I'm about halfway through "It never snows in September", and i'm finding it amazing. Although i knew about Market Garden and Arnhem, i never really took the time to expand my knowledge about it. Band of Brothers got my attention, and i ordered "It never snows...", mainly because of the German perspective, and now i'm really hooked on the subject. What other must-have books about Market Garden/Arnhem should i look for? Thanx in advance for all the sugestions.
Mr. L-Raiser. As another Market-Garden enthousiast, I have read a great many books on the subject, including "It never snows in September". The majority of the books are about the Arnhem part of the operation. But still there are several great books about the actions of the 82nd Airborne in the Nijmegen area, and about the 101st Airborne in the Eindhoven area and "Hells Highway" in general. Two of the most detailed of all areas are put out by "After the Battle Magazine" and are titled: Operation Market-Garden, then and now Parts I and II. These are pricey though! Again, there are many books telling the story. As an aside: At age seven I saw the first groups of the 82nd Airborne airfleet and Gen. Brownings HQ Coy flying over our house and subsequent either l land by parachute or by glider. The air parade lasted for hours and there were planes lined up as far as the eye could see! Ever since Sept 17, 1944 I have been interested in the history. I must say though, that there were no known publications regarding the 82nd and 101st Divisions until a Ballantine WWII series book named "Airborne Carpet" by Anthony Farrar-Hockley came out in 1969. Anyway, Good Reading! Market Garden is an interesting and controversial story of WWII. Ed van der Heyden
I'm currently reading After The Battle's OMG. For research and info I think it will be hard to beat but at £80 for both volumes you expect that Like you say it is a interesting subject.
There are numerous books about Market Garden, many very good, some not so good.... One of the very best from the British Airborne forces POV is 'Arnhem 1944' by Martin Midllebrook, first published in 1994 and reprinted many times since. I'd also recommend Geoffrey Powell's 'The Devil's Birthday' as it covers XXX Corps involvement in detail. The same author's 'Men Of Arnhem' ( first published under the pseudonym 'Tom Angus' ) is also a must-read - Powell was actually there with 156 Para and this is a great memoir. Finally, although inaccurate in some places ( due to what has become known since, not deliberate error ) is the classic account of Major-General R E Urquhart entitled, simply, 'Arnhem'.
I'd agree with Martin, if you only read one book on Arnhem (looking at the British side) get Middlebrook......I recently had the misfortune to read one of the worst books I'd ever read on Arnhem which came out very recently with an orange cover...fortunately I got it from my library so it didn't cost me anything.....but then on balance I remembered my council tax had been 'wasted' buying this book!
Book is called A Maginficent Disaster by Bennett.....perhaps for once the title aptly describes the book.....in case anyone is thinking of buying it here is an example of the level of research......one of the VC winners was Major McCain of the South Staffs.......submitted with no further comment by me!
I was browsing through amazon.co.uk looking for titles from Stackpole Military History, having recently purchased Will Fey's Armor Battles of the Waffen SS, and noticed a book called "A Drop Too Many" by John Frost, is it a book to buy??? By the way Martin, one of my next aquisitions will definitely be Middlebrook's Arnhem.
hello L-Raiser, try ebay I have found several new books there cheaper than amazon and the likes, try and get hold of the DVD "there is the glory" filmed in 1946 at Arnhem using Paratroopers who fought there, no actors or film set's
Hi L-Raiser, John Frost was at the time of the battle LT-COL Frost CO 2 Para this is his account of the battle and his previous endeavours during the war. If you want to read an account by a man who was on the bridge then buy it because not many were
I'd certainly recommend 'A Drop Too Many' but would suggest some more general reading first ( such as Middlebrook, Powell, or even of course Cornelius Ryan ). Basically, after the success of the movie 'A Bridge Too Far' the publishing floodgates opened and many books appeared, especially memoirs by participants ( such as Frost, Sims, Golden, etc etc ). These are fascinating, but usually have a narrow focus so it helps if you have a good overall perspective before reading these......
