(I've looked/searched through the forums and most threads are asking for books focused on a particular subject or aimed at people who already have prior knowledge on the basics of WWII)

I'm 14 and need a book that tells the basics of WWII. I'm not necessarily fond of WWII, per se, (or maybe interested), but I really intend to increase my knowledge on the subject. (it seems to be the new thing in school to know a lot about WWII. Of my friends I seen to know the least. I intend to rectify this. )

So yeah, any book that starts at the beginning of WWII will be fine. From there, I'll read more advanced books on particular subjects and so on.

EDIT- Through searching the forums, I saw this thread: Looking for a book

Should I start with "John Keegan's The Second World War," as recommended in the above thread?

John Keegan's book is one I recommend or another would be A.J.P. Taylor's The Second World War: An Illustrated History.

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American by birth, TEXAN by the grace of GOD!

Thats what I was going to say. Yup for a good overall read John Keegan is the man.

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"What might work in New York City is certainly not going to work in Montana. So, for the federal government to be having any kind of, you know, blanket rules that they're going to try to impose, I think doesn't make sense." Hillary Clinton

(Photo removed for humanitarian reasons.)

Zhao,

I recommended that book in the other thread because I had read it when I was your age. It will get you started.

A good, general book on the US side of the naval war is The Two Ocean War, by Samuel Elliot Morrison. Good broad overview of the actions of the US Navy, not much on the Brits or the Med Sea, though. Maybe some of the Brits here can help out with a book on what the what the Royal Navy did.

I hope you read enough to learn much of what these men did for you (and me and my family) 60 or so years ago, especially those who earned with their lives, the good life we enjoy now. Many of them were not much older than you are now and they gave so much, even if all they gave was time away from home, perspiration and effort. To them, it wasn't a video game, it was deadly serious. I had an uncle who was gone for 4 years, not seeing his family for nearly the entire time. My grandfather came home to two children who were too young to remember him and did not know who he was.

Thanks for wanting to know.

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Best Regards,
JW

Hey Zhao!
Another good one is "World War II - A complete photographic history."
It's a nice timeline book that shows a good overview of the war.

good luck, and trust me, as a newibe to this myself, you will probably find that reading one book will get you to another and another....it's addicting!!!

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Members of the Dutch Resistance with 101st AB, Eindhoven. Operation Market Garden.

Scott

The Oxford Companion to the Second World War.
Ed: ICB Dear & MRD Foot.

Big old thing that can be found for very little money and covers almost every aspect of the history of the war in well-written concise sections written by leading historians in whatever area is being explained.

Indispensable and as near to comprehensive as I've ever found without any windy padding.

Cheers,
Adam

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"Wars cannot be fought with dream stuff" - Sir Percy Hobart.

I recently 'acquired' the book,
"D-Day. Inasion there coming", about the Normandy campaign from the German perspective. I havent finished it yet, but it's a good read.

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Caption reads: Laxatives caused an elephant called Stefan to release an out-pouring of poo, burying it's pitiful trainer alive.

If you want to be well rounded in your knowledge, don't forget that there were numerous countries involved on both sides. It is not a story from just one country's or people's perspective.

Unfortunately, I can't think of a general book as most of those I took out from the library and don't have here to refer to the name or author. I have about 20 books on the Canadian perspective, though if you ever want a reference to their participation. I applaud your wanting to learn more - especially by reading it in a book where you can reread or look up something you question. If you do question something, the senior participants in the forum are very knowledgeable and should be able to give you some help.

Regards, Michelle

With respect, I think you are probably ready for Stalingrad by Antony Beevor

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