The Book Thread. **Updated***

[Insano]

wow this thread delivers! Thanks to all especially YankeAirRat

[LargeSlowTarget]

Don't forget "the dean of Pearl Harbor historians": Gordon W. Prange (with Goldstein and Dillon) and the PH trilogy At Dawn We Slept / Dec. 7th / Pearl Harbor - The Verdict of History

Also Frank Hammel trilogy on Guadalcanal: Starvation Island, The carrier battles, Decision at sea

Also liked William T. Y'Blood: The little giants. US Escort carriers against Japan, Clifford Kinvig: River Kwai Railway and James J. Fahey: Pacific War Diary. The secret diary of an American sailor.

[bush]

A few to add:

Biographies

Admiral Arleigh Burke by E.B. Potter

All the Factors of Victory by Widenberg ( a bio on Adm. Mason Reeves and the beginnings of US CV power)


References

Americas 100,000 by Francis Dean (a tech breakdown of US fighter aircraft)


General Histories

Why the Allies Won by Richard Overy

Victory at Sea by Dunnigan and Nofi

Hell to Pay by Giangreco (the planning for the invasion of Japan proper)

Whirlwind by Barrett Tillman (air war against Japan)

Winged Victory by Geoffrey Perret (total US air war story)


General Strategy

Moltke: The Art of War by Daniel Hughes

Strategy by BH Liddell Hart (covers everything up to WWII)

Warfighting by Lt. Col Hayden ( a modern primer on Marine tactics)

[SuluSea]

Nice thread, any thoughts to having a coming soon section? Whether you do or not I'd like to throw this out there for the people that enjoy Bergerud.
Oil On The Water: The Naval War In The South Pacific scheduled to be out 9.24.11. I've been looking forward to this all year. [:)]

[zzodr]

Reading this one:

US Subs Down Under. Brisbane, 1942 -1945
David Jones and Peter Nunan
----
Can see the drydock they used from where I work. [:)]

[Pascal_slith]

ORIGINAL: Nemo121

Hmm, it is all very Pacific-centric. What about general strategy? Someone could read everything there is to know about the Pacific War but if they don't read strategy in general they'll still probably suck at the game.

A World at Arms by Gerhard Weinberg. It is a grand strategy and diplomatic history of the global war.

[LowCommand]

I didn't see :

Beans, Bullets and Black Oil - a must read to understand the story of US Fleet Logistics afloat and our Big advantage over the Japanese navy.
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/BBBO/index.html

Thousand-Mile War - WWII in Alaska
http://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Mile-War ... 0912006838

The US Army in WWII Series - the Official History also called "The Green Mile" from the green bindings.
This is The Big One - includes LOTS of information on Logistics and Why, besides the Army stuff.
Much of it is now in PDF
http://www.history.army.mil/html/booksh ... saww2.html
also from the Government Printing Office in hard cover
http://bookstore.gpo.gov/subjects/sb-070.jsp

The two on logistics are a big deal. Short version - All US military options in WWII were primarily governed by shipping, especially assault shipping.

The Red Books, the official history of the Marines in WWII
Here's a link to lots of PDF info
http://www.marines.mil/news/publication ... rical.aspx
I think these are also still available in hardback.

Another very interesting thing is the Reports of the US Naval Technical Mission to Japanhttp://www.fischer-tropsch.org/primary_documen ... MJ_toc.htm Answers lots of questions about Japanese equipment and how well it actually worked.

There are Lots and Lots more but I’m running down, so more later.

[Mundy]

Can anyone recommend a good book source of USN ship camouflage schemes in wWII?

I bought a 1/700 USS San Francisco in its 1942 configuration, so in this case, I'll be using Measure 21.

shipcamouflage.com is a good online source, but I'm looking for a decent picture book.

Ed-

[rogbrezz]

Here was more information on Refighting the Pacific War, due out in September.

[font="times new roman"] Refighting the Pacific War: An Alternative History of World War II [/font] [font="times new roman"]An informed look at how World War II in the Pacific might have unfolded differently, giving historians, authors and veterans the opportunity to discuss what happened and what might have happened Contributors to this alternative history include noted military historians William Bartsch, John Burton, Donald Goldstein, John Lundstrom, Robert Mrazek, Jon Parshall, Douglas Smith, Peter Smith, Barrett Tillman, Anthony Tully, and H. P. Willmott; in all, more than thirty Pacific War experts will provide commentary, employing a roundtable panel discussion format. The reader will hear from the experts on how history could and could not have been altered during the course of the war in the Pacific. With multiple opinions, the reader will be provided with an interesting collection of divergent views about the outcome of the war. Refighting the Pacific War focuses largely on naval battles and campaigns, including Pearl Harbor, Coral Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal, Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf. While the main concentration is on the major naval actions, the book also delves into key island battles, like Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, as well as pre-war and post-war political issues. The panelists debate questions like whether the Japanese could have inflicted even greater damage on the U. S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor and how Yamamoto might have won at Midway and how such a victory might have impacted the direction of the war. The book extensively studies the opening year of the war when the Japanese war machine seemed unstoppable. Also explored is whether the Pacific War was inevitable and whether the conflict could have ended without the use of the atomic bomb. Vice Admiral Yoji Koda, Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (Ret.), provides the book's Introduction.[/font] [font="times new roman"] [/font]

[Argos]

Didn't see these so thought I'd throw my 2 cents in

One Square Mile of Hell - The Battle for Tarawa - John Wukovits
Ship of Ghosts - James D Hornfischer The USS Houston, POWs, and Burma Railroad
The Fleet the Gods Forgot: The U.S. Asiatic Fleet in World War II (Bluejacket Books) (9781557509284): W. G. Winslow: Books.

