5 of our favorite military nonfiction books (and nearly all are about one branch)

Although the holidays have now passed, we put together a quick list of excellent military nonfiction that would make a great gift for your military member, veteran, or future enlistee – or even give you an idea of what to read next if you want to scratch that itch.

So without further ado, here are five of my favorite military nonfiction books.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

After watching the movie of the same name (which is a bit more action-focused), I instantly went out and bought the book. The book covers numerous operations undertaken by some pioneers of special operations forces during WWII, including the first wave of deniable secret operators employed by the British around the world. As they say, WWII was won by American steel, Russian blood, and British guile – this was the guile they were talking about. 

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is written almost like a novelization but based on true events. I’m sure the author takes a few liberties with how conversations happened or regarding the little details, but the overall history is true. These men risked their lives and accomplished some insane feats. 

Helmet For My Pillow 

Helmet For My Pillow is a raw and unflinching look at the Pacific Campaign in World War II. Marine infantryman Robert Leckie walks us through his time in the Marine Corps during the war and doesn’t pull punches. We accompany Leckie through Guadalcanal to Peleliu and the other brutal battles of the Pacific. 

After seeing a musical about the Pacific Campaign, Rober Leckie was inspired to write the book. He wanted to tell the truth so that the American people knew what the war was really like and how it resembled no musical

Leckie seems to be a natural writer. He captures an experience – from the fighting to the boozing – that I could relate to as a Marine,. It’s an enlisted man’s tale free from the large and often boring overviews of war that plague other World War II books. This is a tale told in the trenches. 

Don’t expect a bit of rah-rah or propaganda. It’s raw and real. 

Related: Is ‘The Pacific’ better than ‘Band of Brothers’?

Guns Up! 

Guns Up is required reading for Marine machine gunners, or at least it was. As a machine gunner, I’m immensely proud of my MOS, and having a book written about a machine gunner by a machine gunner was extremely interesting. Guns Up! tells the tale of Johnnie M. Clark, a Marine machine gunner who served in Vietnam. 

The name comes from the cry “Guns Up,” a call used to signal machine gunners to get to the front and start laying down discontent in belt-fed form.

Mr. Clark walks us through his time in Vietnam. He was 18 when he deployed and he toted the M60 during the height of the Tet Offensive. 

Mr. Clark describes his battles, weapons, fellow Marines, and everything in great detail. He never spares his words, and we always get the truth. He has written a few other books, which are all worth reading, but Guns Up! will always stand out to me. 

Related: SOCOM and Marines will get new machine gun that breaks the mold to replace old classic

Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills 

Marine Sniper is a must for every kid who wants to join the Marines. I don’t know a Marine who didn’t read the book before they joined the Marine Corps. The book tells the tale of Carlos Hatchcock, one of the Marine Corps’ deadliest snipers.

His feats are legendary inside and outside of the Marine Corps – but they weren’t just about racking up kills.

For a very long time, he maintained the record for the longest confirmed kill using an M2 machine gun rigged into a sniper’s weapon. On an other occasion, he spent several days inching through a field in Vietnman, coming within smelling distance of the enemy to kill a North Vietnamese army general. 

The book tends to be a bit dry and doesn’t try too hard to entertain. It’s rather informative and often does an excellent job setting up the situations in which Carlos was called to act. It’s not exactly a page-turner, but I guarantee you won’t stop reading it. 

Generation Kill 

Generation Kill is a true account of Iraq War told by someone on the front lines who wasn’t a soldier. Evan Wright, a journalist for Rolling Stone, was embedded with the Marine Corps First Recon battalion. These guys were the tip of the spear during the invasion of Iraq, and Evan rode shotgun with them as they pushed into Iraq. 

Generation Kill doesn’t only capture the first days of the Iraq invasion but takes on a gonzo journalist approach. It captures the characters that are along for the ride. We come to know the always cool Brad Iceamn Colbert, the loud and boisterous Ray Person, and the officers – both competent and incompetent – along the way. 

The book holds nothing back. I believe Evan Wright wrote what he saw, but I don’t know if he had the context to understand it all. For example, Trombley – one of the Marines encountered by Wright – is written as a disturbed wannabe psycho, when in reality, he seems like a bit of a try-hard junior Marine. The Marine Corps is a warrior culture, and Trombley wants to fight. Overall, I still think it’s a fascinating and different take on the nonfiction war tale. 

It’s only now that I realize that four out of these five books are about Marines. I guess I have an obvious bias. Maybe I need to expand my parameters? But I hope we gave you a couple of military nonfiction book suggestions for your next read.

Feature Image: U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Eric Shannon Jr., a combat videographer assigned to Headquarters & Headquarters Squadron (H&HS), picks up a book in the station library aboard Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma, Ariz., May 7, 2018. Professional reading is encouraged so that Marines can develop themselves as better leaders both during and after their time in service. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Isaac D. Martinez)

Read more from Sandboxx News

• Video: The big problem that the Air Force’s NGAD has to overcome
• The ships that take Marines to war are in really, really bad shape
• How Army Rangers constantly train in hand-to-hand fighting
• The Air Force’s 2050 report highlights a dark future for air power
• F-22 fleet is getting upgraded threat-detection sensors to stay on top