I would have to say of all the books that have thus far come out regarding Afghanistan, The Outpost will probably be the defining book of OEF going forward. It is the only work I have seen that documents the happenings of a specific AO for any significant length of time. Most books either focus on a particular battle or the actions of a given unit over the course of a deployment. But The Outpost documents the work of all the various units that rotated in and out of that remote area over the course of the outpost's existence. It is a fairly lengthy and well documented history. It gives the reader a real feel for the people local to the area. And it allows the reader to see just how incredibly difficult it is to make progress in such an area and under these circumstances.

That said, the book will at times leave you feeling depressed. The writer introduces you to a bunch of really great people and he gives you enough background into their thoughts, beliefs, personalities and family life to make you feel like you know them personally. And all too often, these main characters that we grow to respect and admire tremendously, they end up falling to a bullet, an IED, or in some cases worse...because of command stupidity. It is also gut wrenching to see and understand just how hard these troops worked to try to make the place better. But it is all just so damn futile. As clannish and distrustful of outsiders people in areas like Nuristan are, it was just a no win situation from the very beginning.

Despite all of this, the troops themselves were marvelous. There are some incredible acts of bravery contained within the pages of this book. And they continued to soldier on, to give their very best, and sometimes even their lives, to try to make this thing work, long after it became apparent that the situation was hopeless. And if the enemy wasn't enough for them to contend with, they also had to put up with higher command which often times proved almost as much a threat to the men as the enemy himself! There were just so many mistakes and blunders made by those calling the shots. Yet no matter how dicey things got or how screwed up, the troops always came through. I came to detest the locals who occupied this area. They were for the most part some real vermin. And I didn't have a much more favorable opinion of some of the more senior US leaders who were in charge. But the troops themselves, man, those guys were something else. They were served a shit sandwich as big as any of the GWOT, yet they gobbled it up and came back for seconds. Though the military objectives to tame this remote, rugged and backward region ultimately failed, none of those failures can be blamed on our troops who fought there. They won the battles they fought. Any blame rests on the shoulders of those much higher up in the decision making chain, as well as the locals who refused to accept anything resembling progress.

+1 - All are great books.

I would add:

House to House

Horse Soldiers

American Sniper

and Fearless

I'd like to add 2 great books.

Rule Number Two
and
The Unforgiving Minute

Great reads on the wars.

I'm about halfway through Horse Soldiers, thanks to this thread.   Excellent book!

Just finished "Stryker: The Siege of Sadr City".
Easily one of the finest first-person accounts of war I've read, written by a true warrior.
Entertaining? No, and at times difficult , for the author shares it all.

But it ended up the perfect book for Memorial Day weekend, as we give tribute to those gone now.

And truly reinforced my opinion of our "younger generation".

They are awesome.

Available on Amazon.

This. Great book. License to Kill is a good one too.

I just finished "Into the Fire" based on some recommendations in this thread; I thought it was a great read, but softened up a bit in some of the commentary. I'd give it a 4/5.

This is a great thread; figured I'd bump it to get more attention.

I struggled with this book.  I read it after reading Lone Survivor and American Sniper.  For some reason, it was hard for me to get into.

I think maybe I need to go back and give it another chance.

I'm currently whittling away at Lions of Kandahar by Major Rusty Bradley. Seems pretty good so far.

I decided that after my time overseas in Iraq i wanted to learn more about what other peoples stories were.  I wasn't very well read so i picked up a few books over the years.

Just to name a few.

Black Hearts -Jim Fredrick
Outlaw Platoon -  Sean Parnell
The Outpost- Jake Tapper
Operation Phantom Fury -Dick Camp
War -Sebastian Junger
House to House - David Bellavia
None Left Behind - Charles Sasser
No Easy Day - Mark Owen
Into the Fire- Dakota Meyer
They Fought for Each Other- Kelly Kennedy

For Dealing with PTSD may i recommend
Soft Spots - Clint Van Winkle
The Long Walk - Brian Castner

These books may not help but its a start.  Everyone needs to "come home" and these are good way to start.

-J