WW2 books you own

[DarkCanuck]

Where did you learn what you know?

What are your favourite pieces of work?

Doesnt have to be WWII but lets focus on that.



The Esentials in my collection are:
Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer 5/5
And No Birds Sang by Farley Mowat 5/5
First Light by Geoffrey Wellum 5/5

If you read any WWII historical texts, read the ones above.They are all memoirs, and get perfect ratings from me.

Ive read many more great ones, but lets get this thread going!

[rAstha]

I've read alot of books that tell of the norwegian heroes in the war. You know, after being invaded some of our army (and the king and goverment) went to england where they joined either commonwealth forces or our own navy\army. Our navy was really advanced (read this (http://www.1944d-day.com/forum/showthread.php?t=877)) but our army was more of a resistance group training sabotagers and other people to work under cover or in "the woods" in norway to make life hard for the germans.

I've also read Pierre Clostermans book about his career in the RAF under the war.

[[EID]Sharp]

I'm about a 1000 miles from my library right now, but these are some favourites that spring to mind. The Cornelius Ryan Books I can keep reading again and again.

Cornelius Ryan - Bridge Too Far, Longest Day, Last Battle.
Rick Atkinson - An Army at Dawn
James Bradley - Flyboys

[OliverMarshall]

Citizen Soldier-Stephen E. Ambrose
Band of Brothers-*ditto*
Pegasus Bridge-*ditto*
British Army Handbook-George Forty
The Victory in Europe Experience-Julian Thompson
The D-Day Experience-Richard Holmes
Aubrey and Maturin series(Master and Commander)-Patrick O'Brian
Bolitho series-Alexander Kent
Tanks and Armoured Fighting Vehicles of WWII-Jim Winchester
Emperor series-Conn Iggulden
War without Hate, The desert camapign of 1940-1943-John Bierman and Colin Smith
Illustrated History of the Second World War, The Daily Telegraph-John Ray
The Lord of the Rings-J.R.R Tolkien (just kidding :p )
Sharpe series-Bernard Cornwell
Hervey series-Allan Mallinson
Alfred series-Bernard Cornwell

[enigma]

i dont like Ambrose for some reason but i have his D-day, band of brothers and Pegesus Bridge books.

Stalingrad by Antony Beevor is a great book!, his Crete: the battle and the resistance is also good although somewhat dull in places.
Cant wait to read his Berlin: The downfall book ... only been sitting on my shelf since christmas.

The Rommel Papers, is a great book. Rommels dairy entries and naratives which he wrote each day to record the events, mixed in with letters sent to his wife and other people.
When ever he gives and incorrect unit name, or ammoutn of tanks detroyed Liddel-Hart is always there to correct him and to sometimes give the 'other side of the hill' view.
It also has entries from his son Manfred and General Fritz Bayerlein which cover sections such as Normandy (iirc these documents where either stolen after the war or burnt by Rommel himself) and Rommels death.
Had Rommel survived he would have wrote the book himself!

Am currently reading a book called The Fall of France, The Nazi Invasion of 1940 by Julian Jackson.
Only 70 pages in so far but its fansiating.
It talks about the milatry stratergy and tactics used, the politics etc
Surprising to find out that the Anglo-French relationship before the war wasnt very cozy, hoe France tried to ally with Italy during the 30's
The 'real' reasons why everyone backed down from taking on Germany eariler etc
Fasinating stuff so far!

(by actual war veterans:)
The rest of the collection is asl follows:
Heinz Guderian - Panzer Leader (only read a bit but i think its the good stuff if you ask me)
" - Achtung Panzer! (boring as hell imo)

Panzer Battles - Maj.Gen F.W. Von Mellenthin (only read a tad but its intresting)
Panzer Operations - General Raus
Panzer Commander - Hans Von Luck (id give this one 5/5)
By Tank into Normandy - Stuart Hills (a really great book)
The Forgotten Soldier - Guy Sajer (a great book)

Then we have

The battle of Kursk - Robin Cross (very informative)
Armageddon: the battle for Germany 1944-1945 - Max Hastings (dont really like this dude ... too much slaggin the british tommy off by him)
Hitlers Greatest Defeat: the collapse of Army Group Centre - Paul Adiar (not as good as it was cracked out to be ... iirc only a small portion of the book was on the subject at hand)
A Bridge Too Far - Cornelius Ryan (superb)
The Longest Day - " (superb)
The Miracle of Dunkrirk - Walter Lord (iirc this was a great book)
The Struggle for Europe - Chester Wilmot (had for about 2 years havnt read it yet, its surposed to be a great book)
Rommel As Military Commader - Ronald Lewin (got it when i was waiting for the Rommel Papers to arrive)
Cockleshell Heroes - Lucas Phillips (only read a bit of it, by younger brother bought me it, aw bless him :D )


Ive been trying in vain to get hold of a copy of Defeat into Victory by William Silm, suposeidly the best book on the British involvment in South East Asia during the war.

Then theres like a list of 30+ books which am trying to find out if there good or not and slowly buying my way through them hehe
So anyone wanna nose through a list of 30 somehting books and tell me if there anygood to get some knowledge on there respected battles and theaters drop me an email lol :) (seriously)

well other then those books i personally own, there are the dozens prehaps even hundreds ive read since i was a child and the many many websites and fourms ive visted to pick up information and knowledge on the subject.

[Arturo]

"Enemy at the Gates"
"The Complete Roman Army"
"Panzer Commander"
"Berlin"
"The SAS"

[DavidUpton]

I got a number of WWII books for Christmas. Currently I am on 'Death of the Scharnhorst' (I am a slow reader).

[justus]

Strong men armed is a really good book I have been reading it lately and it's very in depth.

does any one else have it? just want to know.

[Tough Ombre 359th]

I got a really intresting book on my grandfather's division. It jumps around alot between soldier's stories, but other than that it's a good long read(500+ pages).

WAR FROM THE GROUND UP: The 90th division in WWII
by: John Colby

[Blame Canada]

I think it's difficult to chose a couple of specific books, as I believe you need more than one book on a subject to even begin to understand the full history (not saying that I have more than one book on all subjects). But here are some of my favorites sorted by categories:

Invasion of Crete (+ Battle of Greece):
To have and to lose - Reg Spur (UK soldiers diarry)

The Fortress Crete 1941-1944 - George Harokopos (former member of the Greek resistance)

The Battle of Crete – Georg I. Panagiotakis

The Forgotten Debt - George Harokopos (former member of the Greek resistance)

Crete 1941 – The Battle at Sea – David A. Thomas

The Cretan Runner – George Psychoundakis (former member of the Greek resistance)

Crete – The Battle and the Resistance – Anthony Bevoor

The Fall of Crete - Alan Clark

The Lost Battle - Crete 1941 - Callum MacDonald

Crete 1941 Eyewitnessed - C. Hadjipateras & M. Fafalios

The Cretan resistance 1941-1945 - N.A. Kokonas, M.D.

