# Semi-obscure or OOP WW2/military books needed **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 5, 2005, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obscure-or-oop-ww2-military-books-needed/324866 "2005-10-05T12:15:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [October 5, 2005, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obscure-or-oop-ww2-military-books-needed/324866/1 "2005-10-05T12:15:10Z")
It’s that time of year again. I am hunting for Military and World War 2 books for my FIL for Xmas. I’ll even start off with a book **astro** recommended in another thread: [Evader…](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0890159742/ref=wl_it_dp/104-9051672-0021538?%5Fencoding=UTF8&coliid=I2T9H3J9ELDK5G&v=glance&colid=327JHLGM8SLFZ) Anything, any country, even written in German, is welcome. I especially am interested in books written from a non american point of view. Especially European. Mucho Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2005, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obscure-or-oop-ww2-military-books-needed/324866/2 "2005-10-05T12:45:24Z")
Britain’s Imperial War Museum, in London, has an excellent bookstore with hundreds of titles. Most are written from a non-U.S. viewpoint. You can download a [catalog](http://www.iwm.org.uk/server/show/nav.00100e002) of their publications. ---
**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:** [October 5, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obscure-or-oop-ww2-military-books-needed/324866/3 "2005-10-05T14:31:47Z")
They were both written before the war, and, thus, aren’t about WWII directly, but Guderian’s “Achtung: Panzer” and Rommel’s “Attacks” were both written by German generals who would play a major role in the war, and “Achtung: Panzer”, especially, would become the bible of German tank doctrine in the war. ---
**Author:** ![Balle\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Balle\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balle_M)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2005, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obscure-or-oop-ww2-military-books-needed/324866/4 "2005-10-05T15:56:51Z")
Some of my favs… [_To War in a Stringbag_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/030435841X/qid=1128525606/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-4300462-5134340?v=glance&s=books) by Charles Lamb. A British torpedo bomber pilot in the Med. [_Bugles and a Tiger_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0304361569/qid=1128526387/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/104-4300462-5134340?v=glance&s=books) and [_The Road Past Mandalay_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0304361577/qid=1128526283/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-4300462-5134340?v=glance&s=books) By John Masters. An officer in a Gurkha regiment in some of the nastiest fighting in the Pacific war. 90% of the first volume takes place before the war but is a fascinating read. [\*Boarding Party: The Last Action of the Calcutta Light Horse \*](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1557505128/qid=1128526745/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-4300462-5134340?v=glance&s=books) by James Leasor. Completely improbable but true story of a group of middle-aged men recruited for an under-cover mission. Later made into the film _The Sea Wolves_. Terrible, terrible movie with a great cast. Every time this movie is shown on TV the Baby Ebert cries. [_Duel of Eagles_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0785815686/qid=1128527482/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-4300462-5134340?v=glance&s=books) by Peter Townsend. History of the Battle of Britain written by a British pilot. Excellent read. Finally, [_Tank-Fighter Team_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0007ECQQU/qid=1128527662/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-4300462-5134340?v=glance&s=books) by Robert Gerard. The debacle of 1940 from the perpective of an anti-tank officer. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2005, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obscure-or-oop-ww2-military-books-needed/324866/5 "2005-10-05T17:00:19Z")
May I suggest fiction? Jack Higgins’s “The Eagles Has Landed” is a great thriller about a Nazi effort to kidnap Churchill, and Len Deighton’s “The Eye of the Needles” is another great thriller, about a German spy on the run who knows that the Allies intend to invade at Normandy and not Calais. Both are interesting and a lot of fun. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obscure-or-oop-ww2-military-books-needed/324866/6 "2005-10-05T17:04:25Z")
Oops, that’s “Eye of the Needle” by Ken Follett. Sorry. Len Deighton’s “SS-GB” is a great WW2 what-if novel. It takes place in a Britain under Nazi occupation, with the King under SS guard in the Tower of London and the Germans conducting heavy-water atomic experiments in a British seaside resort town. Good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-obscure-or-oop-ww2-military-books-needed/324866/7 "2005-10-09T14:19:11Z")
> [@William V.](#): > > May I suggest fiction? Jack Higgins’s “The Eagles Has Landed” is a great thriller about a Nazi effort to kidnap Churchill, and Len Deighton’s “The Eye of the Needles” is another great thriller, about a German spy on the run who knows that the Allies intend to invade at Normandy and not Calais. Both are interesting and a lot of fun. Damn - another typo! That’s “The Eagle Has Landed.”