THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP discussion
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New Release Books on WW2
message 551:
by
Wilson
(new)
Sep 14, 2012 11:06PM
Got a hold of The Second World War making my internet rounds. Seems very interesting so far.
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I've got my copy ready to go but will be a few months before I tackle it after Max Hastings account. Let us all know what you think of it once you've had a chance to read it :)
by Antony Beevor
by Max Hastings
Keep us posted on how it goes, actually when do you think you'll read it?
Soon I have one to finish then this :)
I got my copy of The Devil's Causeway The Devil's Causeway: The True Story of America's First Prisoners of War in the Philippines, and the Heroic Expedition Sent to Their Rescue last week and read the introduction that day, but I haven't had any time to continue yet. So far, the content is interesting, and the narrative reads easily - almost like a novel.
Darn, I posted the link and not the cover.
You got it right in the end though Paul :) Would anyone be interested in setting up a buddy read for The Devil's Causeway and a few of us can read and discuss it there?
Sounds good to me Rick
Any other interested members?
Rick, I'd be interested, but I need to check out if this book is available in our main library in English (or at least in Hungarian).
message 562:
by
Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces
(new)
I'm committed to a couple of buddy/group reads so will have to pass unless you're thinking of say December :)
Sooo many books, so many commitments, I think we are all struggling with too many good books :)
sounds really good. Have also added the Winston Churchill trilogy that was discussed in here to my wishlist
hmm, Rick, than I ask for your comments/review about this book as usual...:)
Paul Ham is a great Australian author, going off his first few books on Kokoda and Vietnam I have high expectations for his latest title. I will have to get a copy as soon as it comes out and let you know :)
maybe I'll check his other books out - but I'd be surprised if I could find him in our libraries...*sighs*
I am thinking NOT to read these threads about WW2 (especially this one) - too many books are listed there...already have a little notepad full with books beside my 'to-read' shelf on GR - you are killing me.
Truly.
It's all good fun, soooo many good books around eh!
yes Rick, it should be fun, but I want to purchase ALL!:P
Coming to a bookstore near you in the coming months, four books on Operation Taifunc
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Hi Nick, thanks for the post on these 4 books, they all look good, I have copies of the last two on order :)
Nick, thanks for the post, Operation Typhoon seems to be very promising;)
message 576:
by
Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces
(new)
Thanks Nick good post - The Viaz'ma Catastrophe looks good too but is pricey and not available via my library :(Description for the book:
This book describes one of the most terrible tragedies of the Second World War and the events preceding it. The horrible miscalculations made by the Stavka of the Soviet Supreme High Command and the Front commands led in October 1941 to the deaths and imprisonment of hundreds of thousands of their own people. Until recently, the magnitude of the defeats suffered by the Red Army at Viaz'ma and Briansk were simply kept hushed up. For the first time, in this book a full picture of the combat operations that led to this tragedy are laid out in detail, using previously unknown or little-used documents. The author was driven to write this book after his long years of fruitless search to learn what happened to his father Colonel N.I. Lopukhovsky, the commander of the 120th Howitzer Artillery Regiment, who disappeared together with his unit in the maelstrom of Operation Typhoon. He became determined to break the official silence surrounding the military disaster on the approaches to Moscow in the autumn of 1941. In the present edition, the author additionally introduces documents from German military archives, which will doubtlessly interest not only scholars, but also students of the Eastern Front of the Second World War. Lopukhovsky substantiates his position on the matter of the true extent of the losses of the Red Army in men and equipment, which greatly exceeded the official data. In the Epilogue, he briefly discusses the searches he has conducted with the aim of revealing the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Soviet soldiers, who to this point have been listed among the missing-in-action - including his own father. The narrative is enhanced by numerous photographs, colour maps and tables.
This new book sounds promising and I dare say a few members here may be interested in checking out a copy:
by Matthew BrzezinskiDescription:
Starting as early as 1939, disparate Jewish underground movements coalesced around the shared goal of liberating Poland from Nazi occupation. For the next six years, separately and in concert, they waged a heroic war of resistance against Hitler’s war machine that culminated in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. In Isaac’s Army, Matthew Brzezinski delivers the first-ever comprehensive narrative account of that struggle, following a group of dedicated young Jews—some barely out of their teens—whose individual acts of defiance helped rewrite the ending of World War II.
