THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP discussion
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New Release Books on WW2
message 1451:
by
'Aussie Rick', Moderator
(new)
Sep 07, 2015 06:50PM
I thought so too :)
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Here are some UPCOMING RELEASES that came to my attention today ~1) Hitler's Fremde Heere Ost: German Military Intelligence on the Eastern Front 1942-45 by Magnus Pahl
SUMMARY
"The General Staff Division of Fremde Heere Ost (Military Intelligence Service, Eastern Section) which from 1942 was led by Reinhard Gehlen, was the nerve-centre of Hitler's military reconnaissance on the Eastern Front. This department worked professionally and was operationally and tactically reliable. However, at a strategic level there were clear deficits: the industrial capacity of the Soviet arms industry, the politico-military intentions and the details of the Red Army's plans for their offensive remained for the most part hidden from the department.
"When the Second World War ended, Gehlen put the documents and personnel of Fremde Heere Ost at the disposal of the Americans. With their support he was able to build a new foreign secret service which later evolved into the Federal Intelligence Service. In this book, military historian Magnus Pahl presents a complete overview of the structure, personnel and working methods of Fremde Heere Ost based on a tremendous array of archival sources. This work includes an extensive case study of the East Pomeranian Operation 1945. Pahl's study is a significant contribution to our understanding of German strategic, operational and tactical thinking on the Eastern Front 1941-45. Contains 29 photos, 2 figures & 4 maps."
(Becomes available NOVEMBER 15th, 2015.)
2) We Will Not Go to Tuapse: From the Donets to the Oder with the Legion Wallonie and 5th SS Volunteer Assault Brigade Wallonien 1942-45 by Fernand Kaisergruber
SUMMARY
"This is a classic soldier's chronicle, told in unvarnished candour, about the author's experiences as a volunteer with the Wallonian Legion of the German Army and later the 5th SS Volunteer Assault Brigade Wallonien and the 28th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Wallonien.
"The book also ventures far beyond the usual soldier's story and approaches a travelogue of the Eastern Front campaign, seldom attained by the memoirs of the period. Kaisergruber's self-published book in French is highly regarded by Belgian historian and expert on these volunteers Eddy de Bruyne, and 'Battle of Cherkassy' author Douglas Nash.
" 'We Will Not Go to Tuapse' merits attention as the SS volunteer equivalent of Guy Sajer's 'The Forgotten Soldier', a bestseller in the USA and Europe.
"By comparison, Kaisergruber's story has the advantage of being completely verifiable by documents and serious historical narratives already published, such as Eddy de Bruyne's 'For Rex and for Belgium' and Kenneth Estes' 'European Anabasis'.
"Until recent years, very little was known of the tens of thousands of foreign nationals from Norway, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, France and Spain who served voluntarily in the military formations of the German Army and the German Waffen-SS.
"In Kaisergruber's book, the reader discovers important issues of collaboration, the apparent contributions of the volunteers to the German war effort, their varied experiences, their motives, the attitude of the German High Command and bureaucracy, and the reaction to these in the occupied countries. The combat experiences of the Walloons echoed those of the very best volunteer units of the Waffen-SS, although they shared equally in the collapse of the Third Reich in May, 1945.
"Although unapologetic for his service, Kaisergruber makes no special claims for the German cause and writes not from any postwar apologia and dogma, but instead from his first-hand observations as a young man experiencing war for the first time, extending far beyond what had been imaginable at the time. His observations of fellow soldiers, commanders, Russian civilians and the battlefields prove poignant and telling. They remain as fresh as when he first wrote some of them down in his travel diary, 'Pensées fugitives et Souvenirs (1941 46)' .
"Fernand Kaisergruber draws upon his contemporary diaries, those of his comrades and his later work with them while secretary of their postwar veteran's league to present a thoroughly engaging epic. Contains 70 b/w photos, maps."
(Becomes available NOVEMBER 15th, 2015.)
3) Luftwaffe KG 200: The German Air Force's Most Secret Unit of World War II by Geoffrey J. Thomas
SUMMARY
"Shrouded in secrecy during World War II and obscured by myth ever since, Kampfgeschwader 200 (the 200th Bomber Wing) remains one of the Luftwaffe's most fascinating formations.
"Considered a special-operations unit, KG 200 delivered spies while flying captured Allied aircraft, conducted clandestine reconnaissance missions, and tested Germany's newest weapons -- such as a piloted version of the V-1 rocket (essentially a German 'kamikaze').
