Book suggestions
The Cooler King
Godfather
Hey Goldfish, welcome aboard. You might want to read "Rendezvous With Destiny", that is if you can find it. It is the complete history of the 101st in WWII. You will also like "Biggest Brother" by Larry Alexander. It's the biography of Major Dick Winters. Another two about Easy are "Cpl. Forrest Guth" and "Parachute Infantry." You also might want to look into a book called "The Simple Sounds of Freedom." I haven't read this one yet but I'd like to get my hands on a copy. It is the story of Joe Beyrle who jumped into Normandy with the 101st, was captured, then escaped and fought along side the Russians.
Damien435
Active member
Are you looking at books that are based on the experiences of units during WWII or would you also be interested in "What If?" books? Books that consider what the world would be like if say the South had won the civil war or Japan was not stopped at Midway. If you are interested in those types I would suggest any book by Harry Turtledove, they are well written but are more for entertainment than information, they don't have the long drawn out technical details like Tom Clancy.
Whispering Death
Active member
Now this isn't what you asked for, but there is a FANTASTIC book on WW2 I just finished reading. Now it is not just non-fiction but REALLY dense non-fiction so be warned. It's "Barbarossa: The Russian-German Conflict, 1941-45" by Alan Clark. It is known as the seminal work on the WW2 eastern front. It is surprisingly readable in a fun way but is very dense and has lots of very detailed information and analysis.
I've found it to be an absolutely astonishing delight to read.
I've found it to be an absolutely astonishing delight to read.
Doppleganger
Active member
I'm not sure that it's known as the seminal work on WW2 as there are several other books just as worthy of this claim. David Glantz and John Ericsson in particular have released very worthy books on this subject. In fact, there is no one seminal work on this subject as the Eastern Front is such a huge topic and some of the 'facts' such as casualty figures will probably never be definatively known.Whispering Death said:
Axis Trooper
New Member
If I had to read a book I would read [SIZE=-1]"The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" by William Shirer, again. Very good book,[/SIZE] incredibly detailed.
My suggestions are:
Armageddon: The Battle for Germany 1944-45
Max Hastings
A Bridge Too Far
Cornelius Ryan
Berlin: The Downfall, 1945
Antony Beevor
Stalingrad
Antony Beevor
Before the Fall-out: From Marie Curie to Hiroshima
Diana Preston
The before the fall out is an excellent book. As are the others.
Armageddon: The Battle for Germany 1944-45
Max Hastings
A Bridge Too Far
Cornelius Ryan
Berlin: The Downfall, 1945
Antony Beevor
Stalingrad
Antony Beevor
Before the Fall-out: From Marie Curie to Hiroshima
Diana Preston
The before the fall out is an excellent book. As are the others.
''Patton a genius for warfare'' by Carlo D'Este, is a very good biography of Americas best tank commander, [and a very, very strange man] and has some info on the 101st at Bastogne, which split the German forces, and was one of the key reasons for the German defeat in the battle of the Bulge.
And it's good to see more fans of Alan Clarke's ''Barbarossa: The Russian German Conflict, 1941-1945'' it's a classic book!
Other writers have given give more details of the campaign since his book was published, but Clarke was one of the first writers in the West to give an account that was far more balanced then the mainly German historians and Generals often lopsided, and at times misleading, accounts that flooded the market after the war.
Clake succeeds in explaining how a fighting force that in one two-month period lost two million men was nevertheless able to rally to defeat the Wehrmacht, which remains one of the most remarkable achievements in military history.
He concentrates on four major events: Moscow in the winter of 1941, Stalingrad, the Kursk offensive in 1943, and the battles on the Oder at the start of 1945.
And what I find interesting, is the fascinating insight into the machinations of the men behind the struggle, on how they ran the war, from Hitler and his high court of flunkies [always conniving against each other for Hitlers favour] to the arguments, personal jealousies, and disagreements among the German General Staff and the field commanders, [the fueding between Guderian and Kluge is a war in itself, continually back stabing each other, which had severe repercussions in the future conduct of the war, Guderian eventually losing his command, but then getting his own back on Kluge later as Chief of Staff]
He gives chilling accounts of of the almost unbelievable attrocities of the Germans as they rampaged through the Soviet Union, and later the Soviet revenge in Eastern Germany.
After the war the German Generals in their memoirs tried to deflect blame from themselves onto Hitler. Clark was one of the first writers to come to a more objective analysis of Hitler's role.
He points out that Hitler's military instincts were often quite good, and sometimes better than his generals.
He also suggests that the Russians most probably would have won the war on their own, or at least fought the Germans to a standstill, without any assistance.
All in all, it remains one of the best books on the subject, continually selling out in reprints.
And it's good to see more fans of Alan Clarke's ''Barbarossa: The Russian German Conflict, 1941-1945'' it's a classic book!
Other writers have given give more details of the campaign since his book was published, but Clarke was one of the first writers in the West to give an account that was far more balanced then the mainly German historians and Generals often lopsided, and at times misleading, accounts that flooded the market after the war.
Clake succeeds in explaining how a fighting force that in one two-month period lost two million men was nevertheless able to rally to defeat the Wehrmacht, which remains one of the most remarkable achievements in military history.
He concentrates on four major events: Moscow in the winter of 1941, Stalingrad, the Kursk offensive in 1943, and the battles on the Oder at the start of 1945.
And what I find interesting, is the fascinating insight into the machinations of the men behind the struggle, on how they ran the war, from Hitler and his high court of flunkies [always conniving against each other for Hitlers favour] to the arguments, personal jealousies, and disagreements among the German General Staff and the field commanders, [the fueding between Guderian and Kluge is a war in itself, continually back stabing each other, which had severe repercussions in the future conduct of the war, Guderian eventually losing his command, but then getting his own back on Kluge later as Chief of Staff]
He gives chilling accounts of of the almost unbelievable attrocities of the Germans as they rampaged through the Soviet Union, and later the Soviet revenge in Eastern Germany.
After the war the German Generals in their memoirs tried to deflect blame from themselves onto Hitler. Clark was one of the first writers to come to a more objective analysis of Hitler's role.
He points out that Hitler's military instincts were often quite good, and sometimes better than his generals.
He also suggests that the Russians most probably would have won the war on their own, or at least fought the Germans to a standstill, without any assistance.
All in all, it remains one of the best books on the subject, continually selling out in reprints.