Based on first-person accounts from diaries, interviews, and surviving relatives, Isaac’s Army chronicles the extraordinary triumphs and devastating setbacks that befell the Jewish underground from its earliest acts of defiance in 1939 to the exodus to Palestine in 1946. This is the remarkable true story of the Jewish resistance from the perspective of those who led it: Isaac Zuckerman, the confident and charismatic twenty-four-year-old founder of the Jewish Fighting Organization; Simha Ratheiser, Isaac’s fifteen-year-old bodyguard, whose boyish good looks and seeming immunity to danger made him an ideal courier; and Zivia Lubetkin, the warrior queen of the underground who, upon hearing the first intimations of the Holocaust, declared: “We are going to defend ourselves.” Joined by allies on the left and right, they survived Gestapo torture chambers, smuggled arms, ran covert printing presses, opened illegal schools, robbed banks, executed collaborators, and fought in the two largest rebellions of the war.
Hunted by the Germans and bedeviled by the “Greasers”—roving bands of blackmailers who routinely turned in resistance fighters for profit—the movement was chronically short on firepower but long on ingenuity. Its members hatched plots in dank basements, never more than a door knock away from summary execution, and slogged through fetid sewers to escape the burning Ghetto to the forests surrounding the city. And after the initial uprising was ruthlessly put down by the SS, they gambled everything on a bold plan for a citywide revolt—of both Jews and Gentiles—that could end only in victory or total destruction. The money they raised helped thousands hide when the Ghetto was liquidated. The documents they forged offered lifelines to families desperate to escape the horror of the Holocaust. And when the war was over, they helped found the state of Israel.
A story of secret alliances, internal rivalries, and undying commitment to a cause, Isaac’s Army is history at its most heart-wrenching. Driven by an unforgettable cast of characters, it’s a true-life tale with the pulse of a great novel, and a celebration of the indomitable spirit of resistance.
Reviews:
"Told with care and compassion, Matthew Brzezinski’s Isaac’s Army is a riveting account of the Jewish resistance in wartime Poland. This is an intense story that transcends the horror of the time and finds real inspiration in the bravery of those who fought back—some of whom lived to tell their stories. Highly recommended.” - Alan Furst, (author of Mission to Paris)
“In every chapter and on every page, Isaac’s Army vindicates the adage that truth is stranger—and more harrowing—than fiction. Matthew Brzezinski’s often painful, always riveting account of Jewish resistance in German-occupied Poland is unsparing in its details and epic in scope, offering the kind of sweeping narrative that this subject has long deserved.” - Andrew Nagorski, (author of Hitlerland: American Eyewitnesses to the Nazi Rise to Power)
“In Isaac’s Army, Brzezinski brings us a sweeping, finely researched history of a band of Jewish heroes battling to drive the Nazis from their city and save their people. The stir to rebellion, the labyrinth of intrigue, the courageous long struggle, and the freedom found in the fight itself—these are but parts of this tremendous tale.” - Neal Bascomb, (author of Hunting Eichmann and The Perfect Mile)
Damn you Rick another added to my out of control TBR
Same problem here Michael, I ordered a copy today as the reviews appear all good, 4-5 stars :)
Michael wrote: "Damn you Rick another added to my out of control TBR"Michael, beware, Rick is dangerous (infects others with the 'I add just this ONE MORE book to my TBR-list' - virus...)
;)
I'm not a virus, maybe just a pest :)
Thanks for the opportunity to tell you about my new thriller IN PURSUIT OF PLATINUM – The Shocking Secret of World War II 
Based on a true story, it’s the secret they don’t want you to find out – buried in government archives and not to be revealed until 2045. Now you can read the real story about the attempt to smuggle a fortune in platinum out of Paris in the legendary Bullion Bentley, and its even more valuable human cargo, a mysterious Frenchwoman with a secret that could change the course of the Second World War. Alena and American Ben Peters are targets of Hitler’s ruthless investigator Ludwig Weber, whose family will be executed if he fails. His orders are to silence Alena before she can reveal her secret; capture her young son and take him back to Berlin; and recover the Banque de France’s platinum. As they flee their hunter, they experience the stark and tragic realities of war and the raw emotions of two brave people living on the edge of fear. And not everything is as it seems. Who is Alena and what is her secret that could destroy everything the Nazi movement stands for?
