War Memoirs: Vietnam, Korea etc. |
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To read reviews about a book or order it, click on its title. To quickly reach one of the subtopics immediately below, click on it.
| | Algerian War | Al Qaeda | Chechen War | Cold War | Eritrea | French Foreign Legion | Korea | Media | Nuclear Weapons | Pakistan | Sarajevo | Spanish Civil War (see also Europe/Spain) | Vietnam War | Vietnam War/Conscientious Objectors, Protestors | Yugoslavia | |
Morgan, Ted. My Battle of Algiers: A Memoir . Smithsonian, 2006. Pulitzer-prize winnin g historian on his service as a young officer in France’s bitter war in Algeria.
Nasiri, Omar. Inside the The Jihad: My Life with Al Qaeda . Basic Books, 2008. By a former secret agent for several European intelligence services who spied on Al Qaeda.
Pearl, Mariane. A Mighty Heart: The Inside Story of the Al Qaeda Kidnapping of Danny Pearl. Scribner Book Co., 2004. By the widow of a journalist who was kidnapped and murdered in cold blood.
Sasson, Jean, bin Laden, Omar, bin Laden, Najwa . Growing Up Bin Laden. St. Martin's Press, 2009. By Bin Laden's estranged wife.
Baiev, Khassan M.D. Grief of My Heart: Memoirs of a Chechen Surgeon. Walker and Co., 2005.
Behrendt, John C. The Ninth Circle: A Memoir of Life and Death in Antarctica, 1960-1962. University of New Mexico Press, 2005. Search for scientific knowledge during the Cold War.
Tesfai, Alemseged. Two Weeks in the Trenches: Reminiscences of Childhood and War in Eritrea. Africa World Press, 2002. A soldier recounts a battle as his country fought for independence.
McGorman, Evan. Life in the French Foreign Legion: How to Join and What to Expect When You Get There. Hellgate Press, 2002. Canadian joins the French Foreign Legion for a five-year stint.
Blondell, Anthony. War, Wine and Women: A Korean War Tale. Hellgate Press, 2000. Adventures of a soldier during the Korean War.
Brady, James. The Coldest War: A Memoir of Korea. St. Martin’s Griffin, 2000. A Marine officer recalls his war experiences.
Morrow, Curtis James. What's a Commie Ever Done to Black People? A Korean War Memoir of Fighting in the U.S. Army's Last All Negro Unit. McFarland & Co., 1997. Gung ho 17-year-old African American enlists, serves as a rifleman in the last all black army unit until wounded, then becomes a paratrooper.
| | Algerian War | Al Qaeda | Chechen War | Cold War | Eritrea | French Foreign Legion | Korea | Media | Nuclear Weapons | Pakistan | Sarajevo | Spanish Civil War (see also Europe/Spain) | Vietnam War | Vietnam War/Conscientious Objectors, Protestors | Yugoslavia | |
Caputo, Philip. Means of Escape: A War Correspondent's Memoir of Life and Death in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Vietnam. Holt Paperbacks, 2009. Author' s Chicago childhood and his years as war correspondent including a week long experience as a hostage in Beirut.
Bird, Leonard. Folding Paper Cranes: An Atomic Memoir. University of Utah Press, 2005. Author was an atomic bomb test subject in the U.S. military.
Harris, Michael. The Atomic Times: My H-bomb Year at the Pacific Proving Ground: A Memoir. Presidio Press/Ballantine Books, 2005.
Hull, McAllister. Rider of the Pale Horse: A Memoir of Los Alamos and Beyond. University of New Mexico Press, 2005. Author's recollections on being a member of the Manhattan Project.
Numerof, Paul. In August 1945: A Memoir. Los Alamos Historical Society, 2006. A college chemistry major becomes part of the Special Engineer Detachment in Los Alamos working on a top secret project.
