History Books

johnny70

Can anyone recommend any good books(factual) for the WWII please

Done some reading of the subject mainly Dam-buster stuff, I live near the Derwent Valley where a lot of testing was done, and I also lived in Germany just a few km's away from one of the Dams that was targeted.

EarthRod

Hi Johnny

I'm going through a WWII phase at the moment and have read many books on Fighter and Bomber Command.

I recommend three Jack Currie books:
"Wings Over Georgia" - pilot training for 'heavies' in the USA.
"Lancaster Target" - tour in Bomber Command flying Lancasters.
"Mosquito Victory" - tour of duty pathfinder.

Also:
"Only Owls and Bloody Fools Fly At Night" by Tom Sawyer.
"No Moon Tonight" by Don Charlwood.

The above books only cover Bomber Command stuff, I assume that is what you are interested in?

Alan

nheather

The ambrose stuff is good - famous for Band of Brothers but I particularly liked Pegasus Bridge.

Two other books I enjoyed were

First and the Last by Adolph Galland (one of the leading Luftwaffe pilots) - nice to have a view from the other side

Fighter Boys - interesting to see lives of the 19yo pilots in the Battle of Britain

Cheers,

Nigel

johnny70

Cheers, I will start looking into them. TBH I'm interested in all aspects of WWII not just the Fighter/Bomber Command stuff. Will be interesting to read stuff from the German point of veiw too.

GasDad

Len Deighton has written quite a few very good books on WW2. To my mind his history books are better than his thrillers. Most (though not all) of his history books focus on a particular technology (eg Plane or tank etc) and the men on both sides who operated and commanded them.

Sonic67

The Rise & Fall Of The Third Reich - William L Shirer

Such a good book that I read it twice.

Robert Kershaw has written some brilliant books on Arnhem, D-Day and the Russian front.

Pegasus Bridge as above is good.

Bomber Boys: Fighting Back 1940-1945 by Patrick Bishop was a good book as well.

Through Hell For Hitler - Henry Metelmann - A German tankies view of the Russian Front

RPupkin

I always found Ian Kershaw and AJP Taylor very interesting reading for digging further into the history of WWII aside from individual battles etc. Also Anthony Beaver is an amazing story teller and his books on "Stalingrad" and "Berlin" are very well recommended.

Hitler: Amazon.co.uk: Ian Kershaw: Books Fascinating and insightful look into the madman himself

The Origins of the Second World War: Amazon.co.uk: A.J.P. Taylor: Books A must IMO for understanding the origins of the whole conflict.

Amazon.co.uk: anthony beavor: Books I have only read Stalingrad and Berlin and his new book on D-Day has come into some criticism of his attack on Allied morality throughout the campaign. Brilliant stuff none the less.

Forgotten Soldier (Cassell Military Paperbacks): Amazon.co.uk: Guy Sajer: Books You said you were interested in something with a German slant, this book is fascinating, a first hand account of a German soldier on the Russian Front.

johnny70

Cheers everyone, only problem I have now is what to read first

RPupkin

My recommendations obviously.

spyder viewer

An old thread but the subject grows steadily!

I've just read for the second time, Kursk by Lloyd Clark. Kursk was the biggest tank battle of the war and since. It was the turning point for the Red Army in WW2 where they achieved numerical supremacy in all aspects and started the long march to Berlin and the fall of the Third Reich.

Clark's book contains very little original material but is basically a distillation of many eminent sources. It contains a detailed description of the rise of Stalin and of the Third Reich. It is written in a narrative style and has plenty of maps (although they aren't placed in the narrative very well) to help to understand what is going on. If you only buy one book on the subject you will enjoy this one.