|
|
 |
 |
HQ
Book Listing
The following is the beginning
of what will hopefully become a large, viewer-submitted, list of interesting
World War II books, videos, etc. All
of the books listed below have been recommended by fellow history buffs
and fans of WWII Online. You can rest assured that most, if not all, are
well worth your time and effort.
In the future I will
be adding the ability to recommend and rate different books, as
well as organizing them into distinct collections. But for now,
if you have any input or feedback, just throw an email
my way.
|
|
With the Old Breed
: At Peleliu and Okinawa
Based on
notes he kept on slips of paper tucked secretly away in his Bible,
Eugene Sledge has written a devastingly powerful memoir of his experience
fighting in
the South Pacific during WWII. John Keegan describes this stirring
account of the vitality and bravery of the Marines as "one of the
most arresting documents in war literature."
|
|
< buy
it >
|
Forgotten Soldier
: The Classic WWII Autobiography
"Simply as a record of an unfamiliar aspect of World War II--the Russian
campaign from a German viewpoint...fascinating. It has even greater
interest as a painful personal history, with reticences as significant
as its disclosures...I don't think that anyone who reads [it] to the
end will ever forget it." |
|
|
If You Survive
In the tradition of Company Commander, an intense memoir of the blood-drenched
small-unit combat of World War II--by a man who lived it--and survived.
For the first time, George Wilson tells what it was like--the blood,
the horror, the death and the glory, all brought vividly to life in
the most amazing combat memoir of recent years. |
|
|
Before Their Time
: A Memoir
In this memoir of his experiences as a teenage infantryman in the
US Third Army during World War II, Kotlowitz brings to life the harrowing
story of the massacre of his platoon in northeastern France, in which
he--by playing dead--was the only one to survive.
|
|
|
The Victors : Eisenhower
and His Boys
The Victors is like a compilation of Stephen E. Ambrose's greatest
hits, drawing heavily from his biography of General Dwight D. Eisenhower
and several military histories that recount the events of the Allied
push across the European continent in 1944 and 1945 from the frontline
trooper's perspective. The narrative is vintage Ambrose, full of engaging
yet workmanlike prose that conveys the epic scope of its subject while
paying careful attention to the details of the often inglorious lives
of the GIs. Eisenhower looms large over this book, but it's the ordinary
soldiers and their experiences who give the story real life. Readers
who have already dipped into the Ambrose library may find sections
of The Victors redundant, but for those who want an adept overview
of what Ike and his men accomplished, this is a great place to start.
|
|
|
Citizen Soldiers
Stephen E. Ambrose combines history and journalism to describe how
American GIs battled their way to the Rhineland. He focuses on the
combat experiences of ordinary soldiers, as opposed to the generals
who led them, and offers a series of compelling vignettes that read
like an enterprising reporter's dispatches from the front lines. The
book presents just enough contextual material to help readers understand
the big picture, and includes memorable accounts of the Battle of
the Bulge and other events as seen through the weary eyes of the men
who fought in the foxholes. Highly recommended for fans of Ambrose,
as well as all readers interested in understanding the life of a 1940s
army grunt. A sort of sequel to Ambrose's bestselling 1994 book D-Day,
Citizen Soldiers is more than capable of standing on its own. |
|
|
A Special Piece
of Hell
An account of World War II's battle of Peleliu describes how the acts
of individual courage among the men of the 1st Marine Division and
the division's spirit helped the U.S. win an important victory in
the Pacific theater of operation.
|
|
|
Death of a Division
This book tells of the effective demise of the 106th infantry division,
"the Golden Lions", during the Battle of the Bulge. Made up of inexperienced
soldiers, the group was placed in an area where no action was expected
to take place. It was in that area that the Germans launched a massive
attack during the start of the Battle of the Bulge. The soldiers of
the luckless 106th, for the most part, are either captured or killed
but there are individual examples of heroism. For example, an officer
who rounds up approximately 50 men and gives the Germans a dose of
their own medicine. This valient group is later found dead surrounded
by the 250 enemy corpses. This book is a must for all military buffs.
