THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP discussion
Introduction to the WW2 Site - Please Say Hi


Hi, Elizabeth--I loved "The End of the Affair." (I'm one of the moderators in the Graham Greene Group.) Did you know that GG was an air raid warden in London during the Blitz?

Hi Mike,
I got waylaid on my Korean War book when I found long ignored WW2 documents, personal papers and archived news reports that exposed the underlying cause of the “Forgotten” war and much more. Two chapters of my current effort directly address the Korean War.
I'm fumbling around right now trying to get "The China Hoax" off the ground. I’m not looking for money or a career, my goal is exposing what appears to be a prevailing distortion of history. Kindle tells me I can “gift” the book in format suitable for PCs. If you're interested, I’ll get one to you. If you read it, I'd appreciate a few sentences, positive or negative, when Kindle follows up asking for your review.
My Korean War book is deferred until I can enjoy reading for pleasure for a while.
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Glad to be in the group.
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"The Longest Winter" by Alex Kershaw, a good read about small platoon action during the Battle of the Bulge.
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http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...


I know Flashman as my Dad is a big fan. Though I would not put it next to real memoir of hell in the Pacific.
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I look forward to joining this group as I am interested in all aspects of warfare in the 19th and 20th centuries. I have recently been getting a lot of pleasure and insights from WW2 personal memoirs written between the 1940s and 60s, when the memories were still fresh - and in many cases raw. Particularly worthy of mention are:
The Gods were Neutral by Robert Crisp (1961) and
Brazen Chariots (1959 by Robert Crisp
Crisp was an officer in British tank units and the first book above deals with his experiences in the disastrous British intervention in Greece in 1941 while the latter deals with his role with Operation Crusader - the offensive to relieve Tobruk - in late 1941.
I have learned more from these books about how armoured warfare feels - especially in sub-standard tanks outclassed by better-armed enemies - than from anything else I have read.
Crisp had an amazing life and has a Wikipedia entry devoted to him:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Crisp
The best fictional treatment I have found of armoured warfare in North Africa is Geoffrey Wagner's "Sands of Valour" from 1967

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I look forward to joining this group as I am interested in all aspects of warfare in the 19th and 20th centuries. I have recently been getting a lot of pleasure and insight..."
Hi Antoine I've not read either and I'm grateful for these recommendations.
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Hi Ash - would you prefer say memoirs, campaigns or more general books? I think with our members here we should be able to give you pointers on area you wish.

I look forward to joining this group as I am interested in all aspects of warfare in the 19th and 20th centuries. I have recently been getting a lot of pleasure and insight..."
Thank you have read both of Bob Crisp's books but had not heard of Sands of Valour before. I would recommend Peter Elstob's novel Warriors for the Working Day, based on his experiences as a wireless op and later crew commander and troop sergeant with 3 RTR in the North-West Europe campaign. Hard to get hold of though.
http://books.google.co.za/books/about...
And of course Keith Douglas's classic memoir Alamein to Zem-Zem.

I look forward to joining this group as I am interested in all aspects of warfare in the 19th and 20th centuries. I have recently been getting a lot of plea..."
Many thanks for the Peter Elstob novel recommendation, the mores so since my daughter, a sapper officer, had a secondment to the RTR some while back and enjoyed it thoroughly. I'll look for it in the London Library (the largest private library in the world, founded 1840 by Carlyle, Thackery etc). On a similar theme I can recommend "Flesh Wounds" by David Holbrook (1966) which is based on the writer's experiences with a British armoured unit in NW Europe in 1944/45.

I look forward to joining this group as I am interested in all aspects of warfare in the 19th and 20th centuries. I have recently been getting a lot of plea..."
Hello Geevee: Interesting that you should mention Remembrance Sunday in your profile - I was at our local annual service today and laid a wreath at the memorial to represent an organisation. The service is always poignant - in the community in question over 90 men were lost in WW1 from a population of just over 2000. Several families lost 2 or 3, and one lost 4 members.
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No GeeVee: Just a small community remembering the fallen. One young local man was killed recently in Afghanistan. I doubt if his family will get much compensation but the main news on the same day was of the BBC Director General retiring after 54 days in office with a £450,000 ($714,000) pay-off in addition to his £800,000 pension fund. I'm afraid that in Britain we talk a lot about our respect for the fallen but reserve our rewards for the already-affluent living.

Just as true here in the US.
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Antoine I'm afraid you are spot on. I live in the UK and am involved with a well known Armed Forces charity and have regular contact with bereaved families and wounded personnel :(
Mind you the official (i.e Govt) approach/involvement is streets better than it was in the 80s and 90s :)

Anyway, World War Two has always been a fascination for me. I have read many books on the subject. Probably the ones I enjoyed the most focused on the civilian's experience of the war, and how they survived it. (Last Days in Berlin, Hiroshima, etc.) I figure WWTR is the place to look. Thanks, John
BTW: I'm an American who's living in Jakarta, Indonesia. It's raining like cats and dogs now. Monsooooon!

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Just recently joined Goodreads and this group for sure looks like a place for me.
Military history 1935-1975 - with main focus on combat aviation in WWII and the Vietnam War - is what I like to read about.
Not that I do not 'stray' every now and then though. I may stumble across a subject outside my scope that requires further readings. Curiosity can be a good thing ;-)
Take care!
J


Michael wrote: "Welcome John and Antoine to the group. John don't be afriad to promote your book we have a thread for just that and your book looks like a great read I have added it to my TBR."
Books mentioned in this topic
The Battle of Britain: Five Months That Changed History, May-October 1940 (other topics)Afterbursts: Reliving World War II (other topics)
MacArthur's WWII Seaborne Communications: CP Fleet reports, brochures, memos from the scrapbooks of a Signal Corps Commanding Officer (other topics)
Last Citadel: A Novel of the Battle of Kursk (other topics)
The Ghost Tattoo (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Stephen Harding (other topics)Alex Kershaw (other topics)
James M. Fenelon (other topics)
Günter K. Koschorrek (other topics)
Rick Atkinson (other topics)
More...
Hi Elizabeth I liked these if it helps.