Military Photo Book - Here's a quick list of some of the best military books we've read on Action and Purpose in the past year.

Let's be real: 2020 was a nightmare. Between political turmoil and the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it's hard to look back on the year and find anything that was a potential bright spot in an otherwise turbulent journey around the sun. Fortunately, there was one

Military Photo Book

Military Photo Book

Bright spots: In particular, some of the best works of military history and analysis, fiction and non-fiction, novels and graphic novels we've absorbed over the past year.

The Ultimate Officer Candidate School Guidebook: What You Need To Know To Succeed At Federal And State Ocs

Here's a quick list of some of the best books we've read on action and purpose in the past year. Have your own recommendations? Email jared@ and we'll include it in a future story.

It was high on my must-read list when it came out in October. It took Klay six years to research and write the book, which follows four Colombian characters who meet in the shadow of our post-9/11 war. As Clay's prophetic novel shows, technology built on Middle Eastern battlefields, drones and the machinery of targeted killing will proliferate in remote lands that rarely grab the headlines. [buy]

Written by "Terminal Lance" creator Maximilian Uriarte, this feature-length graphic novel follows a Marine on a bloody odyssey through the mountainous regions of northern Afghanistan. The full color comic is basically 'Conan the Barbarian' in MARPAT. [buy]

Follows the 157th Infantry Battalion of the 45th Division from the beaches of Sicily to the Italian mountains and the Battle of Anzio, France and later Bavaria, for some of the bloodiest urban battles of the conflict, before turning to liberation. Dachau concentration camp. It's a harrowing story, but worth reading before enjoying the acclaimed Netflix series. [buy]

National Guard 101: A Handbook For Spouses

At the top of your Christmas list. The graph retells the timeline of that day with survivors, loved ones lost, brave first responders on the scene in New York and service members working at the Pentagon. My only suggestion is don't read it in public - if you're like me, you'll always be in tears. [buy]

Why do we fight wars? Wouldn't a giant tennis tournament be a great way for nations to settle their differences? Harvard professor Elaine Scarry seeks to answer the questions of why nuclear war equals torture, why language surrounding war is rendered sterile in public discourse, and why both war and torture destroy the human world by destroying access to language. . . It's a good read, but if you only read the second chapter (like I did), you'll think about war in a new and refreshing way. [buy]

It takes the reader from the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union to the fall of the Sixth Army at Stalingrad in February 1943. It gives you the perspective of German and Soviet soldiers during the most devastating war of the 20th century. [buy]

Military Photo Book

Earlier this year and couldn't put it down. A 2016 book by Andrew Bacevich, a historian and retired Army officer who served in Vietnam, exposes the long and complicated history of how America became so involved in the Middle East, showing that we have been fighting a protracted war since the 1980s. - Errors in judgment by political leaders on both sides of the aisle are to blame. "From the end of World War II until the 1980s, no U.S. soldiers were killed in action while serving in the Greater Middle East. Since 1990, virtually no U.S. soldiers have been killed in action elsewhere. What accounts for this change?" Asks the book cover. As Besevich details in this definitive history, the mission of our Vietnam experience has been repeated over and over again over the past 30 years, with disastrous results. [purchase]

Veterans Day: 16 Books To Honor Those Who Served In The Military

Singer and Cole take readers on a journey to an unknown date in the future, where an FBI agent in Washington, D.C. On the hunt for a technologically advanced terrorist in what the authors call "a true robotic revolution," is agent Lara Keegan. Coupled with a robot that is less Terminator and more useful and highly intelligent law enforcement tool. Perhaps the most interesting part: almost everything that happens in the story can be traced back to the technologies being explored today. You can read the Action and Purpose interview with the authors here. [buy]

, which retells some truly insane heists by one of the first modern special forces units. Best of all, Ben McIntyre grounds his story in a kind, balanced tone that shows the best and worst of the SAS men, who, like everyone else, are, after all, only human. [buy]

Is a gripping novel that follows two brave women in different time periods - one living in the aftermath of World War II, determined to find out what happened to someone she loves, and the other working in a secret network of spies behind enemy lines. First World War. Based on the true story of the network that penetrated the German lines in France during the Great War, this gripping historical fiction weaves a story full of drama, suspense and tragedy like you can't imagine. down it. [buy]

It's one of the most fascinating depictions of the future of warfare I've ever read, from powered armor to proto-fascism. I read it once a year to remind myself why I love covering military technology and why the prospect of war in space is terrifying in every way. [buy]

Unbroken,' 'american Sniper' Are Top Picks For Military Books

Bonus: Talk to Me: How to Ask Good Questions, Get Good Answers, and Interview Anyone Like a Pro by Dean Nelson.

For obvious commercial reasons. This is a quick and fun read from a professional on how to be a good interviewer, which is sure to help a journalist like me. But it's also accessible and open to all, and the book will help anyone who needs to ask questions to gain insight into their daily lives—doctors, lawyers, soldiers, teachers—by showing everyone how to structure asking questions. An interview for the best results. [buy]

RELATED: 'Starship Troopers' Off Marine Commandant's Reading List, But Terminal Lance's 'White Donkey' Is Here Here's a quick list of some of the best books we read on action and purpose last year.

Military Photo Book

Let's be real: 2021 wasn't exactly the year we all wanted it to be. As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic drags on, many of us have spent more time than we'd like behind closed doors, left to our own devices for entertainment and recreation. Fortunately, the Task & Purpose team put some of our downtime to good use: reading some of the best military books from the last few years (and some old ones) to make the time go by a little faster. Maybe you're stuck at home, or maybe you just need a new distraction - either way, we've got some great reading material for you to start the year off right.

The Ultimate Deployment Guidebook: Insight Into The Deployed Soldier And A Guide For The First Time Deployed

Here's a quick list of some of the best books we've read on action and purpose in the past year. Have your own recommendations? Leave a link to Amazon in the comments.

National Book Award winner, Phil Clay's intricate and incredibly nuanced web of missionary stories. Clay uses the past two decades of violence and power struggles in Colombia as the backdrop for the story of four people from vastly different backgrounds. The thread that connects them all is the war, as the lives of all the characters have been affected by the conflict, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, within the borders of Colombia and on the global stage. Clay weaves together the stories of these four characters while commenting on the residual effects of decades of interconnected global conflict. Sometimes harsh, Clay pulls no punches and paints the stories of his heroes and the circumstances that bring them all together. Missionaries is the kind of vivid and insightful book that keeps readers thinking about it long after they've put it down. - Brett Allen, Contributor

Building on the success of his previous works, Make Your Bed: The Little Things That Can Change Your Life and Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations, retired Admiral William McRaven takes a break from the spotlight in The Hero Code: Lessons Lending to Highlight. Others live well. In the wake of this global war on terror, war memoirs are easier than ever, but Admiral McRaven detached himself from his own story and turned to those who inspired and educated him throughout his life. Retired Navy

Military drone range, laser range finder military, military range bags, military range targets, long range military radio, military radio range, military range finder, military long range binoculars, range rover military discount, military range rover, range of military drones, military range bag