# Book Titles Request--Opinions of American Soldiers **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 7, 2015, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-titles-request-opinions-of-american-soldiers/717078 "2015-04-07T22:14:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-titles-request-opinions-of-american-soldiers/717078/1 "2015-04-07T22:14:25Z")
I’m looking for books about the opinions that foreign soldiers & civilians held about US Troops, in a variety of wars. (I found an article online, but some of it contradicts Military History that was taught to me in ROTC.) So. Titles? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-titles-request-opinions-of-american-soldiers/717078/2 "2015-04-08T21:30:51Z")
Nobody? ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-titles-request-opinions-of-american-soldiers/717078/3 "2015-04-08T21:39:46Z")
This is a book I’ve seen referenced before, but I haven’t read it–may be of help: [http://www.amazon.com/German-Generals-Talk-Basil-Liddell/dp/0688060129](http://www.amazon.com/German-Generals-Talk-Basil-Liddell/dp/0688060129) I assume from your post you want opinions on soldiers in the field, not general officers? And this is one I found from a quick google, about European observers of the American Civil War–seems to include primary source material: [http://www.amazon.com/The-Military-Legacy-Civil-War/dp/0700603794](http://www.amazon.com/The-Military-Legacy-Civil-War/dp/0700603794) Also, Bosda, this is the first time I’ve ever seen someone make casual reference to Scary Go Round. Well done! EDIT: Wait a minute, didn’t you have a sig line in your first post with a quote from Scary Go Round? What happened to it? ---
**Author:** ![Boogly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Boogly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boogly)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-titles-request-opinions-of-american-soldiers/717078/4 "2015-04-08T21:41:59Z")
That is a very general question. I would suggest starting in a certain place and time and working from there. Are there any specific theaters you are looking into? What other soldiers/civilians are you wondering about? Allies or opposing forces? Be advised that history seen from the US point of view will probably differ from how other people in the own land remember it. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-titles-request-opinions-of-american-soldiers/717078/5 "2015-04-09T00:28:26Z")
> [@Boogly](#): > > That is a very general question. I would suggest starting in a certain place and time and working from there. > > Are there any specific theaters you are looking into? > What other soldiers/civilians are you wondering about? Allies or opposing forces? > > Be advised that history seen from the US point of view will probably differ from how other people in the own land remember it. I’m looking for views by foreigners, of US troops. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-titles-request-opinions-of-american-soldiers/717078/6 "2015-04-09T08:24:32Z")
“Overpaid, oversexed, and over here.” (Britain and Australia, WWII) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-titles-request-opinions-of-american-soldiers/717078/7 "2015-04-09T15:50:27Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > “Overpaid, oversexed, and over here.” (Britain and Australia, WWII) “Underpaid, undersexed and under Eisenhower.” (US soldiers, WWII) I don’t remember specific recollections about American soldiers but the autobiography _Soldat_ is by a German officer in WWII who fought on both fronts. He later moved to the US so I don’t think he felt too much animosity. Since he spend years in Russia after the war his opinion of them is a bit harsher. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-titles-request-opinions-of-american-soldiers/717078/8 "2015-04-09T16:15:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Fighting Power: German and U.S. Army Performance, 1939-1945 (Contributions in Military History) Paperback – June 30, 2007 > > “In this study, Van Creveld analyzes the ways in which the WWII German Army developed the fighting power that allowed them to achieve a number of military victories even when outnumbered and using outdated equipment. He compares and contrasts the Germans with the U.S. Army, which developed a different style of war based on superior economic and technological resources. Coverage includes organizational elements such as principles of command, assignment of manpower, and indoctrination of troops. This is a reprint of a volume originally published in 1982.” > **[Fighting Power: German and U.S. Army Performance, 1939-1945 (Contributions in...](https://www.amazon.com/Fighting-Power-Performance-1939-1945-Contributions/dp/0313091579)** > > Fighting Power: German and U.S. Army Performance, 1939-1945 (Contributions in Military Studies) \[van Creveld, Martin\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Fighting Power: German and U.S. Army Performance, 1939-1945 (Contributions in... Martin van Creveld is an Israeli military historian ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-titles-request-opinions-of-american-soldiers/717078/9 "2015-04-11T18:51:53Z")
> **[A French Soldier's View of US Soldiers in Afghanistan](https://warriorlodge.com/blogs/news/16298760-a-french-soldiers-view-of-us-soldiers-in-afghanistan)** > > By Wes O'Donnell, Army & Air Force Veteran 1997-2007, Speaker, Journalist, and Documentary Filmmaker. Reach out to Wes on LinkedIn. What follows is an account from a French ISAF soldier that was stationed with American Warfighters in... French soldier basically says that current US soldiers would be considered elite troops in any previous era. Well trained and very capable: “This, in fact, is the basic philosophy of both British and Continental soldiers. ‘In the absence of orders, take a defensive position.’ Indeed, virtually every army in the world. The American soldier and Marine, however, are imbued from early in their training with the ethos: In the Absence of Orders: Attack! Where other forces, for good or ill, will wait for precise orders and plans to respond to an attack or any other ‘incident’, the American force will simply go, counting on firepower and SOP to carry the day.”