War readings

[alien42]

The Killer Angels is an excellent Civil War book.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Two by Beevor: Stalingrad and D Day. I've heard the fall of Berlin is very good as well, but haven't gotten round to it yet.

Currently reading Guadalcanal by Richard Frank, it's pretty good.

Band of Brothers (the book that the miniseries is based on) is worth a read.

When you get around to it, you're in for a treat. Stalingrad was my favorite of his, but, the fall of Berlin is really really awesome.

Also, I'd go as far as just recommending anything by Stephen Ambrose, the Band of Brothers book is good, but pretty much everything he writes on WW2 is awesome. I also really liked his book on Louis and Clark (Undaunted Courage.)


That being said
My favorite Author of WW2 type stories is David Howarth. He writes a lot about the Norwegian underground.

The Shetland bus is essentially about guys in wooden fishing boats going across the sea during storms and being shot at by fighter planes while picking up and dropping off agents and supplies in Norway.
http://www.amazon.com/Shetland-Bus-E.../dp/1599213214

We Die Alone is a survival story about a guy whose whole party was killed before they even made it to shore, and he survived conditions that would kill rambo many times over.
http://www.amazon.com/We-Die-Alone-E...9654831&sr=1-1

The Sledge Patrol is about the small group to patrol and defend greenland. 1000 or whatever miles of glaciers, mountains, and coastline. A dozen or so people, using sled dogs....
http://www.amazon.com/Sledge-Patrol-...9654831&sr=1-4


Otherwise, sort of off topic, but, my interest in WW2 led me to read "The Dictators: Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia" which was really really fascinating
http://www.amazon.com/Dictators-Hitl...=stalin+hitler


I also really enjoyed "Warlord: Life of Winston Chirchill at war"
http://www.amazon.com/Warlord-Life-W...ords=churchill

 

[geecee]

I read this book recently, and absolutely loved it. Unbelievable true story.

http://www.amazon.com/Last-Stand-Tin.../dp/0553381482

I'm working on one of Hornfischer's other books right now as well:
http://www.amazon.com/Neptunes-Infer...tt_at_ep_dpt_1
Both are very interesting reads.

 

[SphinxnihpS]

The American Civil War is the most interesting war.

 

[Rakewell]

I'm working on one of Hornfischer's other books right now as well:
http://www.amazon.com/Neptunes-Infer...tt_at_ep_dpt_1
Both are very interesting reads.

Yup- That's book's in my queue currently. I've heard nothing but good things about it

 

[CPA]

On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane’s bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.

The lieutenant’s name was Louis Zamperini. In boyhood, he’d been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and fleeing his home to ride the rails. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics and within sight of the four-minute mile. But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown.

Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.

This was an awesome book, as well. Can't believe it hasn't been made into a movie yet.

 

[CPA]

We Die Alone is a survival story about a guy whose whole party was killed before they even made it to shore, and he survived conditions that would kill rambo many times over.
http://www.amazon.com/We-Die-Alone-E...9654831&sr=1-1

Another good survival book. Not as good as Unbroken, see above, but still excellent.

 

[klinc]

This isn't a book but it is quite interesting and how guerrilla tactics were countered

http://www.ajol.info/index.php/smsajms/article/download/75246/65813

 

[bguile]

Besides the Beevor books, here are some others that are imo are pretty good.

For the Civil War:
The Civil War Trilogy by Shelby Foote

Red Badge of Courage (fiction I know, but its still great)

World War 2

Rick Aktinson's Books: Army at Dawn, Day of Battle, & In the Company Soldiers

Stopped at Stalingrad: by Joel S. Hayword: Covers Germans Case Blue operation from the viewpoint of the Luftwaffe from the Odessa operation through to the defeat at Stalingrad.

Hitlers Uboat war, 2 books the hunters and the hunted by Clay Blair. Lots of details, he almost literally covers each uboats day to day operations in some case. Can be a bit hard to read

Iron Coffins, Herbert Werner: A captains personal narrative on his experiences during the war.

Guadalcanal, by Richard Frank.

Wages of Destruction by Adam Tooze: Covers the war from an economic standpoint. Beginning is a bit slow as he talks about various economic schemes the Nazis used to help fund their military build up, but when he starts to get into wartime production, it provides an eye opening experience on just how outmatched the Axis was.

David Glantz is also good, but I find him very hard to read.

When reading about World War 2, you have to be careful of certain authors, David Irving is one example, but there are several others.

Finally Guy Sajer's The Forgotten Soldier. This one is tricky. It's an piecemeal account of a grossduestchland soldier during ww2. It's good for describing experiences during battle, but probably not very accurate as far historical details.