G'day fellow BK'rs. I  thought I'd start this off. I'm sure we all have a wide range of tastes in reading so why not start a book list where BK members can post their favourite books and brief review. I'll start it off with some of my favorite warries.

Title: NASHO
Author: Michael Frazier
Published 1984 by Aries Imprint, Melbourne, Aus.
Brief Review: NASHO (aussie colloquialism for "Compulsory military training (abolished 1972). A youth undergoing such training (abbreviation of National Service)"  - from A dictionary of Australian Colloquialisms.
It is the Author's account of his National Service in Australia between 1969 - 1971 and his 253 days at Vietnam.

Title:The Battle of Long Tan
Author: Lex McAulay
Published 1987 by Arrow Books Ltd London
Brief review: It is a graphic and true account of the legendary battle in the Long Tan rubber plantation of Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam on a late afternoon 18 August 1966.. D Company of 6 RAR (Royal Australia Regiment) fought for their lives against an enemy strength of around 2500 VC. They held the line through the night till the APC’s  finally broke through and relieved. In the aftermath 18 Aussie diggers were killed and 24 wounded. Enemy casualties 245 Communist dead and 150 wounded.  A great read.

Title:The Battle of Coral
Author: Lex McAulay
Published 1988 by Century Hutchison Australia
Brief review: The book is the account of the 1st Australian Task Force’ actions around Fire Support Base Coral and Balmoral north east of Saigon for 26 days during May-June 1968. These actions consisting of patrolling, ambushing and dispersing the enemy, severely disrupted its attacks on Saigon. Once again an excellent read.

Title:Bravo Two Zero
Author: Andy McNabb (pseudonym)
Published 1993 by Bantam Press Great Britain
Brief review:  It is a personal account of the ill-fated secret mission of eight members of the British SAS Regiment. The mission in January 1991 was to infiltrate deep behind Iraqi enemy lines and “seek & destroy” enemy scud missile launchers. The mission was compromised with four members captured including the author, 3 died and one escaped (and made it to safe soil). Quite a remarkable and well written book.

Title:The One That Got Away
Author: Chris Ryan, M..M.
Published: 1995 by Century
Brief review: The author’s account of the BRAVO TWO ZERO (BTZ)on. As the title states he’s “the on that got away”. No love lost between the two BTZ mission members. This story is about the longest E & E (escape and evasion) in the history of the SAS. Gripping read.


Title:Immediate Action
Author: Andy McNabb (pseudonym)
Published 1995 by Bantam Press
Brief Review: This is Andy McNabb’s story of his life in the SAS. A good read.

Title: Vengeance
Author: George Jonas
Published 1984 by William Collins and Sons Great Britain
Brief Review:  I’ve read this at least 3 times since I purchased it in the 1980’s. It has been made into two films, one in the 80’s starring Steven Bauer titled “Sword of Gideon” and more recently “Munich” starring Aussie actor Eric Bana. The book is an amazing account of Israel’s retribution for the 1972 Munich Olympic Games massacre by the PLO. Worth the read.

Title: SAS Phantoms of the Jungle
Author: David Horner
Published 1989 by Allen and Unwin
Brief Review: This is the history of the Australian SAS (Special Service Regiment) from its inception, its secret role in Borneo, it’s operation in Vietnam (the VC named them “the phantoms of the jungle” and the NVA put a price on the head of any SAS trooper caught or killed) through to its anti-terrorist roles up to 1991.  This was a fascinating read for me as I knew some of the SAS members ho were my Instructors during my time with 2 Commando Company in the early 80’s.

Title: 18 Hours
Author: Sandra Lee
Published 2006 Harper Collins Australia
Brief Review: The author is a journalist and she wrote this story about Australian SAS signalman Martin (Jock) Wallace who received the MG (Medal of Gallantry) for his part in Operation Anaconda, the US-led military offensive against al Qaeda and Taliban in the Shahi Kot Valley, Afghanistan. This is the account of the enemy ambush on men from Charlie Company of the 1st Battalion 87th Infantry Regiment of which he was seconded to. In the 18 hours of fire-fight, Jock Wallace was able to call in fire-support and extraction of all the soldiers (and get this), not one US soldier died. Great read!

