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Good Book

S

Syrch

Diamond Member
I just read a thread on WW2 and really want to get more education on the subject. Can anyone recommend a book that has actual facts from all sides of the war that will educate me further?
 
WWI: Read the Zimmerman Telegram and The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman -- Guns of August is more of a war story Zimmerman is more political.

WW2? Definitely the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich to start. It's a tome but damn did I enjoy it.

<-- reads history books for fun between sci-fi. 😛
 
Keegan does a very nice "definitive" volume covering all of WWII. it's a good read. if you want to focus on one side, i'll admit Stephen Ambrose knows his stuff. Oh, and both of Antony Beevor's volumes, Stalingrad and The Fall of Berlin, are great on their respective subjects.
 
Originally posted by: mugs
You could just spend hours reading Wikipedia articles. 😉
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haha i know, but i really want to be able to get away from the PC sit on the couch and read 🙂
 
Slightly off topic but if you get the chance to watch 'The World at War' it's an amazingly informative series chronicling WWII
 
Originally posted by: JayMassive
Keegan does a very nice "definitive" volume covering all of WWII. it's a good read. if you want to focus on one side, i'll admit Stephen Ambrose knows his stuff. Oh, and both of Antony Beevor's volumes, Stalingrad and The Fall of Berlin, are great on their respective subjects.
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Stalingrad was a great book, I haven't read the Fall of Berlin yet.

For WWII Blood Tears and Follyis a great look at what often goes over-looked.
 
Memoirs by Karl Doenitz. Doenitz was the commander of the U-boat fleet during WWII and was Hitler's successor. This book outlines the war through his eyes and a couple other historians. He has written a few other books about the war too.
 
Originally posted by: Syrch
I just read a thread on WW2 and really want to get more education on the subject. Can anyone recommend a book that has actual facts from all sides of the war that will educate me further?
Click to expand...


The world at War by Sir Jeremy Isaacs. It is the best and has won numerous awards.

Link

It has interviews by everyone (japanese soldiers, american soldiers, nazis, common folks, heads of state, etc). Its also non-PC. Its a classic. I own a copy 🙂
 
Originally posted by: Gibsons
Originally posted by: JayMassive
Keegan does a very nice "definitive" volume covering all of WWII. it's a good read. if you want to focus on one side, i'll admit Stephen Ambrose knows his stuff. Oh, and both of Antony Beevor's volumes, Stalingrad and The Fall of Berlin, are great on their respective subjects.
Click to expand...
Stalingrad was a great book, I haven't read the Fall of Berlin yet.

For WWII Blood Tears and Follyis a great look at what often goes over-looked.
Click to expand...

That book looks interesting...will have to check for that next time i do a book run.
 
Off the top of my head, these are some good books that I have and like

WW I:
Castles of steel - Good book on the naval war, not just Jutland

Dreadnought - Arms race that lead up to WW I

First World War (Hew Strachan) - Good overview, Keegan also has his own book with the same name.

WW II:
Pacific War (Costello) Overview of the whole PTO

Russo-German War (Seaton) - Eastern Front

Why the Allies Won (Overy) - How the Army planned in the 20's and 30's for war

War Plan Orange (Miller) - Interesting book on the hypotheitcal plans for war with Japan in the 20's and 30's. Blueprint for the actual WWII campaign

Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors - Must read on the battle of Samar, where a handful of DD's and DE's went head to head with a major Japanese surface force to buy time for the CVE's to escape. What those guys did took courage beyond words.

Guadacanal (Franks) - The book on the first major pacific campaign

Little ship, Big war (Stafford) - Great book from an officer on a DE, following the ship from commision to the end of the war. Shows the day to day life onboard a ship

Iron Coffins (Werner) - True story of a surviving U-boat commander

Forgotten Soldier (Sajer) - Shows the hell of the Eastern front from a German point of view. War was definitely Hell.




 
The Patton Papers 1940 - 1945, Martin Blumenson, (c)1957 by author. pub by Houghton Mifflin Company, ISBN 0-395-12706-8

Patton, A Study In Command H. Essame 1974 by author Charles Scribner?s Sons 0-684-13671-6
 
The book for WWIII is not out yet, but if we could name the players, they would line up something like this:

USA
N. Korea
Iran
Russia
Venezuela

Sadly, all 5 would be abolished, and China would rule. :shocked:
 
Band of Brothers by Steven Ambrose is good as is

Brothers in Arms

note the author on the second, think basketball.

Both of these are good reads that give a very good feel for what it was like on the front line. The first from the foot soldier the second from a tank.

It may be best to start with one of books providing a statigic overview, then delve into the tactical (foot solider view) level.

Panzer Leader is also very good.
 
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