Recommendations based on The Good Soldiersby David Finkel

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. War

    by Sebastian Junger
    A gripping account of the experience of soldiers in combat and the psychological aftermath of war.

    In his breakout bestseller, The Perfect Storm, Sebastian Junger created "a wild ride that brilliantly captures the awesome power of the raging sea and the often futile attempts of humans to withstand ... (Goodreads)

  2. The Forever War

    by Dexter Filkins
    A collection of war stories from Iraq and Afghanistan, exploring the human cost of conflict and the impact on soldiers and civilians alike.

    From the front lines of the battle against Islamic fundamentalism, a searing, unforgettable book that captures the human essence of the greatest conflict of our time. Through the eyes of Dexter ... (Goodreads)

  3. We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam

    by Harold G. Moore
    An account of the Battle of Ia Drang in Vietnam, told from the perspective of the soldiers who fought it.

    Each year, the Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps selects one book that he believes is both relevant and timeless for reading by all Marines. The Commandant's choice for 1993 was We Were Soldiers ... (Goodreads)

  4. Seal Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy Seal Sniper

    by Howard E. Wasdin
    The harrowing account of a Navy SEAL's training and experiences in the line of duty.

    The, New York Times, best selling book that takes you inside SEAL Team Six – the covert squad that killed Osama Bin Laden., SEAL Team Six is a secret unit tasked with counterterrorism, hostage ... (Goodreads)

  5. The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University

    by Kevin Roose
    An exploration of faith and culture at an evangelical college, through the eyes of an atheist.

    The hilarious and heartwarming, respectful and thought-provoking memoir of a college student's semester at Liberty University, the "Bible Boot Camp" for young evangelicals, that will inspire ... (Barnes & Noble)

  6. 1776

    by David McCullough
    A riveting account of the events leading up to and during the American Revolution.

    In this masterful book, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence - when the whole American ... (Goodreads)

  7. The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival

    by John Vaillant
    A thrilling tale of a Siberian tiger's fight for survival amidst conflict between man and nature.

    It’s December 1997, and a man-eating tiger is on the prowl outside a remote village in Russia’s Far East. The tiger isn’t just killing people, it’s annihilating them, and a team of men and their dogs ... (Goodreads)

  8. Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory

    by Ben Macintyre
    True story of a WWII deception operation involving a dead body, fake documents, and a daring plan to mislead the Nazis.

    “Pure catnip to fans of World War II thrillers and a lot of fun for everyone else.”—Joseph Kanon,, Washington Post Book World, “Thrilling . . . What makes, Operation Mincemeat, so winning, in ... (Barnes & Noble)

  9. Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital

    by Sheri Fink
    The gripping story of a hospital during Hurricane Katrina, examining issues of medical ethics and life-saving decisions.

    In the tradition of the best investigative journalism, physician and reporter Sheri Fink reconstructs 5 days at Memorial Medical Center and draws the reader into the lives of those who struggled ... (Goodreads)

  10. Dispatches

    by Michael Herr
    A journalist's account of the Vietnam War, depicting the brutality, confusion and chaos of the conflict.

    Written on the front lines in Vietnam, Dispatches became an immediate classic of war reportage when it was published in 1977. From its terrifying opening pages to its final eloquent words, Dispatches ... (Goodreads)

  11. If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home

    by Tim O'Brien
    A reflective memoir of war from the perspective of a young soldier.

    Alternate cover for this ISBN can be found, here, A CLASSIC FROM THE, NEW YORK TIMES, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF, THE THINGS THEY CARRIED, Before writing his award-winning Going After Cacciato , Tim ... (Goodreads)

  12. The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer

    by Siddhartha Mukherjee
    A comprehensive account of the history and science of cancer, from its origins to modern treatments.

    An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found, here, and, here,. The Emperor of All Maladies is a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography” of cancer - from its first documented ... (Goodreads)

  13. Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime

    by John Heilemann
    A behind-the-scenes look at the 2008 US Presidential Election and the people who ran it.

    “It’s one of the best books on politics of any kind I’ve read. For entertainment value, I put it up there with Catch 22 .” — The Financial Times “It transports you to a parallel universe in which ... (Goodreads)

  14. Flags of Our Fathers

    by James D. Bradley
    A tribute to the brave soldiers who raised the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima during WWII.

    In this unforgettable chronicle of perhaps the most famous moment in American military history, James Bradley has captured the glory, the triumph, the heartbreak, and the legacy of the six men who ... (Goodreads)

  15. Papillon

    by Henri Charrière
    An account of an unjustly convicted man's escape from a notorious French penal colony.

    Henri Charrière, called "Papillon," for the butterfly tattoo on his chest, was convicted in Paris in 1931 of a murder he did not commit. Sentenced to life imprisonment in the penal colony of French ... (Goodreads)

  16. Mortality

    by Christopher Hitchens
    Reflections on the inevitability of death, drawing on personal and philosophical insights.

