In response to my earlier post about my education in re: the military, David Finkel — author of the essential “The Good Soldiers” and “Thank You For Your Service” — sent me something he posted yesterday to his private FB. With his permission:

My personal US Military reading list, in addition to Finkel's books:

"Matterhorn" and "What It Is Like To Go To War" by Karl Marlantes
"The Outpost" by @jaketapper
"Absolutely American" by David Lipsky
"The Long Road Home" by @MarthaRaddatz

What I learned from these books is that whatever use their civilian leadership chooses to make of them, the men and women of the armed forces live by an ethic of responsibility, duty and loyalty that we could all benefit from. And they suffer for it more than we can imagine.

There is an excellent movie version of "The Outpost," available to stream, and there is a movie of "Thank You For Your Service," although -- to be honest -- I haven't been able to bring myself to watch it. The book is harrowing enough.