25 Best War Books of All Time To Read

Are you looking for the best war books of all time? The 25 books in this list cover various wars and include the best fiction and non-fiction war books ever written.

Wars expose humanity’s dark and light sides and has led to the creation of some outstanding literature. Some writers focus on military history, giving detailed accounts of conflicts, some focus on personal stories, and non-fiction authors explore concepts of war through imaginary settings and characters.

The books in this list will teach you about several significant conflicts through personal accounts, military history, and thrilling fiction stories. Add a few of these books to your reading list to enjoy several Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning authors and learn more about war. And, if you are writing about war yourself, check out our adjectives for war when you have finished here, of course!

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1. The Art of War by Sun Tzu

The Art of War was written thousands of years ago and remains one of the world’s most important and widely read war books.

The 13 chapters were written by an Ancient Chinese author and military strategist, Sun Tzu, whose writings on ‘war’ changed the course of military history.

In his book, Sun Tzu breaks down military strategy into skillsets required for a leader hoping to wage a successful military campaign.

Even though the book is based on case studies and events from Ancient China, it’s considered a must-read for US military personnel as many of the theories continue to be implemented by modern militaries to this day.

Interestingly, the theories within The Art of War have been widely applied outside of the military, with business leaders often studying the ideas to improve their ability to penetrate new markets and beat competitors.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

Sun Tzu

2. The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman

The Guns of August is a must-read for anyone that wants to learn about the early stage of World War I. The book covers the process that led up to the war and then provides a detailed narrative of the British-Franco effort that stopped the German army from making it to Paris. The book is a fantastic way to better understand how and why the horrors of trench warfare became such a prominent feature of the war.

Although this is a non-fiction book, it’s brilliantly written and very engaging, so you won’t feel like you’re reading a school textbook about World War I. Barbara W. Tuchman won the non-fiction Pulitzer Prize for The Guns of August, and it became a New York Times bestseller.

“Human beings, like plans, prove fallible in the presence of those ingredients that are missing in maneuvers – danger, death, and live ammunition.”

Barbara W. Tuchman, The Guns of August

3. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy, is still widely revered as one of the great war novels of all time. The Russian author is one of the world’s most influential writers, and War and Peace is one of his best novels. The book focuses on Napoleon’s military campaign against Russia, which followed his successful conquest of Western and Central Europe.

Published in 1869, Tolstoy covers the dramatic and doomed French military campaign from the perspective of five upper-class Russian families. The story has been praised not only for its writing style but also for its accuracy. Tolstoy is believed to have done meticulous research about the battles discussed in the book and visited battlefields.

His descriptive style did not conform to the standards at the time and profoundly impacted future authors. The way he portrays the perspective of individual characters and adds small visual details makes War and Peace a must-read for anyone that wants to learn about the Napoleonic wars.

“Pierre was right when he said that one must believe in the possibility of happiness in order to be happy, and I now believe in it. Let the dead bury the dead, but while I’m alive, I must live and be happy.”

Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

4. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

For Whom the Bell Tolls is set in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War. The novel’s protagonist is Robert Jordan, a US citizen who had been living in Spain teaching English when the civil war broke out. Robert joins the anti-fascist Loyalist army and is sent on a covert mission to blow up a strategically valuable bridge.

Robert is trained by the anti-fascists. He quickly changes from an everyday teacher to a fully trained freedom fighter, willing to do whatever it takes to stop General Franco from taking control of Spain. Ernest Hemingway is a legendary American writer whose work often focused on war as its something he had personal experience with. Hemingway’s war novels are some of the best military fiction stories, and they always leave the reader with valuable knowledge about history through his unique writing style.

“There will always be people who say it does not exist because they cannot have it. But I tell you it is true and that you have it and that you are lucky even if you die tomorrow.”

Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls

5. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

If you’re looking for a science-fiction book with a powerful anti-war message, Slaughterhouse Five deserves a spot on your reading list. The science-fiction classic is the work of Kurt Vonnegut, who writes about the experience of a chaplain’ assistant called Billy Pilgrim during World War II.

Vonnegut adds a science fiction twist to the story by making Billy Pilgrim a time traveler who is captured by the German military. The story paints a brutally negative image of war through the narrator’s eyes. Vonnegut doesn’t hold back in her criticisms of the generals and politicians that sent young men to die in foreign lands.

One of the most traumatic moments in the book comes when Billy witnesses the firebombing of Dresden by Allied forces. The city was famously leveled during the War leaving countless civilians dead or wounded. Vonnegut herself was in the city when the bombing happened. This will be a great addition to your reading list if you’re a science fiction fan and want to learn more about World War II.

