10 Must Have Books on WW2

[patrickl]

Hi,

What would be your choice to 10 books that you must have on WW2? Shattered Sword should be one. I aim to own some of the real good ones.

[:D]

[DuckofTindalos]

Beevor's "Stalingrad" and "Berlin", if we're not limited to the Pacific. The "Bloody Shambles" series...

[rtrapasso]

if you want a couple of good Pacific books:

The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway by John B. Lundstrom, and

First Team And the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942 by John B. Lundstrom

are great for understanding what went on and why in the early part of USN involvement.

[Houtje]

limited to the pacific, so you may know them already: eric M. bergerud's 'fire in the sky' and 'touched with fire' on resp. the air war in the south pacific and the land war in the pacific. Now if only he'd write a book on naval warfare in the pacific...

[Nikademus]

really depends on your interest.....so i guess i'd place some recommendations for Pacific:

1. Bloody Shambes [series]
2. Lundstrom: First Team [series]
3. Samauri [good to get a different viewpoint]
4. Zero! (thought provoking,)
5. Guadalcanal
6. Battle History of the IJN
7. Kaigun
8. Sunburst
9. Shattered Sword
10. The Pacific War (Costello - great pre-history analysis on both antagonists...)

(if your budget can stand it)

11. Burma, the longest war
12. Forgotton Armies (Fall of British empire in Asia)
13. Silent Victory (US sub campaign)
14. The Japanese submarine force in WWII
15. The Sino-Japanese War (1937-45)
16. The Rape of Nanking
17. A Glorious Way to Die
18. The battle of Leyte Gulf (Cutler)
19. Fire in the Sky
20. Touched with Fire

oh hell.....10 books is a short list for WWII even if just limiting to the Pacific [:D]

[rtrapasso]

Oh - i'd add "Japanese Destroyer Captain" by Tameichi Hara, Fred Saito, and Roger Pineau - out of print, but EXTREMELY interesting if you can find it.

[Nikademus]

Even though i gave a non-technical Pacific list a suprisingly interesting read is " Flak: German Anti-Aircraft Defenses, 1914-1945" (Westermann)"

While it [obviously] covers German AA defense development and preformance, it's general principles can be applied to all AA during the war. Dovetails nicely with what Bergerud said about Flak in "Fire in the Sky"

[Speedysteve]

Good list Nik.
 
I agre with T on Beevor's books. I also like Michael Reynolds book on the 1st SS Panzer Corps in Normandy, Bulge and Russia.

[Nikademus]

Switching to other theaters:

1. The Bomber War [Neillands]
2. Eighth Army [Neillands]
3. Hitler's Uboat War [series]
4. Flak (already mentioned)
5. Barbarossa (Clarke)
6. Kursk (Glanz)
7. The Path to Victory (The Med theater in WWII)
8. The Naval War in the Mediterranean 1940-1943 [Greene]

[Speedysteve]

Ah Neillands book on The Bomber War.....thought provoking eh?[;)]

[pauk]

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

Oh - i'd add "Japanese Destroyer Captain" by Tameichi Hara, Fred Saito, and Roger Pineau - out of print, but EXTREMELY interesting if you can find it.

hi, it seems that this book is available...

http://www.alibris.com/search/detail.cf ... =6&qsort=r

[Nikademus]

Yes, His analysis of the moral implications [including Dresden] and of the different approach of BC and the 8th were quite intriguing. An author can't go wrong when he writes it up in a way that allows the reader to make their own judgements regarding an issue. I really like him as an author. His book on the Eighth Army was similarily balanced and thought provoking, whether one was talking German, US or British/Commonwealth.

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: pauk

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

Oh - i'd add "Japanese Destroyer Captain" by Tameichi Hara, Fred Saito, and Roger Pineau - out of print, but EXTREMELY interesting if you can find it.

hi, it seems that this book is available...

http://www.alibris.com/search/detail.cf ... =6&qsort=r

Yeah - it is a bit pricey for what was a $.50 paperback... [X(] [:D]

[pauk]

anyway, thanks to Patrick, you, Nik and even Speedy for this thread...

i was thinking about buying some books and you guys helped me a lot!

[Redan]

Thunder Below by Eugene "Lucky" Fluckey. He was Commander of the USS Barb. Came back to Pearl once with a broom attached to her periscope. Sunk everything she attacked.

[Speedysteve]

Hi Pauk,
 
Seriously mate if you like fairly detailed (place name, personnel accounts etc) of 1st SS Panzer Corps in action then Reynolds book's are the way to go:
 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Steel-Inferno-Panzer-Corps-Normandy/dp/1873376901/sr=8-2/qid=1169225010/ref=pd_ka_2/203-4275603-8234330?ie=UTF8&s=books

[Ian R]

1, 2 & 3 the Beevor books previously mentioned plus the one on Crete
 
4. Brute Force, John Ellis
 
5&6 Road to Stalingrad, and Road to Berlin, by John Erickson
 
7 The Desert Generals by Corelli Barnett
 
8 At least one D'este book (Normandy, Bitter Victory (Sicily) or Patton, a genius for war
 
9 Spectre's the Eagle and the Sun (= to Costello's the Pacifc War)
 
10. Supplying War by Van Crevald.
 
if I got some more picks they would include "From Triumph to Disaster: why the Germans lose at War" by Ken Macksey, "A Bastard of a Place" by Peter Brune, "A World at Arms" by Weinberger, Why the Allies won by Overy, and War Economy and Society by Allan S Millward.

[Speedysteve]

Also Atkinson's book on the Liberation Trilogy was very well written.
 
Part 1 covers North Africa from Torch to Tunis.
 
Part 2 should have been out last year though[8|]
 
A VERY good first book IMO though.

[Nikademus]

ORIGINAL: Ian R

8 At least one D'este book (Normandy, Bitter Victory (Sicily) or Patton, a genius for war

D'este is on my future list...thx to reading those old "Patton" flame war threads. (Thx IronDuke.....your writeups were awesome)

There's a new book out on the Eighth Air Force....I was actually wanting to pick it up but the $35.00 hardcover price was just too steep on a subject i already have material on.....then i saw "Flak" which turned out to be the better [and cheaper] choice.

[Ian R]

And Stumbling Colossus and When Titans clashed by Glantz, and Glantz & House.