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Books/Movies of War

No._4

No._4

Sophomore
Dec 3, 2025
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I have been on a kick lately to put my phone down and have been scouring the small town library for some good reads. Recently I have read All the Gallant Men about the attack of Pearl Harbor with a Nebraska boy on the Arizona. Fantastic read. Then after I picked up Flyboys, not what I expected. Probably the best book on WW2 history I have ever read. I have always admired and appreciated the Greatest generation but after reading that book it is really hard to conceptulize what those young Americans did for their country, would highly recommend Flyboys, I never could fathom the insane brutality of the Japanese command.
 
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TheRealPeliniTheCrutch

TheRealPeliniTheCrutch

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Jun 7, 2022
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goldencohusker

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Sep 7, 2018
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The Winds of War and related novel War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk are excellent. They are historical fiction books so the main characters aren't real, but the world they are living in is all based on historical WW2, so they feel much like nonfiction. Two others I really like are At Dawn We Slept and Miracle at Midway by Gordan Prange. Midway was such a huge moment in US military history, and the role the US codebreakers played in that is fascinating.
 
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Huskers12345

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Aug 23, 2025
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All books:
In Harms Way
Lucky 666
Winter Fortress
Halsey's Typhoon
Mosquito Bowl
Miracle of Dunkirk
Hunting Eichman -post WW2
The Liberator
 
No._4

No._4

Sophomore
Dec 3, 2025
59
121
33
goldencohusker said:
The Winds of War and related novel War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk are excellent. They are historical fiction books so the main characters aren't real, but the world they are living in is all based on historical WW2, so they feel much like nonfiction. Two others I really like are At Dawn We Slept and Miracle at Midway by Gordan Prange. Midway was such a huge moment in US military history, and the role the US codebreakers played in that is fascinating.
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I have always leaned more towards the European theatre for WW2 books and stories, but these recent ones have gave me a lot more appreciation for the marines and navy for their service in the Pacific. I watched the Nic cage movie, Wind Talkers if I am correct? It was an ok movie but I am sure it does not do justice to the real thing, I will be looking for a book on the subject in the future. Flyboys went through most of the major Air battles in the Pacific, but the main focus was on the 9 men who were shot down over Chichijima, 8 captured and executed. The lone survivor who evaded capture was George Bush.
 
BadgerPete

BadgerPete

Junior
Dec 22, 2013
1,057
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Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides. NY Times Best-Seller. WWII prisoner of war and rescue book based in Philippines. Hampton was my next door neighbor when I lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Also recommend, Helmut for My Pillow by Robert Leckie. WWII account of fighting in the South Pacific.
 
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Huskers12345

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Aug 23, 2025
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BadgerPete said:
Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides. NY Times Best-Seller. WWII prisoner of war and rescue book based in Philippines. Hampton was my next door neighbor when I lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Also recommend, Helmut for My Pillow by Robert Leckie. WWII account of fighting in the South Pacific.
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D*mn. That's awesome. I might own every book he ever wrote. Hellhound on his Trail is a great one.
 
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BadgerPete

BadgerPete

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Dec 22, 2013
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Huskers12345 said:
D*mn. That's awesome. I might own every book he ever wrote. Hellhound on his Trail is a great one.
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Glad you enjoy his work, 12345. He is a really cool guy. I knew when he was writing for Outside Magazine and before he reached his literary fame. Had he and his family over for Thanksgiving.

Have you read The Wide Wide Sea about Captain James Cook? It is fantastic if non-fiction adventure/exploration interests you.
 
H

Huskers12345

Senior
Aug 23, 2025
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BadgerPete said:
Glad you enjoy his work, 12345. He is a really cool guy. I knew when he was writing for Outside Magazine and before he reached his literary fame. Had he and his family over for Thanksgiving.

Have you read The Wide Wide Sea about Captain James Cook? It is fantastic if non-fiction adventure/exploration interests you.
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I think it's the only one I haven't. Topic definitely interests me, just that I've already read a book on Cook, so I always struggle to read the same topic by a better author. Same for Crazy Horse/Custer/Bighorn. Start with Ambrose and it gets tough to keep reading it again.
 