“And Lot’s wife, of course, was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human. So she was turned into a pillar of salt. So it goes.”

Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five

6. Night by Elie Wiesel

Night tells the harrowing true story of Elie Wiesel’s experience as a prisoner in Auschwitz during the Holocaust. Born to Hungarian-Jewish parents, Elie Wiesel was sent to Auschwitz as a teenager toward the end of World War II.

Wiesel spent two years in the Nazi-run concentration camps as the Allied and Russian forces slowly closed in on Berlin and began to liberate prisoners. Although the book is relatively short, it’s one of the most valuable first-hand documentation of the horrors of the Holocaust and the conditions that Hitler and the Nazi regime subjected its victims to during the Second World War.

Weisel has written dozens of other successful books about the Second World War and Nazi Germany. In 1986 he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in human rights and activism against violent oppression.

Are you looking for more inspiration? Check out these essays about war.

“To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.”

Elie Wiesel, Night

7. The Iliad by Homer

The Illiad is undoubtedly one of the most important books ever written. Even though it dates back to the 8th century BC, Homer’s epic poem about the Trojan War continues to be read worldwide to this day.

The epic story of the Trojan War centers around the legendary Greek warrior Achilles, who is essentially immortal. According to the story, Achilles was dipped in the River Styx as a baby, but his mother held him by the heel, leaving him with a minor vulnerability that the Trojans would eventually exploit.

The Illiad touches on several themes, such as glory, pride, and fate, as the siege of Troy plays out under the observation of Greek gods and goddesses. The Trojan War culminates with the Greeks using a giant wooden horse to infiltrate the Trojan walls. Although Troy eventually falls, several great warriors, including Achilles and Hector, die in the fighting.

“Like the generations of leaves, the lives of mortal men. Now the wind scatters the old leaves across the earth, the living timber bursts with the new buds and spring comes round again. And so with men: as one generation comes to life, another dies away.”

Homer, The Iliad

8. The Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant by Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant’s autobiography, The Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant, covers the former president’s experience in the Civil War, during which he led the Union to victory. The two-term president was fundamentally changed by the bloody US Civil War and the battles he fought. Despite having served two terms in power, he struggled financially after leaving the White House, which encouraged him to write and publish this book.

Writing autobiographies wasn’t common for presidents at the time, but Grant’s success changed that, and his book is now widely regarded as the gold standard for presidential autobiographies. Grant’s narrative is clear and straightforward. His experiences are a brilliant way to gain insight into the American Civil War from the perspective of a politician, soldier, and military leader.

Grant had throat cancer while writing, and he doesn’t hold back in expressing his emotions at the time, which adds depth to the narrative. Furthermore, he is candid about the poverty he faced after leaving office, bringing the reader into a strange world where a man went from being one of the most influential people in the world to a humbled man struggling to get by. The Personal Memoirs of U.S Grant is an excellent read for anyone interested in the American Civil War and one of America’s most respected presidents.

“There are many men who would have done better than I did under the circumstances in which I found myself. If I had never held command, if I had fallen, there were 10,000 behind who would have followed the contest to the end and never surrendered the Union.”

Ulysses S. Grant, The Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant

9. The Face of Battle by John Keegan

The Face of Battle is a non-fiction military history book that details some of the most notable wars from medieval times through to the First World War. John Keegan provides a detailed analysis of battles that can teach us how modern Europe was formed and highlight military strategies that led to crucial victories.

This is an excellent book for military history buffs. You’ll learn specific details about Napoleon’s campaigns and significant turning points in the First World War, such as the battle of the Somme. Keegan charts the history of military tactics to show how war changes over time and the specific innovations that allowed Napoleon to dominate so much of Europe. He often brings in the perspective of the average soldier, which adds a layer of detail to his narrative. If you want to learn why wars are lost and won, then The Face of Battle should be on your reading list.

“Rundstedt, revered throughout the German regular officer corps as its last archetypal Prussian, refused to deal with detail or to look at small-scale maps, as if the fighting itself were distasteful to him, but spent his days reading detective stories and thrice resigned his command.”

John Keegan

10. The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara

The Killer Angels is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that covers the Battle of Gettysburgh, the most crucial battle of the American Civil War. Michael Shaara’s book was published in 1974 and immediately became a bestseller among the Civil War titles. He tells the story of the three-day battle through the first-person perspective of soldiers in the Union and the Confederacy.

