Burkett, B. G., Stolen Valor: How the Vietnam Generation Was Robbed of Its Heroes and Its History, Verity Press, 1998.

Burkett, a Vietnam veteran and reporter, was featured on the newsmagazine show "20/20" for this un-flinching look at the ways in which Vietnam veterans have been misunderstood, in part due to the actions of some who have tarnished the image of this generation. Exhaustively researched, the book helps to set the record straight about a very painful time in American history.

Eisenhower, John S. D., So Far from God: The U.S. War with Mexico, 1846-1848, University of Oklahoma Press, 2000.

Eisenhower's in-depth history of the Mexican War offers depictions of the major military leaders from the United States, some of whom featured prominently in the Civil War two decades later. The book also views the war in its historical context, addressing the different American viewpoints of those in...