A reviewer wrote ‘It will leave you wondering right to the end – and afterwards’
IN PURSUIT OF PLATINUM, published by Principium Press and available as an eBook or paperback at http://bit.ly/InPursuitofPlatinum or http://bit.ly/InPursuitofPlatinumUK
www.VicRobbie.com
I picked up a copy of this book today. I've always been a little dismissive of the French Resistance which is probably unfair so I hope this book will give me a better insight into their motivation, operations and effectiveness.
by Matthew CobbDescription:
The French resistance to Nazi occupation during World War II was a struggle in which ordinary people fought for their liberty, despite terrible odds and horrifying repression. Hundreds of thousands of Frenchmen and women carried out an armed struggle against the Nazis, producing underground anti-fascist publications and supplying the Allies with vital intelligence. Based on hundreds of French eye-witness accounts and including recently-released archival material, The Resistance uses dramatic personal stories to take the reader on one of the great adventures of the 20th century. The tale begins with the catastrophic Fall of France in 1940, and shatters the myth of a unified Resistance created by General de Gaulle. In fact, De Gaulle never understood the Resistance, and sought to use, dominate and channel it to his own ends. Brave men and women set up organisations, only to be betrayed or hunted down by the Nazis, and to die in front of the firing squad or in the concentration camps. Over time, the true story of the Resistance got blurred and distorted, its heroes and conflicts were forgotten as the movement became a myth. By turns exciting, tragic and insightful, The Resistance reveals how one of the most powerful modern myths came to be forged and provides a gripping account of one of the most striking events in the 20th century.
For anybody that's interested in the German view of Operation Market Garden and who hasn't yet read the book "It Never Snows in September" by Robert Kershaw, here's a link to a free online version.http://pt.scribd.com/doc/88270237/23/...
Great book offering an excellent account from the 'other' side. Thanks for the link to a free online version Steve, hopefully a few members will take advantage of the offer.
Vic wrote: "Thanks for the opportunity to tell you about my new thriller IN PURSUIT OF PLATINUM – The Shocking Secret of World War II Based on a true story, it’s ..."....Ooops hit the wrong button on Amazon and bought it. That's what I'll tell the good wife anyway.
Hi Vic looks good I have added it to my TBR :)
Don't you just hate when that happens :)
Sure do! It all Amazons fault :)
yes a great read!Steve wrote: "For anybody that's interested in the German view of Operation Market Garden and who hasn't yet read the book "It Never Snows in September" by Robert Kershaw, "
I just picked up these two books from my Post Office box, one a new release the other an older title:
by Adam R. A. Claasen
by Joachim LudewigBoth look like excellent books, just got to find some time to fit them into the reading schedule!
Has anyone read this yet? I recommended it to Rick, wonder if anyone else has already read it.
by Prit Buttar
Hi Jerome, I don't think its published till early next year - 2013. However if it's as good as his first book then it should be a very good account.
by Prit Buttar
Here are some reviews of the book Jerome mentioned in case it sparks some interest:
by Halik KochanskiReviews:
"An unmatched synthesis of Poland's wartime experience and fate. Kochanski deftly integrates operational analysis with the complex internal politics of Poland's armed forces in exile. Her campaign narratives are concise, clear, and persuasive; her account of the Polish Resistance and the 1944 uprising is excellent; and her treatment of Polish–Jewish relations is balanced without being anodyne." - Dennis Showalter.
