[RebelTex]

"That's the only question -- well done or badly done."

Right.  There are a lot of good war stories that are well done.   Some of my favorites are Up Periscope, The Enemy Below, Patton, The Grey Ghost, and the Audie Murphy bio - To Hell and Back.  Though not really classics, still, very good stories in the pursuit of victory.

Then there's the ill-fated or tragic quest, like Billy Budd, or Herman Melville's Moby Dick - both classics in their own right.

I also enjoy fiction with a political bent, such as: Fahrenheit 451, The 480, The Ugly American, and Sarkahn.

[squarebarb]

The battle scenes in the Patrick O'Brian books --- the Aubrey-Maturin series -- are incredible.

I am at about the seventh book of the series and enjoying them immensely.

Also for quests/adventures/battles there are Dorothy Dunnet's books; the siege of Malta described in Pawn In Frankincense is one of the best things I have read.