Bought these:

Helmut Altner : Berlin dance of death

Günther Koschorrek Blood red snow :The horror and confusion of fighting in the streets of Stalingrad are brought to life by his descriptions of the others in his unit: their differing manners and techniques for dealing with the squalor and death.

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Oh yeah,

just last week also got an old book (translated in Finnish ): The White Rabbit: Wing Commander F.F.E.Yeo-Thomas by Bruce Marshall

http://www.stephen-stratford.co.uk/yeo_thomas.htm

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I've bought to-day for just $ 20 all these books:

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• Defence of the Westby Sir Basil H. Liddel-Hart (I'm very curious about this famous author's reflexions about the war and the 'future', specially when he's one of the greatest myth creators of the war…)</font>
• Guadalcanal Diary by Richard Tregaskis (first edition of 1943, anyone has comments on it?)</font>
• Their Finest Hour by Sir W. L. S. Churchill (first edition!)</font>
• History of the English Speaking Peoples by Sir W. L. S. Churchill (vols. II & III, first editions too!)</font>

[img]graemlins/salute.gif[/img]

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"War is less costly than servitude, the choice is always between Verdun and Dachau." - Jean Dutourd, French veteran of both world wars

"A mon fils: depuis que tes yeux sont fermes les miens n’ont cessé de pleurir." - Mère française, Verdun

That's a good haul of books, Friedrich ! [img]smile.gif[/img]

The first edition of Guadalcanal Diary is just about worth $20 alone. It is a classic of war reporting ; Tregaskis was a journalist and in 1943 the book was a sensation ; it was immediately made into a movie.

In direct contrast to, say, Hemingway, the author does not intrude into the scene and lets the Marines tell the story. However, the book needs to be read in the context of 1943 - there is no 'blood and guts' or bullets whizzing past the readers' ear. Tregaskis was well back from the action and it shows, whereas today we're more used to graphic first-hand writing.

'Their Finest Hour' well - what can I say ? [img]graemlins/salute.gif[/img] Just don't take it as Gospel - Churchill did amend things somewhat ! ( And also - quite a lot of it wasn't actually written by him !! )

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

Glad to know! I am very curious about Guadalcanal Diary actually. Think I'll have to get the film as well. [img]smile.gif[/img]

As for Churchill, what can I say? His books are out of date, biased, but who-the-hell cares? It's a Nobel Prize winner telling a first-hand account of WWII!

Churchill's books are so quotable that you can see which parts he wrote and which didn't.

I'll just have to get volumes I & III of The Second World War to have the complete first edition collection…

However, I'm dying to get my hands on the complete series of The World Crisis… I've only managed to get volume 1…

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"War is less costly than servitude, the choice is always between Verdun and Dachau." - Jean Dutourd, French veteran of both world wars

"A mon fils: depuis que tes yeux sont fermes les miens n’ont cessé de pleurir." - Mère française, Verdun

'World Crisis' was all WSC's own work - and it shows, when you read it ! [img]graemlins/salute.gif[/img]

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

Finished Thomas&Witts "Enola Gay" a while back and thought it quite a good book on the subject of picking up the crews, training them and finally the decision to drop the bomb.

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I've just got the memoirs of the Lord Montgomery.

Any commentaries? I'm most curious about them! [img]smile.gif[/img]

And, by the way, did you now that field marshal Paulus wrote a memoir?! I saw a book called Stalingrad and I or something by Friedrich Paulus and am eagger to get my hands on it, specially because I didn't know he had written anything.

Did he?

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"War is less costly than servitude, the choice is always between Verdun and Dachau." - Jean Dutourd, French veteran of both world wars

"A mon fils: depuis que tes yeux sont fermes les miens n’ont cessé de pleurir." - Mère française, Verdun

Just finished R. Höss` book on Auschwitz. Not very nice reading but if you´re interested in the WW2 history a must, I think.

Friedrich,
I always thought Paulus never opened his mouth after returning from prison but I might be wrong...?!