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tmcats

tmcats

Sophomore
May 29, 2001
34,525
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yep, "winds of war" is a great novel. talks about a naval family in buildup to ww2. strongly recommend that one.

i caught the ww1 movie "1917" the other night on netflix. it's a very good watch. beats the hell out of k-state mbb.

"operation mincemeat" is a true story put to film about how the british befuddled hitler before the invasion of sicily. true story. good history lesson.

"truman" gives a read inside washington politics during the war - as well as an excellent bio.

as a side note, i read a lot and my favorite historical novel is "the pillars of the earth." set in 12th century england, it's an absolutely gripping walk through times that today seem incomprehensible. kings to monks, love, hate, war. it's got it all. i'm reading it a second time presently.
 
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HuskerInCarolina

HuskerInCarolina

All-American
Dec 2, 2024
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We Were Soldiers Once and Young is a phenomenal book and a great movie. I had the great privilege of interviewing General Moore for an undergrad assignment in 2008. A man of great faith and great character. One of the greatest honors of my life.

Other good war books I have enjoyed and kept on my bookshelf:
We Are Soldiers Still
A General's Spiritual Journey
Chickenhawk
The Iliad
The Odyssey
No Bended Knee
Gates of Fire
The Killing of Crazy Horse
Art of War
Just Another Soldier
Achilles in Vietnam
Rommel
 
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steinek11

All-Conference
Apr 18, 2004
13,481
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No._4 said:
Looking for more if you got any favorites to share or discuss.
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Stephen Ambrose books - Citizen Soldiers is a favorite of mine. There was a story about a Nebraska lieutenant that heroically held a key bridge during the advance to Germany as I recall. Ambrose does a great job of telling the backstories of our servicemmen.

Killer Angels - retells the battle of Gettysburg. Loved it.

All Quiet on the Western Front - fantastic WW1 book told from the perspective of a group of young German soldiers. War is absolute hell.

The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan. Great Irish author. Sadly died at a young age. I think he would’ve written many more books.

Bedford Boys - what a story. What a heavy price this little town in Massachusetts paid in the loss of young men at Normandy

The Splendid and the Vile - about Winston Churchill and the Battle of Britain. Enjoyed this book very much.

Grant by Ron Chernow. Great book, hopefully a movie soon. The audio book was 55 hours long

I have the Rick Atkinson trilogy but have not read it yet. It is large.
 
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loper

Senior
Jun 29, 2001
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steinek11 said:
Stephen Ambrose books - Citizen Soldiers is a favorite of mine. There was a story about a Nebraska lieutenant that heroically held a key bridge during the advance to Germany as I recall. Ambrose does a great job of telling the backstories of our servicemmen.

Killer Angels - retells the battle of Gettysburg. Loved it.

All Quiet on the Western Front - fantastic WW1 book told from the perspective of a group of young German soldiers. War is absolute hell.

The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan. Great Irish author. Sadly died at a young age. I think he would’ve written many more books.

Bedford Boys - what a story. What a heavy price this little town in Massachusetts paid in the loss of young men at Normandy

The Splendid and the Vile - about Winston Churchill and the Battle of Britain. Enjoyed this book very much.

Grant by Ron Chernow. Great book, hopefully a movie soon. The audio book was 55 hours long

I have the Rick Atkinson trilogy but have not read it yet. It is large.
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The prequel & sequel to The Killer Angels about the Civil War also great:
Gods and Generals- war before Gettysburg
The Killer Angels: Gettysburg
The Last Full Measure: last 2 years of war

Huge pet peeve: Theatre movie of "The Killer Angels" was titled "Gettysburg". "The Killer Angels" title might have brought more people to the box office.
 