[LowCommand]

There probably should be a bit on how to use this list for newcomers. Nobody ever has enough time to read everything they want or should read.

First read one of the one volume histories. This will give an overview of what happened and why. After that it would probably be possible to fight the AI and win, but it would be a tough slog.

What to read next depends a bit on what the reader is most interested in. My suggestion would be one or more books on the beginnings. Probably the best short version is the first few chapters of Morison’s volume one. Most American’s have no idea about how we got into WWII. They tend to believe it all started without any warning on Dec 7.

Somewhere along the line perhaps it would be good to read a few of the historical novels. Again, very few people today have any idea of what America and Americans were like when all this started. It’s a very, very different place from America today.

Another good idea would be a few of the better movies or videos. I haven’t seen the Brothers Pacific series yet, but it might be a good, fast way of getting into the minds of Americans back then and the true bloody horror of the war.

A word on the books. All the authors have a point of view. If you possibly can, read more than one book on any given subject. Each author brings something different. For example, the official histories, not surprisingly, stress the official, high level view of the war. In them, you get the feeling of Gentlemen working together to fight and win a war. You will read about the problems of moving millions of men and zillions of tons of equipment to where they were needed, when they were needed. In the face of everything the enemy could do to kill the men and destroy the equipment. You read about this headquarters was set up for that operation and that general was selected to run things.
Then, when you read, say the biographies, you will get stories of great men with flaws struggling to get things done the way they are absolutely sure it should be done. In the case of the Allies, they usually gritted their teeth , cooperated and got the job done. In the case of the Axis, um, err, cooperation often didn’t happen.

If at all possible, read histories about the other side. Japan and the Japanese in the 1940’s were more alien than most any Science Fiction or Fantasy character most people have ever encountered. As just one example, assassination of high level government officials was rather common.


Again, I’m starting to run down. I’m sure others can add to this and improve it.

[zzodr]

ORIGINAL: SuluSea

Nice thread, any thoughts to having a coming soon section? Whether you do or not I'd like to throw this out there for the people that enjoy Bergerud.
Oil On The Water: The Naval War In The South Pacific scheduled to be out 9.24.11. I've been looking forward to this all year. [:)]

Thanks for the heads-up on this one. On my buy list. [:)]

[James Fennell]

wow - this is fantastic for a new guy - so many thanks!

I'd add http://www.amazon.com/Burma-Longest-194 ... 1842122606

Sorry to post here as well as on just read but can't find it above and it was given to me by a friend after a visit to Rangoon - i really rate it.

[Pascal_slith]

Origins of the Second World War in Asia and the Pacific by Akira Iriye -- excellent

Cry Havoc: How the arms race drove the world to war 1931-1941

[YankeeAirRat]

I have added a few books on the China-Burma-India theater through out and added a new topic area that is the "Just for Fun" where I will attempt to add a couple of books that covered the children's life during world war 2. So to start it off I have added Buz Sawyer the rousing Naval Aviator, along with Willie and Joe. I know there are a few others out their like Cap America and Blazing Combat. THese are not historically accurate nor completely related to the historical record. However, they are fun and after spending hours wading through deep tombs of historical records, it is fun to read some superhero who is able to kick butt and take names. If you haven't read a comic book while sitting under your sheets with a flash light hoping your parents wouldn't come in then you have lead a sheltered life [:D]

Oh and I would normally edit this on Sunday, however that dreaded add on Real Life is keeping me busy right now and I wont be here this Sunday.

[ilovestrategy]

I'm not sure if a fictional book is allowed in this thread. I just finished "The Caine Mutiny" by Wouk. God, I love that book. When I got to the end I looked at the very first sentence on page one and thought about how the Willard Kieth on that page was nothing like the one on the last. Would anyone happen to know of any good fictional books on the PTO? I would really love to read more. I loved Wouk's "War and Rememberence".( I have a feeling I mispelled rememberence) [:D]

[Pascal_slith]

ORIGINAL: ilovestrategy

I'm not sure if a fictional book is allowed in this thread. I just finished "The Caine Mutiny" by Wouk. God, I love that book. When I got to the end I looked at the very first sentence on page one and thought about how the Willard Kieth on that page was nothing like the one on the last. Would anyone happen to know of any good fictional books on the PTO? I would really love to read more. I loved Wouk's "War and Rememberence".( I have a feeling I mispelled rememberence) [:D]

War and Rememberance was the second volume. "Winds of War" was the first. Both were made into a mini-series with Robert Mitchum playing the main character.

[terje439]

Some Personal Histories or "There I was..."


"D-Days in the Pacfici with the U.S.Coast Guard The Story of the Lucky 13" by Ken Wiley.

Just passed it by and picked it up on a whim, but really enjoying it. It does not give (nor pretends to do so) and grand insight in the Pacific War per ce, but follows Ken Wiley from a young boy untill he enlists with the Coast Guards and the actions he sees as the Coxwain(??) on a landing craft attached to an APA.

Terje

[steamboateng]

I've recently read and recommend:

Eagle Against the Sun; Ronald H. Spector; 585 pgs. ISBN 0-394-74101-3 (pbk)
A general overview of the war with Japan; preliminaries, causes, major events. Includes a bibliography and index.

Guadalcanal: The Definative Account of the Landmark Battle; Richard B Frank; 800 pgs. ISBN 0-14-01.6561-4 (pbk)
A highly detailed account of the 6 month battle, including the naval engagents, land engagements, and the influence of the 'Cactus' Airforce.
Includes copius notes, bibliography and index.

[YankeeAirRat]

Bumped for the newbies out there.