combat chronicler sebastian junger bolstered communities in “tribe” and bestselling writer mary roach dissected military science in “grunt”.
The lesser known also spoke. Former Army Public Affairs Officer Steven J. Álvarez, by “selling war,” said that the military must change “the way they conduct their communications business.” In “Outsourcing Wars,” academic Amy E. eckert said that us it is “the largest consumer of private power in the world”.
You are reading: Best military books 2016
and the election of the commander in chief elected as national security adviser, the retired army lieutenant. gene miguel t. flynn, launched into a tirade on “the battlefield: how we can win the global war against radical Islam and its allies.”
In 2016, this reviewer read these five books and 52 others, about one a week. What are the most outstanding titles, each one reviewed in military times?
here are the top 10 with no particular rank. (plus an additional pair). five are fiction. five are nonfiction. all but two are the first book by a talented author and seven are by veterans.
non-fiction
“the mirror test: the united states at war in iraq and afghanistan” by j. kael weston
“the mirror test: the united states at war in iraq and afghanistan” by j. kael weston
photo credit: knopf
the mirror test: the united states at war with iraq and afghanistan
by j. kael weston, knopf, 608 pages, $29 list price
This long book about a long war tries to do many things and succeeds. it is an atonement and an assessment, a eulogy and an exposition, a reflection of a nation by a man who endured “seven consecutive years in two wars” in iraq and afghanistan while working for the state department.
Fifteen years after 9/11, his memoir seeks to find a “shared reckoning” in which “more of us begin to act with conscience… as citizens.” weston leads the way.
A Kingdom of Their Own: The Karzai Family and the Afghan Disaster by Joshua Partlow, Knopf, 432 pages, $29
photo credit: knopf
A Kingdom of Their Own: The Karzai Family and the Afghan Disaster
by joshua partlow, knopf, 432 pages, $30 list price
Keeping up with the Karzais, six brothers and one sister, and uncovering fraud in a feudal society is fascinating in this contemporary story, the first by a Washington Post reporter. he seems to interview everyone in afghanistan, and few players (including two us generals) come out on top. His reports of misconceptions and corruption should infuriate conscientious Americans and shame the surviving Karzai brothers.
ÒHow Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything: Tales from the PentagonÓ by Rosa Brooks, Simon & schuster, 448 pages, $30
“How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything: Tales from the Pentagon” by Rosa Brooks, Simon & schuster, 448 pages, $30 how it all became war and the military became everything: tales from the pentagonby rosa brooks, simon & schuster, 448 pages, $30 list price
Professionally and personally, Brooks has “experienced many of the contradictions that brought us to our current state of war without limits.” She worked in Pentagon politics, married an Army Special Forces officer, is an author, and teaches law. however, she avoids legal jargon and writes convincingly on issues that she questions and sometimes resolves. in theory, at least.
Òconsequence: in memory of eric fair
consequence: memories of eric fair
See Also: Brian Kilmeade – Book Series In Order
photo credit: henry holt
consequence: a memory
by eric fair, henry holt, 256 pages, list price $26
all is fair in hate and war in this memoir of a soldier who becomes an interrogator for a contractor in iraq. In 2004, he witnesses a co-worker torture a prisoner and realizes “I’m just as responsible as anyone else.”
his marked cadence hits himself, the system, and an army “that sets rules, encourages soldiers to ignore them in the name of completing a mission, waits for a reckoning, and then cuts off soldiers in the name of of accountability”.
“red squad: a true story of american courage” by clinton romesha
“red squad: a true story of american courage” by clinton romesha
photo credit: dutton
Red Squad: A True Story of American Courage
by clinton romesha, dutton, 280 pages, list price $28
the medal of honor winner reports on a 2009 14 hour taliban attack on keating, “the most remote, precarious and tactically fucked up combat outpost in all of afghanistan”, with an immediacy that has “the hair and the dirt still stuck”. to her.”
his soldiers are “touched by death and its aftermath in a visceral, direct and ugly way.” he says that “it’s often impossible to go back and fit the pieces of what happened perfectly together” in combat, but he comes close.
