July 6th: Namia was the randomly selected winner for the gift card giveaway and thanks to everyone for stopping by to look at the book list!

Although I’m a big reader of romances, science fiction, nonfiction and more, I also enjoy reading military fiction and nonfiction. Thought today I’d mention some of my favorite military authors, as a tribute to the men and women of the Armed Forces, who sacrifice so much to keep us safe in this big, scary world. Some have been guests on my blog in the past, some are my twitter friends, all are people I admire and whose books I enjoyed. Alphabetical order, not playing favorites!

Billy Allmon, WHEN THE BULLET HITS YOUR FUNNY BONE: THE ESSENCE OF A NAVY SEAL, Amazon. Here’s the partial blurb:

“…a collection of true events about the author’s time in U.S. Navy SEAL Teams and how SEALs use their humor to cope with all sorts of tragic events that they experience in their professional careers. This book offers the reader a personal glimpse into the minds of America’s most elite warriors. The stories explain how SEALs bond with each other to become brothers-in-arms through their difficult training and tactical missions. This book also explains why SEALs use extreme humor, on themselves and others, in order to cope with a job that places these professional warriors face to face with death on almost a daily basis...”

J. Robert DuBois, POWERFUL PEACE: A NAVY SEAL’S LESSONS ON PEACE FROM A LIFETIME AT WAR, Amazon.

“In Powerful Peace, J. Robert DuBois takes on a crucial, unprecedented mission for a U.S. Navy SEAL: the relentless pursuit of interpersonal and international peacemaking. With gut wrenching candor and surprising moments of comedy, he narrates a personal journey through decades of conflict, its often-absurd origins, its ever-present innocent victims, and its potential solutions. Most importantly, Robert delivers practical recommendations for private citizens and policy makers alike. He offers rare context for students of international relations, community leaders, and soldiers bound for unfamiliar lands.”

Chris Kyle, AMERICAN SNIPER: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE MOST LETHAL SNIPER IN U.S. MILITARY HISTORY, Amazon.

From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history. The Pentagon has officially confirmed more than 150 of Kyles kills (the previous American record was 109), but it has declined to verify the astonishing total number for this book. Iraqi insurgents feared Kyle so much they named him al-Shaitan (“the devil”) and placed a bounty on his head. Kyle earned legendary status among his fellow SEALs, Marines, and U.S. Army soldiers, whom he protected with deadly accuracy from rooftops and stealth positions. Gripping and unforgettable, Kyle’s masterful account of his extraordinary battlefield experiences ranks as one of the great war memoirs of all time. (VS sez, his wife also wrote portions of the book and her strong viewpoint is an amazing addition to the narrative.)

Jack Murphy, REFLEXIVE FIRE (A DECKARD NOVEL), Amazon. A little about Jack: “…an eight year Army Special Operations veteran who served as a Sniper and Team Leader in 3rd Ranger Battalion and as a Senior Weapons Sergeant on a Military Free Fall team in 5th Special Forces Group. After growing up in New York, Jack Murphy enlisted in the US Army at 19 years old. Completing Infantry Basic Training, Airborne School, and the Ranger Indoctrination Program, he was assigned to 3rd Ranger Battalion. As a Ranger he served as an Anti-Tank gunner, Sniper, and Team Leader and he also graduated from Ranger School and Sniper School.”

And the book, which is only one of several novels Jack has out:

An assassin who is in over his head.
A cabal that wants him to lead a secret army.
A conspiracy decades in the making.

Brandon T. Webb, THE RED CIRCLE: MY LIFE IN THE NAVY SEAL SNIPER CORPS AND HOW I TRAINED AMERICA’S DEADLIEST MARKSMEN, Amazon.

“…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 Red Circle provides a rare and riveting look at the inner workings of the U.S. military through the eyes of a covert operations specialist.

Yet it is Webb’s distinguished second career as a lead instructor for the shadowy “sniper cell” and Course Manager of the Navy SEAL Sniper Program that trained some of America’s finest and deadliest warriors—including Marcus Luttrell and Chris Kyle—that makes his story so compelling. Luttrell credits Webb’s training with his own survival during the ill-fated 2005 Operation Redwing in Afghanistan. Kyle went on to become the U.S. military’s top marksman, with more than 150 confirmed kills.”

Scott A. Zastrow, THE DeGUELLO: THE A TEAM THAT STARTED A WAR, Amazon. A little about the author:

“…an Army Veteran with more than 23 years of service. Most of his career was spent in Special Forces with an incredible operational tempo which has taken him to more than 25 countries around the World. He has numerous combat deployments as well as both humanitarian and non-combat missions. After leaving Special Forces in 2007, he went on to finish his Masters Degree as a Physician Assistant at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and now works as a PA full time…”

And the book:

“…We simply call it 9/11 now. That day means something different to so many people, but for ten Green Berets, it means even more. Just days after the horrific attacks in New York, a handful of Green Berets from the decorated 5th Special Forces Group were secretly inserted deep behind enemy lines in Northern Afghanistan to set the stage for the upcoming War on Terror. Their mission was to seek out and kill as many Taliban and Al Qaida forces as they could find. Go inside the legend of one of Americas most elite units in this exciting and sometimes humorous account of their avenging the most horrific terrorist attack we have ever experienced.
Written as a fictional story and firsthand account of the actual events that transpired for the first Special Forces A-Team into Afghanistan after 9/11, The Deguello pulls the reader into the actual Team. You get the feeling you are right there with them as they infiltrate Afghanistan…”

If the novels and nonfiction accounts I’ve mentioned above are right down your alley, I’d also recommend  checking out SOFREP: Special Operations Forces Situation Report website run by Brandon and Jack http://sofrep.com/ . SOFREP features articles, videos and lively discussions on the US and Allied Special Operations Community.

More on Powerful Peace can be found at http://powerfulpeace.wordpress.com/

Happy Fourth of July to all, with a special thanks to the men and women of the Armed Forces who won and continue to preserve our Independence.