Okuda, Sadako. A Dimly Burning Wick: Memoir from the Ruins of Hiroshima. Algora Pub., 2008. By a survivor who tried to help others.
Porter, Jeffrey Lyn. Oppenheimer is Watching Me: A Memoir. University of Iowa Press, 2007. After the author discovered that his father worked on missiles for a defense contractor, he revisits America’s atomic past and J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb.
Trauger, Donald B. Horse Power To Nuclear Power: Memoir of An Energy Pioneer. Hillsboro Press, 2002. The physicist/author' s 50-year career helping to shape nuclear energy technology.
Talbott, Strobe. Engaging India: Diplomacy, Democracy, and the Bomb: A Memoir. Brookings Institution Press, 2004. Account of America’s parallel negotiations with India and Pakistan over nuclear proliferation in the late 1990s.
Musharraf, Pervez. In the Line of Fire: A Memoir. Free Press, 2006. Musharraf’s account of his role in the war on terror.
Doucette, Fred. Empty Casing: A Soldier's Memoir of Sarajevo Under Siege. Berkeley. 2008.A Canadian soldier's difficult tour of duty with peacekeeping forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1995 and the post traumatic syndrome he experienced on his return home.
| | Algerian War | Al Qaeda | Chechen War | Cold War | Eritrea | French Foreign Legion | Korea | Media | Nuclear Weapons | Pakistan | Sarajevo | Spanish Civil War (see also Europe/Spain) | Vietnam War | Vietnam War/Conscientious Objectors, Protestors | Yugoslavia | |
Spanish Civil War (see also Europe/Spain)
Barnstone, Willis. Sunday Morning in Fascist Spain: A European Memoir, 1948-1953. Southern Illinois University Press, 1995.
Lee, Laurie. A Moment of War: A Memoir of the Spanish Civil War. New Press, 1994. A New York Times Notable Book of the Year about a young Englishman’s wartime coming of age.
Neugass, James. War Is Beautiful: An American Ambulance Driver in the Spanish Civil War. New Press, 2008. Book was edited by two friends of the late author who served with him in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade which fought on the Republican side.
Rubin, Hank. Spain's Cause was Mine: A Memoir of an American Medic in the Spanish War. Southern Illinois University Press, 1999.
Yates, James. Mississippi to Madrid: Memoir of a Black American in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Open Hand Pub., 1988. Recalling the idealism of a group of Americans fighting in the Spanish Civil War.
Anderson, Doug. Keep Your Head Down: Vietnam, the Sixties, and a Journey of Self-Discovery. W.W. Norton & Co., Inc., 2009. The author’s troubled upbringing in Memphis, fighting in Vietnam, subsequent alcoholism, recovery, and visit to Vietnam after.
Bahnsen, John C. American Warrior: A Combat Memoir of Vietnam. Citadel, 2008. A general recollects his two tours of duty in Vietnam.
Barry, Bill. A Trash Hauler in Vietnam: Memoir of Four Tactical Airlift Tours, 1965-1968. McFarland, 2008.
Brace, Ernest C. A Code to Keep: The True Story of America’s Longest-Held Civilian POW in Vietnam. Hellgate Press, 2001. A former Marine pilot flies secret missions for the C.I.A. until he is captured and imprisoned in Vietnam.
Capozzella, Vincent. Headhunter One One: The Vietnam Memoir of a Recon/Observation Pilot, 219th Aviation Company. Eagle Editions, 2007.
Carroll, James. American Requiem: God, My Father, and the War That Came Between Us. Mariner, 1997. Anti-war priest is pitted against his Air Force General father.
Dark, Gene. The Brutality of War: A Memoir of Vietnam. Pelican Pub., 2009. A 19-yr-old Marine Corps member quickly becomes hardened by the agonies of war.
Delezen, John Edmund. Eye of the Tiger: Memoir of a United States Marine, Third Force Recon Company, Vietnam. McFarland. 2003.
