# Recommend books on WW1 & WW2. Please. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 8, 2004, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620 "2004-11-08T12:16:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Peligro\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Peligro\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peligro_1)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620/21 "2004-11-08T21:39:03Z")
_The Wars_ by Timothy Findlay. One of the most “beautiful” books I’ve ever read. ('Beautiful" because of the prose – the subject matter is of course, horrific). ---
**Author:** ![UncaStuart](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncastuart/32/404_2.png) [@UncaStuart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaStuart)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620/22 "2004-11-08T22:04:33Z")
World War I: Ditto on Keegan. Also: _Castles of Steel_ by Massie, covering the war at sea, especially Jutland. _Eleventh Month, Eleventh Day, Eleventh Hour_ by Persico For fiction, Derek Robinson’s _War Story_ does for WWI aviators what his _Piece of Cake_ did for their WWII counterparts. World War II: Don’t know if the Pacific war will be as much interest, but _Touched with Fire: The Land War in the South Pacific_ by Bergerud covers the land war before the tide turned completely in favor of the Allies. His _Fire in the Sky_ does the same for the air war there. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620/23 "2004-11-08T22:18:37Z")
Try William March’s 1933 novel, [Company K](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0817304800/qid=1099952504/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-1760997-3641620?v=glance&s=books). An interesting, absurdist precursor to _Catch-22_ and _Slaughterhouse Five_, it was wildly popular with the American troops during WWII, and stayed in print as a pocket book well into the 1950s. Only available now as a university press reprint…an extremely handsome piece of bookmaking. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620/24 "2004-11-08T22:28:32Z")
Two by Walter Lord, the guy who wrote the definitive Titanic books _A Night to Remember_ and _The Night Lives On_: _Day of Infamy_, about Pearl Harbor. Short book but makes you feel like you were there and wonder what’s going to happen, even though theoretically, of course, you know. _The Good Years_–takes each year between 1901-1914 and narrates and dissects a major event–the McKinley assasination for 1901, the North Pole races of 1909, the Wilson election, child labor laws passage, women’s suffrage, etc. Good along with the Tuchman book as a prelude to more technical military histories of WWI. God rest his soul, Lord made you have a great deal of fun while quietly and skillfully stuffing you with facts and figures. The books just seem to fly by. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620/25 "2004-11-08T22:41:59Z")
A WWII book that I recommend to anyone with an interest in naval matters is Daniel V. Gallery’s U-505. In June of 1944 an American Hunter-Killer task group cornered and then _captured_ on the high seas a German U-boat. U-505 is the story of both ships involved told from the view point of the commander who made the capture happen: Gallery himself. Part of the book is his own view of fighting WWII up to the point where he captures the sub, part of it is a meticulously researched history of the German POV, including quite a lot of details of the Kriegsmarine’s U-boat men. An incredible read. And a description of one of the bravest things I can imagine doing: climbing into a submarine whose crew just set it to scuttle to see if they could save it, instead. \ Similarly, Edward Beach’s books are well worth reading, too. Not simply Run Silent, Run Deep, but I’d also recommend Around the World Submerged: The Voyage of the Triton. I know the latter isn’t WWII, but it’s still fascinating reading. I’d also recommend any of the books about the way that four Destroyer Escorts held off the (scraps of the) Japanese surface fleet during the Leyte Gulf battles. Talk about David and Goliath - the Japanese Admiral was freaked because his shots were hitting these miniature tin cans, and he was seeing no explosions or damage from his rounds. The reason for this was that the battleship rounds were fused such that they were detonating _after_ travelling through the DE’s. I’ve not read any of the recent account that I’m going to list here, but the story itself is one that is well worth reading, and any honest account will be heart stopping. The Men of the Gambier Bay: The Amazing True Story of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, by Edwin P. Hoyt The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors : The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy’s Finest Hour, by James D. Hornfischer And I’ll second the recommendation for Ballard’s book - he’s a very good writer. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620/26 "2004-11-08T23:02:35Z")
[I Had Seen Castles](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=xt1xSKKAzc&isbn=0152053123&itm=3), by Cynthia Rylant. You can find the book, as well as a couple reviews, on amazon. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620/27 "2004-11-09T02:02:29Z")
Even though more books have been recommended than you’ll ever need, I couldn’t resist making a pitch for [The Forgotten Soldier](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1574882864/qid=1099966034/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/002-3233737-0773601) by Guy Sajer. It is, IMHO, unrivaled in conveying the horror and stupidity of war. A (supposedly) true story of a German soldier in WWII, it contains descriptions and images that will stay with the reader forever. Not for the squeamish. If nothing else, FIL may never have encountered this one before. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620/28 "2004-11-09T04:55:23Z")
> [@Rodd Hill](#): > > Anthony Beevor’s [Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege, 1942-1943](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140284583/qid=1099949622/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/103-4079279-0112612) is superb, based on new material (new to the West, anyway) from former Soviet archives. His [The Fall of Berlin 1945](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0142002801/ref=pd_bxgy_text_1/103-4079279-0112612?v=glance&s=books&st=*) is good, but not as much so as “Stalingrad.” I preferred Ryan’s book on Berlin. In fact all of Cornelius Ryan’s WW II books - _The Longest Day_, _A Bridge Too Far_ ( also a good film by the way - literally star-studded and easy to find on DVD )and _The Last Battle_ ( the aformentioned book on the battle of Berlin ) are probably worth a gander. Easy reads for the homebound. - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620/29 "2004-11-09T05:22:23Z")
_Dreadnaught_-Robert K. Massie \*Exploring the \*Lusitania-Bob Ballard (mentioned above as the the man who found the wreck of _Titanic_). ---
