With the U.S. currently embroiled in two major conflicts overseas, the perennially strong military history category has become even stronger. In recent decades, World War II books have been the category's moneymakers; before that, the Civil War. Not surprisingly, publishers are now concentrating their efforts on titles that examine struggles and triumphs in the Middle East.

While these new books intrigue the die-hard military enthusiast, many publishers note that they're also broadening the market by piquing the interest of younger readers and political junkies searching for intelligent pro- or antiwar arguments. Like Civil War and WWII studies, books about the current wars take numerous diverse approaches: this season's Iraq works range from garden-variety antiwar titles to a book on civilized interrogation techniques.

Not all books in the category cover specific conflicts; many deal with the topic of war in general. Coming next month from Presidio Press, for example, is The Culture of War by Martin van Creveld, professor of history at Hebrew University and author of numerous books on war and military history. PW's starred review called the book “a tour de force of scholarship and insight,” while Presidio Press editor Ryan Doherty calls it “a comprehensive account of the entire culture that surrounds war—clothing, celebration, art, literature, war games, decoration and more. Van Creveld argues that war isn't merely a means to an end, but rather a way of life. This perspective is important for military men and women who live and embrace this culture, but also for civilians to understand what it is to be a warrior.”

Bantam's 7 Deadly Scenarios: A Military Futurist Explores War in the 21st Century by Andrew Krepinevich not only explores the topic of war in general but attempts to predict what will happen in the coming years. According to the publisher, the January title “reveals the essential information needed to anticipate threats in a rapidly changing world.”

Because so much has been and will continue to be written about war, PW asked publishers what they looked for when giving a book the green light.

“Military history books tend to respond to three different moods,” says Crown executive editor Rick Horgan—“nostalgia, triumphalism and ironic processing.” Nostalgia relives the great wars of yesteryear, such as WWII, a war in which there was a clear line between good and evil, and good was able to triumph. Books dealing with triumphalism focus on current and recent success; because the U.S. military has struggled in its latest endeavors, the anemic Gulf War category is almost triumphalism's only representation. Ironic processing examines the absurdity of war and is likely to cover wars like Vietnam and the Civil War, two categories whose sales numbers have cooled off since the start of the all too absurd “war on terror.”

Bob Pigeon, executive editor at Da Capo Press, thinks what initially draws readers to the military history category is being able to examine what happens to ordinary men in extraordinary situations. “We're looking for those untold stories of ordinary men who find themselves in the crosshairs of history,” he explains, “soldiers whose stories are exciting, untold and will resonate with larger importance.” This notion helps explain the popularity of WWII titles, as the average American soldier, fighting on different continents, helped decide the fate of civilization.

Casemate managing editor Steve Smith argues that the era of the “citizen soldier” book is over. He notes a recent trend that dirties up the concept of war; no longer is every soldier a hero, every battle a victory and “soldiers kept their noses clean throughout.” Because of journalists and historians, books are now being written about the travesties of war—travesties that include friendly fire, disastrous attacks and torture, to name a few. “This does not at all diminish the courage and incredible travails of our troops sent overseas,” says Smith. “But experiences drawn from probing interviews tend to be more frank than experiences drawn by the soldiers themselves, with an eye toward legacy.”

“You expect terrific writing and scenes from the reporter, the carpentry of creating a dramatic narrative,” says Dutton executive editor Stephen Morrow. This dramatic narrative is what helps military history books find a ready audience. According to St. Martin's editor-in-chief George Witte, “Books intended for general audiences have bigger stories with beginnings, middles and ends. They read like exciting dramatic books as opposed to books that may be about a [narrower] subject with a narrative that doesn't have a dramatic structure.”

The dramas inherent in these titles is also what appeals to Mark Chait, editor at NAL Caliber, who says, “The appetite for great war stories is limitless. A gripping tale will stand out even if the market for certain categories... is not what it used to be.” This observation is what drew Chait to Chuck Larson's Heroes Among Us (Jan.), a collection of real-life, action-filled stories about today's most decorated soldiers.

