<p>A while ago I came across what is now my favorite book, Starship Troopers. Before you think anything, it is not exactly like the movie. The book was released in 1959 while the movie was loosely based off it in 1997. Some things are the same but the plot is presented quite differently. Overall I have to say that the book is a lot better than the movie. I'm not a person who likes to think deeply or analyze a subject, which is exactly what the author, Robert A. Heinlein, does. So one might think that I would hate this book, but Heinlein presents what I believe to be such incredible insights that I was completely blown away. If you look up Starship Troopers on wikipedia you will see that it is quite popular in the millitary and is on the reading list of four of the five U.S Military Academies, including West Point. I know wikipedia isn't 100% reliable but I doubt someone would make this stuff up. So, I highly recommend to anyone looking to get into West Point and even people who are not, to read this book.</p>
<p>Another book that I think would be good, was introduced to me by my English teacher. It is titled The Guns of August. I have not read it yet but I know that is highly acclaimed and I look forward to reading it. I find this kind of funny, but I am fascinated by the title which has run through my mind several times a day since I learned about the book a few days ago.</p>
<p>You're correct. The book is very different from the movie. It's really about the virtues of the military rather than the bug wars of the movie. If I recall Robert Heinlein had a Naval background.</p>
<p>Caine Mutiny. It won a Pultizer i think. Its a novel
Its about Navy. but it really gives you a perspective about the need to preserve things the way they are. u might find the themes interesting</p>
<p>There's a great book which I read recently written by a woman on the English faculty at West Point. It's about reading the literature of war and warriors and the myths of war with the students at West Point. She tackles the whole question of whether war is still heroic and character building and the resonance that this literature (from the epic of gilgamesh up to things like catch 22) has on the west point campus. The book is called "Soldier's Heart: Reading Literature Through Peace and War." It's phenomenal and she sounds like a great teacher and really interesting woman.</p>
<p>I second the recommendation for this book. I'm almost finished with it, and I've found it fascinating on many levels - West Point, the military in general, ethics, to name a few. One does not immediately think of literature as being a fundamental part of a West Point education, but by hiring teachers like Elizabeth Samet, the Academy has demonstrated awareness of its significance.</p>
<p>The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education (Penguin USA)
by Craig M. Mullaney (Author)</p>
<p>I've heard great things about this book, which just came out and I have on order. </p>
<p>Mullaney is a WP grad and Rhodes Scholar who taught @ USNA and served in Afghanistan. The pre-reviews on Unforgiving Minute are just amazing (from the reviewers as diverse as Rolling Stone, General Petraeus, and Vanity Fair). </p>
<p>I'm a USNA mother w/ no motive for recommending this -- it's just tough to find reading re: any Academy, and this sounds like something special. Plus this first-time author sounds like a real talent and a great guy, and I hope he's successful.</p>
<p>Try "Duty First" and "In a Time of War"---both books specifically about West Point and some of its cadets and graduates. The former focuses on the West Point experience with the latter focusing on several graduates of WP's class of 2002 and their sacrifice in Iraq.</p>
<p>I found Duty First the single best description of life at West Point, especially life during Beast.
In a Time of War is not for the faint of heart--it a brutally honest depiction.</p>
<p>I thought in a time of war was in incredible book; i read it in iraq and it was incredible how it brought back memories of west point. that being said, due to the officers he focused on, i thought in the end it left me feeling somewhat down. i know there's been a discussion on this before, and i really dont think that murphy was trying to push an anti war agenda, but so many of the characters he focused on die, get wounded badly, or are dead set on getting out; i can only really think of one officer he focused on that was staying in. the impression it left me with was that he was portraying that the class was all getting out because of the war, and i dont think thats the case. like i said, it was a great book, truly well done, but that was the only detraction for me. i've always loved absolutely american, a great account of life at the academy, i read it as a yuk and it just made me think 'yep, thats how it is.' the best of the USMA books, i believe, is the long gray line. Truly incredible book covering an amazing year group that spanned such a diverse range of paths later on in life.</p>
<p>Duty First was the worst book I read about WP. The author picked WP cadets who died and backed into the story. As an earlier poster said, there were few interviews with cadets who had fun at WP.</p>
<p>One of the soldiers in "In Time of War" is the son of a friend of ours who was killed in 2003. The family is about as far from the "anti-war" crowd as you can get. I thought the book was certainly disturbing in its vivid descriptions of what those particular officers experienced, but like Screaming Eagle said, I don't consider it "anti-war" in the sense of a political agenda. War is likely as he describes----something to avoid if possible----</p>
<p>Pedro--do you mean Duty First or In a Time of War? I dont't remember anyone dying in Duty First (?)</p>
<p>I was thinking of "Time of War". And I was not implying that the soldiers and families depicted were less than the finest of people-I just thought the author made them come off as whiney or naive. Complaining about postings and things like that. Emphasizing the tragic story of the depressed widow. Just my opinion.</p>
<p>I thought "In a Time of War" was an excellent book because it plainly lays out some of the things you might run into as an officer and it is a story that some people may find cliche, but the fact is, its happening as most of us live our lives unaware of what they go through. </p>
<p>But to balance out the other side of the experiance, "Absolutely American" is a very entertaining book about daily life at USMA, albeit its rather positive way of projecting the thoughts and lives of the cadets.</p>