By taking a first-person perspective covering both sides of the Civil War, Shaara can bring the reader into the war and show them the tragedy of Americans killing their fellow Americans. Some of the most notable characters that Shaara included in his book are Joshua Chamberlain, John Buford, Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, and George Pickett. If you’re interested in US military history and enjoy first-person novels, then The Killer Angels deserve a spot on your reading list.

“There’s nothing so much like a god on earth as a General on a battlefield.”

Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels

11. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is a collection of short stories about a platoon of soldiers fighting in the Vietnam War. O’Brien was a soldier in the 23rd Infantry Division, so many of the events in the book are based on his real-life experiences in a controversial war that ended with the United States withdrawing from the country.

In his writings, he examines themes of war, death, love, and the weight of memories and emotions that soldiers carry with them, physically and mentally, after a war. This book is about more than just the Vietnam War. Although reading it will give you a better understanding of how the conflict unfolded, it also demonstrates how war impacts the people involved and questions core aspects of morality and loyalty.

The Things They Carried is an intriguing mix of O’Brien’s personal experiences, facts, and non-fiction that has proven popular among readers interested in the Vietnam War.

Looking for more thriller novels to add to your reading list? Check out our round-up of the best PD James books!

“A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain men from doing the things men have always done. If a story seems moral, do not believe it.”

Tim O’Brien

12. The Afghanistan Papers by Craig Whitlock

The invasion of Afghanistan by the US and its allies is one of the 21st century’s most controversial wars. The invasion lasted two decades, and many commentators have claimed that it achieved very little to help the people of Afghanistan. The Afghanistan Papers is a collection of previously classified information that uncovers the failures of the Afghanistan War.

Craig Whitlock, a Washington Post investigative reporter, obtained the information in the book from various freedom of information requests. Using the official data, Whitlock builds a narrative from the beginning of the invasion that highlights some of the significant failures of the occupying forces.

The controversial book gives the reader a sense of the lack of direction that war took on. As new presidents came and went, none of them were able to solve the riddle, and billions of dollars were spent on projects on the ground that failed to improve the situation.

Although Whitlock’s book focuses on Afghanistan, it’s a valuable source of information for anyone looking to learn why great powers occupying countries with weaker armies often fail to achieve their aims and end up losing.

“U.S. officials wanted to pull out but feared the Afghan state would collapse if they did. Bin Laden had hoped for this exact scenario when he planned 9/11: to lure the U.S. superpower into an unwinnable guerrilla conflict that would deplete its national treasury and diminish its global influence.”

Craig Whitlock

13. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Catch-22 is a fictional story, inspired by the life of the author, that follows Captain John Yossariann, an anti-hero who operates a bomber during the Second World War. It was published in 1961 and is considered one of the 20th century’s best novels.

Joseph Heller’s narrative is highly critical of the war and all the absurdity that comes with it. Through the eyes of the anti-hero, Heller mocks many aspects of war.

The cornerstone of the story is a bizarre US Army Air Force regulation called ‘Catch-22’ that states if a soldier is willing to carry out borderline suicidal military missions, they are insane, but if they request to be relieved of duty, it proves they are not insane, so there are no grounds to be relieved. The term ‘Catch-22’ has been absorbed into the English language. It represents a dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions.

Catch-22 has been translated into several languages, and you’ll find it in libraries worldwide. If you want to read a classic book that looks at the insanity of war, then pick up a copy of Joseph Heller’s Catch-22.

“[They] agreed that it was neither possible nor necessary to educate people who never questioned anything.”

Joseph Heller

14. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hossein

The Kite Runner tells the story of a young Afghan boy called Amir across several events that have shaped modern Afghanistan, including the Soviet and US invasions. Khaled Hossein uses Amir’s perspective of the turmoil in Afghanistan to tell a captivating story of love, betrayal, and tragedy against the backdrop of military and political chaos.

The plot develops from when Amir’s friend is sexually assaulted as a young boy. Amir cannot process the information and eventually turns his back on his friend.

The story develops as Amir tries to make up for his failure by attempting to save his friend’s son. The book was a bestseller worldwide, has sold over 30 million copies, and had been translated into dozens of languages just five years after publication. It’s still ranked among the top books on Amazon.

“It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime…”

Khaled Hosseini

15. All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

All Quiet On The Western Front is a must-read First World War novel that has sold millions of copies and been turned into several films, including the 2023 Oscar-winning Netflix version. Erich Maria Remarque’s tale documents the suffering of a young German soldier sent to the trenches during the First World War and draws on his real-life experience as a German soldier.

The book describes in detail the brutality of the war that took place primarily in muddy trenches where waves of young men were sent to their deaths as they attempted to gain land by rushing the enemy. The book was published in 1928 and became very popular, almost instantly selling over two million copies in over 20 languages within two years of publication.

