# Recommend some books on WWII **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 27, 2007, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-wwii/420716 "2007-09-27T19:16:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-wwii/420716/21 "2007-09-28T17:51:44Z")
If you like big fun soap operas with some history thrown in, I really enjoyed **The Winds of War** and **War and Remembrance** by Herman Wouk. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-wwii/420716/22 "2007-09-28T17:59:35Z")
Also, for a look at a little known part of the war, namely the China-Burma-India campaign, try “Jungle War” by Gerlad Astor. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-wwii/420716/23 "2007-09-28T18:43:21Z")
_Stalingrad_, and _Berlin - The Downfall 1945_ are both stunning works by Anthony Beevor. I just bought his book on the Spanish Civil War and it is next on the to read list. Also on the Eastern Front, try _The 900 Days: The Seige of Leningrad_, by Harrison Salisbury. There’s a lot of good work recently on Bomber Command and particular Dresden, which I can dig up a couple of titles if you are interested. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-wwii/420716/24 "2007-09-28T21:32:03Z")
_Titans of the Seas_ by James H Belote, about the carrier war in the pacific. _Samurai_, the autobiography of Japanese fighter ace Suburo Sakai. ---
**Author:** ![KSO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@KSO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KSO)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-wwii/420716/25 "2007-09-28T21:50:01Z")
_Flyboys_ by James Bradley, about Americans held prisoner and killed on Chichi Jima. Very compelling and moving. ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-wwii/420716/26 "2007-09-29T00:03:07Z")
More on D-Day: The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, and Six Armies in Normandy by John Keegan. More on Stalingrad: Enemy at the Gates by William Craig. Skip the movie, it has basically nothing to do with the book. Is Paris Burning? by Larry Collins and Dominique LaPierre is an anecdotal history of the liberation of Paris, with anecdotes ranging from grim to hilarious. The Last Battle by Cornelius Ryan covers the fall of Berlin. Hair-raising. One of the first histories to deal frankly with rape in war. I enter extra votes for Up Front, The 900 Days, Wartime and With the Old Breed, especially the first and last. And for the postwar, Nuremberg: Infamy on Trial by Joseph Persico. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-wwii/420716/27 "2007-09-29T00:24:33Z")
These books I’m listing aren’t really histories of the war…they don’t go into details about how the battles were fought or anything like that. But they’re all first person accounts about what life was like in countries at war “The Good War”-Studs Turkel “Berlin Diary” and “The Rise and Fall of The Third Reich”-William Shirer There’s a third that I don’t remember either the title or the author of, but it’s the autobiography of someone who grew up in Japan in WWII. I’ll look for it and let you know if I found it. Also, while this isn’t really a World War II book…it’s actually a history of the 30s, you might want to read Piers Brendon’s “The Dark Valley”. It’ll help fill you in on things that contributed to WWII, and give you a sort of feeling of the age. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-wwii/420716/28 "2007-09-29T04:12:48Z")
I’d recommend Eisenhower’s memoir _Crusade in Europe_. Also good is the Mark Perry’s recent study of the relationship of two of America’s top war leaders, _Partners in command : George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower in war and peace_. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-wwii/420716/29 "2007-09-29T05:04:59Z")
One of the most fascinating WWII histories I ever read was _My Three Years with Eisenhower: The Personal Diary of Captain Harry C. Butcher, USNR_. Butcher was a VP of CBS before the war – he became Eisenhower’s Naval Aide and spent the war in Europe pretty much at Eisenhower’s side. The book is a very personal and intimate look at the war and at Ike as a man. ---
**Author:** ![Eolbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@Eolbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eolbo)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-wwii/420716/30 "2007-09-29T06:03:48Z")
Anything by Richard Overy especially **“Why the Allies Won”** and **"The Road to War"** **"Strategy for Defeat: The Luftwaffe 1933-1945"** by Williamson Murray. One of the best books on the air war. **"When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler"** by David M. Glantz, demolishes many myths about the Eastern Front **"The Sharp End"** by Bruce Ellis. An in depth examination of what life (and death) was like for the front-line soldier. ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-wwii/420716/31 "2007-09-29T08:27:53Z")
On [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=417769&highlight=defeat+into+victory) I’ve already recommended a couple of books on the war in Burma - not an area many Americans know about. _Quartered Safe Out Here_, by George MacDonald Fraser (the author of the Flashman books). His memories as a 19 year old infantryman fighting the Japanese in Burma. A very close up and personal account of a close up and personal war from brilliant story teller. _Defeat into Victory_, by Sir William Slim. The other end of the war in Burma, told by Bill Slim, the General commanding the 14th Army. You would be hard pressed to find a more honest (and well written) memoir from a retired General. Two more on D-Day: _Overlord_ by Max Hastings (in fact any of Max Hasting’s books!) _Decision in Normandy_ by Carlo d’Este. D’Este has faults but it is an interesting different take on the relationship between Montgomery and the other commanders. Another brilliant book on a less know aspect of the war: _Most Secret War_ by R V Jones. Jones was the head of Scientific Intelligence for the Air Ministry from the beginning to the end of the war and his account of the struggle to identify and counter German developments - bombing aids, radar, the V weapons, the Bomb - is fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![Public\_Animal\_No.9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Public\_Animal\_No.9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Public_Animal_No.9)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-wwii/420716/32 "2007-09-29T13:15:12Z")