"An informative, authoritative and wide-ranging account of the tragedy that befell Poland and its inhabitants—gentiles and Jews—during the war and its aftermath. The less-well-known story of the Poles deported to the Soviet Union is particularly vivid and moving. An engaging and important book." - Hubert Zawadzki, a(uthor of A Concise History of Poland)
"A nation long accustomed to being squeezed by its two powerful neighbors, Germany and Russia, Poland's plight has not been adequately highlighted in more sweeping, general histories of World War II because much of its suffering during the war has been diffused by the allegations of Polish anti-Semitism. Royal Historical Society fellow Kochanski, while of Polish descent, is not an apologist of the well-documented persecution of the Jews by ethnic Poles resentful of Jewish prosperity during the 1920s or the willing collaboration of some Poles when the Nazis invaded in 1939. Instead, she fashions a clear-eyed, rigorous look at the horrendous toll the Nazi invasion and occupation took, as well as that of the subsequent Soviet opportunistic grab at territory and influence that extended well into the Cold War. After finally gaining a modicum of independence after World War I, with the accommodation of its many minorities, Poland remained poor economically and weak militarily and was powerless to withstand the renewed expansionist plans of her two hostile neighbors. The country's worst nightmare came true with the blitzkrieg of September 1939 and the Soviet invasion from the east, ostensibly to protect the Ukrainian and Belorussian minorities; despite British protestations to the contrary, Poland was largely abandoned. Kochanski pursues the deportations of thousands of refugees and prisoners into the Soviet Union and the executions and gassing by the Germans. The author also unveils the spirited contribution to the Allied war effort by exiled Poles such as in the RAF and intelligence, and she reports extensively on the Warsaw uprising and the end-of-war confusion...An important study of a long-suffering country that has gained closure from the war only recently." - Kirkus Reviews
Here is the final volume of Rick Atkinson's trilogy, it's not due out till May 2013 but I'm pre-ordering my copy now:
by Rick AtkinsonDescription:
It is the twentieth century's unrivaled epic: at a staggering price, the United States and its allies liberated Europe and vanquished Hitler. In the first two volumes of his bestselling Liberation Trilogy, Rick Atkinson recounted how the American-led coalition fought through North Africa and Italy to the threshold of victory. Now he tells the most dramatic story of all—the titanic battle for Western Europe.
D-Day marked the commencement of the European war's final campaign, and Atkinson's riveting account of that bold gamble sets the pace for the masterly narrative that follows. The brutal fight in Normandy, the liberation of Paris, the disaster that was Market Garden, the horrific Battle of the Bulge, and finally the thrust to the heart of the Third Reich—all these historic events and more come alive with a wealth of new material and a mesmerizing cast of characters. Atkinson tells the tale from the perspective of participants at every level, from presidents and generals to war-weary lieutenants and terrified teenage riflemen. When Germany at last surrenders, we understand anew both the devastating cost of this global conflagration and the enormous effort required to win the Allied victory.
With the stirring final volume of this monumental trilogy, Rick Atkinson's accomplishment is manifest. He has produced the definitive chronicle of the war that unshackled a continent and preserved freedom in the West.
Well I am having a good day today! I checked out one of my local favourite second hand book shops and managed to find these two excellent books:
by William Slim1st edition
by Phil Nordyke
good finds AR, no such thing as a bad visit to a used book store, unless perhaps you buy too many...'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Well I am having a good day today! I checked out one f my local favourite second hand book shops and managed to find these two excellent books:
"
Here is a new title due out early next year that may interest the armour enthusiasts in the group:
by Aaron ElsonDescription:
The 712th Tank Battalion landed in Normandy three weeks after D-Day and spent eleven months in combat. Along the way, its men dug up potatoes with their tanks and roasted them on the exhausts; liberated Calvados; drank wine and champagne; collected Lugers, banners and other trophies of war; and fought and died together in some of the most dramatic battles of the Second World War. The men of the 712th were ordinary people living through an extraordinary time. This is a story not so much about the tanks themselves as it is about the people who were in them such as Billy Wolfe who wrote in a high school essay that 'I may get specialised training from Uncle Sam that might be my life's work.' It was his life's work. One of his sisters said 'Two weeks after joining the battalion as a replacement, 18-year-old Billy burned to death inside a tank.' Others include Ed Forrest, whose grave in the American cemetery at Margraten was adopted by a middle school whose students place flowers on it and say a prayer during field trips, and Jim Flowers who survived the horrors on Hill 122.
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