Books about the Ardennes offensive

Which one of the following would you recommend, and for what reasons? I'm mainly interested in a book that describes the battle from both sides with detail.

Danny S. Parker: Battle of the Bulge: Hitler's Ardennes offensive 1944-1945

John Toland: Battle: The story of the Bulge

Thanks in advance

 

Is the Parker book the large-format illustrated one ? It's OK and very readable, but isn't so good if you want a comprehensive and easy to understand overview of what was a complex battle, with many actions happening at the same time.

Toland's book was one of the first popular books about the Bulge and was quite ground-breaking. However, the style is somewhat journalistic and later research has shown that Toland accepted much of what he was told by survivors at face value ; several myths and legends are perpetrated. It's still good to read, though.

My own preference along the same lines is for John S D Eisenhower's 'The Bitter Woods' ( 1969 ) or - probably the best one-volume Bulge overview - Charles B MacDonald's 'A Time For Trumpets' ( published in Britain as 'the Battle of the Bulge' 1984 ).

It's not easy to get the overall German story and you may need more specialised reading to get into that....

 

I would say that for a single volume that presents both sides in detail After the Battle magazine's The Battle of the Bulge: Then and Now is quite good. It combines details of actions from both perspectives / sides and adds photography that enhances those perspectives.

 

Thanks Martin and T.A., I'm definitely gonna take a look at the ones you mentioned. Based on Martin's view I think I'm gonna skip Toland's book, I like to keep fiction/myths and facts separate.

 

T A is quite right - Pallud's monumental book is a classic work about the 'Bulge'. Two health warnings, though - it's very heavy and will crush your chest if you try to read it in bed, and the 'then & now' format is so tantalising that you will not rest until you have walked the battlefield !

Another one worth considering is Michael Reynolds' 'The Devil's Adjutant' ( Spellmount, 1995 ) which, despite the misleading title, is really a step-by-step account of the march of Kampfgruppe Peiper with many personal accounts from both sides. Obviously, this book concentrates on only one aspect of the Ardennes fighting, but gives a very good 'feel' for many of the grimmer aspects .

 

Reynolds´ book was good as all his books , well, that´s my opinion.

 

A interesting book about Operation Greif is "Erst Die Maas und denn Antwerpen", about the Skorzeny operation. But you need to be able to read German...

 

Would have to agree that the Then and Now books are well worth the $. I have the Bulge, Panzers in Normandy & the 2 vol Normandy set and really have enjoyed them. I am really hoping to pick up the Somme & the Marget Garden volumnes this year.

Martin's recomendation of Charles B MacDonald's 'A Time For Trumpets' is right on too and might be a bit cheaper for you to start with - a used reading copy on amazon will cost you as much for shipping as the book itself.