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Recently re-discovered the public library as a cheap source of reading material.

Anybody got any spy or military fictional book recommendations?

I've been reading lots of the Randy Wayne White books lately. Based on ex-special forces type who lives on Sanibel island in Florida. Hunter's Moon is probably the best so far. Black widow sucks.

Currently reading the Bourne identity and so far not impressed, but i'm a big fan of the movie. The fight scenes just don't come across in the book.

I also like historical fiction. Love the Jeff Shaara books about the civil war and WWI. Have not ready the WWII books yet. Got any recommendation there.

Clive Cussler - kind of a mix of both with light sci-fi (very light)

I read Le Carre, Forsyth, John Weisman, Vince Flynn, Stephen Hunter, and Richard Marcinco (actually written by Weisman).

I like Marcinko also, but the tone of his books varies widely. Most of them are written in a lighthearted, I love-what-I'm-doing manner, but a couple of them are angry enough that you think, "Is this the same guy?" see 'Violence of Action'.

Jst as an aside, the public library is a fantastic source of music. You can check out stuff you may not know you like and give it a shot without any financial harm. Rip it onto your 'puter and it's yours forever.

W.E.B. Griffin "The Brotherhood of War" series it's like 8 or 9 books following a group of career soldiers from WW2 to Viet Nam. He also has written "The Corps" which is still unfinished after 8 or 9 books. It follows a group of Marines from just before Pearl Harbor to Korea. Good reads.

I'm pretty sure the "tone" difference comes from the absence of John Weisman. He did Dick's writing starting with Red Cell, up until IIRC, Violence of Action. I don't know if Dick tried to write the latter himself, or found an author to ghost write it for him. Weisman is great IMO, and the Rogue Warrior series is what turned me onto him. He's even better when free to write his own style.

While non-fiction, I'd highly recommend Inside Delta Force by Eric Haney. It's a much, much better book then I was expecting when I ordered it.

Have it. Read it. Enjoyed it.

I went through a phase where I was reading everything about Viet Nam that I could get my hands on, mostly retired SeALs:
Point Man by Cheif James Watson
Whattaya Mean I Can't Kill 'em? by Rad Miller Jr.
The Element of Surprise by Darryl Young
Airborne:
Blood on the Risers by John Leppelman
Rangers:
Inside the LRRPS Rangers in Vietnam by Michael Lee Lanning

I'd stay away from Jeff Shara's WWII stuff, I tried reading "The Rising Tide," badly written and full of old stereotypes of the war... Its like he based his research entirely on hollywood movies from the 1960s and 70s. I was waiting for footnotes like, "See 'Patton' (film, 1970) 55min, and also "Battle of the Bulge' (film 1965)" etc.

For "realistic/thinking man's" spy novels set in WWII try Alan Furst. His "Polish Officer" is great, "Dark Voyage" is also good.

My suggestion: "Disaster at D-Day The Germans Defeat the Allies, June 1944", by Peter Tsouras

It's a "what-if" book. What if a couple different desicions had been made, or fate had swung a different direction, and how those changes could have shaped events. Like if Rommel's wife had the flu and so he didn't leave Normandy on the eve of the invasion. Or bad weather had grounded the Jabbos during critcal periods. I bet you'll like it.

These are Non Fictions but good reads. Rick Atkinson's Liberation Trilogy. 1st one is An Army at Dawn (the war in north Africa 1942-43), 2nd volume is The Day of Battle (The war in Sicily and Italy (1943-44). The third volume is to be released in 2011. They are VERY in depth and have a ton of footnotes, and research put into them. Atkinson has a masters in English and it shows. I just finished up Stephen Ambroses Band of Brothers book which was VERY good but his writing style in not nearly as complex as Atkinson's and a much easier read. Here's my next one http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Brenner-Assignment/Patrick-K-ODonnell/e/9780306815775/

"Breakout",is the title,i forget the author and I loaned out the book.
it's the true story of the Battle of the Chosin Resivior,Korea 1950,an excellent book,recomended to me by a Marine that was there.

Clive Cussler is great.......one of my personal favorites is David Morrell's "The Brotherhood of the Rose".......

Don't forget Tom Clancy - especially the early books he wrote himself. Red Storm Rising is a wonderful war story with multiple plots in parallel.

Fields of Fire and a Sense of Honor by James Webb. WW2? Once An Eagle by Anton Myers. Spans WW1-WW2 and early SE Asia. A classic.

I think there is book name "The Best Military Science Fiction of the 20th Century " you may be interested in.The explosive and provocative battles fought across the boundaries of time and space--and on the frontiers of the human mind.It is really a good way to kill may spare time after i finish One Tree Hill Seasons 1-5 DVD Boxset