Veterans Services Library Guide: Books and Videos

There is a very stark line between before boot camp and after boot camp, a veteran recalls. As recruits take the oath to serve, they leave the civilian world to become a soldier, sailor, marine, airman or woman. This is the start of their transformation

Thoughts on War questions the long-held traditions and heroes to encourage the US military to reexamine whether its current beliefs and practices are the best for its future. The result is often controversial, with many chapters offering unpopular suggestions to change time-honored principles.

The U.S. military can be thought of as a microcosm of American society, bringing in people from diverse backgrounds and history to defend one nation. Military leaders must address the same issues and concerns as those found in the civilian world, including exclusion, segregation, and discrimination. In some cases, the military has led the nation by creating policies of inclusion before civilian laws required them to do so.

The most significant military engagements in history define the very nature of war. Considered in relation to each other, such battles--and others of less immediate renown--offer insight into the changing nature of armed combat, advances in technology, shifts in strategy and thought, as well as altered geopolitical landscapes.

In A People's History of the U.S. Military, historian Michael A. Bellesiles draws from three centuries of soldiers' personal encounters with combat—through fascinating excerpts from letters, diaries, and memoirs, as well as audio recordings, film, and blogs—to capture the essence of the American military experience firsthand, from the American Revolution to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

This five film series tells a different kind of "Hero's Journey" than the one the public is used to. Not the tales of heroism and valor on the battlefield but the story of Veterans willing to fight the battle of the demons within - to find emotional and psychological peace with the ghosts of past decisions and actions.

Abandoning her abusive fiancé in New York in 1943 to enlist with the Red Cross and head to Europe, Irene Woodward befriends Dorothy Dunford as they join the Allied soldiers streaming into France after D-Day where they are embroiled in danger, from the Battle of the Bulge to the liberation of Buchenwald, and where Irene learns to trust again through their friendship.

A century later, in November 2013, thousands of Ukrainian citizens gathered at Independence Square in Kyiv to protest then-President Yanukovych's failure to sign a referendum with the European Union, opting instead to forge a closer alliance with President Vladimir Putin and Russia. The peaceful protests turned violent when military police shot live ammunition into the crowd, killing over a hundred civilians. I Will Die in a Foreign Land follows four individuals over the course of a volatile Ukrainian winter, as their lives are forever changed by the Euromaidan protests.

Lenora Allbright is 13 when her father convinces her mother, Cora, to forgo their inauspicious existence in Seattle and move to Kaneq, AK. It's 1974, and the former Vietnam POW sees a better future away from the noise and nightmares that plague him. Having been left a homestead by a buddy who died in the war, Ernt is secure in his beliefs, but never was a family less prepared for the reality of Alaska, the long, cold winters and isolation

Before shrapnel severed his left arm during the Iran-Iraq war, Amir Khan lived the life of a carefree playboy. Five years later, his mother and sister Reyhaneh find him in mental hospital for shell-shocked soldiers and bring him home to Tehran. His memories decimated, Amir is haunted by the vision of a mysterious woman he believes is his fiancee. Wildly inventive and radically empathetic, steeped in Persian folklore and contemporary Middle East history, Moon Brow is the great Iranian novelist Shahriar Mandanipour's unforgettable epic of love, war, morality, faith, and family.

In the title story, a soldier who has had to shoot dogs because they were eating human corpses must learn what it is like to return to domestic life in suburbia, surrounded by people "who have no idea where Fallujah is, where three members of your platoon died." In "After-Action Report", a Lance Corporal seeks expiation for a killing he didn't commit, in order that his best friend will be unburdened. A Mortuary Affairs Marine tells about his experiences collecting remains-of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers both. A chaplain sees his understanding of Christianity, and his ability to provide solace through religion, tested by the actions of a ferocious Colonel. And in the darkly comic "Money as a Weapons System", a young Foreign Service Officer is given the absurd task of helping Iraqis improve their lives by teaching them to play baseball.

