To Battle! Books of War and Espionage

Try these books if you're looking for:

• action
• thrillers
• fantasy
• adventure
• emphasis on war and espionage
• smart characters 
• realistic tactics
• some lighthearted moments

Transfer of Power 
By Vince Flynn
F FLYNN Mitch_Ra #1
When a gang of terrorists seizes control of the White House, taking hostages, leaving many dead, and driving the president to a secret bunker, it is up to the CIA's top counterterrorism specialist, Mitch Rapp, to stop the insurrection.

Rules of Deception 
By Christopher Reich
F REICH Jonathan #1
Following the death of his wife in a mountaineering accident, Dr. Jonathan Ransom receives a mysterious message that makes him the subject of an international manhunt as he struggles to unravel the truth behind his wife's secrets.

Under Heaven 
By Guy Gavriel Kay
SCI-FI KAY
Shen Tai, son of an illustrious general, has spent two years honoring the memory of his late father by burying the bones of the dead from the site of one of his father's last great battles. In recognition of his labors, an unlikely source has sent him a dangerous gift: 250 Sardian horses. Two hundred and fifty is an unthinkable gift, a gift to overwhelm an emperor. A gift men would kill for.

For more espionage and action thrillers, you may want to try:

• The General's Daughter by Nelson DeMille 
• At Risk by Stella Rimington 
• The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins 
• Semper Fi by W. E. B. Griffin 
• Killing Floor by Lee Child 

For more epic fantasy novels with wars and interwoven plots, you may want to try:

• Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (starting with The Eye of the World) 
• The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss 
• Sabriel by Garth Nix 

For lighter stories with smart characters, you may want to try:

• The Naming by Alison Croggon 
• Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown 
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.

Contemporary Warfare

Try these books if you're looking for:

• Warfare
• Books published in the last 10 years
• Nonfiction

All Things Must Fight to Live: Stories of War and Deliverance in the Congo
By Bryan Mealer
967.4103 MEA 2008
A foreign correspondent in Africa shares his dramatic experiences in the Congo as set against the region's troubled history, in an account that discusses the impact of the past decade of war, the activities of violent militia, and the nation's hopes for recovery.

Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq
By Thomas Ricks
956.7044 RIC 2006
This is a thorough history of the war in Iraq from the planning stages through the continued insurgency in early 2006. The inclusion of internal documents and research from interviews with American soldiers and officers makes his tragic portrait particularly damning and compelling as Ricks makes a case for a war poorly planned and bravely but blindly fought.

The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World
By Rupert Smith
355.02 SMI 2007
Smith states, "war no longer exists,” claiming that nuclear warfare has changed the face of warfare, ending the large-scale industrialized warfare which made use of massive tank and air power offensives. supported by the application of intensive air power. The result is a need for understanding of politic contexts of opponents’ actions and then revised strategies.

Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One
By David Kilcullen
355.425 KIL 2009
Kilcullen differentiates between insurgents who have local grievances versus those who support movements with a worldwide agenda and argues that the U.S. had done a poor job of applying different tactics to these very different situations, continually misidentifying insurgents with limited aims and legitimate grievances (whom he calls "accidental guerrillas") as part of a coordinated worldwide terror network.

The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier’s Education
By Craig Mullaney
Mullaney 2009
Mullaney is a young veteran of the war in Afghanistan who writes of his military education, through West Point and the camps and retreats involved in becoming an Army Ranger. His story builds to the ‘unforgiving minute’ when he finds himself leading his men through a brutal gunfight with Afghan insurgents.