Starting my new WW2 Library!

Hi guys!

As I mentioned in the introduction, I have like 3 bookshelves filled with Civil War books. I just started my foray into WW2 and did some researching about good books to buy.

I bought the following just today (I had a 100$ gift card to Barnes and Noble)!

Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa A Bridge Too Far: The Classic History of the Greatest Battle of WorldWar II The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
The Forgotten Soldier

I also recently bought:

Pegasus Bridge
The Guns at Last Light
Adolf Hitler (by Toland)
THe Rise and Fall of the Third Riech

I hope this is a good assortment to start out with. I am interested in the German perspective of the war and heard The Forgotten Soldier was good.

There was another book, written from the German perspective, about D-Day...I think it came out this year. I can't remember who wrote it or the title though! It seemed to be getting good reviews and was relatively short (like 200 pages or so).

Maybe if I am leaving out a must-have, you can let me know!

Best,

Mike

 

The Forgotten Soldier is somewhat problematic. The general consensus on most of the threads I've seen discussing it is that it is fiction. However it may still give something of a perspective from the German POV. Not a book but I'd recomend the link and its followd up posted at:
http://www.ww2f.com/topic/54006-the-bombing-of-berlin-an-eyewitness-account/
also over on the axis history forum as well as feldgrau take a look at some of the posts by Haen or Haen2.
If you are interested in the naval aspect I've heard good things about Battleship Bismarck: A Survivor's Story
and of course there is kbsimark and uboat.net for online info.
Somewhat dense reading but very informative for an overall picture is Wages of Destruction.

 

I heard that "The Forgotten Soldier" was controversial....now I know why!

I'll keep that in mind! I appreciate the comment, especially since I like to stick to non-fiction (not that I'm saying thats what it is)!

 

Thanks!

If I did live in Alabama, I could trade/lend you just about any book on the Civil War you could ever want to read! hahaha!

I'm going to have to build a new bookshelf for this new hobby! I knew once I started into WW2 I would be buying books like a hoarder!

 

Really?

Cool! How do I access that?

Update:

So I founf the website....do I just search your name?

 

The Pacific has been my major field of intereset and in particular the naval aspect so I can make some recomendations there if you are interested but there are a lot of good books and other sources to read on the European aspect of the war as well.

If you haven't been to hyperwar consider checking it out. Quite a few original documents on line there. Google books has some free as does Amazon (kindle format but a reading ap for your pc is free). The US Army also has a fair number of documents from a few pages up through pamphlets and books both for sale and on line at:
http://www.history.army.mil/

 

Thanks Ace!

 

I did! I'm on there now and checking out his books. Im only about 120 pages in Guns at Last Light so far, but its excellent! I was going to supplement that with one of the shorter books I get in. Maybe "With the Old Breed".

So far, I've learned lot already. I just read the part where the 12th Panzer Division went into that town in France, rounded up the civilians in a church, and set the place afire.

I just cant believe this stuff happened. Who needs fiction when you have stuff like this!

 

Oh, and wht they did to those Canadian POW's....madness....

 

I always recommend these two:

Crusade in Europe by Europe by Eisenhower, which he wrote without a ghost writer.
Probably my favorite WWII book.

Guadalcanal Diary by Richard Tregaskis

I'm partial to books that came out shortly after or during the war.

I have read many of the books you already have on your list and like the ones I've read. Sounds like you have a nice foundation started.

 

Forgive me for being picky, but I think you'll find that it was the 2nd SS Panzer Division 'Das Reich', and the village in question was Oradour-sur-Glane.

There are so many books that it's very hard to make recommendations : but for German-POV accounts of Normandy you may enjoy : -

'The Germans In Normandy' by Richard Hargreaves ( Pen & Sword 2006 )

The author is a sometime contributor here : the book is an amalgam from dozens of German first-hand accounts and makes for a very informative and fascinating read......

 

"With the Old Breed" is IMHO, the best infantryman's eye view of the war in the Pacific.

"Utmost Savagery" by Joseph H. Alexander if you want to read an incredible story of a battle.

 

You are right! LOL. I've never been good at remembering unit numbers....even with my 20 years reading the Civil War! haha

 

Went to Barnes and Noble this morning.

I picked up The Second World War by Keegan. Looked very interesting and seemed to encompass a bit of everything. I may read that right away.


Mike

 

Good choice !

Alyhough it's not a comprehensive history - Keegan focuses on several key points - it is very 'readable', not a dry read which you have to wade through......