However, under Hitler’s Nazi Germany, the book was banned and burned, while even the US and its allies held reservations about the book due to its pacifist undertones. If you read just one book about World War I, All Quiet On The Western Front is a great choice.

“Bombardment, barrage, curtain-fire, mines, gas, tanks, machine-guns, hand-grenades – words, words, but they hold the horror of the world.”

Erich Maria Remarque

16. The Shadow of Arms by Hwang Sok-Yong

The Shadow of Arms provides a unique perspective of the Vietnam War through the eyes of a Korean soldier sent to the Vietnamese city of Da Nang to uncover Northern Vietnamese agents using the local black market to finance their war effort. The story is based on Hwang Sok-Yong’s experience as a Korean mercenary in Vietnam. The Korean author covers the illicit trade that financed the conflict and details some of the most tragic elements of the Vietnam War.

The book is surprisingly balanced. If you want a fresh perspective on the US invasion of Vietnam, this is a good choice, as the author is somewhat of a third party in the conflict, as Sok-Yong is neither American nor Vietnamese.

“People hated and killed each other back then. Now even those who survived are dying, leaving this world one by one. Unless we find a way to forgive one another, none of us will ever be able to see each other again.”

Hwang Sok-Yong

17. The Corpse Washer by Sinan Antoon

The Corpse Washer tells the story of Jawad, a young man in Iraq who wants to leave behind the family business of corpse washing in favor of a career in sculpting. Unfortunately for Jawad, the increasing turmoil in Iraq prevents him from pursuing his dreams and forces him to accept his destiny as a corpse washer.

Sinan Antoon’s award-winning novel is set during two challenging periods in Iraq’s history. First, Jawad experiences the socio-economic turmoil that plunged countless Iraqis into poverty during the 1990s. Then, Jawad’s life is upended when the US and its allies invade Iraq in 2003.

The novel is a heartbreaking account of the suffering that Iraqis have suffered and continue to suffer due to war. The book won the Arab American Book Award in 2014 and sold millions of copies worldwide.

“I am like the pomegranate tree, but all my branches have been cut, broken, and buried with the dead. My heart has become a shriveled pomegranate beating with death and falling every second into a bottomless pit.”

Sinana Antoon

18. Peleliu: Tragic Triumph: The Untold Story of the Pacific War’s Forgotten Battle by Bill Ross

Peleliu: Tragic Triumph: The Untold Story of the Pacific War’s Forgotten Battle is a highly detailed account of the Battle of Peleliu, which is widely regarded as the bloodiest battle in the Pacific during World War II. Bill D. Ross was a war correspondent during World War II and witnessed many of the most brutal battles of the Pacific theatre first-hand.

In this book, Ross gives the reader a day-by-day account of the battle of Peleliu, which was fought between the United States and the Empire of Japan in the final months of 1944. The battle was over a small yet strategically important island in the Pacific Ocean, and the account is based on years of research and interviews with soldiers who survived.

“While the men of the Old Breed took perverse pride in calling themselves ‘raggedy-assed Marines,’ their self-imposed…description wasn’t even close to how they looked…Their appearance was, in all likelihood, the grimiest, most evil-looking, stinking, and nonmilitary of any division at any time in the Pacific War.”

Bill Ross

19. Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard

Empire of the Sun is a story about a young British boy called Jim who, along with his parents, is living in China when the Japanese military force them into an interim camp during World War II. J.G. Ballard draws on some of his own experiences in the book as he was forced into one of the Japanese camps as a child. However, the story is largely fictional taking only a few actual events from Ballard’s time in the camp.

The story is set shortly after the Japanese army invades and occupies Shanghai, where Jim and his family live. Jim’s parents are taken, and he spends a long period trying to survive on his own, but eventually, he turns to the occupying Japanese forces, who send him to the Lunghua Civilian Assembly Centre.

As the war draws to a close, the Japanese run out of supplies, and prisoners begin to starve, but Jim manages to escape and eventually returns to post-war China. Empire of the Sun tells a story that has somewhat been forgotten. The reality of Japan’s occupation of China was a brutal part of World War II, and J.G Ballard’s novel provides a much-needed account of the events.

“Jim knew that he was awake and asleep at the same time, dreaming of the war and yet dreamed of by the war.”

J.G . Ballard

20. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption is an epic story based on the life of Louis Zamperini, who went from an Olympic athlete to a Japanese prisoner of war. Laura Hillenbrand’s book follows Zamperini’s life from when he began running in high school to becoming an Olympian and later a POW.

