Book Recommendations

Bing · Post by **Bing** » Mon Jan 13, 2003 8:19 pm

RayM"s list of books on PTO is quite good I think. I would add that the Dr. Paul Dull book is unique.

Other books have been writtin on the IJN from the IJN standpoint. But so far as I know only Dull's book was compiled directly from offical IJN records - very few Occidentals can read Jpanaese, even those who were born to it have difficulty with the manguage mode used by the Jpanese military.

Dull ws a Japanese language specialist, also a USMC reserve officer - you get one guess where he was on 12/7/41. After the war he had access to thousands of pages of IJN documents - you would have a difficult time finding anything more "authentic" than his book. I consider it the prime source for info on IJN WW2 Ops.

Jentschura et al is the best IJN technical reference for fighting shps and auxiliaries. Conway's is good, Jentschura is better in most areas, Jane's is fine but usually so overpriced the non-professional can't afford it.

Bing

Noodleboy · Post by **Noodleboy** » Mon Jan 13, 2003 10:42 pm

18 Platoon -Sidney Jary MC. This is THE required reading text at Sandhurst and is about Mr Jary's exploits in NW Europe 1944 as a platton commander and the only PC in his battalion not to be killed or wounded. i've had the privilege to be lectured by Mr Jary and his skills and drills are spot on!!! Absolute cracker!

Quartered Safe Out Here -George MacDonald Fraser. Once you get past the dialogue, it's a great account of life as an infantryman in the Forgotten Army (14th Burma) as they inflicted the greatest defeat ever suffered by the Japanese armed forces.

Fighting Mad -'Mad' Mike Calvert OMG! Who da boy?!?! Calvert was a Chindit Brigade Commander who did just about everything. His story is just remarkable-and it doesn't even cover the absolutely sensational stuff he did after the war!

The Tank! series by Ken Tout, director of the Bovington Tank museum -very very funny and very grim account of being a tankie in NW Europe 1944.

The Shirt of Nessus -Constantine Fitzgibbon is a must for anyone interested in the July 6 plot against Hitler

Next on my reading list is Samurai! -Saburo Sakai and a re-reading of The Scars of War-Hugh McManners

RayM · Post by **RayM** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 7:39 am

* Guadalcanal Remembered, Herbert Merillat

* The Navy at Guadalcanal, Stan Smith (from 1963)

* Bloody Friday Off Guadalcanal, Lawerence Cortesi

* The Pacific War, Saburo Ienaga (1978)

* The Rising Sun, John Toland

* The End of The Imperial Japanese Navy, Masanori Ito (English translation, 1962)

* The First South Pacific Campaign: Pacific Fleet Staregy December 1941-June 1942, John B. Lundstrom

* The First Team: Naval Air Combat from Pearl harbor to Midway, John B. Lundstrom

* The First Team and the Guadalacnal Campaign, John B. Lundstrom

* Rising Sun Victorious: The Alternative History of How the Japanese Won the Pacific War (Interesting 'What If' book. There is also a similar book for the ETO and Eastern Front)

* Japan's War: The Great Pacific Conflict, Edwin P. Hoyt

*How They Won the War in the Pacific: Nimitz and His Admirals, Edwin P. Hoyt

* The Fighting Ships of the Rising Sun: The Drama of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1895-1945, Stephen Howarth

* The War with Japan:The Period in the Balance May 1942-October 1943, H.P. Willmott

* The Ghost that Died at Sunda Strait (Story of the USS Houston), W.G. Winslow

Really old stuff:

* Battle Report, Volumes I-V, Commander Walter Karig, et al, published 1944-1949. (Great photos and battle maps)

Vol I: Pearl Harbor to Coral Sea
Vol II: The Atlantic War
Vol III: Pacific War - Middle Phase
Vol IV: The End of an Empire
Vol V: Victory in the Pacific

* The Pacific Campaign - WWII - The US-Japanese Naval War 1941-1945, Dan van der Vat

Chijohnaok2 · Post by **Chijohnaok2** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 8:37 am

I'm almost done with Eric Bergerud's "Fire in the Sky: The Air War in the South Pacific".

It has provided very informative as to the this theater of the Pacific War.

I would recommend it to all of you Uncommon Valor fans.