For some publishers, however, it isn't who is telling the story but the story being told that is important. Gettysburg, Pearl Harbor and D-Day are universally considered to be exhausted stories. Rather than continue to reproduce books on the few watershed moments in America's military history, some publishers have made it their mission to publish little known or hard-to-find stories. “We tend to gravitate toward more obscure information,” says Osprey sales and marketing director John Tinterra. “That's a survival tactic now that information is so easily accessible on the Web.” Casemate's Smith agrees: “We look for untold events and perspectives and we're never inclined to just pursue old saws.”

Regardless of which types of books publishers choose, this category doesn't seem likely to slump any time soon. “There are an awful lot of people in this country who one way or another are affiliated with the military,” says Witte at St. Martin's. “If you think about it, all the former and current military personnel, all their families and extended families, all their friends.” This built-in readership allows publishers to take risks and try new things, some of which will fail miserably. But according to Tyshon Rogers, associate editor of the Military Book Club (whose membership totals over 90,000) no matter what style of books publishers authorize, readers will always respond to this simple thought: “Duty and sacrifice is something that everyone can agree on.”

Our Current Conflict

Whether or not the United States has succeeded in the war against terrorism remains a hot topic for debate, but no one can argue that the publishing industry hasn't done its job trying to make that debate an informed one. Scores of books have been written about the conflict in the Middle East, and sales numbers have soared. “This is not surprising given how many people are involved and how many stories come from it,” says Dutton's Morrow. “Given the large geopolitical efficacy and also the personal stories of the soldiers and civilians on the ground, this all makes for irresistible reading.”

The antiwar market is perhaps the largest of all war against terror subcategories. Simon & Schuster is leading the pack with two eagerly awaited titles. Scheduled for October release is Peter Galbraith's Unintended Consequences: How War in Iraq Strengthened America's Enemies. According to executive publicity director Victoria Meyer, Galbraith “describes the catastrophic aftermath that the next president will inherit and that will dominate the national conversation for the foreseeable future. He lays out in devastating detail the disastrous results for the U.S., Iraq, the region and the rest of the world.” Also due out this fall is Bob Woodward's embargoed Untitled on Bush, Volume IV, which Meyer says, “declassifies the secrets of America's political and military involvement in Iraq. This is also the most provocative and intimate examination of the Bush administration to date.”

Another title that examines the mistakes made in Iraq is How to Break a Terrorist: The U.S. Interrogators Who Used Brains, Not Brutality, to Take Down the Deadliest Man in Iraq by Matthew Alexander and John Bruning. Free Press publicity director Carisa Hays says this October release “provides a behind-the-scenes look at the clashes between the old guard and the new generation of interrogators and serves as a timely reminder that we do not have to become our enemies to defeat them.”

Grand Central Publishing will also release a title that urges safer and more ethical interrogation techniques. Fixing Hell: An Army Psychologist Confronts Abu Ghraib by Larry C. James (Sept.) is “an insightful and intense personal narrative of the veteran army psychologist who took the lessons he learned at Guantánamo and applied them to correcting the abuses he witnessed in Iraq,” says editor-in-chief Deb Futter. Zenith Press's Drowning in the Desert: A JAG's Search for Justice in Iraq by Vivian Gembara with her sister Deborah Gembara (Oct.) echoes what happens when “commanders place the fight above all else,” according to publisher Richard Kane. “This book is both a legal thriller and a searing account of savagery.”

Not all of the titles regarding the war against terror are politically motivated. In fact, two titles by different publishers illuminate what it's like to be a mercenary in Iraq. Big Boy Rules: America's Mercenaries Fighting in Iraq by Steve Fainaru (Da Capo, Nov.) “chronicles the rise of the industry of security contractors in Iraq,” says executive editor Bob Pigeon. Out this month from Broadway Books is Highway to Hell: Dispatches from a Mercenary in Iraq by John Geddes, “an unsparing account of the harrowing, often bloody and occasionally absurd adventures of mercenary life in the wild west of Iraq.”

