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Recommendations based on Gates of Fireby Steven Pressfield
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
The Killer Angels
by Michael Shaara
A gripping story of the Battle of Gettysburg, told through the eyes of the soldiers on both sides.
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain , one of the major characters, remembers reciting to his father a speech from, Hamlet, : "What a piece of work is man...in action how like an angel!" Sgt. Buster Kilrain ... (Wikipedia)
The Name of the Rose
by Umberto Eco
A Franciscan friar investigates a series of murders in a medieval monastery, uncovering a sinister plot.
In 1327, Franciscan friar William of Baskerville and Adso of Melk , a Benedictine novice travelling under his protection, arrive at a Benedictine monastery in Northern Italy to attend a theological ... (Wikipedia)
Genghis: Birth of an Empire
by Conn Iggulden
Epic tale of a determined man's rise to power, uniting many nomadic tribes into a powerful Mongol nation.
He was born Temujin, the son of a khan, raised in a clan of hunters migrating across the rugged steppe. Temujin's young life was shaped by a series of brutal acts: the betrayal of his father by a ... (Goodreads)
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
by Max Brooks
A collection of interviews recounting tales of the zombie apocalypse.
It has been nearly twenty years since the start of the apocalyptic worldwide pandemic known as the Zombie War, and about ten years since the war has ended in humanity's victory. The framing device ... (Wikipedia)
All Quiet on the Western Front
by Erich Maria Remarque
A soldier's harrowing experience of the horrors of war.
The book tells the story of Paul Bäumer, who belongs to a group of German soldiers on the Western Front during World War I . The patriotic speeches of his teacher Kantorek had led the whole class to ... (Wikipedia)
The Hunt for Red October
by Tom Clancy
A thrilling adventure of a submarine captain's race against the clock in a thrilling game of cat and mouse.
During the Cold War ,(the story must be set in 1982, according to the days assigned to the dates in the novel, e.g. Dec. 17 was a Friday only in 1982,1976 and 1971 ) Marko Ramius, a Soviet Navy ... (Wikipedia)
300
by Frank Miller
Epic battle between 300 Spartan warriors against an invading Persian army.
The armies of Persia—a vast horde greater than any the world has ever known—are poised to crush Greece, an island of reason and freedom in a sea of madness and tyranny. Standing between Greece and ... (Barnes & Noble)
Lord of the Silver Bow
by David Gemmell
Epic adventure of a young Greek prince facing a war of mythic proportions.
He is a man of many names. Some call him the Golden One; others, the Lord of the Silver Bow. To the Dardanians, he is Prince Aeneas. But to his friends, he is Helikaon . Strong, fast, quick of mind, ... (Goodreads)
The Day of the Jackal
by Frederick Forsyth
An assassin attempts to kill the president of France in a thrilling race against time.
The book begins in 1962 with the (historical) failed attempt on de Gaulle 's life plotted by, among others, Lieutenant-Colonel Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry in the Paris suburb of Petit-Clamart : ... (Wikipedia)
The Forever War
by Joe Haldeman
A soldier's story of the horror of war and its consequences in the far future.
The monumental Hugo and Nebula award winning SF classic— Featuring a new introduction by John Scalzi,The Earth's leaders have drawn a line in the interstellar sand—despite the fact that the fierce ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Silmarillion
by J.R.R. Tolkien
Epic saga of the history of Middle-Earth, a world filled with mythical creatures.
The Silmarillion is an account of the Elder Days, of the First Age of Tolkien’s world. It is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back, and in whose events some of ... (Goodreads)
The Three Musketeers
by Alexandre Dumas
An adventurous tale of friendship, courage, and battle in 17th century France.
In 1625 France, d'Artagnan leaves his family in Gascony and travels to Paris to join the Musketeers of the Guard . At a house in Meung-sur-Loire , an older man derides d'Artagnan's horse. Insulted, ... (Wikipedia)
Lords of the North
by Bernard Cornwell
A thrilling historical fiction of warriors, love and battles in 9th century England.
878 – 881: Uhtred of Bebbanburg makes his way back to his native Northumbria seeking revenge against his uncle Ælfric and childhood enemies Sven the One-Eyed and Kjartan the Cruel. He travels by ship ... (Wikipedia)
The Last Kingdom
by Bernard Cornwell
Epic tale of a Saxon warrior's quest to reclaim his birthright and unite the divided kingdom.