fiction
Òthese heroic, happy deadÓ by luke mogelson, tim duggan, 192 pages, $24
“these heroic, happy dead” by luke mogelson, tim duggan, 192 pages, $24 these heroic, happy dead by luke mogelson, tim duggan, 192 pages, list price $24
the title is from the poet e.e. Cummings, but the stories are original in this book from a journalist who served three years as an Army National Guard medic but “didn’t deploy.” maybe not, but he reported from kabul for three years.
his 10 stories in afghanistan and america are populated by unhappy but intense “dead”. the tone of each story is ominous, with some soldiers appearing in one story and another. think of phil klay’s “relocation” with fewer words and less hope.
“we came to our senses” by odie lindsey
Coming Back To Our Senses by odie lindsey, norton, 192 pages, $24 list price
An Army veteran’s past remains “stuck in my throat,” but her present is filled with obsessions. one enlistee admits “we’re all chasing better narratives.” an agent tells a writer to “stop trying to be magnanimous and cunning” and “focus on telling a story.”
Unlike the characters in these stories, the writer expresses himself clearly, and in layers that give the title a double meaning. the desert storm veteran explores war, gender, sexual orientation, and a culture symbolized by “cheap eats at applebee’s.”
Òa hard and heavy thingÓ by matthew j. strong
a hard and heavy thing by matthew j. strong
photo credit: tyrus books
See Also: The Best Colored Pencils to Use for Beginners to Professional Artists
something hard and heavy by matthew j. hefti, tyrus books, 368 pages, $17 paperback list price
levi and his gang brother wander through myopia with drugs until 9/11. but “this is like the defining moment of our generation”, and the two “show up at a recruiter’s office to become part of the problem”. In combat, Levi discovers that there is no “simple choice between good and evil”.
The ex-aviator’s gripping novel even has clever chapter titles like this one about a quote: “If you thought I could write, you should see the US Army tell a story”
“anatomy of a soldier” by harry parker
photo credit: courtesy of sunshine sachs
anatomy of a soldier
by harry parker, knopf, 314 pages, $26 list price
This is a story told by 42 instruments, including a bomb, the story of a British captain who “sinks into the ground and in an instant there is no more romance” in war. after the explosion, the officer has a partial body “created with violence and saved by soldiers and doctors.”
his new duty is to find a role in a new life without legs, and the author knows the way. he lost legs in afghanistan in 2009, and his moving book has no replacements.
“youngblood: a novel” by matt gallagher, atria books, hardcover, 352 pages, $26
photo credit: atria books
young blood
by matt gallagher, atria books, 354 pages, list price $17 paperback
The author edits (“fire and forget”), and his 2010 memoir, based on the blog he wrote until he was rounded up by the army, proves he can write nonfiction. his first novel shows that he too can write book-sized fiction.
a lieutenant struggles to “know that idealism is more than just a word.” but the truth is dark in iraq, and he wonders “what the hell were we doing?” In an attempt to do “something good”, he seizes an opportunity where “using money as a weapon” is as common as enemies.
bonus: emotions are alive
“spiritual mission” by ted russ, henry holt
spiritual mission
by ted russ, henry holt, 336 pages, list price $28
This suspense novel written by a former army officer is two stories in one. In Iraq, a Chinook pilot is diverted from a mission to try to rescue another Western Pointer. flash back 25 years and the cadets unite on a spiritual mission that goes against regulations and tests if “you’re man enough for the punishment”, when the army tries to get the navy goat.
“overwatch: a thriller” by matthew betley, atria/emily bestler books, hardcover, 400 pages, $26
photo credit: atria/emily bestler books
over watch: a logan west thriller
by matthew betley, atria, 257 pages, $27 list price
a naval officer returns from fallujah with a medal and a drinking problem. His new job includes traveling to Texas, to a “Mexican standoff” and back to Iraq in search of a terrorist (an American) who does bad things to people, and the dog of the “Wild” West. thugs, pets, assassins and a hero who never tires. look for the continuation of betley, also marina.
See Also: The best biography and autobiography books of 2016 | Best books | The Guardian