SPQR
The Fall of Carthage: The Punic Wars 265-146BC
2000
NON-FICTIONDefinitive modern account of all three Punic Wars, from Hannibal's crossing of the Alps to the final destruction of Carthage.
Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West
2005
NON-FICTIONHolland's gripping narrative of the Persian invasions of Greece, from Marathon to Salamis, and how a tiny Greek coalition stopped the mightiest empire on earth.
We Were Soldiers Once... and Young
1992
NON-FICTIONDefinitive account of the Battle of Ia Drang Valley in 1965, the first major engagement between US forces and the NVA.
Thermopylae: The Battle That Changed the World
2006
NON-FICTIONScholarly account of the Battle of Thermopylae by a leading classicist, examining the historical reality behind the Spartan stand and its extraordinary afterlife in Western culture.
Hue 1968
2017
NON-FICTIONGripping account of the bloodiest battle of the Tet Offensive and the Vietnam War's turning point.
The Peloponnesian War
2003
NON-FICTIONKagan's single-volume masterpiece covering the entire war between Athens and Sparta.
Gates of Fire
1998
FICTIONA vivid fictional account of the 300 Spartans who held the pass at Thermopylae. Widely regarded as the finest military historical novel ever written.
The Things They Carried
1990
FICTIONLandmark work of fiction-as-memoir about American soldiers in Vietnam. One of the most acclaimed war novels of the 20th century.
Dispatches
1977
MEMOIRIconic New Journalism account of the Vietnam War by a war correspondent. Its prose style influenced an entire generation of war writing.
The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal and the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic
2010
NON-FICTIONAccount of Hannibal's invasion of Italy and the catastrophic Roman defeat at Cannae, the tactical masterpiece that still influences military thought.
Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America
2004
NON-FICTIONRolling Stone journalist's embedded account of the 1st Recon Battalion's charge through Iraq in the opening weeks of the 2003 invasion — raw, unfiltered, and unflinching.
House to House: An Epic Memoir of War
2007
MEMOIRFirst-person account of urban combat in Fallujah in November 2004 by a decorated Army staff sergeant. The most visceral account of close-quarters combat in the Iraq War.
The Battle for the Falklands
1983
NON-FICTION"Must be read by all our military people and anyone who wants to find out what really happened on the Falkland Islands." -James M. Gavin
Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic
2003
NON-FICTIONGripping narrative of Rome's transformation from republic to empire, from Sulla's march on Rome to Julius Caesar's assassination.
The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians
2006
NON-FICTIONRevisionist history arguing that the fall of Rome was caused primarily by external military pressure from the Huns and Goths.
Alexander of Macedon, 356–323 B.C.: A Historical Biography
1974
NON-FICTIONThe most scholarly biography of Alexander the Great, placing his campaigns in their full political, economic, and cultural context.
The Sharp End: The Fighting Man in World War II
1980
NON-FICTIONClassic examination of what combat was actually like for the ordinary infantryman in WWII — covering fear, exhaustion, morale, and the gulf between official narratives and soldier reality.
Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing
2007
MEMOIRThe story of Operation Red Wings — a four-man Navy SEAL reconnaissance mission in Afghanistan that went catastrophically wrong, told by the only survivor.
No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah
2005
NON-FICTIONMarine veteran and journalist Bing West's on-the-ground account of the two battles for Fallujah — the first assault halted by political pressure and the brutal second assault that cleared the city.
The Face of Battle
1976
NON-FICTIONLandmark study examining three battles — Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme — from the perspective of the ordinary soldier, asking what combat is actually like for those who must endure it.