Books on Wars since 1945

Special Forces in the War on Terror, Leigh Neville. Looks at the used of the many Special Forces units available to the Americans and their allies during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and during the wider war on Terror, looking both at how they were organised and directed at a top level, and at many of their individual missions on the ground, as well as how their equipment and techniques evolved over time. Ends before the rise of ISIS to prominence, although there are a few mentions along the way (Read Full Review)

Bradley vs BMP Desert Storm 1991, Mike Guardia. Looks at the first clash between the main Soviet and American infantry fighting vehicles, when US troops clashed with the Iraqis in Operation Desert Storm. Includes a good technical history of the two vehicles as well as an account of their role in Desert Storm, where the Bradley was by far the more effective of the two vehicles, despite the BMP having some technical advantages (Read Full Review)

F-15C Eagle vs MiG-23/25 Iraq 1991, Douglas C. Dildy & Tom Cooper. Looks at the war in which the west realised that it’s best fighter aircraft outclassed their feared Soviet opponents, despite the limitations of the weapons it was armed with. Studies the background to the war, the development of the aircraft and their weapons, the way they were controlled, and the results of the limited number of clashes between the F-15s and the two Soviet types(Read Full Review)

Marine Corps Tank Battles in the Middle East, Oscar E. Gilbert. Covers a range of types of armoured warfare, from the conventional tank battles of the two Gulf Wars to counter insurgency work in Afghanistan. Paints a picture of a flexible, adaptable and competent armoured force that plays a key part in just about every Marine Corps deployment, despite never being at the top of the pile for funding. Also suggests that the tank can be surprising effective in counter-insurgency work, providing a powerful backup to the infantry (Read Full Review)

Enduring Freedom Enduring Voices: US Operations in Afghanistan, Michael G. Walling. Looks at US military operations in Afghanistan between the 2001 and 2013, with very little on events in parts of the country not under US control. Includes a wide range of useful eyewitness accounts from US service personnel, largely untainted by hindsight simply because we don’t actually know the outcome of the war yet (the book even ends a year before the official end of Operation Enduring Freedom)(Read Full Review)

The Funny Side of War for the Sick and Demented, Mat Vance. An unvarnished account of the experiences of a US Army Scout who served during the war in Iraq, but focusing on the more light-hearted (for a certain definition of light-hearted) aspects of his service career. The stories ring true, although it is unusual to find an author willing to put himself at the centre of quite so many escapades. Provides a different point of view of life in the modern US military, and thus a valuable work. [read full review]

Baghdad Operators: Ex Special Forces in Iraq, James Glasse with Andrew Rawson. Looks at the experiences of a retired British Special Forces soldier who ended up founding a sizable security firm operating in Iraq in the years after the Second Gulf War. Takes the reader through the chaos of Iraq, where survival was often a matter of random chance, helped by the impressive skills acquired by Glasse and his colleagues. [read full review]

Iraq Full Circle, Col Darron L. Wright. A compelling and thoughtful eyewitness account of the war in Iraq written by an American officer who took part in just about every phase of the war, from the original invasion through the rising insurgency to the Surge and the slow improvement in conditions that followed, right through to the very last combat patrol in Iraq. Gives an informed view on what the US did right and wrong during the war and how the US military learnt from its early experiences. [read full review]

Operation Iraqi Freedom: US Army Abrams, Bradley & Stryker, Andy Renshaw & Ryan Harden. Combines a look at the history and development of each type of vehicle with a detailed illustrated walk-round of real machines and an interesting modelling guide, in each case taking a base kit and at least one or two upgrade or modification kits, and giving useful advice on how to combine the various components to produce an impressive final model. [read full review]

Blood, Sweat and Steel: Frontline accounts from the Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq, Peter Darman. A collection of frontline accounts from a wide range of participants in the two recent wars in Iraq and the current war in Afghanistan that makes a valuable contribution to the literate on the nature of combat, as well as being published for a good cause in Help for Heroes. [read full review]

F-14 Tomcat Units of Operation Enduring Freedom, Tony Holmes. This book covers the use of the  F-14 Tomcat in Operation Enduring Freedom to conduct long range bombing strikes in Afghanistan. It shows how a combat aircraft can be adapted when it is fairly redundant in its original role. A well illustrated Osprey, full of comments from the actual pilots. [see more]

Mirage III vs MiG-21, Six Day War 1967, Shlomo Aloni. Looks at the development of both aircraft, their entry in Israeli and Arab service and the actual fighting during the Six Day War, a short enough conflict to allow the author to look at every clash between the Mirage III and MiG 21 [read full review]

