your favourite WWII author

Had a look at my local bookstore today. Unfortunately they didnt really have that much on offer

 

Wotno,
Max Hastings has a terrible reputation amongst journalists then? Could you drop us some hints as to why this is? I know he has taken some criticism for his unabashed admiration for Wehrmacht military prowess-but the facts would seem to bear him out on this one. Then there is the fact that Max Hastings is a former military man and perhaps there is some petty jealousy amongst his contemporaries-who are generally only educated in the Liberal Arts? Then there is the fact that Max is about as subtle as an artillery barrage-here is his recent assessment of the political situation in the USA; http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ish-ways-U-S-hated--cost-McCain-election.html This "follow the evidence WHEREVER it leads" approach is bound to make him enemies!
Whatever...in my opinion he is still the best WWII author I have read to date.
JeffinMNUSA

 

My personal favourite remains Alistar Horne but AFAIK he wrote only one WW2 book. I love his way of describing a batle by patching together unit histories and the memories of mid level and high ranking participants intead of the more usual style of inserting lots of stories by common ranks. IMO the latter usually adds up to "what were the parecipants experiencing" rather than "what happened" but I admit it's a matter of taste, lots of people seem to like the "private smith saw the elephant and ..." approach as most WW2 books are in that style.
BTW I think the right solution is making this or some other "favorite book" thread a sticky in this section rather than a sacred cow. It is bound to come alive at regular intervals.

 

Well without wandering towards the libelous, it's fair to say his subjectivity has been questioned a number of times, as was his editorialship of the Telegraph and later the Evening Standard when others felt his personal political tastes flavoured coverage.

I don't really believe there's any jealously or bitterness driven by his background though, journo's come from a variety of backgrounds including the toff end of our citizenry from which Hastings hails.

I remember when his "Das Reich" was published there was a lot of fuss about his inaccuracies, eg: Adolf Diekmann was referred to as Otto Dickman, as well as several complaints from those German vets who had collaborated with him believing it was a military history, and felt betrayed by the result.

As you say, it's a matter of taste.

Sounds intriguing, what's the book?

cheers,

 

Serious writing: John Ellis; Paul Carrell.

Not-so-serious writing: Charles Whiting (always a bit of fun); many others.

 

Wotno;
"Max is not God". Hmm-OK...noted. From the above article on the US Presidential Election can I safely assume that his political views are left of center? Can I also safely assume that Hastings is somewhat opinionated, cavalier of facts at times, and maybe someone you would not want to go out to dinner with? I will keep this in mind next time I am reading on his next book, which I will buy in hardcover and hot off the press.
JeffinMNUSA

 

To loose a battle on the French campaign, part of a trilogy on Franco-German conflict including 1870 (The fall of Paris) and Verdun (The price of glory) all are a bit anti French but the way he traces how key decisions, like the stop order to the Panzers or keeping the RAF reserve fighters in England were made up and down the chain of command from the politicians to the field commanders is fascinating.

Another rather good one from him is "A savage war of peace Algeria 1954-1962" , as it's about the French it will not irritate US readers like a Vietnam or Iraq book would but gives some real insights about what fighting a counter insurgency campaign is about.

 

for me it's
steven e ambrose
antony beevor