Just as he was hitting his stride as an athlete, World War II began, and he enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He eventually finds himself fighting the Japanese over the Pacific. Zamperini’s plane is shot down, and he and his crew spend over a month on a desert island. Against all odds, he survives on the arid sandy island but is captured by the Japanese.

He spends several years in the camp, tortured and abused by the guards. He was released at the war’s end, and in 1998, he passed the torch at the Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan, as a gesture of reconciliation.

“Without dignity, identity is erased.”

Laura Hillenbrand

21. The American War in Afghanistan: A History by Carter Malkasian

The American War in Afghanistan: A History is a detailed guide to the Afghan War that covers the build-up to the invasion and all the significant events during the two-decade-long occupation. Carter Malkasian encompasses a wide range of themes within the context of the war, including politics, military strategy, cultural issues, and economics.

Malkasian witnessed first-hand policy decisions that drove the war as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The book was published in 2021, when the US and NATO forces left Afghanistan and the country returned to Taliban control.

Interestingly, the book gives plenty of detail from the Taliban’s perspective on the war, which Western authors often ignore. If you want a detailed guide to the Afghanistan war from start to finish, then The American War in Afghanistan: A History is a good choice.

“In simple terms, they fought for Islam and resistance to occupation, values enshrined in Afghan identity.”

Carter Malkasian

22. The Second World War by Anthony Beevor

The Second World War by Anthony Beaver is one of the most informative books about World War II, as it covers every critical moment and battle in meticulous detail. Anthony Beevor is one of the most widely-read military historians and is renowned for combining well-researched narratives with engaging prose.

The Second World War covers all significant fronts, detailing both the war in Europe and the battles in the Pacific between the USA and Japan. If you want to understand how Nazi Germany almost succeeded in dominating all of Western Europe, then this is a great place to start. Furthermore, Beaver explains the events that led to Hitler’s fall, Stalin’s success in Eastern Europe, and the US’s success in the West.

The book also explores the non-military side of the Second World War as Beaver provides an account of civilian life in several major cities during the most bloody battles.

“The Nazi regime had trapped the whole population of the country as accomplices, willing or not, in its own crimes, and its own insanity.”

Anthony Beaver

23. The Korean War by Max Hastings

The Korean War by Max Hastings is a deep-dive book covering the 1950s conflict that almost dragged the two global superpowers into direct confrontation.

Using first-hand accounts, Max Hastings provides raw insight into the bloody war that divided the Korean peninsula into the capitalist South and the Communist North. The Korean War was a tragic conflict driven primarily by funding from the US and the Soviet Union. Families were often pitted against one another based on which side of the country they lived in.

The Korean War’s impact is still clear to see today. South Korea has become one of the world’s wealthiest and most advanced countries, while the North is one of the poorest and most isolated. If you want to understand modern Korea, you’ll need to learn about the Korean War, and The Korean War by Hastings will provide you with that knowledge.

“As George Orwell wisely observed a generation later, the only way swiftly to end a war is to lose it.”

Max Hastings

24. A History of Modern Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples by Ilan Pappe

A History of Modern Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples covers the history of Palestine going back beyond its occupation by the Ottomans, through to the British imperial mandate, the creation of the Israeli state in 1948, and more recent wars and conflicts.

Ilan Pappe’s seminal book on Palestine has been praised for providing clarity surrounding a conflict often subject to highly biased analysis. Arguably the war in Palestine has been ongoing since the creation of the Israeli state. In this book, all the major violent clashes between the Israeli army and Palestinian authorities and rebels are explained to the reader.

Pappe’s book is a great way to try and get to grips with an exceptionally complex war influenced by a myriad of factors, including politics, cultural issues, external factors, and history.

“And therefore we should acknowledge that the Oslo process was not a fair and equal pursuit of peace, but a compromise agreed to by a defeated, colonized people.”

Ilan Pappe

25. A Homage To Catalonia by George Orwell

A Homage To Catalonia details George Orwell’s personal experience during the Spanish Civil War in which he thought on the side of the anti-fascist forces. Orwell’s personal story during the war covered a period from 1936-1937 and saw him train in Barcelona and fight in the Northern region of Aragon. Orwell’s experience changed his perspective about both fascism and communism.

Although the book is based on Orwell’s personal experience, it’s worth noting that many of the events are exaggerated or changed, so if you’re looking for a factual guide to the Spanish Civil War, this isn’t ideal. However, if you are looking for an engaging story about the Spanish Civil War written by one of the greatest British authors, A Homage To Catalonia should be on your reading list.

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”

George Orwell