Military history plays a critical role in helping us understand and learn from past geopolitical conflicts. It helps us comprehend who we are as a nation and the events that have shaped our identity. Reading books on military history is also a way for us to remember and honor the sacrifices of those who have fought to preserve our freedom.

For all these reasons and more, books on military history continue to be quite popular among readers.

As Bret C. Devereaux, an ancient and military historian who teaches at North Carolina State University, writes: “War and conflict deeply [influence] societies … and to the degree that we think understanding those societies is important, it is also important to understand their conflicts.”

When people hear the term “military history,” they might think of books describing the course of battles or the movements of armies. But military history is a broad and fertile topic, exploring the history of conflicts through a variety of lenses—from inspiring memoirs recalling feats of bravery to firsthand descriptions of appalling and brutal conditions.

The military histories being released this year include a moving personal account of World War II from one of the last surviving members of the Greatest Generation; the true story of a prisoner-of-war in Vietnam who memorized information about 250 fellow captives using a popular nursery rhyme; a richly illustrated gallery of swords and armor from famous Japanese samurai warriors; and an autobiographical novel that explores the intersection of military history, homosexuality, and mental illness in a postwar VA hospital.

Here are some of the notable military history works from key publishers this year.

Globe Pequot

Based in Connecticut, Globe Pequot was founded in 1947 as The Pequot Press. Now owned by Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Globe Pequot is known for its books on the outdoors and military history, in particular. The company publishes about 600 new titles annually.

Globe Pequot imprint Stackpole Books has been publishing books on military history since 1930. The Unlikely War Hero: A Vietnam War POW’s Story of Courage and Resilience in the Hanoi Hilton by Marc Leepson, December 2024, ISBN 9780811772921, is a forthcoming Stackpole title that tells the incredible story of the youngest and lowest-ranking American prisoner-of-war (POW) captured in North Vietnam.

Doug Hegdahl managed to convince his captors that he was stupid, and then spent the next two years memorizing the names of 254 fellow prisoners and other details of POW life to the tune of “Old MacDonald.” Upon his release, Hegdahl’s information helped improve the lives of those who were still in captivity.

Another Stackpole title, Savage Skies, Emerald Hell: The U.S., Japan, and the Ferocious Air Battle for New Guinea in World War II by Jay A. Stout, December 2024, ISBN 9780811775632, describes the dramatic air combat that won the U.S. fight for New Guinea in the Pacific. It includes descriptions of equipment and accounts from fighter, bomber, transport, and support crews, and places their actions within the war’s broader context. The author is a retired Marine Corps pilot and a leading writer on World War II.

“This book embodies what Stackpole is all about,” Senior Acquisitions Editor Dave Reisch says. “It’s a strong and evocative narrative of World War II, written by a passionate and uniquely qualified author.”

Lyons Press is a Globe Pequot imprint that launched in 1984, known for its books on sports, hunting, fishing, and American history. Lyons publishes about a dozen military history books per year. This year, it’s publishing two new military history-themed titles in its “Great American Stories” series, both edited by Tom McCarthy.

Great American World War II Stories, June 2024, ISBN 9781493081462, is an anthology of stories chosen from among the most moving battle accounts written about American heroism during World War II. These gripping stories bring readers to the front lines in inspiring detail, providing insight into what it was like on Omaha Beach on D-Day and in the battle of Iwo Jima. But there are also lesser-known stories as well, such as that of the U.S.S. Nautilus, which engaged the Japanese on 14 different patrols—from the Battle of Midway to the liberation of the Philippines.

Great American Wartime Survival Stories, October 2024, ISBN 9781493084302, is a collection of ten riveting stories of survival and perseverance from the American Revolution and the U.S. Civil War to World Wars I and II. These remarkable tales of strength and resilience include the accounts of survivors of the torpedoed U.S.S. Indianapolis, floating in the shark-infested waters of the Pacific Ocean before their rescue.

Don Troiani's Black Soldiers in America's Wars: 1754–1865 by Don Troiani and John U. Rees with James L. Kochan, January 2025, ISBN 9780811773713, is also a Stackpole title. It combines the battle paintings of nationally renowned military artist Don Troiani with insightful text from historian John Rees, to highlight the role of underrecognized Black soldiers in America’s early wars.

Casemate Publishers

Founded in 2001 and based in Philadelphia, Casemate specializes in publishing military history books, with a focus on leadership, naval warfare, biographies, and more. The company publishes about 70 military history titles per year. “We’re one of the foremost military history publishers in the world,” Marketing Director Daniel Yesilonis says.

Mission Iran: Special Forces Berlin & Operation Eagle Claw, JTF 1-79 by James Stejskal, June 2024, ISBN 9781636243337, is a behind-the-scenes look at the failed attempt to rescue the U.S. hostages in Iran in April 1980. “What makes this book special is that it has firsthand, never-before-published accounts from many of the special forces operatives who were involved,” Yesilonis says. In his unique role as a historian, a former CIA employee, and a veteran of the special forces himself, the author has exclusive access and insight into the mission’s planning and participants that others wouldn’t be able to achieve.