One book that I haven’t seen listed is “The Forgotten Soldier” about a Frenchman who is drafted into the German army after the fall of France and sent to the Eastern Front. It’s probably out of print now, but it is the only book I’ve seen with a first-person, on-the-ground view of that huge part of the war. The author is Guy Sajer, and it was first published in 1967. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-wwii/420716/33 "2007-09-29T14:46:04Z")
Stillwell and the American Army in China for an entirely different theater and perspective on the Chinese fighting capability. ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2007, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-wwii/420716/34 "2007-09-29T19:07:22Z")
Can I stretch definitions a bit by recommending [The Dark Valley: A Panorama of the 1930s](http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Valley-Panorama-1930s/dp/0375408819) - which covers the events and characters that lead to war breaking out? It’s a cracking read and helps put a lot of wartime events into context. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2007, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-wwii/420716/35 "2007-09-30T04:36:05Z")
War of Rats about Stalingrad and Liberation Road about the Red Ball express by David L. Robbins. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2007, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-wwii/420716/36 "2007-09-30T07:32:14Z")
In a recent American Revolution thread I recommended a one volume popular history by Robert Leckie; the same author also wrote a one volume history of WW2 entitled [Deliver Us From Evil](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugly_Betty#Broadcasts_outside_the_United_States). I haven’t read all of it, but what I read seemed an excellent introduction- not a place to stop reading but a very good primer that presumes little foreknowledge and gives you some info to build on. One thing I like about Leckie is that he concentrates heavily on the biographical info of the participants, so that when he first introduces a Patton or a Rommel he gives a few pages of “their story so far” that helps flesh out and somewhat explain the character so it’s not just a name on a page. ## He’s far less objective in his WW2 book (even the title) than in his Revolution and Civil War books, but then if there’s ever been a G vs. E war in human history WW2 was it. Hatred of Indians and even slavery you can at least partly explain in a historical context, but the Holocaust… even by standards of time and place, Evil’s a pretty good word for it, so I don’t think his lack of objectivity hurts. (He also deals with the War in the Pacific, but he’s probably 3/4 the War in Europe to 1/4 Japan.) Lots of good WW2 bios available of all players. One of the most interesting to me was _The Reich Marshall_ by Leonard Mosley, a British politician/soldier/historian who had actually known Göring quite well before the war. [The Nuremberg Diary](http://www.amazon.com/Nuremberg-Diary-G-M-Gilbert/dp/0306806614/ref=sr_1_1/002-4579501-0136048?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191137096&sr=1-1) of Dr. G.M. Gilbert (the Jewish psychiatrist who attended the prisoners at the first Nuremberg trials) is a fascinating read. Another vote for _Band of Brothers_ both as Ambrose’s book and as miniseries (quite probably the best thing HBO ever did [which is saying something] and the best WW2 epic ever filmed]) and Ambrose’s other works. It was Ambrose who changed my mind on the ethics of the atomic bomb, incidentally; I’d had a more liberal “was it really necessary when Japan was so close to collapse and making peace overtures?” mindset before reading his books, but his sources (confirmed through other reading) corrected some major misconceptions that I had and many continue to have on the subject. _[How We Lived Then](http://www.amazon.com/How-We-Lived-Then-Everyday/dp/0712668322/ref=sr_1_1/002-4579501-0136048?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191137352&sr=1-1)_ is one of my favorite “mundane history” (I don’t mean that in a bad way) books. It’s about everyday life in London during the Blitz and later in the war. ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-wwii/420716/37 "2007-10-01T00:36:46Z")
[QUOTE=smithsb] Stillwell and the American Army in China for an entirely different theater and perspective on the Chinese fighting capability. [/QUOTE] (nitpick alert) I think you mean Stillwell and the American Experience in China. By Barbara Tuchman (The Guns of August, etc), who was a correspondent in China for the Atlantic Monthly before the war. Forgot to mention another reason to read Mauldin’s Up Front: It was written and published while the war was still going on. Only tangentially a WWII book but still worth reading: The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes. ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-wwii/420716/38 "2007-10-01T00:41:36Z")
Oh! Can’t believe I just remembered this: Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-wwii/420716.md?page=1)