With The Old Breed by EB Sledge
Don’t forget the Cold War. Everyone forgets it, but there were Americans going in harm’s way every day for those decades.
Don’t forget the war in the Philippines. It is extremely relevant today, especially when dealing with insurgencies. It has been mostly forgotten but our actions, while effective, would be considered highly controversial in today’s political landscape.
Try this book...
... a FReeper is prominent in the book (but not the main subject of the book). That FReeper later died when Extortion 17 was shot down.
Shelby Foote's Civil War series is a very readable narrative of the War Between the States.
Stephen Ambrose is a good writer, haven't read his WWII books but Dauntless Courage is a MUST read.
OOPS you said MODERN. Sorry.
Start with the freebies. Army History magazine is free online, including their back issues. One of my faves is issue #79, which has a lot of back story from the Philippine Insurrection.
http://www.history.army.mil/armyhistory/issues_complete_guide.html
Interesting.
If You Survive by George Wilson.
Silent Victory - WWII, chronicles the U.S. submarine war in the Pacific against the Japanese. We strangled the Japanese merchant marine / transportation shipping. Amateurs study tactics, professionals study logistics.
Iron Coffins - WWII, German submarines vs. the British and U.S. They didn’t do nearly as well, as we figured out ASW techniques.
Panzer Battles by von Mellenthin - Primarily Eastern Front vs. the Soviets. There was a copy of it on Schwartzkopf’s desk in his little monk’s cell of a room in the command bunker during Desert Storm. Noticed that when he did a TV interview.
The Second World War by Winston Churchill, the full six volume set, not the abridged version. Just because it’s Churchill.
Brave Men by Ernie Pyle - front line accounts by the preeminent U.S. war correspondent of WWII.
All of Ambrose’s WWII books. Band of Brothers, The Wild Blue, etc.
The Two Ocean War by Samuel Elliot Morrison - WWII U.S. naval history.
United States Submarine Operations in World War II by Theodore Roscoe, US Naval Institute Press
United States Destroyer Operations In World War II by Theodore Roscoe, US Naval Institute Press
History of US Naval Operations in WWII, 15 Vols by Samuel Eliot Morison
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
As an introduction to the our portion of the Viet Nam War
start with Bernard B. Fall’s “Street without Joy”. His excellent book about the French defeat and what we were up
against when we started into a war we couldn’t win.
WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE....AND YOUNG
Some of my favorites.
“D Day: June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II,” by Stephen E. Ambrose
“The Bedford Boys: One American Town’s Ultimate D-day Sacrifice,” by Alex Kershaw
“Freedom’s Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II,” by Arthur Herman
“A Genius for Deception: How Cunning Helped the British Win Two World Wars,” by Nicholas Rankin
Are you interest in the civil war? If so, I hear that General Grant’s memoirs are very good.
For World War II, a lot of people like the works of William Manchester. I read one of his books a long time ago about the Pacific island hopping campaign that was very good.
BLACKHAWK DOWN
A BRIDGE TOO FAR
1942: The Year That Tried Men’s Souls, Winston Groom.
Actually, any book by Winston Groom would do. Like A Storm in Flanders (WWI).