Books like Warworks by Val Williams

A seminal collection of essays by Susan Sontag that examines photography’s history, meaning and role in capitalist societies.

John Keegan offers a visceral, on‑the‑frontline view of combat, comparing three iconic battles—Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme—to reveal the physical, emotional, and motivational realities soldiers face.

War photographer Lynsey Addario's memoir It's What I Do is the story of how the relentless pursuit of truth, in virtually every major theater of war in the twenty-first century, has shaped her life. What she does, with clarity, beauty, and candor, is to document, often in their most extreme moments, the complex lives of others. It's her work, but it's much more than that: it's her singular calling.

Men still run the show in politics and the military; most of those men are not about to give any sort of rights, equal or otherwise, to women. Perhaps this book will change their minds. It is an informal photojournalistic look at women in war. The purpose is simply to illuminate some of the history and issues of women at war...The world's women are asking for equal military rights--equal opportunity to kill or be killed.--Introduction

In this groundbreaking work, which covers thousands of years and spans the globe, Linda Grant De Pauw depicts women as victims and as warriors; as nurses, spies, sex workers, and wives and mothers of soldiers; as warrior queens leading armies into battle; and as baggage carriers marching in the rear. Beginning with the earliest archaeological evidence of warfare and ending with the dozens of wars in progress today, *Battle Cries and Lullabies* demonstrates that warfare has always and everywhere involved women. Following an introductory chapter on the questions raised about women’s participation in warfare, the book presents a documented, chronological survey linked to familiar models of military history. De Pauw provides historical context for current public policy debates over the role of women in the military. "Whether one applauds or deplores their presence and their actions, women have always been part of war. To ignore this fact grossly distorts our understanding of human history."

Jean Bethke Elshtain explores how gendered myths of the "just warrior" and the "beautiful soul" shape the treatment of women and men in war, analyzing their impact on identities, participation, and the moral frameworks of conflict.