The Top Ten: Books (War)

I've reviewed over 500 books on this blog. Choosing an overall top ten is impossible, so I'll break it down by category.  Today's focus is books about wars (or events related to them).

image from here

War is horrible, disastrous, undesired [by most], yet occasionally necessary.  It's important to understand conflicts both ancient and modern, as they reveal the causes, horrors and toll of fighting, and explain a good deal about the modern world.  The below are all masterfully written accounts, presented chronologically (by date of  conflict discussed).

1. The Crusades (Thomas Asbridge)

Thomas Asbridge covers about 200 years (1095-1291) of the wars in the holy land between Christian and Muslim forces.

2. The Thirty Years War (C.V. Wedgwood)

This conflict (1618-1648), fought largely on German soil by non-German forces, impacted Central Europe for centuries.

3. World War I: The Definitive Visual History (Smithsonian)

This visually-based history is a masterful overview of the conflict.

4. The Guns of August (Barbara Tuchman)

A riveting account of the first month of WWI.

5. All Quiet on the Western Front (Erich Maria Remarque)

A German soldier's perspective on the western front in WWI.

6. World War II: The Definitive Visual History (Smithsonian)

Another excellent, graphical overview from the Smithsonian.

7. With the Old Breed (E.B. Sledge)

This Marine's account of his time in the Pacific theater of WWII was called "one of the most arresting documents in war literature."  It's a must-read.

8. Helmet for my Pillow (Robert Leckie)

Another Marine's account of the Pacific in WWII, Leckie's writing is eloquent and poignant.

9. The Hiding Place (Corrie Ten Boom)

A Christian's tale of helping to hide Jews from the Nazis.  She'd end up in a camp for her efforts.

10. Night (Elie Wiesel)

A Jewish account of the horrors of the concentration camps.

-----------------
Don't love war, but understand it, that we might learn from the past and avoid folly in the future.  “The world is full enough of hurts and mischances without wars to multiply them.” (J.R.R. Tolkien)