Battle of Crete - George Forty

The survival of "Titch" in Hitler's Greece - Lyn Rowland

Danish-German relations:
Den 9. April - En sand myte (The 9th of April - a true myth) - Jon Galster (conspiracy theory conserning the Danish surrender on the 9th of April 1940)

Danmark i det tyske storrum (Denmark in the German "Empire" *wrong word but I couldn't find a better translation*) - Steen Andersen (A book on the Danish economic during the German occupation)

Danske soldater i kamp på Østfronten 1941-1945 (Danish soldiers in battle on the eastern front 1941-1945) – Oluf Krappe (Former Freikorps Danmark soldier)

Kilder til Danmarks politiske historie 1920-1939 (Sources on the political history of Denmark 1920-1939) – Tage Kaarsted and Ole Samuelsen

De så det ske 1 (They saw it happen 1) – Per Eilstrup and Lars Lindeberg

De så det ske 2 (They saw it happen 2) – Per Eilstrup and Lars Lindeberg

De illegale - Holger Danske - Ungdomsoprør uden sikkerhedsnet (a book about the Danish resistance group Holger Danske) - Gunnar Dyrberg & Bob Ramsing

Specific Persons:
Mythos Rommel – Maurice Philip Remy

Churchill, a life – Martin Gilbert

Western Europe 1940-1945
D-Day, June 6, 1944 – Stephen E. Ambrose

Citizen Soldier – Stephen E. Ambrose

Slaget om Vesteuropa – luftkrig, strategi og politik i sommeren 1940 (The battle for Western Europe – Air war, strategy and politics in the summer of 1940) – Michael Tamelander

Other:
Alamein – Jon Latimer

Stalingrad – Anthony Beevor

Berlin – The Downfall 1945 – Anthony Bevoor

Fighting Techniques of a Panzer Grenadier 1941-1945 – Matthew Hughes and Chris Mann

Kilder til mellemkrigstidens historie (Sources to the history of the inter war period) – E. Bøgebjerg and S. Elmelund

"Die Geschichte eines Deutschen. Die Erinnerungen 1914-1933" - Sebastian Haffner

[ThomasStewart]

Where did you learn what you know?

What are your favourite pieces of work?

Doesnt have to be WWII but lets focus on that.



The Esentials in my collection are:
Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer 5/5
And No Birds Sang by Farley Mowat 5/5
First Light by Geoffrey Wellum 5/5

If you read any WWII historical texts, read the ones above.They are all memoirs, and get perfect ratings from me.

Ive read many more great ones, but lets get this thread going!

Ive learnt most of what I know from a mixture of re-enactors, veterans, books and museums.

I have more books on WWII now than I care to remember, as you can probably tell, the magority focus upon "Axis" matters.

Of particular note is the Otto Carius memoirs, Mein Kampf (by 'AH' himself...yeah really :rolleyes: ), The Destruction of Dresden....Stalingrad....Sons of the Reich....Wenn Alle bruder schwegen.

[enigma]

isnt it illegeal to own a copy of Mein Kampf ... or is that only in Germany :confused:

btw is it true that everything nazi germany did during there rule is basically in that book (aka final soloution, invasion of russia etc etc)?

[DavidUpton]

Not likely. Bear in mind that 'Mein Kampf' was actually written while Hitler was in prison, before the Nazis came to power. If they added stuff too it afterwards I don't know, though.

[enigma]

i understand that it was written while he was in prison, but ive been under the impression from things ive read and heard people say that the book was a sort of grim warning for the future as it contained what he wanted to do ... which in the end he did.
As ive never read i cant confirm that.

[DarkCanuck]

ive read a bunch of it. it is the driest read you will ever endure. I had to do it for a history course. he did write it in prison, after being arrested for the beer hall putch, i believe, and it was before he came into power. they didnt add anything to it, but he did write other books too. mein kampf was distributed accross germany when he was in power it was given to many, people who got married for example received a copy. most didnt read it.

its mostly a rambling, repetitve book. he took ideas from germans from the first world war. like "liben straum" (sp) meaning living space. its about germanys isolation. needing to break out. other ideas like antisemitism, and what not were his own.


However, hitler was embarrassed about the book when he was in power. didnt want it to be distributed but it was anyways.

[NicholasJohnson]

This is the best book on Waterloo I have ever read:

The Waterloo Companion

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811718549/sr=8-3/qid=1147774230/ref=pd_bbs_3/002-4775557-3668843?%5Fencoding=UTF8

Other books:
Mark Bando's US Airborne Histories
Donald R. Burgett's books
Arnhem Spearhead by James Sims
Ambrose's books (I really recommend Undaunted Courage)
Beyond Band of Brothers by Dick Winters
Black Edelweiss by Johann Voss
Red Road From Stalingrad by Mansur Abdulin
Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden

These are just some of the books I have read and are a small fraction of my dad's "basement library."

[aag567]

A Rumor of War, Synopis: A compelling story that explains the attraction to combat, the bonds between men in war, a very good story written by a Vietnam Veteran. It makes you wonder what you would've done under the circumstances the writer was under.

Flags of Our Fathers, Synopis: A compelling story that John Bradly teaches a lesson about bravery: "Uncommon valor is a common virtue" and "the real heroes are the ones who didn't come back".

Ghost Soldiers, Synopis: A compelling story about the liberation of the prisoners of Camp O' Donnel by the 6th Ranger battlion.

Given Up For Dead, Synopis: A compelling story about the defense of Wake Island and what the men who went through after the surrender(the Marines didn't want to surrender).

The Road to Burma, Synopis: About everything that happened on the Burma front, it doesn't tell any personel stories other than the leaders like Wingate and Stillwell.

Do-Or-Die Men, Synopis: A compelling story about the attack and defense of Guadacanal, it had me reading it when the writer quoted Admiral King; "You ought to be suspicious of anyone who won't take a drink or doesn't like women." That quote made me chuckle.