The Six Day War 1967: Jordan and Syria, Simon Dunstan. A well balanced account of the fighting on the Syrian and Jordanian fronts of the Six Day War, two short but critically important campaigns that saw the Israelis capture all of Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, with an interesting post-script on the war's political impact in Israel and the Arab world. [read full review]

Israel's Lightning Strike: The raid on Entebbe 1976, Simon Dunstan. This second entry in Osprey's new Raid series looks at the long range operation mounted by the Israelis to rescue terrorist hostages being held at Entebbe in Uganda. After sections on hijacking and the Palestinian terrorist organisations, we get a day-by-day account of the crisis, while the second half of the book focuses on the raid. A well organized and clearly written account of one of the most daring anti-terrorist operations ever carried out. [Read Full Review]

Modern Africa Wars (5) - The Nigerian-Biafran War 1967-70, Philip S. Jowett. Looks at the armies of the Biafran War, a civil war that broke out fairly soon after Nigeria gained independence, and saw the eastern part of the country fail to break away. A studious neutral account of the war, largely ignoring the accusations of war crimes levelled against both sides (Read Full Review)

Madness in Mogadishu, Michael Whetstone. The story of one of the infantry commanders involved in the ‘Black Hawk Down’ incident in Mogadishu, taking part in the rescue mission. Whetstone tells a fascinating story, and gives us an insight into a successful infantry unit, looking at the training, attitude and skills required to overcome heavy odds to achieve their objectives and escape with light losses.(Read Full Review)

A Handful of Hard Men: The SAS and the Battle for Rhodesia, Hannes Wessels. Looks at the role of the Rhodesia SAS in the long struggle to maintain white minority rule. A good example of how a military organisation can be almost entirely successful within its own terms, while at the same time losing the war, as large areas of Rhodesia became ‘no go’ zones for the white population. An interesting study of what the Rhodesian SAS did, perhaps less successful on what they hoped to achieve(Read Full Review)

The Battle of Cuito Cuanavale: Cold War Angolan Finale, 1987-1988, Leopold Scholtz. Looks at the final major clash between the South Africans and their Angolan and Cuban opponents in southern Angola during the long Border War. Largely written from the South African point of view (mainly due to the available sources), but with an attempt to be fair to the Angolans and Cubans. Mainly focuses on the detailed events of the battle, and supported by detailed maps and an impressive collection of photographs (Read Full Review)

Wings over Ogaden: The Ethiopian-Somali War 1978-79, Tom Cooper. Covers one of the more obscure battles of the late 20th Century, where even some of the major units commanders are still unknown. This was an unusual conflict, where both combatants changed their allegiance in the Cold War before or during the conflict, but at the start it was a clash between Western and Soviet aircraft and training methods, with the previously Western backed Ethiopians coming out on top on both counts (Read Full Review)

Green Leader, Ian Pringle. Looks at the destruction of two civilian airliners by ZIPRA and the Rhodesian military reaction, in particular to the first of those attacks. Perhaps overplays the significance of these events in helping Robert Mugabe into power, given that the ZIPRA leader Nkomo still gained 80% of the vote in the heartland of his support, but does provide an interesting narrative of the Rhodesian attacks (Read Full Review)

The SADF in the Border War 1966-1989, Leopold Scholtz. Looks at the long war on the Angolan-Namibian border, fought between South Africa and UNITA on one side and the Angolans, Cubans and SWAPO on the other. The author states in the introduction that his work can't be entirely balanced because of the available sources, but still does a good job of producing an unbiased account of the South African performance during the war, looking at their successes and failures on the battlefield, and in the eventual peace negotiations that ended the war (Read Full Review)

Watershed - Angola and Mozambique: A Photo-History - The Portuguese Collapse in Africa, 1974-75, Wilf Nussey. An excellent photographic history of the end of the Portuguese Empire in Africa, triggered by the overthrow of the Fascist regime back in Portugal. Based around the photos take by the Argus Africa News Service, supported by a text written by  the then head of the service. Follows a tragic tale of great but disappointed expectations after Independence was followed by prolonged civil wars in both countries. [read full review]

The Rebel in Me - A ZANLA Guerrilla Commander in the Rhodesian Bosh War, 1975-1980, Agrippah Mutambara . Very much the insider's view of the Liberation struggle in Zimbabwe (with about half of the book looking at the Rhodesian attack on the ZANLA HQ at Chimoio), written by a key figure in the political side of the struggle who is still loyal to Mugabe. Fascinating material on the ZANLA struggle, just be aware that politically this is very one sided. [read full review]