"This book covers some of KG 200's more sinister operations, including suicide missions and the unit's role in defeating a French Resistance insurrection in June-July 1944.
"Information is also available on aircraft used and known personnel losses. Features rare photos and color illustrations of KG 200 aircraft."
(AVAILABLE TODAY.)
This is due in October and may be of interest to group members:
Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill by Sonia PurnellFrom Bookish:
You know what they say: Behind every great man, there is a great woman. This certainly seems to have been true in the case of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his wife, Clementine. She was a strong woman, that much is certain. Sonia Purnell writes of her unfailing devotion to her husband, her feminism, her vital input when it came to Churchill’s political strategy, and her unbending perfectionism. Of course, no one is perfect: Purnell is up front with the reader about Clementine’s shortfalls, particularly when it came to weighing the needs of her children against those of her husband. History buffs: This one is for you.
Some excellent forthcoming releases, thanks for posting the details Komet and Manyray9!
My newest novel, The Salt Mine: The Trail of Nazi Blood Money, will be available as an e-book on Kindle for a limited time at an introductory price of $.99. This is the fifth novel in the series Tom O'Brien: OSS Agent and deals with American intelligence activities in World War II.
Parachuting into southern France ahead of the Operation Dragoon landings in 1944, OSS officer Tom O'Brien begins a hunt for Nazi war criminals and the wealth they have accumulated at the expense of their victims. While the OSS tries to figure out if the Nazis are preparing to use their plunder to resist or flee at the end of the war, the trail leads O'Brien to Switzerland, Paris, and finally into Germany. As he follows General Patton's troops into Germany, it all comes to a head as the European war draws to a close. Going a half mile below ground into a salt mine in central Germany, O'Brien hits the mother lode. Now he needs to find the French collaborator that tortured his friend before the man escapes into the chaos of post-war Europe. O'Brien wants justice, but he might have to settle for vengeance.
My friend Kurt Schulze was a Luftwaffe bomber pilot during the Battle of Britain, and later transferred to fighters, and still alive at 95 also. Erich Rudorffer is also still alive.
Below is a recent favorable review from the NY Times of Ian Toll's:
The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942-1944http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/11/boo...
Blood and Steel 3: The Wehrmacht Archive: Retreat to the Reich, September to December 1944 by Donald E. Graves will be available for sale on OCTOBER 30th, 2015.
SUMMARY
" 'Blood and Steel 3, The Wehrmacht Archive: The Ardennes Offensive, December 1944 to January 1945' is an extensive and colourful collection of translated German military documents, private letters and diaries relating to one of the most hard-fought battles of the Second World War. This rare material was gathered by the intelligence section of the American, British and Canadian armies and ranges from orders issued by Feldmarschall von Rundstedt down to jokes told by the ordinary German soldier, often at the expense of his superiors.
"The infamous use by the Germans of troops disguised as Americans, driving captured US vehicles, to sow confusion behind enemy lines, is described as it happened, including a desperate plea by two Germans captured in US uniforms to be spared execution.
"This unique collection gives an unparalleled insight into German tactics, organisation, morale and attitudes to their opponents during the Battle of the Bulge, the last desperate gamble by Hitler to defeat the Allied offensive in the West, and is required reading for all historians and enthusiasts of the period."
Manray9 wrote: "Below is a recent favorable review from the NY Times of Ian Toll's: The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands,..."Sounds like if will be an excellent read, lucky I ordered a copy :)
It will be interesting to see if he covers the New Guinea campaign in much detail as the review seemed to indicate Guadalcanal took up much of the story.
A July 2016 release:
by Alf Jacobsen (no photo)Description:
Hitler’s desperate need for iron ore was the main reason for his attack on Norway in April 1940. The battle for Narvik’s ice-free harbor soon became a crucial objective for both Allied and Axis forces. Attack at Dawn covers the two key battles that fought on 10th and 13th of April. The first battle was initiated by the British Navy, who had orders to prevent a German landing. U-boats failed to spot the patrolling British destroyer flotilla and, early in the morning on April 10th, they sank two German destroyers and six merchant ships in the harbor. The Germans retreated but, unbeknown to the British, five more destroyers were anchored nearby. Battle continued on April 13th. In total, 10 destroyers sank—only U51 survived by escaping to sea. Attack at Dawn is an epic drama which involved naval and land forces. It is the first key investigation of the battle and forms part of an award-winning trilogy by Alf R. Jacobson.