|
|
|
The Collapse of
the Third Republic : An Inquiry into the Fall of France in 1940
A brilliant account of the dry rot which weakened France. |
|
|
The Luftwaffe War
Diaries : The German Air Force in World War II
A very interesting book that offers excellent insight into the German
strategy in all aspects of the Luftwaffe's battle's during WWII. This
book cover's the whole spectrum of Luftwaffe units; from the classic
fighter and bomber squadron's, to the Paratroop Division's, to the
88mm Flak units accompanying the Wehrmacht, to the Armored/Mechanized
units like the Hermann Goring Division. The Luftwaffe War Diaries
is a well balanced book that discusses strategic planning of the war
at the highest level, including production planning, but also has
many highly interesting tales of personal heroism and gallantry. A
must read for any historian. |
|
|
Overlord : The Triumph
of Light 1944-1945
Nicholas Hagger brings his epic poem about the last year of World
War II to a triumphant conclusion. Placing his work in a metaphysical
context, Hagger takes us through the end of World War II, from D-Day
to the Nazi surrender. These final volumes mark the conclusion of
the first major epic poetic work in the English language since Milton's
"Paradise Lost." |
|
|
Crusade in Europe
|
|
|
Bomber
Bomber follows the progress of an Allied air raid through a period
of twenty-four hours in the summer of 1943. It portrays all the participants
in a terrifying drama, in the air and on the ground, in Britain and
in Germany. In its documentary style, it is unique. In its emotional
power, it is overwhelming. Len Deighton has been hugely acclaimed
both as a novelist and as an historian. In Bomber he has combined
both talents to produce a masterpiece. |
|
|
The Rise and Fall
of the Third Reich: AHistory of Nazi Germany
With a new afterword by the author, this unabridged edition tells
the complete story of Hitler's empire. Famed foreign correspondent
and historian Shirer spent five and a half years sifting through the
vast paperwork behind Hitler's drive to conquer the world to bring
this definitive record of one of the most frightening chapters in
the history of mankind. "One of the most important works of history
of our time." |
|
|
Encyclopedia of
German Tanks of World War Two
1,000 b/w illustrations! A complete illustrated directory is finally
available that shows and describes nearly 300 types of German battle
tanks, armored cars, self-propelled guns, and semi-tracked vehicles
manufactured and put into service from 1933 to 1945. Only recently
have the records of the manufacturers been made public, so never before
could you know just how many of each model were available, along with
accurate dates of their production and mobilization. Historic photos
identify features of each vehicle type, including uncommon variants. |
|
|
Six Armies in Normandy
: From D-Day to the Liberation of Paris
John Keegan's innovative approach to the invasion of Normandy correctly
observes that the invasion, while colossal, was merely the beginning
of a series of furious battles in northern France, and Keegan accordingly
tackles not only the actions of June 6, 1944, but the subsequent Normandy
campaigns by five Allied nations and their German opponents. Focusing
on specific actions, such as the U.S. 101st Airborne night drop into
France and the British infantry battles surrounding the city of Caen,
he provides an exciting chronological account of the action in Normandy
with considerable depth about tactical decisions. |
|
|
Albert Speer: His
Battle With Truth
This brilliant biography illuminates the forces and psychological
processes that turned a intelligent, perhaps even decent, man into
an instrument of evil. Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews
with Speer and his associates, Gitta Sereny unravels the complex web
of her subject's character, revealing the organizational genius, political
infighter, and cipher who became Hitler's "unhappy love." |
|
|
Fire in the Sky:
The Air War in the South Pacific
Utilizing primary sources and scores of interviews with surviving
veterans of all ranks and duties, Eric Bergerud re-creates the fabric
of the air war as it was fought in the South Pacific. He explores
the technology and tactics, the three-dimensional battlefield, and
the leadership, living conditions, medical challenges, and morale
of the combatants. The reader will be rewarded with a thorough understanding
of how air power functioned in World War II from the level of command
to the point of fire in air-to-air combat. |
|
|
Seven Roads to Hell:
A Screaming Eagle at Bastogne
The Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division (fictional Private
Ryan's unit) were ready for some well earned rest and recuperation.
Following their combat in the Normandy Invasion, the division had
been mauled during Field Marshal Montgomery's ill-fated Operation
Market Garden, the campaign for the "bridge too far" immoratalized
by Cornelius Ryan. |
|
|
Patton: A Genius
for War
Based on exclusive access to his personal and public papers, and with
the full cooperation of his family, Patton is an intimate look at
the colorful, charismatic, and sometimes controversial man who became
the one general the Germans respected and feared the most during World
War II. Photos. |
|