Bushmen Soldiers: The History of 31, 201 & 203 Battalions during the Border War 1974-90, Ian Uys. Looks at the history of two battalions of Bushmen soldiers who served with the South Africans during the Border War in Namibia/ South West Africa, after fleeing Angola at the end of Portuguese rule. Somewhat uneven in place, and in need of more background material, this is still an interesting account of a fascinating unit and its men. [read full review]

Bush War Rhodesia 1966-1980, Peter Baxter . A valuable look at a conflict in which the well trained Rhodesian military won almost every direct confrontation of the Bush War, but at the same time lost the overall war, after failing to protect their population from repeated attack. Takes a balanced approach to the topic, acknowledging that the Rhodesian cause was morally insupportable and the overall campaign almost unwinnable, even while examining a military campaign in which just about every direct clash was won by the Rhodesian military. [read full review]

The Russian S-300 and S-400 Missile Systems, Steven J Zaloga. Looks at the development and deployment of the last Soviet strategic air defence missile system, developed during the 1970s to defend Soviet cities and other high value targets, looking at how the original version was developed into longer range and more effective systems, often for the export market. A useful guide to a system that evolved through several different generations in three distinct models, for the air defence force, army and navy (Read Full Review)

The HAWK Air Defense Missile System, Marc Romanych & Tacqueline Scott. Looks at the standard US air defence missile system of the Cold War, tracing the repeated upgrades to the system (effectively becoming a totally different system more than once), how it was deployed by the US (but never actually fired in anger), and its actual combat record with Israel, Iran and Kuwait. An interesting technical study of the family of HAWK missile systems, (Read Full Review)

Infantry Antiaircraft Missiles – Man-Portable Air Defense Systems, Steven J. Zaloga. Looks at the technology behind these weapons, traces their development in the United States, Soviet Union, Britain and elsewhere, covering the main versions that have entered production, how they were used in combat, and covers examples of their main uses in combat, from their debut in the Arab-Israeli wars to the current conflict in Syria. Ends with a look at how they may evolve in the future, and the impact they still have on modern air warfare (Read Full Review)

Storm-333 KGB and Spetsnaz seize Kabul, Soviet-Afghan War 1979, Mark Galeotti. Looks at one of the most successful elements of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the successful attack on Hafizullah Amin’s palace outside Kabul, which saw the Afghan leader captured and killed by a force that included Soviet troops that were part of his own garrison. An interesting account of a skilfully conducted operation that only cost nine Soviet lives, although one that didn’t live up to its long term expectations(Read Full Review)

Modern Snipers, Leigh Neville. Looks at the uses of the sniper in the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, against the insurgencies that followed, and on domestic anti-terrorism and police duties. An interesting look at the surprising variety of roles carried out by modern snipers, from the obvious elimination of high value targets or military threats to long term reconnaissance duties. Also reveals just how many different organisations currently field snipers, from the world’s many Special Forces units to domestic police forces(Read Full Review)

America's Modern Wars - Understanding Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam, Christopher A. Lawrence. A largely statistical analysis of post-war counterinsurgency warfare, looking to see if there are any patterns that might help explain the outcome of insurgencies. Provides some thought provoking data, suggesting that high force ratios are key, as long as the insurgency doesn't get too big, and also goes some way to disproving other ideas. Not great on the human element of these conflicts, but still a very valuable study of the sort of conflicts that look to dominate in the future [read full review]

US Army Rangers 1989-2015, Leigh Neville. Looks at the current incarnation of the US Rangers, looking at its involvement in Panama, Iraq (twice), Somalia and Afghanistan. Tracing the development of the Rangers from a unit expected to conduct short sharp operations against high value targets into one capable of operating at a high tempo for long periods of time, repeated conducting several raids on the same day. An interesting book that doesn't skip over the regiment's failures in its current form, as well as looking at its impressive successes [read full review]

Helmand to the Himalayas - One Soldier's Inspiration Journey, David Wiseman. A two-part memoir, starting with the author's experiences in Afghanistan, where he took part in the British deployment to Helmand, where he was involved in the aftermath of a traumatic attack on British troops by bogus Afghan policemen, then moving on to his recovery from the physical and mental trauma the author suffered after being badly wounded in combat. This second section is the most valuable, with an unflinching account of the impact of post traumatic stress and an entertaining account of the Everest expedition that helped with the author's recovery [read full review]