Some publishers choose titles that celebrate soldiers and their victories. Random House's The Strongest Tribe: War, Politics and the Endgame in Iraq by Bing West takes perhaps the most optimistic view of what's happening in Iraq. Hailed by John McCain as “a fitting tribute to our soldiers,” The Strongest Tribe is based on West's six years of battlefield reporting and 14 extended trips to the region. According to executive editor Will Murphy, this August title “offers a substantive examination of how the Iraqi people, as well as the U.S. military, have turned things around. Its conclusions will inform the national conversation... while raising disturbing questions for the next president.”

In a Time of War: The Proud and Perilous Journey of West Point's Class of 2002 by Bill Murphy Jr. (Holt, Sept.) “is about introducing America to the small slice of our fellow citizens whose lives have been utterly defined by the war in Iraq,” says editor-at-large John Sterling. “This stirring account of the five years following their graduation from West Point reveals the rewards and costs of leading soldiers in the war on terror.”

One title that is more didactic than celebratory or polemic is Baghdad at Sunrise: A Brigade Commander's War in Iraq by Col. Peter R. Mansoor (Yale Univ., Sept.). According to the publisher, “This book offers comprehensive and enduring lessons for the U.S. military as it engages in war in the 21st century. It is an antidote to the polarizing politics that adds nuance to any discussion of how we should fight future wars.”

Another title that focuses on America's tactical shift is Iraq and the Evolution of American Strategy by Steven Metz (Potomac, Sept.), which, says the publisher, answers three overarching questions: “(1) How did the conflict with Iraq drive and shape broader changes in national security and military strategy? (2) Did policymakers and military leaders interpret the conflict correctly and make the most effective responses? (3) What does this process tell us about the process of change in America's national security and military strategy and in the evolution of its strategic culture?”

Not all books on Iraq fall into neatly organized categories. In The Sheriff of Ramadi (Naval Inst. Press, Oct.), former U.S. Navy SEAL Dick Couch follows the SEAL Task Unit in Iraq's Anbar Province between 2005 and 2007, chronicling the unit's deployment in the Battle of Ramadi. Calling the battle the most significant military engagement in the global war against terrorism since 9/11 and the most sustained and vicious engagement ever fought by SEALs, Couch describes the success of special operations forces/Navy SEALs fighting side by side with conventional forces.

Sniper One: On Scope and Under Siege with a Sniper Team in Iraq by Sgt. Dan Mills (St. Martin's, Sept.) depicts an 18-man sniper platoon that was “isolated, besieged and under constant fire,” says senior editor Marc Resnick. “This book is a breathtaking chronicle of endurance, camaraderie, dark humor and courage in the face of relentless, lethal assault.”

Back to World War II

“WWII still rules the roost regarding sales,” says Casemate's Smith. Dutton's Morrow agrees: “WWII books were supposed to stop selling in 1992,” he says, referring to the 50th anniversary of the initial U.S. involvement. “And that's just a reflection of how long I've been in the business; I'm sure they were supposed to stop selling long before then.” Why has this subcategory remained popular? Every publisher has a different yet equally valid answer. George Witte, St. Martin's editor-in-chief, notes the war's unambiguously positive outcome. Pigeon at Da Capo refers to WWII veterans as “quiet heroes” who are just recently beginning to tell their stories. “This was one war where America's participation has no moral question whatsoever,” says the Military Book Club's Rogers. Regardless of why the books sell so well, publishers agree that they show no signs of slowing down.