Dinan, Terrance R. Mess: A Vietnam War Memoir. Leandoer & Ekholm, 2009.
Elmer, Jerry. Felon for Peace: The Memoir of a Vietnam-Era Draft Resister. Vanderbilt University Press, 2005. An account of the paths taken and reasons for resisting draft.
Ellsberg, Daniel. Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers. Penguin, 2003. The story of the former Defense Department analyst turned anti-war crusader who leaked the Pentagon Papers to the press.
Fetherling, George. Travels by Night: A Memoir of the Sixties. Lester Publishing, 1994.
Frutkin, Mark. Erratic North: A Vietnam Draft Resister’s Life in the Canadian Bush. Dundurn Press, 2008. The author fled to Canada to dodge the draft and remains there today.
Garcia, Manny. An Accidental Soldier: Memoirs of a Mestizo in Vietnam. University of New Mexico Press, 2003.
Gwin, Larry. Baptism: A Vietnam Memoir. Ballantine Books, 1999. A Yale graduate volunteers for the military and fights in the biggest battle of the war.
Heinemann, Larry. Black Virgin Mountain: A Return to Vietnam. Doubleday, 2005. National Book Award winning Vietnam vet returns to Vietnam in 1992, rides the train from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, confronts memories of his war year, and condemns the US officials who waged the war.
Hubbard, Douglass H. Special Agent, Vietnam: A Naval Intelligence Memoir. Potomac Books, 2007. Former civilian intelligence operative, on the world of counterespionage.
Jensen, Ronald John. Tail End Charlie: Memoir of a United States Marine in the Vietnam War. McFarland, 2004.
Johnson, Howard C and O'Connor, Ian A. Scrappy: Memoir of a U.S. Fighter Pilot in Korea and Vietnam. McFarland & Co., 2008.
Joyce, James. Pucker Factor 10: Memoir of a U.S. Army Helicopter Pilot in Vietnam. McFarland & Co., 2003.
Kidder, Tracy. My Detachment: A Memoir. Random House, 2006. A college student joins the ROTC and reluctantly serves in the Vietnam War, a war he was opposed to.
Laurence, John. The Cat from Hue: A Vietnam War Story. PublicAffairs, 2002. Coming of age during the war years as a journalist and as a man.
Lawrence, A. T. Crucible Vietnam: Memoir of an Infantry Lieutenant. McFarland & Co., 2009.
Leslie, Jacques. The Mark: A War Correspondent's Memoir of Vietnam and Cambodia. Four Walls Eight Windows, 1995.
Lyndon, Jack Thomas. Coyote Jack: Drawing Meaning from Life and Vietnam--A Memoir. Lyndonjacks Publications, 2006.
McDonough, James R. The Only War We Had: Platoon Leader: A Memoir of Command in Combat. Texas A&M University Press, 2007.
McLean, Jack. Loon: A Marine Story. Presidio Press, 2009. A prep school boy enlists, fights in Vietnam and then attends Harvard.
McGarrah, Jim. A Temporary Sort of Peace. Indiana Historical Society Press, 2007. A poet and writer examines his peacetime life in Indiana and recalls indoctrination into the cult of the marines, and his introduction to the life of a combat soldier in Vietnam.
Newby, Claude. It Took Heroes: A Cavalry Chaplain's Memoir of Vietnam. Presidio Press, 2009.
Nhi Tang, Truong. A Vietcong Memoir: An Inside Account of the Vietnam War and Its Aftermath. Vintage, 1986. A thoughtful account of the War by a former founding member of the Viet Cong who now lives in Paris.
Pivar, Marjorie and Nguyen, Quang Van. Fourth Uncle in the Mountain: A Memoir of a Barefoot Doctor in Vietnam. St. Martin's Press, 2004.
Ramirez, Juan. A Patriot After All: The Story of a Chicano Vietnam Vet. University of New Mexico Press, 1999.