Brotherhood of Heroes, Synopis: Not distinctive but still compelling! It's about the Marine attack on Pelelui(the island that Macarthur thought he needed to take to protect his right flank on the way to the Philipenes though the Naval bombardment rendered its offensive capablities useless).

My favorite was "A Rumor of War".

[[FFTF]Eurofighter]

Well most of the things ive learned are from my history teachers they used to talk A LOT. Do all the history teachers talk that much? One of my teachers was a kid in WW2 and he used to talk alot bout it.
I've got and read ofcourse BoB. I think it wasnt that great cause i thought his story line wasnt that clear.
A farewell to arms is a good book about WW1. Only its a bit short and very commercial. But it gives you a good sight of how people react on war. Not just the bare facts. I'm not a number person.

[aag567]

Well out of all the books I've read I'd choose "A Rumor of War" over the others, it's a very good book.

[pittpete]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0700611223/qid=1146165225/ref=br_lf_b_6/102-7650321-5217726?n=465310&s=books&v=glance

Excellent read

[Sgt So and So]

Nobody comes back by Donn Pearce, the guy who wrote Cool Hand Luke. It's really fast-paced and true to the WW2 material.:D

[Hyperion2010]

Any book by John Keegan, I read "The Second World War" over the summer.


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/104-0932917-8276738?url=index%3Dstripbooks%3Arelevance-above&field-keywords=john+keegan&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go

Those three books at the top are all supurb works of military history.

[aag567]

Well I definitely reccomend "A Rumor of War", it explains the love and hate of war from the Veterans point of view.

[2ltben]

Its not illegal to own Mein Kampf, and I heard part of the profits from the sales of most publishers go to a Holocaust Remembrance Organization.

I love the Ryan and Beevor books, but nothing beats a good primary source or ancient history. Polybius' Histories, William of Tyre's History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea, William Bradford's Of Plimoth Plantation. Books by historians can all go to hell once you have hard documented proof.

If you're not big on primary sources, I dare you to properly understand this without using an external source
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/hns/garden/hakluyt.html

[[FFTF]Eurofighter]

Its not illegal to own Mein Kampf, and I heard part of the profits from the sales of most publishers go to a Holocaust Remembrance Organization.


It is in some countries. For example where i live :)

[enigma]

i think ive found the worse review for a book ever .... :

Defeat into Victory by Willian Silm (CO of the 14th Army ... the dudes who fought the campaign in SE Asia)


Slimey Slim's apologia for being a slacker and shirker

With over one million soldiers and total air and naval supremacy in the CBI theatre, it's hard to understand why it would take ages for Slimey to retake Rangoon (after the Japs had given this idiot the slip)? Incompetence, yes, cowardice, definitely.


lol it has nothing to do with the book ...
(thinking on it i think the worse book review i ever saw was one where the guy complained that Shakespeare ... wrote in a way nobody speaks or writes noadays and ripped off west side story)

[aag567]

Wow, doubt that reviewer knows much about logistics. Reminds me of that little bast*rd who said downright arrogant things about the man who wrote the book "A Rumor of War" (the writer was a Vietnam Veteran) 'cause he didn't get one of the messages Caputo was trying to convey: War strips you of your humanity!:mad: Sometimes people can be so ignorant not to mention arrogant.

[Crazythumbs]

I only have a few WW2 books, heres a few that i've read

Ghost soldeirs- forgot the author, good book, based on interviews with the soldeirs and prisoners, to create an accurate stroy

Red Road to Stalingrad- good book, first hand account of a Russian soldeir from Stalingrad to Kursk, and a little later after that. Book tends to jump from place to place, and some parts are a little vague, but its an intersting read.

Road to Stalingrad- Kinda boring, with lots of names that I keep forgetting, not to far into it though.

Theres others that I've read but I forgot the names, might post some later.

[Lt. Stephenson]

All of Donald R. Burgetts book.
Currahee! Training for Combat, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne, fighting in Normandy
The Road to Arnhem Fighting for 72 days in Arnhem
Seven Roads to Hell(Greatest book on Combat ever.) Fight for Bastogne and the Seven Roads.
Beyond the Rhine Fight for Germany.

[enigma]

Heres a somewhat large list of books, just wondering if anyone can comment if there any good or not (information wise on that paticular setting etc)
There are a few comments by me in brackets, these are what ive been told on them so far.

So yea, peoples opinions on these would be very helpful :)
(also note my own libary is posted above, please tell me if i owuld be going over a subject which an above books covers better etc)

so thanks for any help

The list:


North African Campaign

Foxes of the Desert by Paul Carrell

Panzer Army Afrika - James Lucas

Kasserine Pass - Martin Blumenson

Operation Compass by Jon Latimer

From Alamein to Zem Zem by Keith Douglas

March to Tunis by Alan Moorehead (a journalist - misses alot of info, want to read it along side other sources/material)

The Desert War -Alan Moorehead (again probably misses alot)

"The Crucible of War" (volumes 1 to 3) by Barrie Pitt - (It starts with Op. Compass and finishes just after Alamein.)

Alamein: war with out hate - Bierman and Smith - (seems to be an excellent book)

Army at Dawn

Stirlings men (been told this is an excellent book, very insightfull on the SAS during ww2)


NW Europe

The Boys Crusade

Why the Allies Won: Explaining Victory in World War II - Richard Overy

Arnhem 1944: The Airborn Battle, 17-26 September - Martin Middlebrook (been told this is eye wittness accounts forged into a full account of the battle)

Together we stand - (been told this is a very exellent book)

With the jocks

Italy

Cassino - John Ellis - (been told its excellent)

Monte Cassino: The Story of the Hardest-fought Battle of World War Two - Matthew Parker - (reviews said it was excellent)

Eastern Front

Steven Newton. Kursk - the German View. (Contains Order of Battles before and after in each chapter. The maps are So so.)

Hitler's Panzers East: World War II Reinterpreted - R.H.S. Stolfi (the what could have happened in the east)

Grenadiers: The Story of Waffen SS General Kurt "Panzer" Meyer - Kurt Meye - (Grim first hand account of his war)

SE Asia + Pacific

forgotten armies - (sounds good but it has been said its not complete)

Other

The memoirs of Field-Marshal the Viscount Montgomery of Alamein - monty (acording to peeps who have read it - 'Nothing is ever his fault. Ever. He's an utter genius in every way')

The Other Side of the Hill (Pan Grand Strategy S.) - Liddell Hart (interviews with german generals, why theyfought and how they fought so well)

The man who invented hitler

Churchill’s 6 volumes

The First and the Last - Adolf Galland - )supose to be the best account of the airwar from the axis pov)

Betraying Hitler - lucas delattre

Nofi and Dunnigan's "Dirty Little Secrets of World War Two"

[Sgt So and So]

Well, that one pretty much hits the bullseye...

