What Are You Reading?

Juts bought E Kempka´s "I burnt Hitler".

Reading the huge Nicolaus V Below´s "Hitler´s adjutant 1937-1945".

 

Reading:

A Moral Reckoning: the Rôle of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust and its Unfulfilled Duty of Repair by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen.

Good literature, without a doubt. Bad history, though, as Sir Ian Kershaw put it.

 

Just finished this week

Sebastian Haffner´s " Hitler sidenotes"

Hans Fritzsche´s "Prisoners of Nuremberg"

Patrick Oddone "Dunkirk 1940"

also the huge V Below book which I did in 4 days with 500+ pages...

 

All the books mentioned are incredible historical volumes. I found a fascinating book in a used book store by Clayton Hutton called "Official Secret" published in 1960. It is his autobiography detailing his amazing inventions for escape aids, from concealed compasses and silk maps to grammaphone needle pens given to civilians to harass their German conquerors. He made the toys that the secret agents, such as Ian Fleming, used in espionage.

 

Last weekend read half of Otto Skorzeny´s memoirs and hopefully next weekend the other half.

Sometimes it´s amazing how different views people have on thungs. Like Rudolf Hess in Nuremberg. Hans Fritzsche describes him a "broken man" who during their imprisonment was talking jibberish and during the court said stupid thigns every now and then so that Göring had to shout at him "Shut up!" Skorzeny says that Rudolf was walking proudly around making the guard look stupid and that he never lost his cool...Probably something to do with how you want to see it, really!!

Personally I believe that Rudolf was a broken man and after years losing his sanity as well.

 

Hello. Well I just received a new book as a present. It's titled, Forgotten Voices of the Second World War. It is accounts of the war by tons of those who fought/lived in it. Mainly from an English perspective. Can anyone let me know if you have read it and your thoughts on it?

 

Im just hoping my wife does'nt see my credit card bill with all the books I keep spending money on.Im sure im addicted.

With my favourite topic being Normandy, ive recently re read Assualt Divison by Norman Scarfe. An excellent book on Brian Guy's division, with much info on the problems faced by the Division and not taking Caen on D-day.

Two books I have just bought and have not started just yet, The Pendulum of Battle, operation Goodwood July 44, by Christopher Dunphie and Breaking the Panzers, the bloody battle for Rauray by Kevin Baverstock. Both books look excellent, great maps and pictures to.

Andy

 

Does this book have any detail of the land battle or is it another one about the evacuation? Other evacuation books include "the Miracle of Dunkirk" by Walter Lord and "Dunkirk- the Great Escape" by AJ Barker.

I would like to read an account of the fighting on land during the last days.

 

Breaking the Panzers is a great book about a great battle.

 

Hi MD, the book is about the British 3rd Divison, some interesting stuff in there from the author on Wilmot and D'Este and their claims on this div.

Andy

 

Hi Major,

Oddone´s book goes through all the details on Dunkirk starting from WW1 ( background for WW2 ) to the end of operation Dynamo. On WW2 it shows how people were preparing for war, even has pics from the burial of German U-boat men who were buried with all military honours! ( If I remember correct there was also a protestant and a catholic priest because they wanted to be sure the right priest was present!) He discusses some key figures from the period, on battles it has some pages but this covers about 1/4-1/3 of the book I think. Several pics of the city showing how the war destroyed it. Not the "usual" kind of war book on Dunkirk but if you want to know more this is a great addition.

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At the moment reading a book on the bombing of German cities. Earlier this year translated to Finnish. Incl memoirs by people who were down in the cities being bombed and pilots who dropped the bombs.

 

Amazing book! I've just read it over the weekend (in the plane, of course; love my work! ). Reads as smoothly as a suspense book. Great descriptions, great insight.

Every day I got more convinced that those two bombs were necessary.

Highly recommended!

 

The War Against the Jews 1933-1945by Lucy S. Dawidowicz. Next I will read When Titans Clashed by David Glantz.

 

if anyone is looking for WW2 books this site has 1000's of titles which you can find online. i found mine 1st Battalion, the Highland Light Infantry of Canada: 1940-1945 now just waiting to get it

http://books.stonebooks.com/cgi-bin/foxweb.exe/base/author_title?t1

 

Günther Koschorrek : Blood red snow

Just finished. Written sixty years after war from the diary he wrote during the war on little pieces of paper ( which was totally forbidden of course...). Excellent book on fighting the war on the eastern front 1942-1945.

 

Some second-hand books I ordered:

Griehl, Manfred: Do 217-317-417. An Operational Record.

Michaelis, Rolf: SS-Heimwehr Danzig 1939

Nowarra, Heinz J.: Focke Wulf Fw 190 & Ta 15

Bloemertz, Günther: Heaven next stop

 

Some nice books there - especially the Nowarra 190 one which I often refer to. I have Bloemertz' book too, unread as yet....

 

Just recieved in the mail;
Kursk,The Vital 24 Hours by W. Fowler.

 

KP, what site do you use to get the second hand books ? The price for new books in the US has gotton as bad as buying a tank of gasoline.

 

Sorry TA,

I use a Finnish site so the postage alone would make it too costly for you I think.

BTW, congrats on crossing the 1,000 line soon!!