What Are You Reading?

I'm enjoying The Last Battle thoroughly so far. How are the rest of Ryan's books?

 

I enjoy reading Cornelius Ryan. Keep in mind that he's more journalist than 'serious' historian ( his books can be criticised for shallowness and focussing more on making a good story than good history.. ).

But he was early in the field and interviewed many veterans when their memories were fresh. You won't be disappointed either by 'The Longest Day' or 'A Bridge Too Far'.

 

Splendid

 

Cornelius Ryan, did a good job with that trilogy of books well worth reading, I think he wrote those books back in the 1960's not bad for the time. I think they were the first books I read on the western front.

 

Hello gentlemen,

I found his 'Bridge too far ' somewhat dissapointing. I don't want to take any credit from allied performance but I found his book very, very biassed. Kept asking myself while reading the book 'how the h.. did they manage to lose this battle ".

Regards,
Hollywood Fats

 

Himmler's Secret War: The Covert Peace Negotiations of Heinrich Himmler

Martin Allen

I suppose one must be rather careful with these kinds of books with "new evidence" but hopefully find something interesting and not all "ufo findings"...

 

I'm reading two kind of different books.
One of them is "Hitler's U-Boat War" by Clay Blair, this is very big book (about 1.500 pages) but it gives you another point of view about this very long battle (Battle of the Atlantic), it's very interesting.
The other is "The Confessor" by Daniel Silva, this is about the paper of The Vatican during the Holocaust. I've just started it.

 

Sepp Allerberger: sniper on the eastern front

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1844153177/104-0380614-9221543?v=glance&n=283155

Excellent book!!! Bought it yesterday and read it through in one go!

I always thought snipers shot their victims one by one. Actually you could be waiting at the other end of a valley while your friends were chasing the enemy towards you...20 kills. Or the enemy could have several snipers in the trees and every time your own MG´s fired you shot one down...18 kills.

Also interesting views on sniper and the enemy attacking in waves...don´t shoot to kill. Shoot them in the FOURTH wave in the belly so they cause panic and fear....

 

Black Propaganda : In the Second World War (Hardcover)
by Stanley Newcourt-Nowodworski

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/075094207X/102-4665074-4748945?v=glance&n=283155

A bit heavy book to read but includes excellent info how much propaganda was actually sent/broadcasted to the Reich itself and Mr propaganda Göbbels raging about that...

Also info on the German propaganda and its effect especially on the French during the war 1940.

Especially I was surprised how much the Poles managed to do in their country. Especially creating chaos is an excellent way of sabotage. They sent orders to people to report to various places and then it took time because there was no such thing at all and the police had to find out why such orders were around etc etc

 

Hitler's Commander: Field Marshal Walther Model--Hitler's Favorite General

Pub. Date: 12/30/2005
Author(s): Newton, Steven H

http://www.ecampus.com/book/0306813998

Just started this one. Interesting to see what the author can do as Walther destroyed as many documents as possible about his life before shooting himself.

 

I'd be interested to know what you think of this one, Kai. Saw it on Amazon with no reviews, so have hesitated to purchase for just the reason you stated.....

 

Currently reading 'Blitzkrieg'-a volume from Time Life's old WWII series.

 

I´ll be back with more info after the weekend Martin but I did manage to read until the Fall Weiss and I must say the author has done excellent work to get info from other sources or records of meetings with other colleagues of his. So far it is thumbs up but we´ll see about the rest of it. And unfortunately not very many pics....

 

Hitler's Commander: Field Marshal Walther Model--Hitler's Favorite General

Finished yesterday this one. Like Model´s career the book seems to catch fire after 1941, I think.

Things that are charasteristic for Model according to the author:

I always thought that you cannot be hated by your staff but Model seems to have made that almost every time ! and yet in-between the shouting he managed to pull tricks out of his hat to save the troops!!.And if Rommel was blamed for being heaven-knows-where it seems Model outdid him on that one.

I know the book definitely misses some details of his life that Model himself destroyed but I do think this was a great book, even if the author does not leave Model without some nasty remarks about his behaviour. I also got good info on Model´s tactics and why and how he was so good. And especially several reasons for what he did in Kursk and diffenrently from AGS´s part.

I found this book very interesting expecially once we got the the ostfront. I give it 9 out of ten.

 

Well, I'm reading about three all at the same time, a littl ein each not everyday but pretty frequently...

"Thunder Run" by David Zucchino
3rd Inf. Division's "Thunder Run's" Into Baghdad during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

"Grasshopper Pilot" by Julian W. Cummings
Biography of Julian W. Cummings days as a 10th FA, 3rd Division J3 Cub Pilot from Sicily to Austria.

"Fighter Boys" by Patrick Bishop
The story as told from one perspective of a R.A.F. pilot during the 1940 Battle of Britain.

Regards,
MARNE

 

Just finished Helmut Altner´s "Berlin dance of death" describing the life of a 17-year old boy who was taken to the army in march 1945 to fight in Berlin´s battles. It is amazing that he survived really...

Just shows the cynicism and on the other hand the "joy of youth" as they boys left to the first battle they greeted " See you in the mass grave!" and smiled at each other. How true that was....

 

RETREAT FROM LENINGRAD
ARMY GROUP NORTH 1944/1945

BY STEVEN H. NEWTON

Very interesting book which fills in a badly neglected front at that time, Army Group North conducted a brilliant withdraw to the Courland. I find it very refreshing when an author fills in a hole in the history books.

 

A very touching end to the book Ivan´s war by C Merridale

"What do the old men talk about when they come back to remember?" I asked the curator of the museum at Prokhorovka, Russia´s greatest battle.
"They don´t talk much" she answered. " They don´t seem to need to. Sometimes they just stand up and weep."

 

Just finished Hans Baur´s book "Hitler at my side". I enjoyed reading it.

Next some Patton (Aug-Sept 1944) Tim Ripley "Patton unleashed".

 

Just took a three day break from my other book I got on the go to read this small book.

The Drama Of The Scharnhorst

By Fritz-Otto Busch

Good read, as her crew put it the `lucky ship` which finally ran out of luck in Dec43.


Now back to my other one.