[aag567]

I recommend "Road to Burma" for Asia and Ghost Soldiers, Flags of our Fathers, Brotherhood of Heroes, Given up for Dead, Do-Or-Die Men and Utmost Savagery for Pacific. Really compelling books.

[xtc-alec]

SOLDAT (havent read, sounds real good though)

The forgotten soldier by guy sajer....Amazing book!

[NortherlyNanook]

Catch 22. A classic. Funny too.

[Myth]

my favored books from the bookshelf two meters to my right:

An Army at Dawn - Rick Atkinson
Pendulum of War - Niall Barr
Stalingrad - Antony Beevor
The Fall of Berlin - Antony Beevor
In Deadly Combat - Gottlob Herbert Bidermann
Decision in Normandy - Carlo D'Este
Rising '44 - Norman Davies
Zhukov's Greatest Defeat - David Glantz
Panzer Leader - Heinz Guderian
Rommel's War in Africa - Wolf Heckman
Fortress Malta - James Holland
Lost Victories - Erich von Manstein
Armies on Wheels - S.L.A Marshall
Here is Your War - Ernie Pyle
Panzer Operations - Erhard Raus
Churchill's Folly - Anthony Rogers

(there are others which are undoubtedly valuable too, such as Douglas MacArthur's Reminiscences and Albert Speer's Inside the Third Reich, but I only listed the ones I have read thus far)

[enigma]

so any opinions on the list of books posted on the previous page (last post)

[Myth]

I'll take the ones I can, completely out of any semblence of order (sorry :p)

unfortunately the vast majority of the books I haven't read. I can say that Army at Dawn (Rick Atkinson) is definitely worth picking up. Churchill's and one version of Monty's memoirs I also have, and, though I haven't read them, I learned that its better to take many things they say with a grain (or fistful) of salt and look it up later. even so, if you're the type of person who appreciates reading memoirs (like me :D), then I figure they're worth getting.

Together We Stand (James Holland) is a pretty good book, but his Fortress Malta outshines it. a lot. (and also, its NA, not NW Europe, unless this is some other TWS I'm not aware of) so I was kind of disappointed by TWS. for the North African+Mediterranean theater, I preferred a combination of Pendulum of War (Niall Barr, on the three battles of El Alamein), Rommel's War in Africa (Wolf Heckmann, Rommel's arrival in North Africa to defeat at El Alamein) Fortress Malta (James Holland, the 3 year siege of Malta), Churchill's Folly (Anthony Rogers, British operation to take the Dodecanese islands). of course, these don't cover everything and TWS fills a good many holes, but on the whole I don't think it's as good in any particular geographical area when competing against the other books I mentioned.

Hitler's Panzers East was a very interesting read. and a good deal of it makes sense and it believable too. while it will remain one great unknown, how hard the Soviets would have fought for Moscow and whether they would have been shattered by its fall, there were some things there that made be rethink WW2. Barbarossa is the turning point of the war :D
Arnhem 1944: The Airborn Battle, 17-26 September (Martin Middlebrook) was a pretty good book, seemed to be very thorough.

Good authors are (and to buy if you see them, they all probably have multiple books): Rick Atkinson, Niall Barr, Antony Beevor, Norman Davies, Carlo D'Este, David Glantz, Max Hastings, James Holland, Anthony Rogers.
and if you're into that primary sources thing (I am), then go for any memoir you find. (I have 13, if you include Ernie Pyle's Here is Your War, which is a collection of all the articles he sent back to the US while he was in North Africa)

hope this helps (sorry I couldn't do more books...tight budget and "oh, this one looks good too!" I've seen most of those books, just never bought them...arg, I do want them and do plan on buying them some time :p)

[enigma]

thanks for the info :)

might have been mistaken on Together We Stand when i slapped them all in some sort of order.

yea, have several of Antony Beevors books always a good read. Have on Max Hastings book ... found it a bit tiresome to read and he always seems to be slagging off british troops lol.

[Myth]

I didn't notice that, but I noticed him slagging off all the top level Allied commanders (at least in Armaggedon), especially during the battle of the bulge.

[enigma]

Armaggedon is the one i have heh :o

How is his book on Normdany?

[Vash]

I have on my shelf but havent yet read Knight's Cross (about Rommel) and Stalingrad (Beevor, someone mentioned it before so now I just have to read it). I like Ambrose's D-Day. It's got tons of info about multiple aspects of the operation but not necesssarily the best D-Day book out there.

Thats it for now, dont feel like making a list, but there are lots of good ones, most of which I know have already been listed.

[enigma]

I have on my shelf but havent yet read Knight's Cross (about Rommel) and Stalingrad (Beevor, someone mentioned it before so now I just have to read it). I like Ambrose's D-Day. It's got tons of info about multiple aspects of the operation but not necesssarily the best D-Day book out there.

Thats it for now, dont feel like making a list, but there are lots of good ones, most of which I know have already been listed.
Stalingrad is a good book, addicitive to read and imo at least very informative!

[Myth]

Armaggedon is the only book of his I have (being in Latvia means that there is a rather low availability of books in English, unfortunately). However, I'll be going back to the states in a couple weeks, and as soon as I do I'm gonna blow my 150-200$ b&n gift cards :D

[Vash]

thanks for reminding me of my $100 Borders gift card.

And now I've got a great list to choose from.. this thread is quite helpful :D

[Myth]

indeed, I've got a list from these books too. even though I already had a good idea of what I wanted to look for already, my new additions are just...well, more :D

[DaveP]

Somewhere I have a govt. issue book thing from about 1946 about, in detail, all the known causes for the second world war.. that was a good read.


I also have the First Issue of The War Illustrated, dated the Week Ending Sept. 16th 1939, with the original supplemented large-scale map of europe! :D

[enigma]

Somewhere I have a govt. issue book thing from about 1946 about, in detail, all the known causes for the second world war.. that was a good read.


