Iraq & Afghanistan Reading List

Timothy OConnor · Post by **Timothy OConnor** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:46 pm

Inspired by related thread. Thought this might be helpful. Add yours and I'll edit/update

- Generation Kill (Marine Recon unit in Iraq)
- Ambush Alley (Al Nasyriah...battalion level...outstanding!)
- Not a Good Day to Die (Afghanistan...good description of Predator...outstanding!)
- No True Glory (Fallujah...operational level...outstanding!)
- House to House (Fallujah...personal account...brutal and outstanding!)
- Thunder Run (initial Iraq invasion...good read)
- We Were One (Iraq...small unit history...ok)
- The Long Road Home (Iraq...platoon-level ambush...ok)
- War Stories of the Tankers (other periods too, includes Iraq)
- 7th Infantry Regiment (other periods too, includes Iraq)
- Chasing Ghosts (Iraq/small unit...ok)
- Roughneck 91 (Iraq invasion...great account of light infantry/javelins vs tanks!)
- First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan by Gary Schroen
- Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander by Gary Berntsen and Ralph Pezzullo (not as good as above, though)
- Contractor Combatants: Tales of an Imbedded Capitalist by Carter Andress (not what I expected, but excellent)

stevecolletti · Post by **stevecolletti** » Sat Oct 18, 2008 6:39 am

I've read all but Generation Kill and 7th infantry regiment.

I'll add
- First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan by Gary Schroen
- Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander by Gary Berntsen and Ralph Pezzullo (not as good as above, though)
- Contractor Combatants: Tales of an Imbedded Capitalist by Carter Andress (not what I expected, but excellent)

These stuck with me.

Steve

Timothy OConnor · Post by **Timothy OConnor** » Sat Oct 18, 2008 8:58 pm

updated!

Hetzen · Post by **Hetzen** » Sun Oct 19, 2008 12:59 am

The Circuit - Bob Shepherd

An ex-SAS viewpoint on the war on terror in Palestine/Iraq/Afghanistan with the outsourcing of military security contracts to keep public numbers of forces down, the massive expansion and the inevitable shortcomings of a booming security business. Very good book.

ed*b · Post by **ed*b** » Sun Oct 19, 2008 9:19 pm

And certainly don't forget the Canadians:

Kandahar Tour: The Turning Point In Canada's Afghan Mission by Lee Windsor
Unexpected War: Canada in Kandahar by Janice Gross Stein
Outside the Wire: The War in Afghanistan in the Words of Its Participants by Kevin Patterson
Contact Charlie: The Canadian Army, The Taliban and the Battle that Saved Afghanistan by Chris Wattie (this was excerpted in The National Post and looks to be a very good read)
Fifteen Days: Stories of Bravery, Friendship, Life and Death from Inside the New Canadian Army by Christie Blatchford

A small sample - there are lots of books being published on Canada's part in the war, although it may be a little harder to get some of them in the U.S. and U.K.