Some books that I enjoyed, (and others that I didn't...)

World War II - Multimedia WWII Books
#1

I would like to recommend the following books, that I quite enjoyed:

Allies:

“The Big Show”, by Pierre Clostermann
“Fighter Boys”, by Patrick Bishop (someone already talked about this one)
“An Army at Dawn” by Rick Atkinson (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
“War Without Hate” by Jonh Bierman and Colin Smith
“Eight Army” by Robin Neillands
“The Burma Road” by Donovan Webster
“Monte Cassino” by Matthew Parker
The 4 books written by Donald R. Burgett that cover his participation in WW2, by order: “Currahee!”, “The Road to Arnhem”, “Seven Roads to Hell” and “Beyond the Rhine, a Screaming Eagle in Germany”

Axis:

There are some obvious that many of the members already read or heard about like “Stalingrad” and “The Forgotten Soldier”, etc, so beyond those:

“Lightning War, Blitzkrieg in the West, 1940” by Ronald E. Powaski (this one is really good, giving, among other things, a great insight to the opposite strategys and the internal conflits on both sides).
“Sniper on the Eastern Front” by Albrecht Wacker
“Blitzkrieg, In their own words” (This one is not a masterpiece but more of a curiosity, it’s the translation of a book first published in 1942 nazi Germany, the foreword is by Heins Guderian and is composed of first-hand accounts from german soldiers between 1939 and 1940, it has the strong propaganda component typical of the period, but one has to pass beyond that to see how the victorious german soldier felt like at the time)

Good, but not great:
“The 12th SS, Vol1 and 2” by Hubert Meyer (heavy reading, extremely detailed in parts)

Desapointing:
“Panzer Aces I and II”, “Infantry Aces” by Franz Kurowski (the author is obviously pro-german, and the constant blá blá about the german soldier superhuman feats gets boring after the first 50 pages and makes you wonder about what parts are true and what are not!!!)
“Pegasus Bridge” by Stephen E. Ambrose (short, and there’s more praising of the allies then real story telling, same problem with all his books, but that’s my oppinion)
“Five Years, Four Fronts” by Georg Grossjohann (not bad but disapointing in comparison with other books that cover the “memoirs” topic)

This are my oppinions, if any of you don’t agree with something please say so, so that other members can have an idea about this books.

#2

I surely got to get my hands on “The forgotten soldier” though I don’t know if it was translated into German language in the first place. From what I’ve learned the book must be as readable as it is controversial.
“Sniper on the eastern front” is a very good read however it contains the most extreme portrayal of violence I’ve ever read.

“Panzer Aces I and II”, “Infantry Aces” by Franz Kurowski (the author is obviously pro-german, and the constant blá blá about the german soldier superhuman feats gets boring after the first 50 pages and makes you wonder about what parts are true and what are not!!!)

Kurowski does not have the best reputation with the German readership either. He’s been a paratrooper with the DAK in WW2 and today is a member of the “Gesellschaft für Freie Publizistik” (association for free journalism, the major extreme right-wing cultural association).

#3

If you think this book was heavy,you should try any book from Wilhelm Tieke.All excellent books but God ,are they full of information,so much of it ,it makes you feel dizzy.
Peter Strassner and Helmuth Spaeter would be in the same category.

Kurowski!
Lol

I have a real problem with Ambrose,too much hype and too many mistakes especially regarding ennemy units and locations.
Good author to start reading book about WW2,after that veering away is a wise decision.
There is a book thread,feel free to contribute!

#4

Why don’t you buy it from Amazon.co.uk? (Tha’s what I do, there aren’t many WW2 books translated into portuguese!!!), the postage to Switzerland was about 5 euros, might be the same to Germany, and you can always buy more then one book, so the postage will be, let’s say “divided”, I assure you that it’s a good investment.

And you are absolutely right about “Sniper on the eastern front”.

#5

Since I’m in an adventurous mood today I will look for this authors, thanks for the tip :slight_smile:

#6

Denn diese Tage Quall war gross: Erinnerung eines vergessenen Soldaten is the German title.
Funnily enough I’ve only read the book recently in its original language(a Christmas present from my dad) and like you I was pretty sceptical but I’ve read not as a unit history(it really isn’t) of the GD but as the experience of this young guy in a middle of a war he doesn’t understand.
Very gripping read ,I enjoyed it very much.
The link below should give you a bit more details about the whole argument was he/was he not?But to be fair ,it is such a good read ,you won’t really care.
http://members.shaw.ca/grossdeutschland/sajer.htm
Doug Nash is a very respected author who wrote the two excellent Cherkassy and the 272nd Volks-grenadier book.

#7

Strassner: http://www.amazon.co.uk/European-Volunteers-5-SS-Panzer-Division-Wiking/dp/0921991894/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236709914&sr=1-5
Spaeter: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panzerkorps-Grossdeutschland-v-Helmuth-Spaeter/dp/0921991126/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236710028&sr=1-5
It’s in 3 volume.

And my favorite Tieke:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Caucasus-Oil-German-Soviet-War-1942/dp/0921991231/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236710080&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tragedy-Faithful-3rd-Panzer-Corps/dp/0921991614/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236710125&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Firestorm-Last-Year-War/dp/0921991436/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236710144&sr=1-5

Enjoy!

#8

I saw “Denn dieser Tage Qual war gross” on amazon, however I did not no if it was the German title for “The forgotten soldier” or potentially a different book of Sajer. Guess I’ll try to get it…
Right about Tieke. I read his book about II. SS-Panzerkorps lately and it was more than exhausting.

#9

here are some i am reading D-Day by stephen ambrose he was a good author of ww2 books.I just finished citizen soldiers;)