What Are You Reading?

Just finished reading a book on the European volunteers to the Finnish Army during the Winter war 1939-1940. Quite interesting...BTW, in spring 1940 the British troops held a parade when Mannerheim visited them...I´ll be telling more during the weekend.

 

Just started, H P Willmott's 'The Second World War in the East' and John Sweetman's 'The Dmbusters' Both very good.

 

Well, right now I'm actually reading A portrait of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde, but next up on my list is Tigers in the Mud by Otto Carius.

 

I just finished reading Franz Kurowski's Panzer Aces, vol 1 (Stackpole). Anyone who is interested in the panzer truppen, combat on the Russian front, etc, really should read this book. All of the 6 tankers discussed were unbelievably good. No wonder the Germans were able to hold out against overwhelming odds for so long. Of course, their equipment (at least the Marks IV, V and VI) was superior to Russian tanks. Anyway, well written and fascinating. I can't wait to get volume 2.

 

Starting next week three weeks of holiday! Hoping to read among other things Werner Haupt´s "Army group South" especially interested in the early phases of Barbarossa why they got stuck...

 

book The 10th by Bramall and some 10 para accounts, to try to locate in which houses they had there last positions at Utrchtseweg in Oosterbeek

 

"Arms for Spain" by Gerald Howson and "The Great War in Africa: 1914-1918" by Byron Farwell. Both books are extremely well written, I would definently recommend both.

 

Just brought a load of Patrick Delaforce's British Divisional histories while in London. Gonna start with 'The Fighting Wessex Wyverns' A history of the 43rd Infantry Division.

 

Right now I'm researching to write an article about the Russian Revolution, therefore I am reading-consulting:

The First World War, A New Illustrated History by Hew Strachan.

A Story of the Modern World by Paul Johnson.

Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie

A History of the Twentieth-Century Russia by Robert Service.

The First World War by Sir Michael Howard (amazing and essential book).

First World War by Sir Martin Gilbert.

Among a few texts by Lenin himself…

Quite interesting!

 

I just finished reading Richard Overy's Why the Allies won, and last week...I finished the brilliantly written book, the Rising Sun by John Toland.
The Rising Sun, by the way, won a pulitzer.

 

Bought these:

Helmut Altner : Berlin dance of death

Günther Koschorrek Blood red snow :The horror and confusion of fighting in the streets of Stalingrad are brought to life by his descriptions of the others in his unit: their differing manners and techniques for dealing with the squalor and death.

 

Oh yeah,

just last week also got an old book (translated in Finnish ): The White Rabbit: Wing Commander F.F.E.Yeo-Thomas by Bruce Marshall

http://www.stephen-stratford.co.uk/yeo_thomas.htm

 

I've bought to-day for just $ 20 all these books:

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• Defence of the Westby Sir Basil H. Liddel-Hart (I'm very curious about this famous author's reflexions about the war and the 'future', specially when he's one of the greatest myth creators of the war…)</font>
• Guadalcanal Diary by Richard Tregaskis (first edition of 1943, anyone has comments on it?)</font>
• Their Finest Hour by Sir W. L. S. Churchill (first edition!)</font>
• History of the English Speaking Peoples by Sir W. L. S. Churchill (vols. II & III, first editions too!)</font>

 

That's a good haul of books, Friedrich !

The first edition of Guadalcanal Diary is just about worth $20 alone. It is a classic of war reporting ; Tregaskis was a journalist and in 1943 the book was a sensation ; it was immediately made into a movie.

In direct contrast to, say, Hemingway, the author does not intrude into the scene and lets the Marines tell the story. However, the book needs to be read in the context of 1943 - there is no 'blood and guts' or bullets whizzing past the readers' ear. Tregaskis was well back from the action and it shows, whereas today we're more used to graphic first-hand writing.

'Their Finest Hour' well - what can I say ? Just don't take it as Gospel - Churchill did amend things somewhat ! ( And also - quite a lot of it wasn't actually written by him !! )

 

Glad to know! I am very curious about Guadalcanal Diary actually. Think I'll have to get the film as well.

As for Churchill, what can I say? His books are out of date, biased, but who-the-hell cares? It's a Nobel Prize winner telling a first-hand account of WWII!

Churchill's books are so quotable that you can see which parts he wrote and which didn't.

I'll just have to get volumes I & III of The Second World War to have the complete first edition collection…

However, I'm dying to get my hands on the complete series of The World Crisis… I've only managed to get volume 1…

 

'World Crisis' was all WSC's own work - and it shows, when you read it !

 

Finished Thomas&Witts "Enola Gay" a while back and thought it quite a good book on the subject of picking up the crews, training them and finally the decision to drop the bomb.

 

I've just got the memoirs of the Lord Montgomery.

Any commentaries? I'm most curious about them!

And, by the way, did you now that field marshal Paulus wrote a memoir?! I saw a book called Stalingrad and I or something by Friedrich Paulus and am eagger to get my hands on it, specially because I didn't know he had written anything.

Did he?

 

Just finished R. Höss` book on Auschwitz. Not very nice reading but if you´re interested in the WW2 history a must, I think.

Friedrich,
I always thought Paulus never opened his mouth after returning from prison but I might be wrong...?!

 

John Lynn's Battle: A History of Combat and Culture. Recommended.