A May 2016 release:
by Michael J. TougiasDescription:
On May 19, 1942 a U-boat in the Gulf of Mexico stalked its prey fifty miles away from New Orleans. Captained by 29-year-old Iron Cross and King's Cross recipient Erich Wurdemann, the submarine set its sights on the freighter Heredia with fifty-nine souls on board. Most of the crew were merchant seamen, but there were also a handful of civilians, including the Downs family, consisting of the parents, Ray Sr. and Ina, along with their two children, eight-year-old Ray Jr., nick-named “Sonny,” and eleven-year-old Lucille. Fast asleep in their berths, the Downs family had no notice that two torpedoes were heading their way. When the ship exploded, Ina and Lucille became separated from Ray Sr. and Sonny.
An inspiring historical narrative, So Close to Home tells the story of the Downs family as they struggle against sharks, hypothermia, drowning, and dehydration in their effort to survive the aftermath of this deadly attack off the American coast.
Sounds like two pretty interesting books Jerome.
message 1463:
by
Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces
(new)
Thanks Jerome - as if people didn't need more to buy ;)
No problem, guys. You're telling me, Geevee :)
Jerome wrote: "A July 2016 release: by Alf Jacobsen (no photo)Description:
Hitler’s desperate need for iron ore was the main re..."
Looks great. I love books about the Norwegian front. Added to TBR :)
Paras: Voices of the British Airborne Forces in the Second World War by Roger Payne
PUBLICATION DATE: February 16, 2016
This book is full of untold short stories of men who created a legend, the legend of the British airborne forces during the Second World War.
Impressed by the performance of the German paratroopers in Belgium and the Netherlands in 1940, and on Crete in 1941, Winston Churchill ordered the creation of a British Airborne force of no less than 5,000 parachutists. Their task was to land behind enemy lines and take and hold or destroy key objectives while ground troops advanced toward them. The result was the 1st and 6th Airborne divisions, and this is their story, as told by the men themselves.
Covering everything from the initial training at Hardwick Hall and Ringway through their first operations in North Africa and Italy, to D-Day, Operation Market Garden and the crossing of the Rhine, this is a compelling account of the war fought by the paratroopers and their comrades in the glider units.
Another good book by the sounds of it Komet!
I knew Lt. Gen. Dietrich Peltz who was once the commander of KG-200 before becoming Inspector of Bombers in the Luftwaffe, and also my late friend Lt. Gen. Walter Krupinski worked for Gehlen after the war, interesting stuff indeed.
The Cover-Up at Omaha Beach: D-Day, the US Rangers, and the Untold Story of Maisy Battery by Gary Sterne
PUBLICATION DATE: May 3, 2016 (paperback)
SUMMARY
The Rangers’ mission was clear. They were to lead the assault on Omaha Beach and break out inland. Simultaneously, other Ranger units would scale the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc to destroy the ostensibly huge gun battery there and thus protect the invasion fleet from being targeted. But was the Pointe du Hoc mission actually necessary? Why did the Allies plan and execute an attack on a gun battery that they knew in advance contained no field guns? And more importantly, why did they ignore the position at Maisy that did?
Using personal interviews with the surviving Rangers who fought on the beach and at Pointe du Hoc, 'The Cover-Up at Omaha Beach' presents exceptionally detailed new research that takes the reader into the middle of the action with the Rangers.
Gary Sterne has made a painstaking study of what the Allies actually knew in advance of D-Day, including what was known about Maisy Battery. Maps, orders, and assault plans have been found in American, British, and German archives, many of which have only recently been released after staying classified for more than sixty years. Radio communications of the Rangers as they advanced inland have been found, and Royal Air Force intelligence evaluations of bombing missions directed at the site have now been released. All of this combines to make The Cover-Up at Omaha Beach one of the most up-to-date references on the subject.
Another May 2016 release:
by Thomas McKelvey Cleaver Description:
The men of the 57th Bomb Wing flew out of Corsica during World War II and bombed vital bridges throughout Italy to sabotage German supply routes. Their missions were dangerous and never-ending. One bombardier in the wing was a young New Yorker named Joseph Heller, who would later turn his experience into the classic 1961 war novel Catch-22. Now aviation historian Thomas McKelvey Cleaver takes a closer look at the real-life men of the 57th, whose camaraderie in the face of death inspired the raucous cast of heroes and antiheros in Catch-22.