John

RayM · Post by **RayM** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 8:43 am

Indeed. A very good book.

Ray

Bing · Post by **Bing** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 9:25 pm

RayM - Have you ever been able to locate a copy of the biography of Raizo Tanaka - the IJN Admiral, not the army Tanaka.

Raizo's bio had a limited circulation and as far as I know the the Institute never reprinted it, as they did with the Dr. Paul Dull IJN book.

One can always have a OP - Used bookseller look for it, the problem is they tend to set prices that are way out of line. I made an exception with the 1984 Zaloga book on Red Army WW2 armor, won't be doing that very often.

I check Articles of War pretty regularly, but they never seem to turn up the Tanaka bio.

Bing

Warhorse · Post by **Warhorse** » Wed Jan 15, 2003 6:02 am

Originally posted by Bing

One can always have a OP - Used bookseller look for it, the problem is they tend to set prices that are way out of line.
Bing

Hmm, careful there Bing, I'm a used bookseller!! It's not a question of being out of line, it's just a trade thing, if it's out of print, you either get it from us, or by chance, or not at all, we are just trying to make a living, and I can honestly tell you, you DON'T get rich doing it... We are having a run of the worst years in all of our 22 years in business, we have to sell a hell of a lot of books in a weeks time to make ends meet, so please don't be too hard on us!!!:D

RayM · Post by **RayM** » Wed Jan 15, 2003 6:36 am

Hello Bing,

Have you got the title? I would be happy to keep a lookout for one.

Warhorse: Never fear, I'm a big used bookstore supporter. My latest finds were hardcopies of first two NIP Willmott books and Lunstrom's The First South Pacific Campaign: Pacific Fleet Staregy December 1941-June 1942. Let the vein healing begin...
Ray

RayM · Post by **RayM** » Wed Jan 15, 2003 6:56 am

For the Russian Front , my five all-time favorites. They gave me alot of insight before playing AH's Russian Campaign:

* Barbarossa: The Russian-German Conflict 1941-1945

* The Russo-German War 1941-45, Albert Seaton

* Russia at War 1941-1945, Alexander Werth

* The Road to Stalingrad, John Erickson

* The Road to Berlin, John Erickson

For a global perspective:

* A World at War: A Global History of WWII, Gerhard L. Weinberg (1000+ pages)

* The Second World War: A Complete History, Martin Gilbert (800+ pages)

* Total War: Causes and Courses of the Second World War, P. Calvocoressi, G. Wint, and J. Pritchard (1200+ pages) One of my favorites.

* Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives, Alan Bullock (1000+ pages) Very interesting concept.

Bing · Post by **Bing** » Wed Jan 15, 2003 9:46 am

RayM - I don't know if it has a title other than Raizo Tanaka's name - I think it had a short run, most people not interested in a IJN officer. I meank he wasn't exactly the John Wayne type per Halsey.

He was by all accounts a great naval commander who showed fleet command he could do what they said was impossible. After the defeat at Guadacanal, during which Tanaka led a destroyer command briliantly, he was rewarded with a desk job. The old service maladay: Don't make your superiors look bad, they don't like it and will even up the score when the time is ripe.

Bing

tracer · Post by **tracer** » Wed Jan 15, 2003 8:46 pm

Figured I should mention this for information's sake: by searching on amazon.com I've found dozens of out-of-print books (new & used). They work with many small booksellers, who list their inventories on the site; ironically many of the books I've gotten there were very inexpensive. For example, I bought hardcover editions of Max Hastings' Das Reich and Overlord there for $2.00 and $5.50 respectively (shipped at 'book rate', about $3.50)...both were used but arrived in almost new condition.

Bing · Post by **Bing** » Thu Jan 16, 2003 10:38 pm

Originally posted by Warhorse
Hmm, careful there Bing, I'm a used bookseller!! It's not a question of being out of line, it's just a trade thing, if it's out of print, you either get it from us, or by chance, or not at all, we are just trying to make a living, and I can honestly tell you, you DON'T get rich doing it... We are having a run of the worst years in all of our 22 years in business, we have to sell a hell of a lot of books in a weeks time to make ends meet, so please don't be too hard on us!!!:D

Depends upon the seller. The prices vary wildly and via the Barnes & Noble OP - Used service I have twice cancelled an OP order because it was obvious the seller wasn't able to deliver at the price stated - sometimes not able to deliver at all. The owner of Articles of War - a huge new and used seller exclusively military titles - has checked on various titles for me and told me it would be fifty or sixty dollars for a book which originally sold for twenty to thirty. Depends upon the book.