    On June 8, 2010, while on a book tour for his bestselling memoir, Hitch-22 , Christopher Hitchens was stricken in his New York hotel room with excruciating pain in his chest and thorax. As he would ... (Barnes & Noble)

  17. Flyboys: A True Story of Courage

    by James D. Bradley
    The story of nine American airmen shot down over Chichi Jima during World War II and their brutal treatment by the Japanese.

    Over the remote Pacific island of Chichi Jima, nine American flyers-Navy and Marine pilots sent to bomb Japanese communications towers there-were shot down., Flyboys, a story of war and horror but ... (Goodreads)

  18. Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001

    by Steve Coll
    A detailed account of the CIA's involvement in Afghanistan from the Soviet invasion to the events leading up to 9/11.

    The news-breaking book that has sent shockwaves through the Bush White House, Ghost Wars is the most accurate and revealing account yet of the CIA's secret involvement in al-Qaeda's evolution. It won ... (Goodreads)

  19. Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War

    by Mark Bowden
    A detailed account of the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, where US soldiers fought Somali militia in a brutal urban warfare.

    On October 3, 1993, about a hundred U.S. soldiers were dropped by helicopter into a teeming market in the heart of Mogadishu, Somalia, to abduct two top lieutenants of a Somali warlord. The action ... (Goodreads)

  20. Just Kids

    by Patti Smith
    Chronicles of two young artists in New York City, finding friendship and inspiration in each other.

    In Just Kids , Patti Smith's first book of prose, the legendary American artist offers a never-before-seen glimpse of her remarkable relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in the epochal ... (Goodreads)

  21. H is for Hawk

    by Helen Macdonald
    A journey of grief and healing, told through the eyes of a goshawk.

    Obsession, madness, memory, myth, and history combine to achieve a distinctive blend of nature writing and memoir from an outstanding literary innovator. When Helen Macdonald's father died suddenly ... (Goodreads)

  22. Jarhead : A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles

    by Anthony Swofford
    A Marine's personal account of his experiences during the Gulf War and the psychological toll of war on soldiers.

    Jarhead recounts Swofford's enlistment and service in the United States Marine Corps during the Persian Gulf War , in which he served as a Scout Sniper Trainee with the Surveillance and Target ... (Wikipedia)

  23. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster

    by Jon Krakauer
    A gripping narrative of the 1996 expedition on Mount Everest that resulted in tragedy.

    When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. ... (Goodreads)

  24. Outlaw Platoon: Heroes, Renegades, Infidels, and the Brotherhood of War in Afghanistan

    by Sean Parnell
    An account of a US Army infantry platoon's extraordinary courage and camaraderie in the face of overwhelming danger during the war in Afghanistan.

    Acclaimed for its vivid, poignant, and honest recreation of sixteen brutal months of nearly continuous battle in the deadly Hindu Kesh, Outlaw Platoon is a Band of Brothers or We Were Soldiers Once ... (Barnes & Noble)

  25. Bravo Two Zero

    by Andy McNab
    A thrilling account of a Special Air Service patrol mission gone wrong in the Iraqi desert.

    In January 1991, eight members of the SAS regiment embarked upon a top secret mission that was to infiltrate them deep behind enemy lines. Under the command of Sergeant Andy McNab, they were to sever ... (Goodreads)

  26. The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

    by Naomi Klein
    Examination of the exploitation of economic crises and shock tactics by governments and corporations.

    In her ground-breaking reporting from Iraq, Naomi Klein exposed how the trauma of invasion was being exploited to remake the country in the interest of foreign corporations. She called it "disaster ... (Goodreads)

  27. Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America

    by Jill Leovy
    In-depth examination of unsolved murder cases in inner-city Los Angeles, exploring themes of violence and racial injustice.

    On a warm spring evening in South Los Angeles, a young man was shot and killed on a sidewalk minutes away from his home, one of hundreds of young men slain in LA every year. His assailant ran down ... (Goodreads)

  28. One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer

    by Nathaniel Fick
    A firsthand account of a Marine officer's journey from training to combat in Iraq, exploring the complexities of leadership and war.

    If the Marines are “the few, the proud,” Recon Marines are the fewest and the proudest. Nathaniel Fick’s career begins with a hellish summer at Quantico, after his junior year at Dartmouth. He leads ... (Goodreads)

  29. Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania

    by Erik Larson
    Exploration of Lusitania's fateful voyage and its lasting impact on World War I.

    #1 New York Times Bestseller,From the bestselling author and master of narrative nonfiction comes the enthralling story of the sinking of the, Lusitania, On May 1, 1915, with WWI entering its tenth ... (Barnes & Noble)

  30. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

    by John Berendt
    A journalist's exploration of a mysterious murder in Savannah, Georgia.

    A sublime and seductive reading experience. This portrait of a beguiling Southern city was a best-seller (though a flop as a movie). ~ Shots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty, ... (Goodreads)