Jerome wrote: "Another May 2016 release: by Thomas McKelvey Cleaver Description:
The men of the 57th Bomb Wing flew ..."
Got to have this one!
From Linda, one of our members:Hello all,
I wanted to tell you about my new book, which goes on sale Oct. 27. It's about the only African-American combat unit to land on D-Day. Thesemen flew barrage balloons over the Normandy beaches to protect the men and matériel from German dive-bombers. It is also the story of their journey from Jim Crow American to freedom in Europe. For more information, please see my website: www.lindahervieux.com
by Linda Hervieux
A June 2016 release:
by Robert LymanDescription:
Flying the notorious 'hump route' between India and China in 1943, a twin- engine plane suffered mechanical failure and crashed in a dense mountain jungle. Among the passengers and crew were celebrated CBS journalist Eric Sevareid, a Soviet double-agent posing as an OSS operative, and General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell's personal political adviser. Against the odds, all but one of the twenty-one people aboard the aircraft survived—but they fell from the frying pan into the fire. They landed in wild countryside dominated by the Nagas, notorious headhunters who routinely practiced slavery and human sacrifice. Japanese soldiers lay close by, too, with their own brand of hatred for Americans. Among the Headhunters is the first account of this incredible story.
Frankly, I'd like to know where is the proof that Eric Severeid (whom I grew up watching give 2-minute commentaries on "The CBS Evening News with Walter Chronkite" in the 1970s) was a Soviet agent. Sounds like a lot of innuendo. He was a fine journalist.++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Farthest Field: An Indian Story of the Second World War by Raghu Karnad
Slated for release: AUGUST 15th, 2016
Summary
"The photographs of three young men had stood in his grandmother’s house for as long as he could remember, beheld but never fully noticed. They had all fought in the Second World War, a fact that surprised him. Indians had never figured in his idea of the war, nor the war in his idea of India. One of them, Bobby, even looked a bit like him, but Raghu Karnad had not noticed until he was the same age as they were in their photo frames. Then he learned about the Parsi boy from the sleepy south Indian coast, so eager to follow his brothers-in-law into the colonial forces and onto the front line. Manek, dashing and confident, was a pilot with India’s fledgling air force; gentle Ganny became an army doctor in the arid North-West Frontier. Bobby’s pursuit would carry him as far as the deserts of Iraq and the green hell of the Burma battlefront.
"The years 1939–45 might be the most revered, deplored, and replayed in modern history. Yet India’s extraordinary role has been concealed, from itself and from the world. In riveting prose, Karnad retrieves the story of a single family―a story of love, rebellion, loyalty, and uncertainty―and with it, the greater revelation that is India’s Second World War.
"Farthest Field narrates the lost epic of India’s war, in which the largest volunteer army in history fought for the British Empire, even as its countrymen fought to be free of it. It carries us from Madras to Peshawar, Egypt to Burma―unfolding the saga of a young family amazed by their swiftly changing world and swept up in its violence. 5 illustrations."
A May 2016 release:
by Stephen HardingDescription:
In the early hours of July 5, 1943, the destroyer USS Strong was hit by a Japanese torpedo. The powerful weapon broke the destroyer's back, flooded her engine room, killed dozens of sailors, and sparked raging fires. While accompanying ships were able to rescue most of Strong's surviving crewmen, scores were submerged in the ocean as the shattered warship sank beneath the waves—and a young officer's harrowing story of survival began.
Based on official American and Japanese histories, personal memoirs, and the author's exclusive interviews with key participants, The Castaway's War tells the entirely unique and very personal tale of Navy Lieutenant Hugh Barr Miller's fight for survival against both a hostile environment and an implacable human enemy.
A more recent release:
by Rudy TomediDescription:
A photo in the New York Times on June 10, 1942 depicted a young naval officer, John Duncan Bulkeley, and his wife in the back of an open touring car as they were being treated to a New York ticker tape parade. Hundreds of thousands of people were cheering him in a hero’s welcome not seen since Charles Lindbergh returned from his solo flight across the Atlantic. The 26-year-old Bulkeley was just back from the Philippines, where he had pulled off one of the most spectacular rescues in U.S. naval history by taking General Douglas MacArthur out of the besieged islands aboard a PT boat. MacArthur’s escape from the Philippine death trap was front-page news not only in the U.S. but all over the world. America’s most illustrious soldier had been a hairbreadth away from being killed or captured by the Japanese. Both MacArthur and Bulkeley were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and commentators nationwide joined in the adulation. But no mention was ever made of the nearly 80 officers and men of Bulkeley’s squadron who were left behind, a tragic sacrifice that no one at the time, or even later, would admit was totally unnecessary.