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4.6.3

4.6.3

Senior
Jun 4, 2022
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No._4 said:
I have been on a kick lately to put my phone down and have been scouring the small town library for some good reads. Recently I have read All the Gallant Men about the attack of Pearl Harbor with a Nebraska boy on the Arizona. Fantastic read. Then after I picked up Flyboys, not what I expected. Probably the best book on WW2 history I have ever read. I have always admired and appreciated the Greatest generation but after reading that book it is really hard to conceptulize what those young Americans did for their country, would highly recommend Flyboys, I never could fathom the insane brutality of the Japanese command.
Click to expand...
Now you’re talking. I’m more into the European theater stuff, but did read quite a bit of different accounts of Iwo Jima, and a little about Manila Bay (my “town” at boys state years ago)
 
BleedRed89

BleedRed89

Heisman
Nov 27, 2008
34,371
53,381
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Are we talking strictly non-fiction and or grounded in reality?

Enders Game will always be my favorite. And there's a reason its been recommended reading for the USMC for decades. The way it breaks down military strategy and the concept of utilizing such lethal force from the opening salvo that there will be no room for a round 2 always resonated with me.

But if you're not a fan of military sci-fi, obviously steer clear...also steer clear of the sequels involving Ender. I know some people love Speaker For The Dead but....nah.

Shadow saga was good tho (drags on too damn long).
 
No._4

No._4

Sophomore
Dec 3, 2025
59
121
33
4.6.3 said:
Now you’re talking. I’m more into the European theater stuff, but did read quite a bit of different accounts of Iwo Jima, and a little about Manila Bay (my “town” at boys state years ago)
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I’ve always gravitated towards the European theatre as well , when my wife went to the library I said get me a book about ww2, civil war, or American frontier. She came home with 3, all about the pacific theatre and I was kind of ehh. The 2 I read so far were excellent, working on the third, the pacific has alot of stories to tell
 
Q

QAnon399535

Junior
Nov 27, 2025
269
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No._4 said:
I have been on a kick lately to put my phone down and have been scouring the small town library for some good reads. Recently I have read All the Gallant Men about the attack of Pearl Harbor with a Nebraska boy on the Arizona. Fantastic read. Then after I picked up Flyboys, not what I expected. Probably the best book on WW2 history I have ever read. I have always admired and appreciated the Greatest generation but after reading that book it is really hard to conceptulize what those young Americans did for their country, would highly recommend Flyboys, I never could fathom the insane brutality of the Japanese command.
Click to expand...
Bone spurs volume 47 sucks
 
4.6.3

4.6.3

Senior
Jun 4, 2022
894
981
93
No._4 said:
I’ve always gravitated towards the European theatre as well , when my wife went to the library I said get me a book about ww2, civil war, or American frontier. She came home with 3, all about the pacific theatre and I was kind of ehh. The 2 I read so far were excellent, working on the third, the pacific has alot of stories to tell
Click to expand...
TONS. I know nobody will believe this story… but we sold one of our trained lab pups to a Doctor just East of Lincoln about 7 or so years ago. He was pushing 90, but still lived on an acreage with his wife. Amazing spread. They had a neighbor lady we met that assured us the dog would be cared for by her, even if they had a bad health turn. He asked me if I wanted to go downstairs and see where his new puppy will stay. Beautiful home. He had large scale WW2 era model planes hanging from the ceiling throughout the big basement room. I mentioned how neat they were and he proceeded to tell me he was a Navigator on a B-29 in the Pacific Theater (yes, THOSE bombers). They were aware they were going to be potentially going to be carrying the big bomb they had been recently briefed on. Lo and behold one day they set out toward Japan and make a gradual sweep up toward the China area before turning back on their flight plan back to base. They witnesses the first bomb go off after getting turned around. Turns out they were one of a few decoy missions. To this day it makes the hair on my arms stand up to think about how I felt when that old man was telling me the story. He was so thankful we chose him. He said it meant a lot that we looked past his age and trusted him with a dog, and he understood it would be his last pup. He had labs all his life and this would be his last. When I was leaving I asked about a bomber model he had hanging there with a lot of damage. Almost like it was dropped and beaten up. He said him and his brother (who survived along with all the crew) recreated the damage on the plane from photos of the bomber his brother went down on in North Africa after the crash.
It was probably the most unexpected thing I’ve experienced in my life.
Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but some local Lincolnites could probably remember their doctor the Veteran Pilot. I’ll have to look for his name when I get home. Haven’t thought to check on that couple in a few years.
 