Casemate has no shortage of books on WWII. Published in May, Jeff Danby's Day of the Panzer: A Story of American Heroism and Sacrifice in Southern France depicts a “small but singular battle, a brief but bloody tank/infantry action in August 1944,” according to Smith. The book also portrays, he adds, “the courage of U.S. troops in their liberation of France.” A Foot Soldier for Patton: The Story of a “Red Diamond” Infantryman with the U.S. Third Army by Michael and James G. Bilder (Sept.) chronicles “day to day combat... in all its horror,” including a scene during which “laughter erupts when a hated Graves Registration officer... gets his head blown off by a German booby trap.”

Another reflection on the horrors of combat is Once Upon a Time in the War: The 99th Division in World War II (Univ. of Oklahoma, Sept.). With the help of interviews with surviving veterans, author Robert E. Humphrey retraced the 99th's path through Belgium and Germany. “Although focused on a single division, this book captures the experiences of all American GIs who fought in Europe,” says acquisitions editor Jay Dew. “For readers captivated by Band of Brothers, this book offers an often tragic, sometimes heartwarming, but always compelling read.”

One of the biggest titles in this category—11"×12" and 300 pages—covers one of the war's most pivotal events: Normandy: Breaching the Atlantic Wall—From D-Day to the Breakout and Liberation (Zenith, Sept.) is illustrated with more than 500 archival photos and a number of highly detailed color maps that were commissioned by the author, noted military historian Dominique François.

For readers interested in learning about more than one important battle, Parragon's just-published Great Battles of World War II: Military Encounters That Defined the Future by the editors of Parragon contains, says the publisher, “30 of the most famous land, air and sea battles and invasions. Each battle entry includes a fact box and location map, together with a historical overview.”

Military enthusiasts who are more interested in what was happening off the battlefield can turn to Hitler's Man in Havana: Heinz Lüning and Nazi Espionage in Latin America by Thomas D. Schoonover (Univ. Press of Kentucky, Sept.). In the words of publicity manager Mack McCormick, Hitler's Man “focuses on why America was so interested in the only Nazi spy executed in the region during the war.”

... and Earlier

While the most profitable—and generally bestselling—titles in this category tend to focus on the Civil War, WWII or the conflicts against terrorism, some publishers find it important to release titles on lesser-known conflicts and military leaders. Casemate's Steve Smith makes it his personal undertaking to seek out books on “topics other than Pearl Harbor.” The publisher, he says, “tends to focus on the 'history' part of war and military history. It's our mission, and also inclination, to offer readers subjects that we're fascinated by ourselves.” Casemate isn't the only publisher inclined to delve deeper than our country's three main conflicts.

Two books hitting shelves in November focus on legendary military leaders. Napoleon's Wars: An International History, 1803—1815 by Charles Esdaile (Viking) examines “what made European countries fight each other for so long and with such devastating results,” says publicity director Carolyn Coleburn. “No military figure in history has been quite as polarizing as Napoleon Bonaparte. Was he a monster, driven by an endless, ruinous quest for military glory?” Commander of the Faithful: The Life and Times of Emir Abd el-Kader by John W. Kiser (Monkfish, Nov.) is, according to the publisher, “both a biography of its main character and a history of the Arab/Muslim resistance he led to the French colonization of Algeria in the mid-1800s.” Upon el-Kader's death in 1883, the New York Times hailed him as “one of the few great men of the century.”

Rather than focusing on an individual, National Geographic Books has chosen to highlight an entire race of people with Warriors in Uniform: The Legacy of American Indian Heroism by Herman J. Viola. Executive editor Barbara Brownell Grogan describes the November release as “a page-turning epic and a stunning gallery of never-before-seen artifacts from personal collections. As the only book to cover Native American warriors from the 1700s to the present, it stands out.”

For those readers who require their books to have the words Semper Fi written somewhere between the pages, Atlantic Monthly is publishing The Last Stand of Fox Company: A True Story of U.S. Marines in Combat by Bob Drury and Tom Calvin. President and publisher Morgan Entrekin calls this January title “the incredible story of 250 Marines who in November 1950 held a strategic pass for five days against an attacking force of an estimated 10,000 Chinese soldiers, allowing the First Marine Division to avoid being overrun. It is a 20th century version of the Spartan 300's stand at Thermopylae.”