Saving MacArthur is the story of the fateful friendship of two otherwise very different men who shared an unquenchable thirst for fame and a willingness to turn history into myth, a story that is as much about the nature of human beings as it is about a glorious moment in our past. But above all it is the story of the men history has forgotten—the crews of the PT boats whose extraordinary courage gave us that glorious moment, and whose only reward was to be abandoned and left at the mercy of the Japanese. Several of them, forgotten by the outside world, fought a lonely war of their own as they worked to uphold the honor of their country in a land their country had pledged and utterly failed to defend. Saving MacArthur captures their incredible hardships, close escapes and ultimate triumph.
An April 2016 release:
by Robert P. WatsonDescription:
Built in 1927, the German ocean liner Cap Arcona was the greatest ship since the Titanic. When the Nazis seized control, she was stripped down for use as a floating barracks and troop transport. Hitler's minister, Joseph Goebbels, later cast her as a "star" in the epic propaganda film about the sinking of the legendary Titanic. In the Third Reich’s final desperate days, when SS Cap Arcona was mistakenly bombed by the British Air Force, concentration camp prisoners packed the ship.
Although the British government sealed many documents pertaining to the ship's sinking, Robert P. Watson has unearthed forgotten records and conducted many interviews. The Nazi Titanic is a riveting and astonishing story about an enigmatic ship that played a devastating role in World War II.
Forgotten Sacrifice: The Arctic Convoys of World War II: The Arctic Convoys of World War II by Michael G. Walling
RELEASE DATE: January 19, 2016 (paperback)
Summary
"Hitler called Norway the 'Zone of Destiny' for Nazi Germany because convoys from Churchill's Britain and Roosevelt's United States supplied Stalin’s Soviet Russia with critical equipment and foodstuffs during the darkest days of the German invasion.
"The words 'Murmansk Run' conjure visions of ice-laden ships and thoughts of freezing to death in seconds. For five long years, thousands of men and women fought ferociously in the coldest corner of hell on earth. Some fought for survival, some struggled to help others survive, and some sought to crush their enemies. If man-made death didn't get you, the Arctic's weapons of ice and cold would. These natural weapons killed regardless of whose side you were on or how just was your cause. No one escaped unscathed. Author Mike Walling captures the Arctic convoys’ bitter essence in Forgotten Sacrifice.
"The story launches in October 1939, when Germany and the Soviet Union began diplomatic maneuvering. The action accelerates with Winston Churchill's decision in 1941 to provide supplies to Soviet forces battling the German invasion. From this point until the closing days of WWII in spring 1945, an unremitting sea battle raged within the confines of the always-lethal, ever-shifting Arctic ice pack and the savage Scandinavian coastline. Nearly 4.5 million tons of supplies were moved in 77 convoys over the course of 5 years in order to help the Soviet war effort. The Allies fought to keep the sea lanes open to Murmansk while the Germans were determined to slaughter every ship which dared to make the attempt. By the end of the convoys, 98 ships had been lost. Forgotten Sacrifice reveals a timeless tale of determination, heroism, sacrifice, and the strength of the human spirit."
KOMET wrote: "Forgotten Sacrifice: The Arctic Convoys of World War II: The Arctic Convoys of World War II by Michael G. Walling[bookcover:Forgotten Sacrifice: The Arctic Convoy..."
Excellent book!
Here are two new releases that may interest a few in the group:
"The Most Dangerous Moment of the War": Japan's Attack on the Indian Ocean, 1942 by John ClancyDescription:
In early April 1942, a little-known episode of World War II took place, said by Sir Winston Churchill to be “the most dangerous moment of the war,” when the Japanese made their only major offensive westwards into the Indian Ocean. Historian Sir Arthur Bryant said, “A Japanese naval victory in April 1942 would have given Japan total control of the Indian Ocean, isolated the Middle East and brought down the Churchill government.”
War in the Far East had erupted with the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, followed in succession by Japanese drives on the Philippines, Indochina, the Java Sea and Singapore. Seemingly unstoppable, the Japanese now had a vast new empire, and having crippled the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, turned their sights on the British Eastern Fleet based at Ceylon. Occupation of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) would not only provide the Japanese a springboard into India but control of the essential convoy routes to Europe and the Western Desert. And aside from the British Eastern Fleet, the Indian Ocean lay undefended.