I also have the First Issue of The War Illustrated, dated the Week Ending Sept. 16th 1939, with the original supplemented large-scale map of europe! :D
And would one have the name of the 1st book you mentioned and where one could buy a copy?

Cool were did you get hold of the War Illustrated?

[DaveP]

And would one have the name of the 1st book you mentioned and where one could buy a copy?

Cool were did you get hold of the War Illustrated?


Both are 'antiques' in a sense, I found em both on a ww2 table at an antiques fair once.


The booklet.. I can't remember, but The War Illustrated costed about £10


I also nearly bought a ww1 german sniper scope.. but then noticed my pocket was empty :(

[Der Feldwebel]

Slaughterhouse by David M. Glantz- very by-the-numbers, but it's good with the organization behind the madness of the Eastern Front.

Madness without End by Russ Schneider- I read these short stories, and ever since I have been seaching like mad for Demyansk

Siege by Russ Schneider- The absolute best WW2 novel ever, in my opinion. The sense of deterioratig sanity and grwing hopelessness make this the definitive Eastern Front novel.

[enigma]

orginally posted here by Larme113:
if anyone takes interest here are some sweet overhead pics of point du hoc on d day compared to modern day. the d day pic makes du hoc look like one big ass crater!
http://www.130thgeneralhospital.com/La_Point_du_Hac.jpg

Cool pic dude :)

(sorry bout that dude, hit the wrong button and the post went)

[CBowling]

American-Jon Stewart and the Daily show :-P, just kidding

I dont have really any World War II novels, but alot of these seem interesting, I may check a few out.

[enigma]

question for the peeps, if a book as been given great reviews by the critics and the readers and basically is supose to be a great source on a paticular subject.

Then within just the glossory, it states that the BREN gun is a czech built lmg, it writes the Sten gun off as completely unrealiable and only good at extreme short range (ive read 50m is its effective range ... not that short) and the tommy gun (m1a1) was effective up to 300 yards, whereas ive read its only effective up to 55yards (50 metres).

Should 1 start to question if this book is all its cracked up to be via these sort of faults?

[NicholasJohnson]

Which book is it? ;)

Great reviews by the 'critics'...just remember, the 'critics' probably aren't that interested in the subject (WWII)

[enigma]

Its called 'Stirlings Men'

bout the founding and the operations of teh SAS during ww2.

People who have read it thought it was good and as i said am sure i saw the critics even give it a good rating.

[Lordwatson]

I reccomend the book "For Whom The Bell Tolls" By Ernest Hemmingway. Its about the Spanish Civil War and is very well written. Its a little machoist in the way it is written, but is really very good. Its about a dynamiter who is sent to blow up a bridge in preperation for an attack by the COmmunists of which he is fighting for. He meets this girl though and falls in love. Havent even finished it yet :) Just getting to the point where the final battle is about to begin, but I can tell its going to be good :)

[Rapishorrid]

I reccomend the book "For Whom The Bell Tolls" By Ernest Hemmingway. Its about the Spanish Civil War and is very well written. Its a little machoist in the way it is written, but is really very good. Its about a dynamiter who is sent to blow up a bridge in preperation for an attack by the COmmunists of which he is fighting for. He meets this girl though and falls in love. Havent even finished it yet Just getting to the point where the final battle is about to begin, but I can tell its going to be good

Don't worry the ending won't be lacking! Or at least for me it wasn't, it was a very good end for the book.

But for that book you have to like Hemingway's style. For some people it can drag on quite a bit and for others it's great. I personally only liked some parts but the overal theme of the book was quite good.

Right now I am reading Tigers in the Mud and am enjoying it thoroughly!:D

[Lordwatson]

Yes sir! He talks a lot, and the writing is a bit old fashioned but the description of combat is fantastic!

[Lordwatson]

Just finished it, and wow! Shame he doesnt get with his girl, but its an excellent ending. Lets you make your own mind up about what happens

[bowman]

I just picked up a book called "World War II, 4,139 strange and fascinating facts" for 5 dollars at my local Wal-mart. Its pretty interesting and at least worth looking at. Its got a lot of names of operations, people, etc.

[Lt.Buck]

"Blood, Tears and Folly" by "Len Deighton"

its like your facts book ^^^^
very interesting read

[enigma]

With the Jocks : A soldier's struggle for Europe, 1944-45 by Peter White

Its the dairy of a LT, a platoon leader with the The King's Own Scottish Border Regiment (KOSB), part of the 52nd Lowland division (mountian division and also trained as an airlanding division and ironically , its first op was below sea level)

Just recently bought it, however havnt read much of it (trying to finish off a couple of books which have to go back to the libary :o )

The book covers the fighting he took part in, starting after Market Garden, clearing the Scheldt estury then moving into Germany.

Instead of photos etc, the centre pages have aload of sketches the guy drew during the campaign.

From the reviews, this is a great book and gives a good insight into the combat and the personal views of the fighting in those areas and that time.
aka its the Shit!

(note: diaries etc are usally bais and not entirley accuartae, but as the reviews have said and people who have read it have told me ... this is a superb book. I do look forwards to reading it)

[343Guiltyspark]

i have band of brothers
and an encyclopedia of ww2 weapons

what are your favorites / reccomendations

[Josh_HLB]

Beyond Band of Brothers : The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters


The real band of brothers.

The miniseries was outstanding but it had some significant errors. Such as what happened when Winters sprinted ahead before Easy Company took out the SS companies, what really happened to Blithe, and other little things. Its very good. If you saw the miniseries, then it will help you visualize everything much easier.

[enigma]

343Guiltyspark: Merged your thread with this laready exisiting one.

As for the question: I would believe mine to be Pendulum of War: the three battles are El Alamien by Niall Barr.

Ive read alot on the desert campaigns over the years and i believe this to be the best one i have read.
Jam packed with details on the battles, statistics etc etc etc ....ive made a few posts around the history forum with information on it, from them you can see why i like it.
It just really explains the battle :)

[PF-Kenny]

I have 600+ (possibly 700+ by now) books, many of them relating to WWII, some fiction some not. Im not even going to begin to list all the titles

[Blame Canada]

Just updated my list a bit. It still doesn't include any books that are not related to WWII as I simply don't wanna take the time to write down all those titles.



