pierre BoulleThe Bridge Over The River Kwai
Gregory "Pappy" BoyingtonBaa Baa Black Sheep
Read Admiral Ben BryantSubmarine Commander
Thomas B. BuellThe Quiet Warrior
A Biography of Admiral Raymond A. Spruance
Burke DavisMarine!
The Life of Chesty Puller
Martin CaidinA Torch to the Enemy
Donald CaldwellJG 26
Top Guns of the Luftwaffe
Thomas M. CoffeyIron Eagle
Belton Y. CooperDeath Traps
Trevor J. Constable, Col. Raymond F. ToliverHorrido!
Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe
Lawrence CortesiBattle of the Bismarck Sea
Robert CrispBrazen Chariots
W. Scott Cunningham, Lydel SimsWake Island Command
Robert J. DonovanPT 109
T.R. FehrenbachThe Battle of Anzio
Charles FoleyCommando Extraordinary
Larry ForresterFly For Your Life
Seymour Freiden, William RichardsonThe Fatal Decisions
Mitsuo Fuchida, Masatake OkumiyaMidway
The Japanese Navy's Story
Admiral I.J. GalantinTake Her Deep!
Daniel V. GalleryU-505
E.B. GasawayGrey Wolf, Grey Sea
Manfred GregorThe Bridge
Capt. Tameichi HaraJapanese Destroyer Captain
Leo HeapsThe Evaders
John HersheyHiroshima
James HiltonThe Story of Dr. Wassel
David HowarthD Day
Edwin P. HoytThe Lonely Ships
Edwin P. HoytThe Destroyer Killer
Edwin P. HoytRaider Battalion
Edwin P. HoytWar In The Pacific
Volume II: Stirrings
Samuel HynesFlights of Passage
Glenn B. InfieldDisaster at Bari
David IrvingThe Trail of the Fox
Masanori ItoThe End of the Imperial Japanese Navy
E. Clifton JamesThe Counterfeit General Montgomery
Wilhelm JohnenBattling the Bombers
Robert S. Johnson, Martin CaidinThunderbolt!
Thomas KeneallySchindler's List
Siegfried Knappe, Ted BrusawSoldat
Reflections of a German Soldier, 1936-1949
Admiral Theodor Krancke, H.J. BrenneckePocket Battleship
Eva KruteinEva's War
Beirne Lay, Jr, Sy Bartlett12 O'Clock High!
James LeasorGreen Beach
Hans von LuckPanzer Commander
Donald MacIntyreU-Boat Killer
Dave McIntoshTerror in the Starboard Seat
Ewen MontaguThe Man Who Never Was
Farley MowatAnd No Birds Sang
Audie MurphyTo Hell and Back
Father Joseph T. O'Callahan, S.J.I Was Chaplain On The Franklin
Richard H. O'KaneClear The Bridge
Richard F. NewcombIwo Jima
Boris T. PashThe Alsos Mission
George S. Patton, JrWar As I Knew It
C.E. Lucas PhillipsThe Greatest Raid of All
Leo RawlingsAnd The Dawn Came Up Like Thunder
Quentin Reynolds70,000 To One
Terence RobertsonNight Raider of the Atlantic
Terrence RobertsonEscort Commander
Erik Hazelhoff RoelfzemaSoldier of Orange
Aline, Countess of RomanonesThe Spy Wore Red
Theodore RoscoeTin Cans
Abraham RothbergEyewitness History of WW2
Blitzkrieg
Abraham RothbergEyewitness History of WW2
Siege
Abraham RothbergEyewitness History of WW2
Counterattack
Abraham RothbergEyewitness History of WW2
Victory
Cornelius RyanThe Longest Day
Cornelius RyanA Bridge Too Far
Cornelius RyanThe Last Battle
Guy SajerThe Forgotten Soldier
Saburo Sakai, Martin Caidin, Fred SatoSamurai!
Harrison E. SalisburyThe 900 Days
Donald S. SanfordMidway
Admiral Frederick C. ShermanCombat Command
William L. ShirerThe Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
William L. ShirerThe Nightmare Years
Gunar SonstebyReport From No. 24
Russell SpurrA Glorious Way To Die
William StevensonA Man Called Intrepid
Adrian StewartThe Battle of Leyte Gulf
Forest J. SterlingWake of the Wahoo
Theodore TaylorBattle in the English Channel
John TolandInfamy
John TolandThe Last 100 Days
Barbara W. TuchmanStilwell and The American Experience in China 1911-1945
Charles WhitingDecision at St.-Vith
Eric WilliamsThe Tunnel Escape
Ira WolfertAmerican Guerrilla in the Philippines
The Pacific War Research SocietyJapan's Longest Day

We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven into an age of unreason if we dig deep into our history and remember we are not descended from fearful men.

— Edward R. Murrow, 1908 - 1965

Vietnam

AuthorTitle
William C. AndersonBAT-21
Don BendellThe B-52 Overture
Jack BroughtonThud Ridge
Jack BroughtonGoing Downtown
The War Against Hanoi and Washington
Malcolm W. BrowneThe New Face of War
J.D. ColemanIncursion
Randy Cunningham, Jeff EthellFox Two
Orrin DeFores, David ChanoffSlow Burn
Robert GoldstonThe Vietnamese Revolution
David HalberstamThe Best and the Brightest
Charles HendersonMarine Sniper
Monika Jensen-StevensonSpite House
The Last Secret of the War in Vietnam
William J. LedererOur Own Worst Enemy
Richard MarcinkoRogue Warrior
Robert MasonChicken Hawk
John Grider MillerThe Bridge at Dong Ha
Richard E. OgdenGreen Knight, Red Morning
John A. Parrish, M.D.12, 20 & 5
A Doctor's Year in Vietnam
John L. PlasterSOG
The Secret Wars of America's Commando's
Lewis B. Puller, JrFortunate Son
Harrison E. SalisburyBehind the Lines - Hanoi
Benjamin F. SchemmerThe Raid
The Son Tay Prison Rescue Mission
Gary R. Smith, Alan MakiDeath in the Jungle
Diary of a Navy Seal
Warner SmithCovert Warrior
Fighting the CIA's Secret War
David B. StockwellTanks in the Wire
Tom TiedeCalley: Soldier or Killer?
John TrottiPhanton Over Vietnam
James Watson, Kevin DockeryPoint Man
Samuel ZaffiriHamburger Hill