So far the Japanese had suffered no significant losses and the question on everyone’s lips was how soon the enemy would appear off India. In April 1942 a Japanese fleet led by six aircraft carriers, four battleships and 30 other ships sailed into the Bay of Bengal. After the war Churchill said that potential disaster was averted by the actions of one pilot, Squadron Leader L.J. Birchall, who in his Catalina flying boat spotted the Japanese warships massing some 350 miles from Ceylon. He was shot down by a Japanese Zero but not before sending a brief radio message back to his base. This gave the island’s defense forces time to prepare.
In the ferocious battles that followed, the British lost a carrier, two heavy cruisers and many other ships; however, the Japanese eventually turned back, never to sail against India again. John Clancy, whose father survived the sinking of HMS Cornwall during the battle, tells the story of this dramatic but little known campaign in which a major Allied catastrophe was only narrowly averted.
The Battle for Hell's Island: How a Small Band of Carrier Dive-Bombers Helped Save Guadalcanal by Stephen L. MooreDescription:
From the author of Pacific Payback comes the gripping true story of the Cactus Air Force and how this rugged crew of Dive-Bombers helped save Guadalcanal and won the war.
November 1942: Japanese and American forces have been fighting for control of Guadalcanal, a small but pivotal island in Japan’s expansion through the South Pacific. Both sides have endured months of grueling battle under the worst circumstances: hellish jungles, meager rations, and tropical diseases, which have taken a severe mental and physical toll on the combatants. The Japanese call Guadalcanal Jigoku no Jima—Hell's Island.
Amid a seeming stalemate, a small group of U.S. Navy dive bombers are called upon to help determine the island's fate. The men have until recently been serving in their respective squadrons aboard the USS Lexington and the USS Yorktown, fighting in the thick of the Pacific War's aerial battles. Their skills have been honed to a fine edge, even as injury and death inexorably have depleted their ranks. When their carriers are lost, many of the men end up on the USS Enterprise. Battle damage to that carrier then forces them from their home at sea to operating from Henderson Field, a small dirt-and-gravel airstrip on Guadalcanal.
With some Marine and Army Air Force planes, they help form the Cactus Air Force, a motley assemblage of fliers tasked with holding the line while making dangerous flights from their jungle airfield. Pounded by daily Japanese air assaults, nightly warship bombardments, and sniper attacks from the jungle, pilots and gunners rarely last more than a few weeks before succumbing to tropical ailments, injury, exhaustion, and death. But when the Japanese launch a final offensive to take the island once and for all, these dive-bomber jocks answer the call of duty—and try to perform miracles in turning back an enemy warship armada, a host of fighter planes, and a convoy of troop transports.
A remarkable story of grit, guts, and heroism, The Battle for Hell's Island reveals how command of the South Pacific, and the outcome of the Pacific War, depended on control of a single dirt airstrip—and the small group of battle-weary aviators sent to protect it with their lives.
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Here are two new releases that may interest a few These look great too! But my wife says there's no more room in the house.
Timothy wrote: "'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Here are two new releases that may interest a few These look great too! But my wife says there's no more room in the house."
I hear ya, Timothy. My frau has put her foot down as well. I get most of my stuff from the public library now.
Timothy wrote: "'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Here are two new releases that may interest a few These look great too! But my wife says there's no more room in the house."
Mine too, Timothy. My purchase rate has declined significantly over the last two years.
You gotta live dangerously fellows :)
You can carry a library on a kindle and not worry about shelves and space, but you don't do much for the local bookseller that way.
Timothy wrote: "You can carry a library on a kindle and not worry about shelves and space, but you don't do much for the local bookseller that way."One issue I see with an e-reader -- you can only access new or recent books or classics.
That's true to a large extent,for instance you probably wont find the series Liam posted, but most books are now available from the 70s on. History books will be harder to find because they're less popular than fiction.
A June 2016 release:
by Ben H. Shepherd Description:
For decades after 1945, it was generally believed that the German army, professional and morally decent, had largely stood apart from the SS, Gestapo, and other corps of the Nazi machine. Ben Shepherd draws on a wealth of primary sources and recent scholarship to convey a much darker, more complex picture. For the first time, the German army is examined throughout the Second World War, across all combat theaters and occupied regions, and from multiple perspectives: its battle performance, social composition, relationship with the Nazi state, and involvement in war crimes and military occupation.
