Oh, you’d probably like Company K, then, too. The author was a U.S. Marine during WWI, and the book was extremely popular with soldiers during (and after) WWII, in pocketbook editions.
Ever read James Jones’ From Here to Eternity? I loved that novel, and thought it dealt with the military with respect and real empathy.
I like what Vonnegut said in his preface to SLAUGHTERHOUSE 5: THE CHILDREN’S CRUSADE. When he told a friend/army buddie his plans to write an anti-war novel, the friend suggested he write an anti-iceberg novel instead. “There are fewer of them and you’ll stop just as many icebergs as you will wars.”
The recent miniseries of Ambrose’s BAND OF BROTHERS was fantastic and gave probably a much more accurate portrayal of what soldiers have gone through in war than most 2 hour movies.
The Things They Carried is about Vietnam.
The Short-Timers is the book that Full Metal Jacket is based on too, as an aside.
I con-quer.
Yeah, that was definitely a great book. Also by O’Brien, Northern Lights. (Many of his books are about the Vietnam War.)
I’ve never seen Catch-22 as so much anti-war but as sorta pointing out the absurdity of life, higher command, or whatever using a wartime setting. You could make the same thing using a business setting and wind up with Dilbert (well, to some degree, anyway).
Seconded. What a great book.
Thirds for “The Forever War”. And to add to the library… “A Separate Peace”, “Alas, Babylon” (tho it is more about survival in the aftermath), and “On the Beach”.
enjoy your readings
mc
A Separate Peace is on my list of books I had to read in high school but actually liked.
There’s this one book about the fire bombing of Dresden and one man’s attempt to uncover the truth, IIRC. It was Dresden or something like that.
“Johnny Got His Gun” by Dalton Trumbo (I think that’s his name). It’s brutal, though, as I remember, none of it takes place in a war setting.
“All Quiet on the Western Front” is, without a doubt, the finest war novel ever written. The original, 1930’s, movie is the best war movie.
Not exactly an anti-war novel but, “The Thin Red Line” is an excellent read.
Dang it, SandyHook, you stole my answer.
“Johnny Got His Gun” is probably the epitome of anti-war books–while touching in most places and surprisingly funny in a few parts. But in short, it’s a real bummer of a story, so be careful when you read it.
**Johnny Got His Gun ** was one hell of a downer. I think the part that got me was when he was remembering holding his girlfriend in his arms and then realizing he didn’t have arms anymore.
**Catch 22 **is a classic. Sometimes I just randomly think of the character “Major Major Major Major” and just laugh my ass off.
I think I’d have to agree with everyone who mentioned Johnny Got His Gun By Trumbo. It was an intensly bitter story about the price of war with a perspective that I completely agree with, touching on the impact war has on the middle and lower classes and how everyone is enthusiastic about war and bloodshed until they are faced with the reality of a horrific casualty.
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Pat Barker’s Regeneration Trilogy (Regeneration, The Eye in the Door, The Ghost Road)
All are WWI novels - brutal, horrific and compelling.
“And No Birds Sang,” by Farley Mowat, which tells of Canadian writer Mowat’s (“Never Cry Wolf”) story about fighting in Italy during WWII.
Almost forget; Mark Twain’s “War Prayer,” which is actually a short story and can be read here.
I read Johnny Got His Gun last year when my daughter had to read it for school.
I must agree, it was one of the awfulest stories I had ever heard. I picked it up and literally read all night. I read it straight through, I could not put it down.
However, to the OP: I read some books years ago about Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While I was searching for those titles, I came acrossthis site which also had some multi-media things about the dropping of the atom bomb, as well as a list of books on the subject.
Not necessarily anti-war, but poking fun at war ( at least that’s how I remember it) but **Sunshine Soldiers ** by Something Tauber, was great when I was 13. YMMV.