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No._4

No._4

Sophomore
Dec 3, 2025
59
121
33
4.6.3 said:
TONS. I know nobody will believe this story… but we sold one of our trained lab pups to a Doctor just East of Lincoln about 7 or so years ago. He was pushing 90, but still lived on an acreage with his wife. Amazing spread. They had a neighbor lady we met that assured us the dog would be cared for by her, even if they had a bad health turn. He asked me if I wanted to go downstairs and see where his new puppy will stay. Beautiful home. He had large scale WW2 era model planes hanging from the ceiling throughout the big basement room. I mentioned how neat they were and he proceeded to tell me he was a Navigator on a B-29 in the Pacific Theater (yes, THOSE bombers). They were aware they were going to be potentially going to be carrying the big bomb they had been recently briefed on. Lo and behold one day they set out toward Japan and make a gradual sweep up toward the China area before turning back on their flight plan back to base. They witnesses the first bomb go off after getting turned around. Turns out they were one of a few decoy missions. To this day it makes the hair on my arms stand up to think about how I felt when that old man was telling me the story. He was so thankful we chose him. He said it meant a lot that we looked past his age and trusted him with a dog, and he understood it would be his last pup. He had labs all his life and this would be his last. When I was leaving I asked about a bomber model he had hanging there with a lot of damage. Almost like it was dropped and beaten up. He said him and his brother (who survived along with all the crew) recreated the damage on the plane from photos of the bomber his brother went down on in North Africa after the crash.
It was probably the most unexpected thing I’ve experienced in my life.
Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but some local Lincolnites could probably remember their doctor the Veteran Pilot. I’ll have to look for his name when I get home. Haven’t thought to check on that couple in a few years.
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That’s a great story. We all live in our own times, but what I ponder most when I read these stories is, could I have done the same? You know what I was doing at 18-22, being a lazy *** college kid not giving much of a damn about anything but taking care of myself!
 
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l.a. husker

Redshirt
Sep 7, 2006
164
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28
nice to hear people still remember world war ll , i lived a bit of it was 7 yrs old in 1945. remember going to the train depot bayard neb.with my parents to see some local young men going off. amongst them my brother 18 yr old gilbert only made it to tacoma wa. the bomb was dropped in august and afterwards japan surrendered.
 
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4.6.3

4.6.3

Senior
Jun 4, 2022
894
981
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Before we sold one of our Lincoln places right when Covid hit, the neighbors across the street had moved in a couple years before from Des Moines. Huge Husker fans and went to every football game for decades living in Des Moines. They moved to that zero entry house in Lincoln and loved it. She was a Pearl Harbor survivor who was a 3 year old while her Dad was serving there
 
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l.a. husker

Redshirt
Sep 7, 2006
164
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l.a. husker said:
nice to hear people still remember world war ll , i lived a bit of it was 7 yrs old in 1945. remember going to the train depot bayard neb . with my parents to see some local young men going off. amongst them my brother 18 yr old gilbert only made it to tacoma wa. the bomb was dropped in august and afterwards japan surrendered.
Click to expand...
 
K

Kato

Senior
Dec 23, 2006
2,148
594
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God Is My Copilot

I read this book in high school in the late 70's. One of the few books I couldn't put down.

God Is My Co-Pilot is a 1943 memoir by Brigadier General Robert L. Scott Jr., chronicling his experiences as a WWII fighter pilot in the China-Burma-India theater. The book, which became an instant bestseller, details Scott's 388 combat missions, shooting down 13 Japanese aircraft, and his close association with the Flying Tigers.
 
T

TripleOption67

Freshman
Dec 5, 2017
319
97
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I really enjoy the classic WWII movies. Some of my favorites:

The Longest Day
The Great Escape
A Bridge Too Far
Kelly's Heroes
Where Eagles Dare
The Dirty Dozen
Battle of Britain
Stalag 17
Battleground

Not much of a reader but I did enjoy this set:

The Sergeant: Series of 9 novels written by Gordon Davis.
 
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