A collection of the first four installments of Bernard Cornwell’s bestselling series chronicling the epic saga of the making of England, “like Game of Thrones, but real” (,The Observer, London)—the ... (Barnes & Noble)
Starship Troopers
by Robert A. Heinlein
A futuristic military drama, exploring the consequences of war and human nature.
The novel opens with Rico aboard the corvette transport Rodger Young (named after Medal of Honor recipient Rodger Wilton Young ), , serving with the platoon known as "Rasczak's Roughnecks". The ... (Wikipedia)
Gods and Generals
by Jeff Shaara
Epic saga of the American Civil War, recounting the experiences of its heroes and leaders.
Copying his father's approach of focusing on the most important officers of the two armies ( General Robert E. Lee , Major General Winfield Scott Hancock , Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson , ... (Wikipedia)
Origin
by Dan Brown
An exploration of secret societies and history, uncovering dark secrets of the past.
Edmond Kirsch, a billionaire philanthropist, computer scientist and futurist , as well as a strident atheist , attends a meeting in Catalonia ( Spain ) with Roman Catholic Bishop Antonio Valdespino, ... (Wikipedia)
No Country for Old Men
by Cormac McCarthy
A gripping tale of violence and pursuit in Texas' desolate landscape.
The plot follows the interweaving paths of the three central characters (Llewelyn Moss, Anton Chigurh , and Ed Tom Bell) set in motion by events related to a drug deal gone bad near the ... (Wikipedia)
A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow
by George R.R. Martin
Epic fantasy saga of war, knights, and dragons.
A Storm of Swords picks up the story slightly before the end of its predecessor, A Clash of Kings . The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros are still in the grip of the War of the Five Kings , , wherein ... (Wikipedia)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
by Hunter S. Thompson
A wild and hallucinatory journey through the seedy underbelly of Las Vegas.
The basic synopsis revolves around journalist Raoul Duke ( Hunter S. Thompson ) and his attorney, Dr. Gonzo ( Oscar Zeta Acosta ), as they arrive in Las Vegas in 1971 to report on the Mint 400 ... (Wikipedia)
Foundation
by Isaac Asimov
Exploring the possibilities of a galactic empire in a future driven by science and technology.
For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future – to a dark age ... (Goodreads)
Heart of Darkness
by Joseph Conrad
A journey into the depths of the human psyche, exploring the darkness of colonialism.
Aboard the Nellie , anchored in the River Thames near Gravesend , Charles Marlow tells his fellow sailors how he became captain of a river steamboat for an ivory trading company. As a child, Marlow ... (Wikipedia)
I, Claudius
by Robert Graves
An epic tale of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, told through the eyes of a dynasty's forgotten leader.
Into the 'autobiography' of Clau-Clau-Claudius, the pitiful stammerer who was destined to become Emperor in spite of himself, Graves packs the everlasting intrigues, the depravity, the bloody purges ... (Goodreads)
Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome
by Robert Harris
A fictionalized account of the life of Cicero, a Roman lawyer and orator, during the tumultuous period of Julius Caesar's rise to power.
Part One – Senator – 79–70 BC The book opens with Tiro , the secretary of Marcus Tullius Cicero and the book's narrator, looking back in time over the thirty-six years he was with his master. They ... (Wikipedia)
The Shadow Rising
by Robert Jordan
Epic fantasy adventure as a group of heroes battle forces of evil to protect the world from destruction.
Rand al'Thor has just claimed the crystal sword Callandor to prove himself the Dragon Reborn . He is approached by Lanfear , who tells him of the Forsaken's plans. However, the fortress known as the ... (Wikipedia)
Knife of Dreams
by Robert Jordan
Epic fantasy adventure as a young man embarks on a quest to save the world from destruction.
This volume of, The Wheel of Time, depicts several distinct plots. Unusual Trolloc attacks, the dead walking, ripples in the fabric of the world and other events seem to indicate that the Last Battle ... (Wikipedia)
The Heroes
by Joe Abercrombie
A dark fantasy tale of a war-torn kingdom, with a band of characters on a quest for glory.
They say Black Dow's killed more men than winter, and clawed his way to the throne of the North up a hill of skulls. The King of the Union, ever a jealous neighbor, is not about to stand smiling by ... (Barnes & Noble)
Without Remorse
by Tom Clancy
John Kelly, a former Navy SEAL, seeks revenge against drug dealers who killed his girlfriend. A thrilling action-packed novel.
In 1970, former Navy SEAL "frogman" John Kelly, who recently lost his pregnant wife Patricia in a car accident, picks up a hitchhiker named Pam on his way to his home on Battery Island in the ... (Wikipedia)