A classic collection of short stories on the Vietnam War. The title story is a must read.

Upgunner is the debut novel by decorated war veteran Corporal Christopher J. Bryde, delivering a gripping and raw portrayal of a US Marine's journey from the rugged Alaskan wilderness to the unforgiving deserts of Afghanistan

In Quagmire you'll find a range of voices-men and women, military and civilian-and a range of perspectives from the homeland, the combat zone, and war's aftermath.

The American War in Afghanistan is a full history of the war in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2020. It covers political, cultural, strategic, and tactical aspects of the war and details the actions and decision-making of the United States, Afghan government, and Taliban.

In this book, Lebovic identifies a common pattern that explains how the US failed to accomplish its goals in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Planning to Fail presents a detailed analysis of American decision-making in chapters devoted to each of these conflicts

Follows the experiences of four women who fought in active combat duty in Afghanistan and also worked to gather intelligence about the Taliban from local Afghani women, with whom they were able to cultivate relationships, unlike their male counterparts.

Chivers traces the combat experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan of an F-14 pilot, a helicopter crew, a corpsman with the Marines in Anbar and infantry in the Korengal Valley. The author won a Pulitzer Prize.

Douglas Grindle provides a firsthand account of how the war in Afghanistan was won in a rural district south of Kandahar City and how the newly created peace slipped away when vital resources failed to materialize and the United States headed for the exit

Follows nine National Guard soldiers from Oregon, who ended up in some of the heaviest fighting of the Iraq war. Most of the photographs and footage were taken from the cameras of the soldiers themselves.

Follows a single platoon through a 15-month tour of duty in the most dangerous outpost in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. By the author of "The Perfect Storm."

In 'Hardship Duty', Stephanie Bonnes focuses on the puzzle of how sexual abuse remains highly prevalent in an organization that has dynamic policies, prevention strategies, and evolving education programs designed to combat sexual violence as well as victim services and legal assistance.

An investigative documentary about the epidemic of rape within the U.S. military.

This inspiring anthology is the first to convey the rich experiences and contributions of women in the American military in their own words—from the Revolutionary War to the present wars in the Middle East

The Routledge History of Gender, War, and the US Military is the first examination of the interdisciplinary, intersecting fields of gender studies and the history of the United States military.

After being commissioned into the U.S. Air Force, MJ Hegar was selected for pilot training by the Air National Guard, finished at the top of her class, then served three tours in Afghanistan, flying combat search-and-rescue missions, culminating in a harrowing rescue attempt that would earn MJ the Purple Heart as well as the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor Device

This is the first biography of Nadine Ramsey, a stunt and racing pilot who served as one of 1,102 Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) during World War II. T

Women and Gender Perspectives in the Military compares the integration of women, gender perspectives, and the women, peace, and security agenda into the armed forces of eight countries plus NATO and UN peacekeeping operations. The countries examined are Sweden, the Netherlands, Canada, the United States, the UK, Israel, Australia, and South Africa.

This short films tells the story of Alene B. Duerk, the first woman to earn the rank of Admiral in the U.S. Navy. Admiral Duerk served in World War II and during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. After retiring, she went on to deliver meals to the elderly before passing away in her late 90s.

Follows the experiences of four women who fought in active combat duty in Afghanistan and also worked to gather intelligence about the Taliban from local Afghani women, with whom they were able to cultivate relationships, unlike their male counterparts.

Twenty veterans, now college students, write about who they are, hoping to undermine stereotypes about veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Brandon Webb's experiences in the world's most elite sniper corps are the stuff of legend. From his grueling years of training in Naval Special Operations to his combat tours in the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan, The Making of a Navy SEAL provides a rare and riveting look at the inner workings of the U.S. military through the eyes of a covert operations specialist

"A war memoir of unusual literary beauty and power from the acclaimed poet who wrote the poem 'The Hurt Locker.'

The author did three tours disarming IEDs.