Really Really Good Books.

Here is a list of the books I esteem. I will update this post from time to time with new entries.

Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire This is one of the finest histories I have ever read. If you've ever been curious about the final days of the war in the Pacific, or the decision to drop the A-Bomb on Japan, you should read this. The amount of research that went into this volume is astounding and the writing is really excellent.

One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Kruschev and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War. Did you know that at one point during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Castro was asking Kruschev to launch a nuclear attack on the USA? I didn't either. There's a lot of fascinating stuff like that in here. It reads like a thriller, and like Downfall is impressively researched.

Washington's Crossing This book is about so much more than Washington's winter attack on the Hessian garrison at Trenton. It illustrates the characters of the men in the two opposing armies. You'll be astonished at the misery that Washington's men endured, and the brilliant strokes he achieved with his often shoeless, freezing army.

Charlie Wilson's War During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the USA funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to the Afghan freedom fighters -- the mujihadeen. Now that we are fighting some of the same men who we supplied with weapons, training and support, this book is exceptionally relevant, and a fantastic story.