I think it's difficult to chose a couple of specific books, as I believe you need more than one book on a subject to even begin to understand the full history (not saying that I have more than one book on all subjects). But here are some of my favorites sorted by categories:

Invasion of Crete (+ Battle of Greece):
To have and to lose - Reg Spur (UK soldiers diarry)

The Fortress Crete 1941-1944 - George Harokopos (former member of the Greek resistance)

The Battle of Crete – Georg I. Panagiotakis

The Forgotten Debt - George Harokopos (former member of the Greek resistance)

Crete 1941 – The Battle at Sea – David A. Thomas

The Cretan Runner – George Psychoundakis (former member of the Greek resistance)

Crete – The Battle and the Resistance – Anthony Bevoor

The Fall of Crete - Alan Clark

The Lost Battle - Crete 1941 - Callum MacDonald

Crete 1941 Eyewitnessed - C. Hadjipateras & M. Fafalios

The Cretan resistance 1941-1945 - N.A. Kokonas, M.D.

Battle of Crete - George Forty

The survival of "Titch" in Hitler's Greece - Lyn Rowland

Danish-German relations:
Den 9. April - En sand myte (The 9th of April - a true myth) - Jon Galster (conspiracy theory conserning the Danish surrender on the 9th of April 1940)

Danmark i det tyske storrum (Denmark in the German "Empire" *wrong word but I couldn't find a better translation*) - Steen Andersen (A book on the Danish economic during the German occupation)

Danske soldater i kamp på Østfronten 1941-1945 (Danish soldiers in battle on the eastern front 1941-1945) – Oluf Krappe (Former Freikorps Danmark soldier)

Kilder til Danmarks politiske historie 1920-1939 (Sources on the political history of Denmark 1920-1939) – Tage Kaarsted and Ole Samuelsen

De så det ske 1 (They saw it happen 1) – Per Eilstrup and Lars Lindeberg

De så det ske 2 (They saw it happen 2) – Per Eilstrup and Lars Lindeberg

De illegale - Holger Danske - Ungdomsoprør uden sikkerhedsnet (a book about the Danish resistance group Holger Danske) - Gunnar Dyrberg & Bob Ramsing

Specific Persons:
Mythos Rommel – Maurice Philip Remy

Churchill, a life – Martin Gilbert

Mein Kampff - Adolf Hitler

Western Europe 1940-1945
D-Day, June 6, 1944 – Stephen E. Ambrose

Citizen Soldier – Stephen E. Ambrose

Slaget om Vesteuropa – luftkrig, strategi og politik i sommeren 1940 (The battle for Western Europe – Air war, strategy and politics in the summer of 1940) – Michael Tamelander

Other:
Alamein – Jon Latimer

Stalingrad – Anthony Beevor

Berlin – The Downfall 1945 – Anthony Bevoor

Fighting Techniques of a Panzer Grenadier 1941-1945 – Matthew Hughes and Chris Mann

Kilder til mellemkrigstidens historie (Sources to the history of the inter war period) – E. Bøgebjerg and S. Elmelund

"Die Geschichte eines Deutschen. Die Erinnerungen 1914-1933" - Sebastian Haffner

[343Guiltyspark]

does anyone have any DEFINATE suggestions for me , im going to barnes and noble today to pick up some books.....

and if i get band of brothers , should i get beyond band of brothers to go with it?

[enigma]

What are you main intrests ... countries, divisions, time period, front etc etc

Also updating my list:

NE Europe:

Pegesus Bridge - Stephen E. Ambrose
D-Day - Stephen E. Ambrose
Band of Brothers - Stephen E. Ambrose
A Bridge too far - Cornelius Ryan
The Longest Day - Cornelius Ryan
The Miracle of Dunkrirk - Walter Lord
The Struggle for Europe - Chester Wilmot
Armageddon: the battle for Germany 1944-1945 - Max Hastings
Cockleshell Heroes - Lucas Phillips
The Fall of France, The Nazi Invasion of 1940 by Julian Jackson
Imperial War Museum: The D-Day Experience from the Invasion to the Liberation of Paris - Richard Holmes

Eastern Front:

Stalingrad - Antony Beevor
Berlin: The downfall book - Antony Beevor
The battle of Kursk - Robin Cross
Hitlers Greatest Defeat: The Collapse of Army Group Centre - Paul Adiar

North Africa:

An Army at Dawn - Rick Atkinson
Pendulum of War - Niall Barr
Crete: The Battle and the Resistance - Antony Beevor
Stirlings Men - Gavin Mortimer

Memoirs:

The Rommel Papers, Erwin Rommel, Manfred Rommel, Liddle Hart and General Fritz Bayerlein
Panzer Leader - Heinz Guderian
Achtung Panzer! - Heinz Guderian
Panzer Battles - Maj.Gen F.W. Von Mellenthin
Panzer Operations - General Raus
Panzer Commander - Hans Von Luck
By Tank into Normandy - Stuart Hills
The Forgotten Soldier - Guy Sajer
Defeat into Victory - William Silm
With the Jocks - Peter White
Grenadiers - "Panzer" Meyer

Rommel As Military Commader - Ronald Lewin

[Arturo]

7 days in January. Great book about the 6.SS one of the best

"Montcalm and Wolfe the French and Indian war" is very nice too.

Countless others but I personally like to read more about the eastern front or german soldiers memoirs.

Western Front is much smaller scale than East and the Eastern Front is a million times more interesting than the western front

[PaulSutton]

1 D-DAY. Stephen E Ambrose. The most awsom book i have read to date
2 PEGESUS BRIDGE. Stephen E Ambrose.
3 Tail End Charlies. The last Battles of the Bomber War 1944-45 John Nichol & Toney Rennell
4 BRAVO TWO ZERO. Andy McNab.

[Blame Canada]

My main problem with Stephen Ambrose's books are that they are very biased. The Americans seems to have been able to win WWII on their own with both hands tied to their back. Agreed he sometimes explains that the Germans had a tough time too, but I once saw a statistic on his books showing that he used about 40% more space on the Americans than on all other allied soldiers combined! ... And of course that is ok, just keep it in mind. Else we will end up having to explain yet a generation that the United States didn't turn the tide of WWII on their own.

[Sgt So and So]

Nobody Comes Back, by the guy who wrote Cool Hand Luke, about the Battle of the Bulge. Amazing fiction. One of the best. You should all read it.

[DavidUpton]

My main problem with Stephen Ambrose's books are that they are very biased. The Americans seems to have been able to win WWII on their own with both hands tied to their back. Agreed he sometimes explains that the Germans had a tough time too, but I once saw a statistic on his books showing that he used about 40% more space on the Americans than on all other allied soldiers combined! ... And of course that is ok, just keep it in mind. Else we will end up having to explain yet a generation that the United States didn't turn the tide of WWII on their own.

