It can be a memoir, a collection of letters sent by soldiers, or anything like that. I’m mainly interested in the state of mind of those involved, so the specific war is irrelevant.
I’m not interested in books that aim to glorify the events or are ghost written for money (stuff like *Lone Survivor* or *Rogue Warrior*), I’m interested in more reflective non-propaganda first hand accounts.
by TroutFarms
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Lady Death by Pavlichenko
*Citizen Soldiers* –Ambrose
‘Picture Letters from the Commander in Chief’ by General Kuribayashi.
He was the commander of the Japanese forces on Iwo Jima. This book bundles his letters to his family during the campaign of Iwo Jima.
A Tomb Called Iwo Jima: Firsthand Accounts from Japanese Survivors by Dan King explores Iwo Jima from the point of view of the few Japanese soldiers who survived the campaign.
**”The Good War”: An Oral History of World War II** by Studs Terkel.
War Doctor by David Nott
The things they carried by O’Brian
The Long Way Home by David Laskin. It’s about European immigrants to America that went back to fight in WWI.
*A Rumor of War* by Philip Caputo. It’s a memoir of his time as a platoon leader during the Vietnam War. It’s a classic of modern war literature.
E. B. Sledge. With the Old Breed. WW2 marines experience in the Pacific theater.
Rebels and Redcoats : The American Revolution Through the Eyes of Those Who Fought and Lived It.
By George F. Sheer and Hugh F. Rankin
**The Forgotten Soldier** by *Guy Sajer* is the first hand account of a young Frenchman from Alsace who, following its annexation by Germany in 1940, was drafted into the Wehrmacht as a 16 year old and served on the Eastern Front.
Dunkirk by Joshua Levine