Books

Infantry Attacks

Erwin Rommel recounts his WWI experience in minute detail. 

The man went on to be one of the greatest forces for evil in the 20th century, but in WWI he was just an aggressive lieutenant with a strong memory. 

This is a military history deep cut. It’s rare to see the level of tactical detail that he provides, which is incredible if you’re into that kind of thing, but it’s not for casual readers. 

If you’ve read We Were Soldiers Once, and you want to get the level of detail about WWI that you got about Ia Drang, this is a great pick. Otherwise, you can safely skip it.

Ireland 

Frank Delaney tells the history of Ireland through a series of fictional stories. 

This is like a kids’ illustrated book, except instead of actual drawings it has interwoven fictional stories to hold adults’ interest across 650 pages of genuine history. 

The frame tale is compelling enough to keep everything feeling unified, all the way from the ice age to Ireland’s bloody twentieth century. 

The stories inside the frame are packed with Irish history, myth, character. 

It’s an agreeable way to learn a whole bunch of Irish history. The audiobook does justice to the Irish oral storytelling tradition. 

I’ve never read a book quite like this, so right now it’s alone in its class. Read it if you’re visiting Ireland or going through one of those phases where you’re excited about your Irish heritage.