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John Lynn's Battle: A History of Combat and Culture. Recommended.

Juts bought E Kempka´s "I burnt Hitler".

Reading the huge Nicolaus V Below´s "Hitler´s adjutant 1937-1945".

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Reading:

A Moral Reckoning: the Rôle of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust and its Unfulfilled Duty of Repair by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen.

Good literature, without a doubt. Bad history, though, as Sir Ian Kershaw put it.

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"War is less costly than servitude, the choice is always between Verdun and Dachau." - Jean Dutourd, French veteran of both world wars

"A mon fils: depuis que tes yeux sont fermes les miens n’ont cessé de pleurir." - Mère française, Verdun

Just finished this week

Sebastian Haffner´s " Hitler sidenotes"

Hans Fritzsche´s "Prisoners of Nuremberg"

Patrick Oddone "Dunkirk 1940"

also the huge V Below book which I did in 4 days with 500+ pages...

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All the books mentioned are incredible historical volumes. I found a fascinating book in a used book store by Clayton Hutton called "Official Secret" published in 1960. It is his autobiography detailing his amazing inventions for escape aids, from concealed compasses and silk maps to grammaphone needle pens given to civilians to harass their German conquerors. He made the toys that the secret agents, such as Ian Fleming, used in espionage.

Last weekend read half of Otto Skorzeny´s memoirs and hopefully next weekend the other half.

Sometimes it´s amazing how different views people have on thungs. Like Rudolf Hess in Nuremberg. Hans Fritzsche describes him a "broken man" who during their imprisonment was talking jibberish and during the court said stupid thigns every now and then so that Göring had to shout at him "Shut up!" Skorzeny says that Rudolf was walking proudly around making the guard look stupid and that he never lost his cool...Probably something to do with how you want to see it, really!!

Personally I believe that Rudolf was a broken man and after years losing his sanity as well.

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Hello. Well I just received a new book as a present. It's titled, Forgotten Voices of the Second World War. It is accounts of the war by tons of those who fought/lived in it. Mainly from an English perspective. Can anyone let me know if you have read it and your thoughts on it?

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"It was three hundred against one million..."

Im just hoping my wife does'nt see my credit card bill with all the books I keep spending money on.Im sure im addicted.

With my favourite topic being Normandy, ive recently re read Assualt Divison by Norman Scarfe. An excellent book on Brian Guy's division, with much info on the problems faced by the Division and not taking Caen on D-day.

Two books I have just bought and have not started just yet, The Pendulum of Battle, operation Goodwood July 44, by Christopher Dunphie and Breaking the Panzers, the bloody battle for Rauray by Kevin Baverstock. Both books look excellent, great maps and pictures to.

Andy

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Does this book have any detail of the land battle or is it another one about the evacuation? Other evacuation books include "the Miracle of Dunkirk" by Walter Lord and "Dunkirk- the Great Escape" by AJ Barker.

I would like to read an account of the fighting on land during the last days.

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If dogs don't go to heaven, I'd like to go where they go.

Breaking the Panzers is a great book about a great battle.

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If dogs don't go to heaven, I'd like to go where they go.

Hi MD, the book is about the British 3rd Divison, some interesting stuff in there from the author on Wilmot and D'Este and their claims on this div.

Andy

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Hi Major,

Oddone´s book goes through all the details on Dunkirk starting from WW1 ( background for WW2 ) to the end of operation Dynamo. On WW2 it shows how people were preparing for war, even has pics from the burial of German U-boat men who were buried with all military honours! ( If I remember correct there was also a protestant and a catholic priest because they wanted to be sure the right priest was present!) He discusses some key figures from the period, on battles it has some pages but this covers about 1/4-1/3 of the book I think. Several pics of the city showing how the war destroyed it. Not the "usual" kind of war book on Dunkirk but if you want to know more this is a great addition.

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At the moment reading a book on the bombing of German cities. Earlier this year translated to Finnish. Incl memoirs by people who were down in the cities being bombed and pilots who dropped the bombs.

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