Second World War Books

[Jill]

I have this one waiting in the wings.

by Paul Fussell

[Jill]

Read the above cited book.........it was a slow read in order to absorb the psychological aspects of the ugliness of war time. Overall it was an interesting and disturbing book that validates General Sherman's most famous quote, "War is hell".

[Jill]

If this book is on your TBR list, move it to the top. If it isn't on your list, add it!! It is simply excellent as it tells the story of the Bataan Death March, those survivors who ended up in Cabanatuan POW camp in the Philippines, and the subsequent greatest rescue mission of World War II. The last line of the book, taken from the diary of one of the prisoners is heartbreaking. We are all ghosts now but once were were men

Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission by Hampton Sides

[happy]

I agree it's a great read!

[A.L.]

I thought it was a great book too!

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Agree, Hampton Sides is a pretty good author, l have enjoyed a few of his books.

[Rose]

I just finished On Hitler's Mountain: Overcoming the Legacy of a Nazi Childhood by Irmgard A. Hunt
It is an excellent memoir, written from Hunt's perspective as a child.
The full review is here:
http://roseseilerscott.com/

[Jill]

I found this book at a library sale today for $1.00. I'm not familiar with it but at that price, it is worth a try. Has anyone read it?

by Craig Nelson

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

I've seen it around Jill but haven't read it. I wasn't overly taken with his book on the Doolittle Raid so I'll be keen to hear your thoughts on the book once you have had the chance to rear it.

I've just started James Hollands second book in his trilogy of; "The War in the West".

The War in the West: A New History: Volume 2: The Allies Fight Back 1941-43 by James Holland

[Jill]

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "I've seen it around Jill but haven't read it. I wasn't overly taken with his book on the Doolittle Raid so I'll be keen to hear your thoughts on the book once you have had the chance to rear it.

I..."

For the price of $1.00, I just couldn't pass it up. I probably won't be reading it until this winter.

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Yep, hard to pass up a decent book at that price :)

[Jill]

Am just finishing up the book cited below. It is an interesting look at London and three important American players prior to the US joining the war. The author goes into interesting detail regarding the relationship between Roosevelt and Churchill and is not afraid to point fingers at these two giant egos. Those sections about who was sleeping with whom were not particularly relevant in the larger scheme of things...I will just say that the Churchill daughter and daughter-in-law certainly were busy!!! I will be writing a full review tomorrow when I should be finished. It is worth the read, even for the student of the war in Europe.

by Lynne Olson

[happy]

If anyone is interested I typed up my thoughts on Ben Macintyre's look at the SAS in WW II



https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Jill wrote: "Am just finishing up the book cited below. It is an interesting look at London and three important American players prior to the US joining the war. The author goes into interesting detail regardin..."

Sounds interesting Jill, I'll look forward to your full review :)

[Jill]

I think I sent you a recommendation.....but if I didn't, I think you might like this book.

[happy]

Jill wrote: "Am just finishing up the book cited below. It is an interesting look at London and three important American players prior to the US joining the war. The author goes into interesting detail regardin..."

That looks good Jill - on to the TBR is goes :)

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Jill wrote: "I think I sent you a recommendation.....but if I didn't, I think you might like this book."

You did indeed send me a recommendation :)

[Jill]

I am recommending the book cited below. It tells the story of the kings, queens, parliament, pilots, cryptographers, etc) who escaped to Britain when their countries were overrun by the Nazis and continued to work tirelessly to continue the fight. Well written and enthralling.

by Lynne Olson

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Jill wrote: "I am recommending the book cited below. It tells the story of the kings, queens, parliament, pilots, cryptographers, etc) who escaped to Britain when their countries were overrun by the Nazis and c..."

I hope to read my copy sometime soon, thanks for the excellent recommendation Jill!

[Jill]

I am just starting this book and am not sure if it is a whitewash of the Nazi military leaders or an unbiased history of the 26 Generals profiled. Each chapter is written by a different scholar, which is not a device I particularly like but we shall see. I hate to admit this but there are a couple of Generals with whom I am not familiar. But the editor does warn the reader about this peculiarity since these men were not in the public eye and a basically unknown as far as the military is concerned.

by Correlli Barnett (editor)

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Hi Jill, let us know how you go with that book. I have read a few older books by Correlli Barnett but like you I'm not a fan of each chapter written by a different author.

[Jill]

Somehow I have a feeling it is going to be a little bit pedantic but I am certainly going to give it a chance. It may be one of those books where you skip chapters written by some of the historians that are dry as dust.....that is one of the reasons that I don't care for multiple authors.

[happy]

It is that

[Jill]

Am still plodding through Hitler's Generals which is an uneven read since each chapter is written by a different historian. But I have also started How Could This Happen: Explaining the Holocaust by Dan McMillan.....it is a rather short book but the author's conclusions make a lot of sense and are well presented. I'm not sure that he fully explains how the Holocaust could happen but he comes very close. I am recommending it and I am not even finished!

