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Must read books?

Discussion in 'WWII Books & Publications' started by dd09999, Jul 8, 2008.

  1. dd09999

    dd09999 Member

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    Any one know of some must read books of WW2? I am currently reading Bahh Bahh Black Sheep. Some of the more popular books I have read are Flags of our Fathers, With the Old Breed, Barbarossa by Allan Clark, Bridge at Remagen, Helmet for My Pillow, D-Day Stephen Ambrose and a few others. Again, I am looking for a must read for any WW2 history buff. Any suggestions? Thanks!!
     
  2. Miguel B.

    Miguel B. Member

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  3. dd09999

    dd09999 Member

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  4. Miguel B.

    Miguel B. Member

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    I was hopping you'd say that :D

    Is it? Amazon.co.uk: Kursk 1943: A Statistical Analysis (Soviet (Russian) Study of War): Niklas Zetterling, Anders Frankson: Books


    Or Is it???
    Amazon.de: Kursk 1943: A Statistical Analysis (Cass Series on the Soviet (Russian) Study of War,): Niklas Zetterling, Anders Frankson: Englische Bücher

    Amazing what an harcdover can do to price...

    :p


    It's the lkatest study on Kursk too. And uses archival material for German losses and some Russian losses... It'll change your view of the battle :)



    Cheers...
     
  5. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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  6. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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  7. diddyriddick

    diddyriddick Member

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    Too many to mention, but here are a few. I'll echo Opana, and add Miracle at Midway, also by Prange. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich is an excellent source about the prewar years in Germany, but Shirer is anti-nazi to the point of losing objectivity at times.
     
  8. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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  9. von Poop

    von Poop Waspish

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    There was a thread along these lines recently in which I did my usual plug for Alanbrooke's Diaries and Fletcher's Tank books :D :
    http://www.ww2f.com/wwii-books-publications/21885-your-favourite-wwii-book.html
    Amazon.co.uk: War Diaries 1939-1945: Field Marshal Lord Alanbrooke: Alex Danchev, Dan Todman: Amazon.co.uk:

    but here's a few more (among others) that I'd consider essential:

    Best Biography of Hitler, bar none:
    Kershaw,
    Amazon.co.uk: Hitler, 1889-1936: Hubris: Ian Kershaw: Books
    Amazon.co.uk: Hitler, 1936-1945: Nemesis (Allen Lane History): Ian Kershaw: Books

    Frightening and fine comparison:
    Bullock,
    Amazon.co.uk: Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives: Alan Bullock, Baron Bullock: Books

    The rise of the gang by one who saw it happen, perhaps the Diary over the later work for it's feeling of immediacy:
    Shirer,
    Amazon.co.uk: Berlin Diary: Journal of a Foreign Correspondent 1934-1941: William L. Shirer: Books
    Amazon.co.uk: The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: William L. Shirer: Books

    And Paul Kennedy's superb general survey of the 400 years of world history and power relationships that eventually led to the conflict we're so fascinated by. I don't know how much it's been revised since publication as much has happened since the late eighties and my copy is 'pre-update' but I'm sure the book remains a magnificent read, sometimes those not specifically about the war can still be very pertinent:
    Amazon.co.uk: The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500-2000: Paul M. Kennedy: Books

    Cheers,
    Adam.
     
  10. airborne medic

    airborne medic Member

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    For one specific battle I'd have to say Arnhem by Martin Middlebrook......in fact come to think of it any of his bombing books on WW2...notably Hamburg and Peenemunde......
     
  11. dd09999

    dd09999 Member

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    I found it on alibris.com a bunch of used copies. Just did a search. I find it the best place to pick up a book. The prices are also in greenbacks.
     
  12. dd09999

    dd09999 Member

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  13. crumbs

    crumbs Member

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    Two books I would recommend to anyone interested in the Pacific campaign is John B. Lundstroms The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway and First Team And the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942. Well researched and above all very good reads. I wish more historians managed to combine this sort of detailed descriptions of events with the same level of penmanship as Lundstrom displays in his books. Two of the best books I've read on the subject.
     
  14. hucks216

    hucks216 Member

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    Probably, the best two memoirs I have read are: With The Old Breed by Eugene Sledge about his time as a marine in the Pacific island hopping campaigns, and for the European campaign The Guns Of War by George G Blackburn which is about his time as a Canadian forward artillery observer during the Normandy campaign and the push into Germany.
    The best memoir I have ever read would be The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer but as this book is the subject of much debate as to it's authenticity I have not chosen it here. Personally I think it is not a novel but a true memoir, but there are two opposing 'camps' on opinions for this book.
     
  15. redfan45

    redfan45 Member

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    The Forgotten Soldier is a great book by a German veteran and his experiance in the eastern front, its a very big book but great and i could imagine all the things its my favorite book of all times
     
  16. commandant Gaston

    commandant Gaston recruit

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    may I suggest you a Paul Fussel's book :
    "Wartime : Understanding and Behavior in the Second World War"
    dispite his tough title it's very easy to read (and this book is quoted in 50% of books on war).
     

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