This was a true people’s army, drawn from across German society and reflecting that society as it existed under the Nazis. Without the army and its conquests abroad, Shepherd explains, the Nazi regime could not have perpetrated its crimes against Jews, prisoners of war, and civilians in occupied countries. The author examines how the army was complicit in these crimes and why some soldiers, units, and higher commands were more complicit than others. Shepherd also reveals the reasons for the army’s early battlefield successes and its mounting defeats up to 1945, the latter due not only to Allied superiority and Hitler’s mismanagement as commander-in-chief, but also to the failings—moral, political, economic, strategic, and operational—of the army’s own leadership.
Another June release:
by Aleksei IsaevDescription:
In June 1941 - during the first week of the Nazi invasion in the Soviet Union the quiet cornfields and towns of Western Ukraine were awakened by the clanking of steel and thunder of explosions; this was the greatest tank battle of the Second World War. About 3,000 tanks from the Red Army Kiev Special Military District clashed with about 800 German tanks of Heeresgruppe South. Why did the numerically superior Soviets fail? Hundreds of heavy KV-1 and KV-2 tanks, the five-turret giant T-35 and famous T-34 failed to stop the Germans.
Based on recently available archival sources, A. Isaev describes the battle from a new point of view: that in fact it s not the tanks, but armored units, which win or lose battles. The Germans during the Blitzkrieg era had superior T&OE for their tank forces. The German Panzer Division could defeat their opponents not by using tanks, but by using artillery, which included heavy artillery, motorized infantry and engineers. The Red Army's armored unit - the Mechanized Corps - had a lot of teething troubles, as all of them lacked accompanying infantry and artillery. In 1941 the Soviet Armored Forces had to learn the difficult science - and mostly art - of combined warfare. Isaev traces the role of these factors in a huge battle around the small Ukrainian town of Dubno.
Popular myths about impregnable KV and T-34 tanks are laid to rest. In reality, the Germans in 1941 had the necessary tools to combat them. The author also defines the real achievements on the Soviet side: the Blitzkrieg in the Ukraine had been slowed down. For the Soviet Union, the military situation in June 1941 was much worse than it was for France and Britain during the Western Campaign in 1940. The Red Army wasn't ready to fight as a whole and the border district s armies lacked infantry units, as they were just arriving from the internal regions of the USSR. In this case, the Red Army tanks became the Iron Shield of the Soviet Union; they even operated as fire brigades. In many cases, the German infantry - not tanks - became the main enemy of Soviet armored units in the Dubno battle. Poorly organized, but fierce, tank-based counterattacks slowed down the German infantry and while the Soviet tanks lost the battle, they won the war.
The Royal Air Force in American Skies: The Seven British Flight Schools in the United States during World War II by Tom Killebrew
PUBLICATION DATE: November 13th, 2015
SUMMARY
"By early 1941, Great Britain stood alone against the aerial might of Nazi Germany and was in need of pilots. The Lend-Lease Act allowed for the training of British pilots in the United States and the formation of British Flying Training Schools. These unique schools were owned by American operators, staffed with American civilian instructors, supervised by British Royal Air Force officers, utilized aircraft supplied by the US Army Air Corps, and used the RAF training syllabus.
"Tom Killebrew provides the first comprehensive history of all seven British Flying Training Schools located in Terrell, Texas; Lancaster, California; Miami, Oklahoma; Mesa, Arizona; Clewiston, Florida; Ponca City, Oklahoma; and Sweetwater, Texas. The British students attended classes and mastered the elements of flight day and night. Some students flushed out, while others were killed during training mishaps and are buried in local cemeteries. Those who finished the course became Royal Air Force pilots. These young British students would also forge a strong and long-lasting bond of friendship with the Americans."
Jerome wrote: "A June 2016 release: by Ben H. Shepherd Description:
For decades after 1945, it was generally believed ..."
I know Ben Shepherd well, from his days at the University if Birmingham in England, and later at Glasgow Caledonian. We helped each other out quite a bit, he is a great historian.
Jerome wrote: "A June 2016 release: by Ben H. Shepherd Description:
For decades after 1945, it was generally believed ..."
It's good to see this get more attention. Guido Knopf's been opening the eyes of their descendants for almost a decade now.