Title: Soldiers without Borders
Author: Ian McPhedran
Published 2008 Harper Collins Australia
Brief Review: This is the story of what happens to the elite members of the SAS after they leave the regiment. Not a pacey read but an interesting one as it illustrates how the skills of ex-regiment members has wide-ranging uses from corporate boards to guns for hire.


Title: Black Hawk Down
Author: Mark Bowden
Published 1999
Brief Review: I borrowed this book from a friend of mine before I saw the film. This is a graphic account of what was to be a snatch-and-run of  Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid in 1993 and his cohorts by the United States Army Rangers, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division and Delta Force.  Truly a great book. Personally, the film did it justice too.

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I just finished The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. Its a great book highly recommended. It is a bit dated talking about instant faxes in 2009 instead of emails.

If you are looking for a long read take a look at Pandora's Star by Peter F Hamilton. Its a very long book that you really have to be willing to get into but the pay off is worth it.

I'm always a fan of almost anything from Arther C Clark.

I'm also a huge fan of history books  take a look at Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship or anything from Stephen E. Ambrose.

Of course you can not forget Tom Clancy.

GOA.Luke*BK*

I plan on reading a warhammer 40k series my brother told me about... it's called The Horace Herasy or somethin like that. From what he said, the books are really good. And they're making a movie out of it too.

I don't read cos it give me a really bad head and i forget what happened on the page before, but my brother writes stories/short stories

It appears that we have similar tates in books.  There are several veitnam style books that I have read.  I can't remember too mnay of them off the top of my head.  I beleive one was 93 confirmed kills not sure about the author.  I was about a sniper in vietnam his name was carlos hatchcock

If you do nOt enjoy reading I highly recommend audio books. I use audible for a great place to download audio books.

GOA.Luke*BK*

I am a fan of John Grisham, Dean Koontz, and Stephen King......all different in style, I know. I am currently getting into Clive Cussler....reading Plague Ship right now. He is a secret agent 007 kinda writer.

I love chris ryan novels, very real feeling.

I read the John Ringo series the Paladin ones with Ghost, Kildar, Choosers of the Slain, Unto the breech, A deeper blue -These are great books great read, atleast for me it was, kept me going the whole time. Got them from my grandfather.
I read this one a while ago but I cannot remember what it was called! gosh...

Geez, it feels like its been years since I found the time to read a new book.  But I do have my favorites that I will read and reread until the day I die.  
There's a boy in the girls bathroom - Read it in the 5th grade and will never forget it.
Ender's game - The popular futuristic vision of a childrens boot camp.
Neverending Story - I dare you to find a book with more imagination.  Possibly my all-time favorite.
Battle Royale - Originally in Japanese, very violent and fast-paced book that never stops the "Must find out what happens next" feeling.   About a group of students sent to an abandoned island and forced to kill each other til the last man.
Homecoming series - from the same author as Ender's game.  Takes place 40 million years in the future where man is finding his way back to earth.
I enjoy many more, but these are the classics I've reread too many times to count.  Hmm, sci fi and fantasy seem to be the majority, but I'll read anything really.

I'm into Tom Clancy - Have read: The Hunt for Red October (big fan of Jack Ryan), Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, The Sum of all Fear (whilst in Thailand mid 90's) found it a hard read as very technical. But if you hang in there all comes together in the end. Without Remorse, Debt of Honour, Executive Orders and of course Rainbow Six. Incidentally, my very first PC game was Harpoon (Tom Clancy had his claws in that one).

Love Chris Ryan: Standby Stand By, Tenth Man Down, Blackout, Firefight, Ultimate Weapon.

I just started reading Hidden Empire by Kevin J. Anderson. I'm going threw it as an audio book and I'm only about 4hrs into the 20hr book but I'm really enjoying the book.

What are you reading?

GOA.Luke*BK*

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier By  Ishmael Beah.

The best book i have ever read in school.

Its  about a boy whose childhood was taken from  him because of a war.

That's all I am going to tell you, read the book to find out the rest.

I'm re-reading "The Dog's Mind" by Dr Bruce Fogle. Excellent resource if you want to learn about what makes your dog tick!