List your top 5 favorite WW2 authors (Historians)

From Cambridge dictionary:
author
noun [C]
1 the writer of a book, article, play, etc:
He is the author of two books on French history.

2 FORMAL a person who begins or creates something:
She's the author of the company's recent success/of all our troubles.

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Interesting sample sentence "He is the author of two books on French history."
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I rest my case.

Robin www.156Squadron

 

Dang ! Then I'd also have to include Guy Gibson twice, author of the success of the Dams Raid and Author of 'Enemy Coast Ahead'.....

 

I have no favorite authors as I choose books on cost and write ups or recommendations. Authors have different styles from by heck I just can not put this book down to help this is so hard going.

 

Ian Kershaw

Christopher Browning

Adam Tooze

Militargeschichtliches Forschungsamt (cheating, I know)

Derek Robinson

 

Walter Bannon
Primo Levy
Winston Churchill

 

You've got 2 left..........................?

 

In no particular order these authors I have enjoyed the most.

Stephen Ambrose
Danny Parker
Alex Kershaw
Cornelius Ryan
William L. Shirer

 

NON -Fiction
Barrie Pitt
Carlo D'Este
Simon Sebag Montefiore
Alan Moorehouse
Ian Kershaw

Fiction
Stephen Ambrose

 

Hugh M. Cole
Danny Parker
Charles B. McDonald
Max Hastings
Michel De Trez

 

I'm surprised Cornelius Ryan doesn't rate higher on these lists. His list of WWII books is rather short, but the few out there are classics.

 

Glantz
Cajus Bekker
Chriss Goss
Antony Beevor
Peter C Smith
Christer Bergström

 

Tooze,
Tully,
Parshall,
Hornfisher,
Glantz

In no particular order.

 

I've read all of Antony Beevor's books and would say he's the only author I can think of that I've enjoyed all of his prints.

Great writing style, any more like it I would greatly appreciate it.

 

I am surprised no one names this author, Ernie Pyle, who was born in 1900 and traveled with troops during WWII as a war correspondent and provided 300 newspapers with his observations culminating in his death while reporting in 1945. He won the pullitzer prize for his work as a correspondent, donated his library to the public in Albuquerque and was internationally known. If you want a day to day account of what life was like for the soldiers, his reports and books are a "must" read. My dad traveled to many of the same places in the same way and always returned to re-read his books and reports when he wished to remember his own service.

 

My top three in no particular order:
Middlebrook
C. Ryan
Ambrose

 

So many great Authors, but the ones that I have enjoyed the most:

Antony Beevor
Max Hastings
Ian Kershaw
James D. Hornfischer
Ian Toll

 

Ryan
Kershaw
Ambrose
Beevor
Evans
Hersey

No particular order and it could be much larger.

 

Glad to see someone mentioned Cornelius Ryan! His work still holds up today and has a very engaging & dramatic style - almost prose-like. His book, "The Last Battle" has been described as like watching a guiliotine fall, but in slow motion.

I suppose his style can be attributed to the fact that he wrote not long after the war and drew upon much anecdotal material from interviews with the combatants of both sides. The personal drama is imbued in these facts. His book, "The Last Battle" has been described like watching a guiliotine falling, but in slow motion.
As for the rest of my list, here goes:

1. Cornelius Ryan
2. Anthony Beevor
3. Stephen Ambrose
4. Rick Atkinson
5. Peter Caddick-Adams

 

You may be right about Ryan. His narrative style does seem genuine. He was a solid researcher as well. He really placed a human element within his writing that, at the time at least, seemed to transcend typical historical works.