I can forgive him for that because of his rather complimentary comments in Pegasus Bridge.

[Handy]

SS: Hell on the Western Front
SS: Hitler's Instrument of Terror
SS: An Illiustrated History
Sons of The Reich by Michael Reynolds, history of the II. SS Panzerkorps
Steel Inferno by Michael Reynolds, the I. SS Panzerkorps in Normandy
Men of Steel by Michael Reynolds, the I. SS Panzerkorps after Normandy
The Devils Adjutant by Michael Reynolds, the story of Joachim Peiper
6 Days in January by Wolf T. Zoepf, a personel story of the 6. SS Gerbrigs in Operation the Battle of the Bulge
Citizen Soldiers by Stephen Ambrose
Signed leatherbound copy of Band of Brothers, signed by Ambrose prior to his death
Panzer Aces and Infantry Aces (Not sure of authors)
I have two original WW2 yearbooks from the 232nd Regiment of the 42nd ID that belonged to my father also.

I'm surely leaving out a lot; but I'm at work and can't go home to check, but that's the most notable I can remember right now.

[Fallschirmjäger]

I have not bought any for awhile,too poor,but i have over the years got a few on the fallschirmjäger,wish i had more though,and a few others on german whermacht,tanks etc..

[PF-Kenny]

too poor is not an excuse for books for one reason

Goodwill

you dont have as much choice on what you want, but if you go there and look for a book in a genre you like, chances are there will be a dozen of them, and even if you dont recognize the author, its 10 cents, so no real loss if it turns out to be stupid. Keeping this in mind you can try out authors you never knew existed for next to nothing. :)

[enigma]

too poor is not an excuse for books for one reason

Goodwill

you dont have as much choice on what you want, but if you go there and look for a book in a genre you like, chances are there will be a dozen of them, and even if you dont recognize the author, its 10 cents, so no real loss if it turns out to be stupid. Keeping this in mind you can try out authors you never knew existed for next to nothing. :)

I have been told there is a ship in Liverpool, near the top of bold street ... a charity shop ... is where the uni students go and buy and sell alot of there books. Am not surprised if there are shops like ... one containing alot of books for study etc all over the show.

You could also try amazon or Ebay where you can get books cheap too :)

[BillSpargo]

I have been told there is a ship in Liverpool, near the top of bold street ... a charity shop ... is where the uni students go and buy and sell alot of there books. Am not surprised if there are shops like ... one containing alot of books for study etc all over the show.

You could also try amazon or Ebay where you can get books cheap too :)

How'd they get a ship there?:p

My favourite type of shops are second-hand bookshops. The books aren't always as cheap as one would expect but there are still great bargains and have an eclectic mix that a person normally wouldn't find in a conventional bookshop. I still prefer browsing bookshelves rather than online shelves. There are also thrift/op shops and some libraries sell books which haven't been borrowed for a long period at very cheap prices (~50c).

[NicholasJohnson]

With the Jocks : A soldier's struggle for Europe, 1944-45 by Peter White

I just bought this, along with Storm of Steel by Ernst Juenger, from Amazon. Should be here in a few weeks.


Warning, the following may offend the children among us:


I think this criticism of Ambrose is unfair, because of the following reasons:

1. Pegasus Bridge (book about Brits)
2. D-Day (many chapters on Commonwealth and Germans)
3. He wrote about American history, (books on Eisenhower, Nixon, Lewis and Clark Expedition, etc, etc) and yes , I know that this is not a politically correct thing to some Europeans, but quite a few Americans actually read history about their own country.

My final point is this: Why do we not see anyone criticizing historians like Richard Holmes or John Keegan (whose books I enjoy and have no problem with) for being UK-centric? Is this a double standard?

[enigma]

I think this criticism of Ambrose is unfair, because of the following reasons:

1. Pegasus Bridge (book about Brits)
2. D-Day (many chapters on Commonwealth and Germans)

The Criticism over D-Day could come from, when you read it, the chapters dealing with the US Airborne, Utah and Omaha (its been a while since ive read it so bear with me if this is wrong but was how recall feeling about it afterwards) feel and i think they are, massive when in comparison to the chapters devoted to Sword, Gold and Juno they seem pretty small etc Overall a feeling of glancing over the British and Canadians and devoting most of the research to the American effort.
Anyhoo as i stated, thats just the impression i remember getting after finishing it.

Which all in all, still gives a decent account (unlike books say like 'The collaspe of Army group centre' which bangs on about Hitler and Stalin for half the book and then seemed to give a rush account of the actual fighting and movements)


My final point is this: Why do we not see anyone criticizing historians like Richard Holmes or John Keegan (whose books I enjoy and have no problem with) for being UK-centric? Is this a double standard?
I dont believe i have read any of there books, if one could list a few or the subjects they cover, i may be able to say if i have read or heard about them.

I dont like Max Hastings, a British *shudders* journalist. I have read, practically all of 'Armageddon', and i just didnt like it. It may have just been my impression of the book at the time, but i should really re-read it.
I felt he was not bais but was too harsh with his comments of the honest tommy. It did seem that he was slagging his own countrymen off left right and centre in sections and feel very unjust.
However as i said i may have just gotten the wrong end of the stick and i do need to re-read it.


I just bought this, along with Storm of Steel by Ernst Juenger, from Amazon. Should be here in a few weeks.
I have still yet to read it, only been 2 and half months :p, be sure to check out the drawings in the centre, there great :)

Spargonaut: :p

[deathknight]

I can understand Ambrose focusing more on American efforts in WW2 as he is american and knows his audience will be mainly american and care more about what the US did in the war. I think he writes more for the non-history buff crowd rather than for the ppl who want a complete picture and all the fine print if you will. The only issue I take with Ambrose is his depiction, in my opinion, of every american soldier being a hero and being better than the german soldier morally.

I would highly recommend:
Army at Dawn by Rick Atkinson - good read and plenty of great background detail on many of the generals
Panzer General - it is a dry kind of read but full of great detail about ww2 and panzer development and tactics

[PF-Kenny]

Panzer General - it is a dry kind of read but full of great detail about ww2 and panzer development and tactics

what do you mean dry? :confused: I read that book when I was 12 and I loved it!