**Author:** ![mcott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@mcott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcott)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620/30 "2004-11-09T06:33:04Z")
Here’s one. Shameless plug because my grandfather is mentioned in the acknowledgements. [The Battle of St. Lawrence](http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/item.asp?Item=978000200664&Catalog=Books&Lang=en&Section=books&zxac=1) Canadian bookstore link, but should be available anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620/31 "2004-11-09T07:21:36Z")
Since I don’t know your FIL, I coudn’t say if he would be bored by the more scholarly works during his convalesence. If not, I’d recommend “The Great War and Modern Memory,” by Paul Fussell. Since it covers just about all of the worthwhile books about World War One, you may then have to make follow-up trips for the actual books that Fussel mentions that may interest your FIL. If your FIL is more interested in a good, simple war yarn or two, and isn’t comfortable with seeing his country of origin as the bad guys, I recommend John Biggins’ three books “A Sailor of Austria,” “The Emperor’s Coloured Coat,” and “Two Headed Eagle,” adventure books with a nice mixture of the grim and silly about Austria-Hungary’s war. Or to hell with the World Wars; if, like a lot of Germans, he likes Westerns, get him some Louis L’Amour! ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620/32 "2004-11-11T18:59:38Z")
I have neglected this thread but I have not forgotten all the wonderful, well thought out book suggestions. My attention was drawn today with the news that Iris Chang , the author of [The Rape of Nanking](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140277447/qid=1100199690/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-7050486-0328166?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) committed suicide the other day and brought her book back into the forefront of my mind. I will be getting this book for myself. I was wondering about War books from Japan/China /Aussies… ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620/33 "2004-11-11T19:21:22Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > I will be getting this book for myself. I was wondering about War books from Japan/China /Aussies… I just tried looking it up, but I don’t recall the name or the title offhand - when I next visit my parents I’ll look it up - but there’s a great narrative of the Pacific War from the view of a Japanese Naval officer. He was only a small cog, but still it’s a view of WWII that is not often seen. The only reason the book was published and translated to English was that the man who wrote it was the captain of the detroyer that ran over JFK’s PT 109. But that’s a poor reason to read the book - it’s only a very small part of the story, mostly it’s one man trying to survive a losing war with personal honor and duty. Of course, it also solidified my view of JFK’s PT 109 incident as being the outgrowth of a major FUBAR. The thing that most affected me when I read it was a mid-war vacation that the captain and his wife took, and how they’d had a lovely time. As an aside, the author mentioned how if he could he’d love to go back there, but it’s not possible - it had been in Nagasaki, you see. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620/34 "2004-11-11T19:35:43Z")
For epic fictionalized adventure, you can’t go wrong with _The Winds of War_ and _War and Remembrance_ by **Herman Wouk** ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620/35 "2004-11-11T19:42:33Z")
Keegan’s histories of the two wars - named, originally enough, “The First World War” and “The Second World War” - are the best-organized, best-written, clearest, and most accurate single-volume histories I’ve ever read. I agree, though, that World War I is kind of boring. Its impact on world history is interesting, but the war itself was a pointless meat grinder and is generally notable only for the amazing level of stupidity and pointlessness it represents. ---
**Author:** ![gruffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gruffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gruffy)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620/36 "2004-11-11T19:47:06Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > I need book recommendations for books about the First and Second world war. Fiction, Bio’s, Mystery, Factual Compendiums & whatnot. Links appreciated. > > Danke 🙂 The Rising Sun : The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 (Modern Library War Series 1970) John Toland - Pulitzer Prize; Very exciting and comprehensive long book on the Pacific. Chesty (The Story of Lt. Gen. Lewis B. Puller, USMC, 2001) by Col. Jon T. Hoffman, USMC Carlson’s Raid (The Daring Assult on Makin, 2001) by George W. Smith ---
**Author:** ![SlyFrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@SlyFrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlyFrog)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620/37 "2004-11-11T20:20:15Z")
Macro level: WWII: Gerhard L. Weinberg, _A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II_ Closer look at the east: David M. Glantz, _When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler_ Also: William L. Shrier: Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (for the historiography value if he is interested in that) My personal viewpoint, having read three Ambrose books, is that most if not all of what he writes is anecdotal crap. Even taking myself out of hardcore historian mindset, his “tales of the common soldier” type of approach did not capture me. I found him quite irritating from the context of a true historian. Of course plenty of others love him. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620/38 "2004-11-11T20:34:54Z")
WWI fiction: _Birdsong_ by Sebastian Faulks. The best I’ve ever read. Really puts you in the horror of the trenches, to powerful and devastating effect. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620/39 "2004-11-11T21:03:51Z")
Chesty Puller’s a fun one. Think of Cotton Hill with an attitude. :eek: My problem with Ambrose is not that it’s “anecdotal crap” (one guy’s anecdotal crap is another guy’s oral history) but that he is so damned reverent of these guys! Yeah, they did a tough thing, but PLEASE! I have gotten more descriptive elsewhere on this board but this is the wrong forum for it. Let’s just say that Easy Company didn’t even have to take him to dinner and a movie. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620/40 "2004-11-11T21:14:40Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > _Enemy at the Gates_, a really excellent book about the seige of Stalingrad in WWII. […] How many men Hitler threw at the problem, how the Soviets countered, and how they ultimately won. Aw, geez! Now you went and spiled the ending. Don’t’cha believe in using SPOILER warnings?! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-on-ww1-ww2-please/273620.md?page=3)