Shanahan, Bill and Brackin, John P. Stealth Patrol: The Making Of A Vietnam Ranger. Da Capo, 2005. The author leaves his old patrol unit to join the dangerous missions of a Long Range Patrol.
Smith, Jedwin. Our Brother's Keeper: My Family's Journey through Vietnam to Hell and Back. John Wiley & Sons, 2005. 30 years after his brother was killed in the war, the author connects with his brother’s Marine buddies over the Internet.
Stockdale, James B. A Vietnam Experience: Ten Years of Reflection. Hoover Institution Press, 1984. The author describes the decade that followed his 7.5 year stay at a North Vietnamese prison.
Taylor, Richard. Prodigals: A Vietnam Story. Casemate, 2003. The author served two tours of duty and had completely different experiences each time.
Tang, Truong Nhu. A Vietcong Memoir: An Inside Account of the Vietnam War and Its Aftermath. Vintage Books, 1986.
Todd, Jack. Desertion in the Time of Vietnam. Houghton, Mifflin Harcourt, 2001. A farmboy completes basic training, then takes a Vietnam-vet's advice and deserts to Canada, a decision he regrets years later.
Tonsetic, Robert. Warriors: An Infantryman's Memoir of Vietnam, The Bravest Men in the Bloodiest Year of the War. Ballantine Books, 2005.
Winter, Ronald F. Masters of the Art: A Fighting Marine's Memoir of Vietnam. Presidio Press, 2005. By a decorated Marine helicopter crewman.
Wise, E. Tayloe. Eleven Bravo: A Skytrooper's Memoir of War in Vietnam. McFarland, 2004. Based on letters written home during his 11 months in Vietnam.
| | Algerian War | Al Qaeda | Chechen War | Cold War | Eritrea | French Foreign Legion | Korea | Media | Nuclear Weapons | Pakistan | Sarajevo | Spanish Civil War (see also Europe/Spain) | Vietnam War | Vietnam War/Conscientious Objectors, Protestors | Yugoslavia | |
Vietnam War/Conscientious Objectors, Protestors
Ayers, Bill. Fugitive Days: Memoirs of an Anti-War Activist. Beacon Press, 2008. By the man whom the American right wing alleges was a close friend of Barack Obama, on America in the '60s, idealists turned radicals, and a life lived on the run.
Carroll, James. American requiem: God, My Father, and the War that Came between Us. Mariner Books, 1997. AVietnam vet on his role as an anti-war priest in the '60s and the complications in his relationship with his father, an Air Force general who was deeply involved in Pentagon planning.
Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne. Outlaw Woman: A Memoir of the War Years 1960-1975. City Lights Publishers, 2002. By a founder, in 1968, of the early women's liberation movement.
Moore, Richard. Richard: Portrait of a Vietnam War Resister. R. Moore, 1987.
Simons, Donald Laird. I Refuse: Memories of a Vietnam War Objector. Broken Rifle Press, 1992. A graduate student opposes the war and moves to Canada.
Whitmore, Terry. Memphis-Nam-Sweden: The Story of a Black Deserter. University Press of Mississippi, 1997. The sojourns of an inner-city African-American from Marine in Vietnam wounded patient in Japan to deserter in Sweden.
Wright, Jackie Bong. Autumn Cloud: From Vietnam War Widow to American Activist. Capital Books, 2002. A woman born in Cambodia to Vietnamese parents tells their story of suffering throughout the civil unrest of Southeast Asia.
di Giovanni, Janine. Madness Visible: A Memoir of War. Vintage. 2005. On the violence the author witnessed in the former Yugoslavia.
| | Algerian War | Al Qaeda | Chechen War | Cold War | Eritrea | French Foreign Legion | Korea | Media | Nuclear Weapons | Pakistan | Sarajevo | Spanish Civil War (see also Europe/Spain) | Vietnam War | Vietnam War/Conscientious Objectors, Protestors | Yugoslavia | |