The 30 Best Books About War

For better or worse, conflict is an inherent part of human nature. So long as there have been people on this planet, we’ve been willing to kill and maim one another in order to get what we want. Over the centuries, however, society has managed to put up guards against the worst parts of ourselves by establishing and enforcing social norms. However, the few instances in which we allow ourselves to be as brutal and wicked as we truly are, is in war. Much of the appeal of novels, essays, and reported stories on war is driven not by a morbid curiosity in conflict so much as a desire to better know who we are, what we’re capable of, and what the cost of indulging in the most base parts of ourselves truly is.