John U.

The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer is an impressive read. After reading it, it makes our military's sacrifices on the ground seem like not much, compared to the hell of the eastern front, and what the Russians endured. Guy was an Alsatian that signed up for the Wehrmacht and spent 3 years, and somehow survived.

The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom by Slavomir Rawicz is an account of a 4,000 mile walk from the gulags of Siberia to India, by a Polish army officer.

Soldier of Orange is one the most impressive WW2 films I know. Set in Holland, it seems 100% real, compared to most WW2 films that leave a lot to be desired.

Mud Beneath My Boots: A Poignant Memoir of the Effects of War on a Young New Zealander by Allan Marriott is a newer WW 1 book, about a New Zealander that spent nearly the entire war in the trenches, poignant and seldom have the horrors of WW1 been so well documented by one man. p.s.: We now have been in Iraq, longer than World War 1 lasted... yikes.

Don E.

Just saw a very good war film i'd never heard of: USSR film, Come and See . it is an essentially plotless film that follows a youth off to join the resistance in Byeloruss. one thing that struck me in its rather surreal moments was that Coppola obviously had seen this before making Apocalypse Now - a favorite of mine.

A good antidote is another USSR film we just saw: Railway Station for Two.

best WWII film made on the U.S. side is A Walk in the Sun. this movie captivated me as a kid and I must have seen it 15 or 20 times in great prepubescent fervor.

More mainstream than the others on the list, but really moves me. Not that it really has squat to do with the quality of the film, but this is the most perfect theme-song movie; theme songs usually get in the way, or are just inappropriate. This movie would not exist in my mind in such clarity if i didn't hear that voice in the background when i thought of it. A Walk in the Sun-IMDB

(NOTE: IMDB is the Internet Movie Database website--CHS)

Sure, Chinatown, The Searchers, Blade Runner, and Out of the Past are great films that deserve to live forever, and I will and do watch them over and over. But what about equally great films that don't make the lists? Now that is interesting; the men are about to be separated from the goats. (most women will say you can't do it...) I won't give my pets numerical ratings as my choice of what's best shifts with time of day, what I have eaten, impending flatulence and how long it has been since I cringed back in horror from seeing My President on the glassy screen.

Coup de Torchon - Criterion Collection Absolutely one of the best films ever! I watch this repeatedly and am stunned. Noiret and Huppert have never been better. Finally, Jim Thompson comes to the screen in riveting style. Coup de Torchon-IMDB

Valdez is Coming Burt Lancaster carries this film with absolute dignity. I understand he was contracted to make several westerns and did so unwillingly, but he was perfect here. Its is the best thing done from an Elmore Leonard story. Sometimes a movie like this lets the supporting cast really stand out. Valdez Is Coming-IMDB

The Hairdresser's Husband Another French film. haven't seen it in a long time, but it sticks in my mind. as to my choices, they are not usually blessed with happy endings, and then tend to be a bit dark and bent. is that you cup of tea? The Hairdresser's Husband-IMDB

The Wind and the Lion Ok, this one is getting even closer to mainstream, but it is one I just keep watching. Maybe it falls under the heading of 'a guilty pleasure' - I don't give a damn. A very fine movie. When Sean Connery says "we will all eat lamb in paradise" with that glint, I get a tiny shiver that must be the first step a what a young man feels when moving toward jihad. The Wind and the Lion-IMDB

Robin and Marian Sticking with major stars here, but in a film that nobody seemed to notice. A great cast all at the top of their form. It is the quintessential autumnal film. Robin and Marian-IMDB Two other autumnal - i like that word - films i will toss in here: The Wild Bunch and the Lee Marvin version of Monte Walsh. Winding-down and taking stock movies grab me.

On the noir/crime side i will toss out three titles:

Charley Varrick Charley Varrick-IMDB

Ride the Pink Horse-IMDB Another noir novelist done right: Dorothy Hughes - how many women wrote good noir in the '40s?

Hammett Possibly another guilty pleasure. Hammett-IMDB

Also in the noir camp is the original Italian version - unauthorized - of The Postman Always Rings twice: Ossessione Compare this one to the 2 American made films. Ossessione-IMDB

Johnn K.

Just finished a great book, Samuel Adams: Father of the American Revolution by Mark Puls. Without him the revolution probably wouldn't have happened. Through his zeal, his will and his articulate writing, people woke up to tyranny.

Sadly, there's no Sam Adams today and even if there were, the general population is too hypnotized by being 'entertained'.

I am one of the rare people, getting rarer each day, that reads an occassional book. You're one of those people as well. But I fear the book business has gone the way of buggy whips.