Publisher’s note: The Texas Lawbook is pleased to offer this new column in partnership with Texas-based Half Price Books sharing our readers’ favorite reads. “My Five Favorite Books” will publish every other Wednesday. Please email brooks.igo@texaslawbook.net for more information.
The bulk of what I read is history, so listing my top books with a connection to Veteran’s Day is difficult. There are so many good ones out there. But here are five books that stand out to me:
A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East by David Fromkin. Given that Veteran’s Day grew out of World War I, a book discussing the lasting repercussions of that war is first on my list. I read this book on my first deployment in the Navy as I tried to understand the political history of the Middle East. This book explains how today’s tensions in the region persist from maps drawn by the Great Powers over 100 years ago. Click here for more info.
An Army at Dawn by Rick Atkinson. This is the first book in the preeminent World War II trilogy that begins with a United States completely unready for war. The book walks through the early days of American engagement, with early battles in North Africa against the French, followed by Germans and Italians. Rick Atkinson details the massive errors in judgment that came from inexperience and the hard lessons that were required to build the fighting force that was eventually forged. Click here for more info.
Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins. Half memoir, half motivational book, David Goggins reveals that your mind is your greatest limitation. He shares how he endured not just a trauma-filled childhood, but air combat controller, BUD/S, and Ranger training to become one of the world’s most renowned endurance athletes. The book is fantastic, and the audiobook, structured like a podcast, is even better. Click here for more info.
The Killer Angels: A Novel of the Civil War by Michael Sharra. This is perhaps my favorite book of any genre. Written as historical fiction, The Killer Angels puts you at Gettysburg alongside the immortal names that fought there. It is riveting and impossible to put down. The movie that came later does not do it justice. Click here for more info.
The Nightingale’s Song by Robert Timberg. This book was a formative book during my days as a Midshipman at the Naval Academy. Robert Timberg was a Naval Academy grad and badly wounded Vietnam veteran who became a prominent journalist. Highlighting the human aspect of American government, his book contrasts the careers of several distinguished Annapolis graduates, shaped by Vietnam, who became prominent members of the Reagan administration and wrestled ethical dilemmas on a national scale that culminated in Iran-Contra. Click here for more info.
Chris Dodrill is a shareholder at Greenberg Traurig, LLP in Dallas, where his practice focuses on commercial litigation and class action defense. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in 2001, Chris served as a surface warfare officer before attending law school. He also acts as the pro bono liaison for Greenberg Traurig’s Dallas office.