A July 2016 release:
by John PradosDescription:
As Allied ships prepared for the invasion of the Philippine island of Leyte, every available warship, submarine and airplane was placed on alert while Japanese admiral Kurita Takeo stalked Admiral William F. Halsey’s unwitting American armada. It was the beginning of the epic Battle of Leyte Gulf—the greatest naval battle in history.
In Storm Over Leyte, acclaimed historian John Prados gives readers an unprecedented look at both sides of this titanic naval clash, demonstrating that, despite the Americans’ overwhelming superiority in firepower and supplies, the Japanese achieved their goal, inflicting grave damage on U.S. forces. And for the first time, readers will have access to the naval intelligence reports that influenced key strategic decisions on both sides.
Drawing upon a wealth of untapped sources—U.S. and Japanese military records, diaries, declassified intelligence reports and postwar interrogation transcripts—Prados offers up a masterful narrative of naval conflict on an epic scale.
Ki-61 and Ki-100 Aces by Nicholas Millman
SLATED FOR RELEASE: November 17th, 2015
Summary
"This is the story of the elite Japanese Army Air force (JAAF) aces that flew the Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien (Swallow), and the Ki-100 Goshikisen in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. The former, codenamed 'Tony' by the Allies, was a technically excellent aircraft, possessing power, stability and a good rate of climb - differing radically from the usual Japanese philosophy of building light, ultra-manoeuvrable fighters. Its pilots soon realised, however, that the type was plagued by a number of dangerous mechanical issues. Then as the war moved relentlessly closer to Japan's doorstep, a desperate, expedient innovation to the Ki-61 airframe by fitting it with a radial instead of inline engine resulted in one of the finest fighters of World War II - the Ki-100.
"This book uses the latest findings to provide a gripping account of some of the most remarkable and hard-pressed fighter pilots of the war. It reveals how these men, unlike so many of their unfortunate late-war colleagues, could surprise Allied aircraft in high-performance fighters and claim successes in the face of enormous odds."
Another new release to add to the list above (some good titles coming out soon):
Ghost Division: The 11th "Gespenster" Panzer Division and the German Armored Force in World War II by A Harding GanzDescription:
Nicknamed the "Ghost Division" because of its speed and habit of turning up where its enemies least expected, the German 11th Panzer Division wreaked havoc in the East and West in World War II, playing a pivotal role in some of the biggest engagements, including Barbarossa, Stalingrad, Kursk, and the Bulge. Detailed reconstruction of the 11th Panzer Division's wartime exploits. Explores the role played by the German Wehrmacht's panzer force during World War II, its tactical prowess, and tenacity of its soldiers. Draws on archival sources as well as interviews and correspondence with veterans.
Apparently this book is due for release in a few weeks time and I am sure it will interest a few members in the group:
Trail of Hope: How the Anders Army Escaped from Stalin's Empire by Norman DaviesDescription:
Following the conquest of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939, hundreds of thousands of Polish families were torn from their homes and sent eastwards to the arctic wastes of Siberia. Prisoners of war, refugees, those regarded as 'social criminals' by Stalin's regime, and those rounded up by sheer chance were all sent 'to see the Great White Bear'. However, with Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa just two years later, Russia and the Allied powers found themselves on the same side once more. Turning to those that it had previously deemed 'undesirable', Russia sought to raise a Polish army from the men, women and children that it had imprisoned within its labour camps. In this remarkable work, renowned historian Professor Norman Davies draws from years of meticulous research to recount the compelling story of this unit, the Polish II Corps or 'Anders Army', and their exceptional journey from the Gulag of Siberia through Iran, the Middle East and North Africa to the battlefields of Italy to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with Allied forces. Complete with previously unpublished photographs and first-hand accounts from the men and women who lived through it, this is a unique visual and written record of one of the most fascinating episodes of World War II.
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Apparently this book is due for release in a few weeks time and I am sure it will interest a few members in the group:[bookcover:Trail of Hope: How the Anders Army Escaped from Stalin's Empire|25..."
Davies and Poland, say no more :) Even most Poles with a history interest rate him highly.
THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP
Books mentioned in this topic
Air War Varsity (other topics)D-Day Dakotas: 6th June 1944 (other topics)
Airmen of Arnhem (other topics)
Into the Firestorm: The Allied Heroes Who Flew World War II's Most Daring Missions (other topics)
Into the Firestorm: The Allied Heroes Who Flew World War II's Most Daring Missions (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Scott McGaugh (other topics)Scott McGaugh (other topics)
Scott McGaugh (other topics)
James M. Scott (other topics)
James M. Scott (other topics)
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