Can't wait for the next 007 movie to hit theaters? Check out Dutton's Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs from Communism to Al-Qaeda by Robert Wallace and H. Keith Melton with Henry Robert Schlesinger—in executive editor Stephen Morrow's words, “the true success story of how American ingenuity transformed classic tradecraft through applied technology. Whether you're an adventure reader or scholar, Spycraft not only opens a window on the history of spying, it also opens a looking glass into the future of modern espionage.”

While not strictly within the military history boundaries, two new young adult books address a critically important audience—potential enlistees. A recent release from Scarecrow Press (an imprint of the Rowman & Littlefield group), The Military and Teens by Kathlyn Gay, says publisher Edward Kurdyla, is “a balanced, thoughtful but brutally honest guide for teens interested in joining the military.”

Candlewick's War Is... Soldiers, Survivors and Storytellers Talk About War, edited by Marc Aronson and Patty Campbell, collects essays, memoirs and letters ranging from Christian Bauman's “Letter to a Young Enlistee” to contributions by Mark Twain and WWII correspondent Ernie Pyle. Says associate publisher and editorial director Liz Bicknell, “We're a nation at war, but I don't hear many teenagers discussing the topic; publishing this blunt, even-handed anthology will, I hope, provoke a worthwhile dialogue among kids about whether or not to join up.”

Entrekin at Grove/Atlantic, who's been reading war books “since I was young,” thinks they will “always be popular, especially among male readers. There is something so stirring reading about acts of heroism, small and large, about men facing danger, about the camaraderie and bonds of men under fire. As Robert E. Lee said, 'It is a good thing war is so terrible, or men would come to love it.' Or something to that effect.”

1 Easy Company Soldier: The Legendary Battles of a Sergeant from World War II's “Band of Brothers”by Don Malarkey with Bob Welch; St. Martin's; May 2008
2 A Terrible Glory: Custer and the Little Bighorn --The Last Great Battle of the American Westby Donovan James; Little, Brown; Mar. 2008
3 HOGS in the Shadows: Combat Stories from Marine Snipers in Iraqby Milo S. Afong; Berkley; Dec. 2007
4 Call of Duty: My Life Before, During and After the Band of Brothersby Lt. Lynn “Buck” Compton and Marcus Brotherton; Berkley Caliber; May 2008
5 Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10by Marcus Luttrell; Little, Brown; June 2007
6 Hell's Islands: The Untold Story of Guadalcanalby Stanley Coleman Jersey; Texas A&M Univ. Press; Jan. 2008
7 All Hands Down: The True Story of the Soviet Attack on the USSScorpionby Kenneth Sewell; Simon & Schuster; Apr 2008
8 Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944— 45by Max Hastings; Knopf; Mar. 2008
9 Trigger Men: Shadow Team, Spider-Man, the Magnificent Bastards, and the American Combat Sniperby Hans Halberstadt; St. Martin's; Mar. 2008
10 To Conquer Hell: The Meuse-Argonne, 1918by Edward G. Lengel; Holt Jan. 2008


They Were There: Memoirs
With the current proliferation of memoirs (PW's current nonfiction and trade paperback bestseller charts include six), it's no surprise that many tell the personal stories of war veterans from both current and past conflicts. Says Walter Haan, publisher of Southfarm Press in Middletown, Conn., “Through military combinations of cunning, bravery, luck and adaptation to an enemy's mindset, veterans' survival and their stories are part of the bedrock of our national existence.” In the words of Don Bracken, president of History Publishing Company in Palisades, N.Y., “The memoirs of those who witnessed or played a part in making history are a firsthand source of information for researchers seeking the factual truth of historical events.”

