WWII book ideas?

[thisiszero]

Im looking for a new book to read. Ive read Band of Brothers about 5 times adn seen the dvd's about 10 times. I jut got done playing w/ Medal of Honor Allied Assulat: Spearhead. Now I want to read a good, no make that great book on WWII. Weather it be about the military or civilians. Wether it be fiction or non, it doesnt matter I want a good book darn it.


Help?

[M_Six]

I'll give you two ideas; both by David L. Robbins.

War of the Rats is about Soviet vs Nazi snipers in Leningrad. It's excellent.

End of War is about the taking of Berlin by the Soviets. It's got some very disturbing scenes, but it's a great book nonetheless.

Both are out in paperback. Check Half.com or eBay.

[kenyg]

There was one out a few years ago - called 'If You Survive' - true first person account from the landing at Normandy to the end of the war - chilling stuff.

As I remember - of the guys unit of 130 or so - something like 4 were there at the end.

a good read

[Bill in SD, CA]

The Audie Murphy autobiography is good.

[Epidemic]

OOPS. I am getting all sorts of things wrong here today.

Brain fart.

[Theophylact]

Norman Mailer: The Naked and the Dead
Joseph Heller: Catch-22
John Keegan: Six Armies in Normandy (non-fiction)

And, for the Olympian view, Winston Churchill: The Second World War (mostly non-fiction )

[DaveLewis]

"Company Commander" - experiences of a young infantry captain in Europe. Don't remember the author.

"The Forgotten Soldier" by Guy Sajer. A young Frenchman joins the Grossdeutschland division and serves on the Eastern front. Excellent book.

"Helmet for my Pillow"

Anything else by Stephen Ambrose. A lot of people disagree with his opinions regarding the American army but his stuff is a welcome change from the British centered school of military history.

"A Bridge Too Far" and "The Longest Day" by Cornelius Ryan. Longest Day is still one of the classic accounts of D-Day.

Anything by John Keegan.

There were quite a few "escape" stories written in the early 50's - mostly by British pilots who had been shot down and ended up in German POW camps. They're good stories. Some of the titles I can remember - "The Great Escape" (the one they made the movie from), "Free As A Running Fox", "Escaper's Progress", "The Wooden Horse". There was a book out by Douglas Bader who flew Spitfires with two artificial legs - the pilot, not the Spit!

"Run Silent, Run Deep" by Edward Beach

If you want to do a little Korea "Pork Chop Hill" is probably the best thing that came out of that war.


Most of these are probably out of print but you should be able to find them in libraries, used book stores, or maybe on the net.

[mdroth]

D-day by ambrose
pegisis bridge by ambrose
Wild blue- ambrose


if you can't tell im a fan of his work

if your interested in other aspects of the war

Hitler- (can't remember auther) is good
the third rich- also good
I have more at home let me know if you want more ideas

mike

[Theophylact]

mdroth, Alan Bullock's is the definitive biography: Hitler: A Study in Tyranny.

Did you mean William Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich?

Both of these, of course, begin well before the War.

[mdroth]

Theo- Shirer's book is the one that I was thinking of, not sure if it is the same Hitler book tho- I'll have to look


And yes they begin well before the war, but they both explain the causes of the war and how and why it was fought.