Some more suggestions, mixed categories. These are all favorites from my own library, that I have found to be both worth reading more than once, and giving as gifts. I have tried to arrange these suggestions by category, and also suggest other places where they fit.
Naval/Sea/Maritime:
Hara: Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Midway - The Great Naval Battles As Seen Through Japanese Eyes
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Destroyer-Captain-Guadalcanal-Battles/dp/1591143543/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230760063&sr= 8-2"]http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Destroyer-Captain-Guadalcanal-Battles/dp/1591143543/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230760063&sr= 8-2[/ame]
McKenna: The Sand Pebbles
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Sand-Pebbles-Bluejacket-Books/dp/1557504466/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230760129&sr= 8-3"]Amazon.com: The Sand Pebbles (Bluejacket Books): Richard McKenna: Books[/ame]
(also: Fiction, Asia)
Rankin: Small arms of the sea services;: A history of the firearms and edged weapons of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard from the Revolution to the present
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Small-arms-sea-services-Revolution/dp/091059810X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230761485&sr=1-1"]http://www.amazon.com/Small-arms-sea-services-Revolution/dp/091059810X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230761485&sr=1-1[/ame]
(also: Small Arms)
Stavridis: Destroyer Captain: Lessons of a First Command
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Destroyer-Captain-Lessons-First-Command/dp/1591148499/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230760063&sr= 8-1"]http://www.amazon.com/Destroyer-Captain-Lessons-First-Command/dp/1591148499/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230760063&sr= 8-1[/ame]
(also: Military Leadership)
Wildenberg: Gray Steel and Black Oil: Fast Tankers and Replenishment at Sea in the U.S. Navy, 1912-1992
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Gray-Steel-Black-Oil-Replenishment/dp/1557509344/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230761363&sr=1-1"]http://www.amazon.com/Gray-Steel-Black-Oil-Replenishment/dp/1557509344/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230761363&sr=1-1[/ame]
(also: Logistics, Military Technology)
Piekalkiewicz: The Cavalry of World War II
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Cavalry-World-War-II/dp/0918678315/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230760403&sr=1-3"]http://www.amazon.com/Cavalry-World-War-II/dp/0918678315/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230760403&sr=1-3[/ame]
(also: Land Forces, WWII)
WWII:
Kuniczak: The Thousand Hour Day
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Hour-Day-W-Kuniczak/dp/088254506X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230760217&sr=1-1"]http://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Hour-Day-W-Kuniczak/dp/088254506X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230760217&sr=1-1[/ame]
(also: Fiction)
Ryan: Last Battle: The Classic History of the Battle for Berlin
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Last-Battle-Classic-History-Berlin/dp/0684803291/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230761148&sr=1-1"]http://www.amazon.com/Last-Battle-Classic-History-Berlin/dp/0684803291/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230761148&sr=1-1[/ame]
For anyone not familiar with Kuniczak's work, I find it to be the single, best work on the start of the war, fiction or non-fiction. It reflects not only the broad facts, but also evokes the feelings and experiences of those who lived through it. It is an epic story, told in a befitting manner.
Naval/Sea/Maritime:
Hara: Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Midway - The Great Naval Battles As Seen Through Japanese Eyes
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Destroyer-Captain-Guadalcanal-Battles/dp/1591143543/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230760063&sr= 8-2"]http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Destroyer-Captain-Guadalcanal-Battles/dp/1591143543/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230760063&sr= 8-2[/ame]
McKenna: The Sand Pebbles
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Sand-Pebbles-Bluejacket-Books/dp/1557504466/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230760129&sr= 8-3"]Amazon.com: The Sand Pebbles (Bluejacket Books): Richard McKenna: Books[/ame]
(also: Fiction, Asia)
Rankin: Small arms of the sea services;: A history of the firearms and edged weapons of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard from the Revolution to the present
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Small-arms-sea-services-Revolution/dp/091059810X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230761485&sr=1-1"]http://www.amazon.com/Small-arms-sea-services-Revolution/dp/091059810X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230761485&sr=1-1[/ame]
(also: Small Arms)
Stavridis: Destroyer Captain: Lessons of a First Command
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Destroyer-Captain-Lessons-First-Command/dp/1591148499/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230760063&sr= 8-1"]http://www.amazon.com/Destroyer-Captain-Lessons-First-Command/dp/1591148499/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230760063&sr= 8-1[/ame]
(also: Military Leadership)
Wildenberg: Gray Steel and Black Oil: Fast Tankers and Replenishment at Sea in the U.S. Navy, 1912-1992
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Gray-Steel-Black-Oil-Replenishment/dp/1557509344/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230761363&sr=1-1"]http://www.amazon.com/Gray-Steel-Black-Oil-Replenishment/dp/1557509344/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230761363&sr=1-1[/ame]
(also: Logistics, Military Technology)
Piekalkiewicz: The Cavalry of World War II
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Cavalry-World-War-II/dp/0918678315/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230760403&sr=1-3"]http://www.amazon.com/Cavalry-World-War-II/dp/0918678315/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230760403&sr=1-3[/ame]
(also: Land Forces, WWII)
WWII:
Kuniczak: The Thousand Hour Day
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Hour-Day-W-Kuniczak/dp/088254506X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230760217&sr=1-1"]http://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Hour-Day-W-Kuniczak/dp/088254506X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230760217&sr=1-1[/ame]
(also: Fiction)
Ryan: Last Battle: The Classic History of the Battle for Berlin
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Last-Battle-Classic-History-Berlin/dp/0684803291/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230761148&sr=1-1"]http://www.amazon.com/Last-Battle-Classic-History-Berlin/dp/0684803291/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230761148&sr=1-1[/ame]
For anyone not familiar with Kuniczak's work, I find it to be the single, best work on the start of the war, fiction or non-fiction. It reflects not only the broad facts, but also evokes the feelings and experiences of those who lived through it. It is an epic story, told in a befitting manner.
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