[Jonny]

Sounds like one of those "need to read" ones Jill. Especially if it's short! (Thinking of the aching wrist from Gilbert's The Holocaust)

[Jill]

'Aint it the truth. You can always count on any book about WWI/WWII to be at least 500+ plus pages. But this author, Dan McMillan (are you familiar with him?) gets right to the point and only needs 200+ pages to put forth his opinion. Rather refreshing.

[Jonny]

I'm not familiar with him... yet. Might be a good lead in to Rees or Cesarani... and those monsters are the reason some books need to be read on a Kindle!

[Jill]

Just finished the below cited book and it was a dandy. This is a very short book (213 page) on an immense topic....the Holocaust. which frightens people like no other event in history. The particular horror of it was the way the Nazis denied the worth of human life and their credo that Jews were vermin that needed exterminated from the earth. The author attempts, to dissect the reasons why the population of Germany could be capable of such boundless inhumanity. He posits that it was the perfect storm...a broken people after the humiliation of their loss in WWI which was never accepted in Germany, destructive ideas. and the bleakest of circumstances to produce history's most horrible catastrophe.

He explains how Hitler came to power and was seen as a savior after the fall of the Weimar Republic; the anti-Semitism that was already present in Germany; the fear of Communism which Hitler thought was controlled by Jews; the rising belief of eugenics which placed the Jews at the bottom of human kind; the cheapening of life brought on by the slaughter of the Great War, just to name a few.

He writes succinctly and his thesis is one of the best I have read about the "why" of the Holocaust. The subject is unpleasant but one that is necessary for all people to attempt to understand. Highly recommended.

by Dan McMillan

[Jonny]

Pleased your earlier forecast held true Jill. Always feel I should be reading more on the Final Solution..

[Jill]

There a gobs of books out there on the Holocaust but most are 500+ pages and I wasn't in the mood for another long book, so this one filled the bill. It is surprising how much information he got into 213 pages....no filler or repetitive writing. It probably doesn't present a lot of new material but his style and research sources are excellent.

[Jonny]

Jill wrote: "There a gobs of books out there on the Holocaust but most are 500+ pages and I wasn't in the mood for another long book, so this one filled the bill. It is surprising how much information he got in..."

Yeah, my Kindle's a lifesaver on that score. Sometimes a decent style and cutting to the chase are all you need!

[Jonny]

I'm currently working through Harry Crosby's A Wing And A Prayer: The 'Bloody 100th' Bomb Group Of The Us Eight Air Force In Action Over Europe In World War Ii. Nice style, and a good navigators eye view, but I'm not getting much sense of the hell of daylight raids. I've just read a sequence where the Mighty Eighth are surprised by cloud cover (you might want to get used to that real quick guys) and Crosby refuses to let them bomb Bonn as a target of opportunity because Beethoven was born there...
It's Regensburg next, 17th August '43.

[Jill]

I don't mean to sound snippy but, even though I love Beethoven, what about all those civilians were were born there and were now being bombed? If you didn't want to bomb every German city where someone famous was born, you would never have bombed very many at all.

[Jonny]

Tell me about it... perfect bomb patterns, fighter attacks that are shrugged off... I'm enjoying it, but my pinches of salt are building up...

[Jill]

I know this is a book about the USAAF but wasn't it "Bomber" Harris of the RAF who came up with the Allies' carpet bombing strategy or am I confused?

[happy]

Yes, Harris was an advocate of area bombing. One of his goals was to "unhouse" the work force. I read somewhere, that the RAF considered it accurate bombing if an aircraft put there bombs within 5 miles of the aiming point. In contrast, the USAAF's stated goal was "pin point" bombing - just hit the target - manufacturing plant, marshalling yards, etc, and leave the cities surrounding them unbombed. Once and a while they got that, but for the most part it didn't work that way, the technology to accomplish that kind of accuracy on a regular basis just wasn't there.

[Jonny]

Jill wrote: "I know this is a book about the USAAF but wasn't it "Bomber" Harris of the RAF who came up with the Allies' carpet bombing strategy or am I confused?"

happy wrote: "Yes, one of Harris was an advocate of area bombing. One of his goals was to "unhouse" the work force. I read somewhere, that the RAF considered it accurate bombing if an aircraft put there bombs wi..."



OK, so what I know is...