[xtybe]

Juno - Ted Barris
Juno Beach: Canada's D-Day Victory: June 6, 1944 - zuehlke

Gothic Line
The Liri Valley
Ortana .. all by Zuehlke..great books about canadian and allies in italy

Marching as to War - Pierre Berton

Stalingrad The Fateful Siege 1942 To 1943
Fall of Berlin - both by Antony Beevor

The Dieppe Raid: The Story of the Disastrous 1942 Expedition - Neillands
Dieppe: Tragedy to Triumph - Whitaker

The Eighty Five Days - The Story of the Battle of the Scheldt - Thompson

The Battle of the Generals: The Untold Story of the Falaise Pocket -Blumenson

Normandy: The Real Story of How Ordinary Allied Soldiers Defeated Hitler
Victory at Falaise: The Soldier's Story - Both by Whitaker

Thats what I can remember without digging through some boxes


I didnt include the more political accounts, is a big interest for me of the political goings ons specifically in canada during the war.
Also didnt include any ww1 books (which interest me a bit more) since this is a ww2 game.

[Gagamel]

Grenadiers by Kurt Meyer.

Amazing book about his battles and life trough the war. Really nice, best one i have.

[enigma]

Grenadiers by Kurt Meyer.

Amazing book about his battles and life trough the war. Really nice, best one i have.


One should however not take everything as gospel for 2 reasons:

1 - Its a memoir, you should take this approach for all memoirs etc

2 - His personal agenda, one will note that he will point out all the crimes committed against either his men or against bodies of troops they have came across. One can believe that the Soviets did such things but you should note how in all his service on the Eastern front, the campaign in Poland and the march on Dunkirk he never once heard, witnesses or documents any crimes his men or his division committed. Which everyone can rest assure they did commit.

One which has just ticked me off his approach to the bombing of Caen, he has stated that early in the invasion British Bombers had already levelled the city and killed up to 10 000 people and that basically this was murder as there was no German units in the city.

One will note that the town was a supply and logistics hub:


a centre of German communication and railway transport, and the high ground to the south of Caen was strategically vital to Allied attempts to break out from the beachhead.

Caen was a road hub; in German hands it would enable the enemy to shift forces rapidly

The Allies planned to use heavy bombing in order to scare the German defenders as well as destroy their defensive positions. It was also hoped that the bombardments would raise the morale of the British troops as well.

And that looking on the net and through some books, the major bombing of the city which resulted in large destruction of it did not happen till Operation Charnwood. Which at that time the city was occupied.


The reality is that Bomber Command and the United States 8th Air Force played a major role in the Allied victory in Normandy, a role long overdue for recognition.


The target, "four map squares", including the northwest quarter of the city of Caen was known to be well inside the ring of fortified villages and farms that encircled the city



However to end on a positive note, he does give a great look into the mindset of the German soldier, what some could describe as the realities of combat and great examples of the tactics he used to beat his opponents. Weather it is a "cavarly charge" on motobike agaisnt Soviet fixed defence, tearassing (for lack of a better word) through Soviet columns, to mountian warfare agaisnt Anglo-Greek forces etc.
In this respect it is a good book.

[Matt]

I knew a very nice old man from my grandmothers nursing home who gave me atleast 1000 ww2 releated books from his old bookshelf's, a realy good one that gives you a nice overview of almost ever aspect of war would be 'The Sharp End, a great book.

[enigma]

talking to some dude before, he made these recomendations. Possibly of some use for you guys here?

I recommend some books called "Black Cross, Red Star", which includes several volumes. I expect you already have books such as "Enemy at the Gates", but if not, a brilliant insight into the whole of that battle from both sides. The film was enjoyable but of course was centered around a few characters, while the book encomapsses the whole battle and dozens of principals. if you don't have the book, you will really enjoy it

On the ETO, if you'd like a great view of Allied Operations from England, I recommend a book called "Little Friends: the fighter pilot experience in WWII England". It's not easy to find anymore though. A great all-around referecne for the whole air war is Walter Boyne's "Clash of Wings"

[Blame Canada]

Recently bought Christopher R. Browning's "The Origins of the Final Solution - The evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939 - March 1942"... Should be an interesting read.

[TodSky]

The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer is a brilliant book if you are interested in the eastern front and if you want to know what life was like on the ground for the average German soldier and all the day to day things that like mud, snow, dust and partisans. This isn’t one of those overviews that tells you day by day troop movements it isn’t about statistics or quotes from this and that person it is just a chilling first hand account of life on the Eastern front. (and most importantly it isn’t a horrible biased account writen by some American historian).

[pvt.Taylor]

My father had a WW2 encyclopedia, it has almost everything in it.

I myself, get info from sims and the internet.

[enigma]

The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer is a brilliant book if you are interested in the eastern front and if you want to know what life was like on the ground for the average German soldier and all the day to day things that like mud, snow, dust and partisans. This isn’t one of those overviews that tells you day by day troop movements it isn’t about statistics or quotes from this and that person it is just a chilling first hand account of life on the Eastern front. (and most importantly it isn’t a horrible biased account writen by some American historian).

One should note, there is alot of critism surrounding this book from historians claiming that the book is a novel. I am in the camp of the above, and agree with him.
However this book contains a lot of factual or detail errors which is were the historians jump on it, claiming some of the errors are suspiciously similar to the "mis-information that floated around in the 50's/60's ", hence why they discredit as true account.

If anyone does get this, read it and form your own opinion really if it is a novel or a work of fiction ;)


Webster's New New World Dictionary defines roman à clef as "a novel in which real persons appear under fictitious names." One could argue little details forever, but Sajer's own testimony is more convincing. In a letter to an associate, Sajer said his book records his actual World War II experiences while fighting on the Russian Front in the ranks of the Grossdeutschland division. While admitting to many errors in the chronology of events, weapon calibers and geography, he says he wrote about "my innermost emotional experiences as they related to me in the context of the Second World War." What is of importance to him is his description of an infantryman's life on the Russian Front - not strategy and tactics. To some, the distinction between a roman à clef and an autobiography may be a fine line. My point is this: Sajer wrote about his experiences -not those of a fictitious person. Sajer never claimed to have written a definitive history of the war - only what he experienced.


:)

[TodSky]

Yes I have read those criticisms on various web pages personally I think that
Book in Fact and is a true account. I think slight errors in detail can be forgiven all things considered.

[enigma]

May i ask, what do you consider a
horrible biased account writen by some American historian