Sure, I have gotten tremendously good deals in used - AoW sold me the Paul Dull IJN WW2 book for $9.50, a real bargain. OTOH I just paid $65. plus shipping for the OP 1984 Zaloga Soviet Tanks and Armored Vehicles - after cancelling an order which the B&N third party vendor claimed he would deliver the title for $30. He wasn't going to and it became obvious he wasn't. Once I switched to the next vendor, I got the book within a few weeks.

I never said anyone was getting rich. I said the customer is on his own when he ventures into the OP - Used market. Try to find a decent book on radar during WW2 for instance. There have only been a couple - one is current and available via the Naval Institue Press for a reasonable (more or less) price. The other volume, which I would prefer to have, was scouted for me and ran to $60.+ - thanks but no thanks.

I'll get into that sort of pricing occasionally but don't have the money to do it often - the Zaolga book I felt was pretty much mandatory if I was to have a decent, small library on Soviet arms and armor. It's going to be the last one at that price for some time, too.

If the person is close to a good used book store which stocks military titles some bargains can be had, I know that. But some of us aren't. I have to order everything via the Internet - or call Bob in New Mexico where Articles of War moved, doubtless to escape the Chicago winters.

Bing

BARKHORN · Post by **BARKHORN** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 4:40 am

Does this "Articles of War" have a web site I've never heard of it and am interested in out of print book's on the second world war.Eastern Front was the dealer I did business with but he unexpectantly went out of business got a few gem's from him:)

rbrunsman · Post by **rbrunsman** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 4:42 am

"With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa" by Eugene B. Sledge is a great book from the perspective of a Marine just trying to stay alive.

Has anyone else read this? I'm surprised no one has mentioned it.

RayM · Post by **RayM** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 9:05 am

rbrunsman,

Re. "With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa" by Eugene B. Sledge: yes, I have read the book and a good one too. Have you read his new post WWII book, "China Marine?" I've seen it but have not bought it.

William Manchester's "Goodby Darkness" was also very good personal memoir.

Ray

RayM · Post by **RayM** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 9:07 am

Two more:

* Hitler Moves East 1941-1943, Paul Carell

* Scorched Earth: The Russian-German War 1943-1944, Paul Carell

rbrunsman · Post by **rbrunsman** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 11:57 am

Originally posted by RayM
rbrunsman,

Re. "With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa" by Eugene B. Sledge: yes, I have read the book and a good one too. Have you read his new post WWII book, "China Marine?" I've seen it but have not bought it.

William Manchester's "Goodby Darkness" was also very good personal memoir.

Ray

Haven't read that one. I'll check it out on Amazon since I have a credit I have to use. Thanks.

Bing · Post by **Bing** » Fri Jan 17, 2003 7:21 pm

Originally posted by BARKHORN
Does this "Articles of War" have a web site I've never heard of it and am interested in out of print book's on the second world war.Eastern Front was the dealer I did business with but he unexpectantly went out of business got a few gem's from him:)

http://209.204.189.49/cgi-bin/foxweb.exe/articles/home is the Articles of War URL. You can accomplish the same thing by entering "articles of war" in the Google search box.

Funny, but I just noticed that the splash page still carries as a first link Military Miniatures Society of Illinois - their flyer used to be a permanent feature of AoW's front store window. Bob Ruman is very helpful person, lots of fun to talk to and obviously loves books (I guess that describes any number of booksellers, as has been pointed out Bill Gates didn't make his fortune selling used copies of the Rommell Papers).

I doubt if I would have heard of AoW either, if they hadn't had their brick and mortar in a Chicago suburb. There are other booksellers, I am sure, who aren't really well known, maybe we ought to start a list of sellers who specialize in military books. I've got a couple more, but AoW will always be my favorite because I spent so many happy hours "book junking" there, as we used to call it.

Bing

Book Recommendations

My personal faves -ground pounding

Add a few more to the PTO list

More suggestions

Two More Russian Front Books