Yes, 'Butcher' Harris was an advocate of bombing - after his experiences in the First World War. The policy was dreamt up in the Air Ministry, passed to AVM Portal who directed Harris to implement it. This was after the Butt Report of 1941, which is what I'm assuming you're referring to Happy - Bomber Command policy at this point was a case of "there's the target, bomb it, see you when you get back", so there was no bomber force per se. Harris took Bomber Command and introduced the idea of the bomber stream, so the entire force was following one course, saturating a target over a period of an hour or so rather than all night. US policy was to go for individual targets, but this suffered a number of setbacks - the Norden bombsight as fitted to B-17's and B-24's was sold as being able to hit a pickle barrel from 20,000 feet, but you need to be able to see it. As a point in case, from where I live in the North East if you head due east you hit the Germany/Denmark border area. I haven't seen the sun since Sunday, it's rained persistently for three days and today it alternated between sleet and snow. Additionally losses in the Bomber Force led to a reduction in the number of bombardiers being carried on bombers, the theory being that you could load up an additional gunner instead who could release the bombs when he saw the lead drop. It's been said that "RAF Bomber Command precision bombed area targets while the Eighth Air Force area bombed precision targets." In fairness the technology didn't really exist until the 60's or 70's once PGM's started being deployed.
If I had to give a reading list it would be:
Bomber Command
Bomber Boys: The Ruhr, the Dambusters and Bloody Berlin
Men of Air: The Doomed Youth of Bomber Command
Journey's End: Bomber Command's Battle from Arnhem to Dresden and Beyond
Blood and Fears: How America's Bomber Boys and Girls in England Won their War
Tail-End Charlies: The Last Battles of the Bomber War 1944-45
Also anything by Martin Middlebrook - but especially
The Schweinfurt Regensburg Mission: The American Raids on 17 August 1943
The Battle of Hamburg: Allied Bomber Forces Against a German City in 1943
and finally
Dresden: Tuesday, 13 February, 1945

[Jill]

Thank you guys....you are a wealth of information and thanks for the book list, Jonny. I have read the Dresden book but none of the rest.

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

Great post Jonny and all excellent books! I'd add these few as well:


Reap the Whirlwind: The Untold Story of 6 Group, Canada's Bomber Force of World War II by Spencer Dunmore

Luck and a Lancaster: Chance and Survival in World War II by Harry Yates

Half a Wing, Three Engines and a Prayer: B-17s over Germany by Brian O'Neill

Inferno: The Fiery Destruction of Hamburg, 1943 by Keith Lowe

[happy]

great list Johnny - I've add a couple also+

[Jonny]

In a sort of grim synchronicity, this turned up on the commute home:
"This[a mission on 2 October 1943 (I think)] was an important mission, our first with blind bombing apparatus. A few pants at Alconbury had H2X, a radar scanner, slung under the nose. It looked like a bathtub hanging there. The radar operator could look through the clouds and see the outline of the city. When we got to our target, his plane dropped a flare, and we all dropped on it. The system was not accurate. We were satisfied if none of our bombs was more than five miles from the point of desired MI, the point of Maximum Impact."

[Jill]

War is hell.

[Jonny]

Supports Happy's point - both forces were at it. Bear in mind this its the same guy who 75 pages earlier wouldn't bomb Bonn because off the Beethoven link. He's not very consistent.

[Jill]

I always hear tales that infantry men didn't have much respect for bomb crews because they never saw the people they were about to kill.

[Jonny]

Well, after the disappointment of my previous book I'm not reading The Other Battle; pretty much leaning back on last Thursday's discussion! I've finished the first chapter, which takes me to April 1940. The RAF have abandoned daylight raids and are currently scattering bombs around Germany (probably) while the Luftwaffe has woken up to the fact that it actually needs nightfighters and has set up the first dedicated unit. It's a very good read.

[Jill]

I am about 1/3 of the way through this book. I happen to enjoy Korda's work after reading With Wings Like Eagles: A History of the Battle of Britain so thought I would give this one a try. Although it doesn't present any new facts about the retreat to the sea by the BEF after being cut off by the Germans, the style in which Korda writes, makes it seem new. Frankly, I am loving it.

by Michael Korda

['Aussie Rick', Moderator]

That's good to hear Jill as I have a copy that I am keen to read at some stage. I loved his books on Lawrence of Arabia and General Lee.

[Jill]

Here is another that I just finished and would highly recommend. It covers one year.....a year that changed the history of Germany (and the world forever). It concerns the 1923 Munich beer hall putsch by Hitler which failed. He is brought to trial in 1924 on charges of high treason and the outcome of that trial should make it one of the most important trials in history but it is not recognized as such. I was spellbound by the way that Hitler manipulated the judges of this trial and how his 13 months in prison were the beginning of the ruin of a country and a people. Outstanding.

by Peter Ross Range

[happy]

Another to addition to the ever expanding TBR - good review, Jill!

[Jill]

It really gives you an in-depth look at Hitler's personality and his twisted philosophy. Surprisingly it is a fairly short book but the author covers all the important events of 1923-24 in detail. It is very readable and I found a few things that I had forgotten about. Move it up on your tbr, happy.