Coming in October from History Publishing is A Lovely Little War: Life in a Japanese Prison Camp Through the Eyes of a Child, which tells the story of Angus Lorenzen, who from the age of seven spent 1,112 days as a captive of the Japanese Imperial Army during WWII. Lorenzen was recently elected Southern California commander of the civilian chapter of the national organization that serves American ex-POWs; he took office in January 2008.

Arvy Guerin was caught up with the glamour of the Marine Corps when the U.S. entered WWII. His father had to give permission for his 17-year-old son to join, and eventually young Guerin found himself being trained to hit the beach at Iwo Jima. His memoir, Walking Through Fire: An Iwo Jima Survivor's Remembrance, as told to his wife, Gale Guerin, is due in October from McKenna Publishing Group in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Another story of a teenager serving in WWII is ZigZag Pass: Love and War by Leon Hesser, who recounts his experiences as an infantryman in the Pacific and his later service in the occupation army in Japan. This October title from Bavender Press in Naples, Fla., has a happy ending: Hesser returned home and married the girl he left behind—as soon as he turned 21.

Set in the same time period is Unknown Soldiers: Reliving World War II in Europe by Joseph Garland (Protean Press, Nov.), who fought with the famed 45th Infantry division. The book, explains publicist Carol Fass, began as a war diary started in 1943, but Garland later felt compelled to turn it into the collective memoir of his platoon's survivors. Protean's founder and president, Laura Fillmore, calls the book “startlingly relevant. Now more than ever we need to tap the wisdom of our elders, learning firsthand from the dogfaces who fought the last 'good' war, the horrors that await us if we shun peaceful means of conflict resolution.”

Monk's War in Vietnam: An 18-Year-Old's Story from the Rice Paddies, coming in January from Southfarm Press, pulls no punches, says publisher Haan, in its stories of “young men with nicknames like Gunny, Mushy, Hog, Broccoli and Eyes. Author Frank M Beyea was called Monk, and occasionally, Dumb Ass.”

Coming from Chicago's Third World Press is No Reason for Dying: A Reluctant Pilot's Inconvenient Truth, a November release in which, in the words of company v-p Bennett J. Johnson, “Captain Brian Settles, an African-American fighter pilot in Vietnam in 1968, details his conflicts in waging a war for democracy in a foreign land while the struggle for civil rights to bring democracy to Black citizens in his native land was at its zenith.”

Berkley Caliber senior executive editor Natalee Rosenstein reports that the memoirs that continually do well are those that combine first-person combat experiences with the lessons learned from them. “It's always a popular military tale that emphasizes the uncommon bonds of soldiers in a company and their rag-tag 'good' fight against 'evil.' ” One title with these characteristics is Berkley Caliber's just published trade paper reprint of Evan Wright's Generation Kill, which centers on the marines of the First Recon Battalion, called into action immediately after 9/11. (HBO's vivid seven-part miniseries based on the book concludes this coming Sunday.)

Due in October is Berkley Caliber's If Not Now, When? Duty and Sacrifice in America's Time of Need by Col. Jack Jacobs (Ret.), the author's heroic story of survival and unlikely victory with his battalion in South Vietnam, for which he received the Medal of Honor. Says Rosenstein, “The overriding message is Jacobs's notion of sacrifice.... He questions whether giving everything you have to protect your country can still be treated with the honor and respect it deserves.”

Out this month from Osprey Publishing, Counterfeiter: How a Norwegian Jew Survived the Holocaust by Moritz Nachtstern and Ragnar Arntzen, trans. by Margrit Rosenberg Stenge, is the first English-language translation of a memoir by one of the survivors of the Nazis' Operation Bernhard. Focusing on the top-secret cell block that was home to the largest counterfeiting operation the world has ever seen, explains sales and marketing director John Tintera, “Counterfeiter is Nachtstern's moving personal account of his Holocaust experiences, from the time of his deportation in 1942 to his release by the Americans near the end of the war.”

—Dick Donahue