Reading recommendation

[JWW]

Okay, I just ordered WITW this morning. In fact, it is downloading as I write this, so I have a lot of learning to do, though I have played WITE.

However, this post is to recommend some reading. Rick Atkinson's Liberation Trilogy covers in great detail the period covered in WITW. The three volumes focus on the US involvement in WWII in Europe, from the initial landings in North Africa to the end of the war.
Vol 1 - An Army At Dawn, 2002 - focus is North Africa.
Vol 2 - The Day of Battle, 2007 - focus on Sicily and Italy.
Vol 3 - The Guns at Last Light, 2013 - focus on the invasion of France until the end.

The series is highly readable and contains a lot of information on things covered in WITW. A great emphasis on logistics, amphibious operations, the air war, as well as the ground war. He includes a very good mix from the high level picture to firsthand battle accounts.

I would recommend this for anyone playing WITW. In fact, the information about logistics and amphibious operations is one interesting connection I look forward to seeing play out in WITW.

Volumes 2 and 3 cover the current WITW. I hope to see an expansion covering Volume 1 at some point.

Okay, my download has finished. I have things to do.

[MrLongleg]

I can only confirm that. I read all the three books and they are great...

[Banquet]

I'm listening to the audiobook of 'The Day of the Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy' and agree it is really good!

I also downloaded 'Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy 1944 by Max Hastings but hearing that Rick Atkinson has other volumes make me very tempted to get them.

[Talon_XBMCX]

Currently reading Vol 3 Guns at Last Light at the beginning of the Bulge assault. Even though you know the outcome, it's still quite an intense read. Highly recommend the entire series.

[MisterBoats]

Several books, and sets of books, come to mind right away:

-- Atkinson's trilogy is superb. All of the volumes cover just about every aspect of every campaign.

-- The Army's "Green Book" volumes are highly detailed and well written. Cross Channel Attack, and Breakout and Pursuit cover the Normandy campaign exhaustively.

-- The Battle of the Generals by Martin Blumenson covers the Faliase/Argentan battles in detail. Any of Blumenson's books are worth reading.

-- Samuel Morison's volumes covering the naval operation are great. His entire set of books, covering naval operations in all theaters, is worth buying. I purchased quite a few of them for less than $10 apiece, using used-book services on the web. They are all in very good condition.

-- The London Times' Atlas of WWII has some nice maps, but they are rife with errors. They show the Siciian invasion taking place in September, for example. If you don't mind making a lot of corrections, it's worth getting.

All of the above ought to give a WITW player a thorough, well-rounded idea of what happened, and why, from the Allied perspective.

[RedLancer]

Steven Newton's book on Model only covers a little of the west but is still a darn good read.

[Dereck]

Brothers, Rivals, Victors: Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley and the Partnership that Drove the Allied Conquest in Europe by Jonathan W. Jordan.

The Road to Big Week: The Striggle for Daylight Air Supremacy Over Western Europe, July 1942-February 1944 by Eric Hammel.

Tug of War: The Battle for Italy 1943-45 by Dominick Graham and Shelford Bidwell.

Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose

D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II by Stephen E. Ambrose

Citizen Soldiers: The US Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany by Stephen E. Ambrose

Victory in Europe: D-Day to the Fall of Berlin by Karen Farrington

[MisterBoats]

Ambrose's books are great reads. Also, Eisenhower's Lieutenants, by Weigley.

[ultradave]

The Longest Day, A Bridge Too Far and Battle for Berlin all by Cornelius Ryan.

Picked up the Hastings "Overlord" book at a used book sale but haven't read it yet.

"All The Way" 82d Airborne history during WW2, starts in North Africa prior to Sicily, goes through the rest of the war. Lots of detail specifically on the 82d Abn's campaigns. (guess why I like this book )

[Smirfy]

There are three books one should read about the war in the west

1/ The Struggle for Europe
2/ The Struggle for Europe
3/ The Struggle for Europe

Quite simply the best book on the subject written, what is quite incredible is Chester Wilmot wrote the book before ULTRA became known. The narritive just flows one of those books that you can read and read again. Its quite damning that nobody has surpassed it given they have access to better sources now.

[Montbrun]

ORIGINAL: MisterBoats

Several books, and sets of books, come to mind right away:

-- Atkinson's trilogy is superb. All of the volumes cover just about every aspect of every campaign.

-- The Army's "Green Book" volumes are highly detailed and well written. Cross Channel Attack, and Breakout and Pursuit cover the Normandy campaign exhaustively.

-- The Battle of the Generals by Martin Blumenson covers the Faliase/Argentan battles in detail. Any of Blumenson's books are worth reading.

-- Samuel Morison's volumes covering the naval operation are great. His entire set of books, covering naval operations in all theaters, is worth buying. I purchased quite a few of them for less than $10 apiece, using used-book services on the web. They are all in very good condition.

-- The London Times' Atlas of WWII has some nice maps, but they are rife with errors. They show the Siciian invasion taking place in September, for example. If you don't mind making a lot of corrections, it's worth getting.

All of the above ought to give a WITW player a thorough, well-rounded idea of what happened, and why, from the Allied perspective.

If you keep an eye on eBay, you can usually find a complete set of Morison fairly cheap. That's where I got my set. It's usually someone liquidating an estate, and just wanting to get rid of the books.