Honourable Warriors: Fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, Richard Streatfield. Follows the experience of a company commander operating in Sangin in 2009-2010, during a period of intense active operations in which his unit slowly began to win control of the area away from the local Taliban, although at fairly heavy cost. Contains a detailed analysis of the correct way to operate in this sort of environment if there was to be any chance of long term success, and how that was implemented at company level. [read full review]

Special Forces Pilot - A Flying Memoir of the Falklands War, Richard Hutchings. . Follows the experiences of a helicopter pilot during the Falklands War, as he got used to new night vision equipment, supported early Special Forces operations on the island and then took part in a rather farcical operation on the mainland of South America. Gives a feel for an operation conducted on a very narrow margin. [read full review]

Helmand - Diaries of Front-Line Soldiers, Various Authors. Focuses on the diaries of John and Ian Thornton, brothers who served in Afghanistan in 2008 and 2011-12 respectively. John was killed close to the end of his tour of duty, and profits from the book go to the John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation, a charity founded to honour his memory. The two Thornton diaries are supported by two other diaries and two personal reminiscence to produce a vivid picture of the life of a frontline solder in Afghanistan. [read full review]

Images of War: The Soviet-Afghan War, Anthony Tucker-Jones. A photographic history of the disastrous Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, a conflict that lasted for most of the 1980s and drained the Soviet economy and military as well as leaving Afghanistan devastated and vulnerable to the Taliban takeover after a prolonged civil war. [read full review]

Concrete Hell - Urban Warfare from Stalingrad to Iraq, Louis A. DiMarco. Looks at nine very varied examples of urban warfare from the largely conventional fighting in Stalingrad in 1942 to the political manoeuvring required in more modern conflicts such as the battle for Ramadi in 2006-7. Looks at both the 'what' and the 'how' of urban warfare in an attempt to examine how the urban battle can be won in future. [read full review]

America's Elite - US Special Forces from the American Revolution to the Present Day, Chris McNab. Takes segments from a number of earlier Osprey titles to produce a history of US Special Forces from the pre-revolutionary Rangers to the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, with material on the Civil War, the Second World War, Vietnam and the post 9-11 wars. [read full review]

US Marine Infantry Combat Uniforms and Equipment 2000-12, J Kenneth Eward. Looks at the equipment used by the US Marine Corps during a prolonged period of combat that forced the introduction of improved uniforms, protective equipment and weapons to deal with an unexpectedly dangerous battlefield. Behind the sea of acronyms (for which the author can't be blamed!) is a very valuable account of the way in which the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have forced the Marines into a rapid programme of re-equipment. [read full review]

Operation Enduring Freedom: America's Afghan War 2001 to 2002, Tim Ripley. A well balanced account of the American campaign to topple the Taliban and disrupt or destroy Al Qaeda, with interesting sections on the pre-war Taliban, the CIA's early involvement in Afghanistan, the uneven progress of the short war and the controversial aftermath of the removal of the Taliban from power. [read full review]

Underground Structures of the Cold War: The World Below, Paul Ozorak. Looks at what underground structures were built, when and most importantly why, focusing on the main players in the Cold War but with brief chapters on a wide range of countries. The focus of most structures was on survivability during a nuclear war, so the book serves as a vivid reminder of the apocalyptic dangers of the Cold War. [read full review]

American Missiles 1962 to the Present Day, The Complete Smithsonian Field Guide, Brian D. Nicklas. A spotter's guide to American missiles since the introduction of the 'M for Missiles' designation in 1962. Most get a single page, with one or more photos, basic specifications and a paragraph or two of text. Useful both as an overview of missile development over the last half century and for anyone who needs to identify a particular missile. [read full review]

In a Bosnia Trench, A Wartime Memoir of a Muslim Bosnian Soldier, Elvir Kulin with Maury Hirschkorn. A impressively un-judgemental account of the Bosnia War as seen by a young Bosnian Muslim from the Sarajevo area, of value both for its account of the fighting, and of the rapid descent into civil war in the former Yugoslavia. [read full review]

Royal Marine Commando 1950-82 - From Korea to the Falklands, Will Fowler. This book focuses on the daily life of the Royal Marine Commando, from enlistment to combat, with an emphasis on how things changed over the thirty two years covered, a period bookmarked by conventional wars in Korea and on the Falkland Islands, but that was largely dominated by a wide variety of more unusual engagements that tested the flexibility of the Commandos. Fowler's book helps explain why the Royal Marine Commandos were so successful at adapting to these different difficult conditions [see more].