As the years pass, there are fewer and fewer World War II veterans remaining. Surviving Three Shermans With the 3rd Armored Division into the Battle of the Bulge: What I Didn’t Tell Mother About My War by Walter Boston Stitt Jr., edited by Dr. Jessica L. George, July 2024, ISBN 9781636244280, is an opportunity to learn from one of the last surviving members of the Greatest Generation.

Timed to coincide with the author’s 100th birthday, the idea for this memoir was inspired by Stitt’s daughter reading some of the letters he'd written to his mother during the war—and Stitt realizing they were highly sanitized versions of what really happened. “The book gives readers a glimpse into the difference between how the war was reported on and perceived at home, and how it was really experienced,” Yesilonis says.

Given how long the United States spent in Iraq, the common perception is that the U.S. didn’t have a clear plan for what should be done after coalition forces removed Saddam Hussein from power. In Expectation of Valor: Planning for the Iraq War by Colonel Kevin C.M. Benson (Ret.), July 2024, ISBN 9781636244266, the author sets the record straight by describing the planning his forces did before the war—and how mismanagement in Washington, D.C. undermined those efforts.

Hirsch Giovanni Publishing

Founded in 2019 as a movie production and entertainment company, Hirsch Giovanni has expanded into publishing with the June 4 release of the Fritz Peters Collection. By republishing five key Fritz Peters works, Hirsch Giovanni is bringing this pioneering queer author from the mid-20th century back into the national spotlight. One of his works, in particular, has important implications for military history.

Born in Wisconsin in 1913, Peter was adopted by his mother’s sister, Margaret Anderson, and her partner Jane Heap, both editors of The Little Review , Peters came of age around literary giants such as Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein. He served in France during World War II and then returned to the U.S., where he became a successful author.

Peters’ first novel, The World Next Door, ISBN 9781957241128, originally published in 1949, was acclaimed for its frank depiction of war-related trauma and the medical protocols for treating PTSD at the time. “It’s a moving narrative of the aftermath of war,” says Hirsch Giovanni Creative Executive Alexandra Carbone, who is also the managing editor of the Fritz Peters Collection.

Based on Peters’ own experience in a VA hospital in New Jersey, the book is narrated stream-of-consciousness style from the point of view of a World War II veteran who’s suffering from a nervous breakdown. It describes electroshock therapy, restraint with wet blankets, and other treatments that Peters himself experienced.

Peters served in the military at a time when homosexuality was pathologized as a mental illness, and The World Next Door also addresses this topic. “Fritz’s first-hand account of attitudes towards homosexuality and the realities of homosexual soldiers on the VA mental ward in postwar America is compelling reportage relevant to both U.S. and queer history,” Carbone writes in the book’s afterword.

The other books in the Fritz Peters Collection include Finistère , 1951, ISBN 9781957241081, a gay masterpiece about a young man who falls in love with his teacher; The Descent, 1952, ISBN 9781957241067, a vivid look at post-World War II America; and two memoirs, Boyhood with Gurdjieff, 1964, ISBN 9781957241043, which explores young Peters’ relationship with the guru Gurdjieff, and Gurdjieff Remembered, 1971, ISBN 9781957241104, a sequel taking place shortly after World War II.

Tuttle Publishing

Tuttle Publishing was founded in 1832 in Rutland, Vermont, making it one of the oldest American publishers still operating today. Since 1948, when Tuttle established a publishing outpost in Japan, the company has become a leader in producing English-language books about the arts, languages, and cultures of Asia—including books about Japanese military history.

Japan’s Longest Day: A Graphic Novel About the End of WWII by Yukinobu Hoshino, April 2024, ISBN 9784805317792, is a manga adaptation of a 1965 novel by Kazutoshi Hando. Based on actual events, the book is a fictionalized account of the hours leading up to the broadcast of Emperor Hirohito’s surrender ending World War II.

Prior to the broadcast, a group of fanatical army officers attempted a coup to prevent the emperor from surrendering. The uprising was unsuccessful, and the officers committed ritualistic suicide. “Even though it’s a graphic novel, it reads like a historical account,” Editor Robert Goforth says.

In Japanese Swords and Armor: Masterpieces from Thirty of Japan's Most Famous Samurai Warriors , October 2024, ISBN 9784805318386, Samurai sword expert Paul Martin presents a gallery of magnificent blades, fittings, and armor belonging to actual Japanese warriors and leaders from the 12th to the 20th centuries. They include pieces from Miyamoto Musashi, a 17th-century warrior who wrote The Book of Five Rings and is famous for having never lost a duel, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, the original shogun. An introduction by Martin discusses the weaponry’s historical significance.

“This is a coffee table book of the highest order,” Goforth says. “It features some of the most important pieces that exist in Japan.”

In the critically acclaimed FX/Hulu series Shogun, audiences watch producer Hiroyuki Sanada star as military leader Lord Yoshi Toranaga, based on the real life of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Shogun: The Life and Times of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japan’s Greatest Rulerby A. L. Sadler, originally published in 1937, ISBN 9784805317174, is considered the authoritative biography of Tokugawa, who seized power and united Japan in an era of peace through dictatorship in the early 1600s. In October 2022, Tuttle published a new edition of Sadler’s book that features a foreword by leading Japanese military historian Alexander Bennett.



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