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New Release Books on WW2
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Elinor
(last edited Jun 13, 2017 06:51AM)
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Jun 13, 2017 06:50AM
Not exactly a new release, but a new format. My Canadian best-selling novel (according to the national Globe & Mail newspaper, not Amazon) called Bird's Eye View is now available as an audiobook from Audible and iTunes. Whenever I give a book talk, people ask me about an audiobook, so I'm thankful that one has now been made. It tells the story of a young Canadian woman who joins the air force in World War Two, travels to England, and becomes an interpreter of aerial photographs, searching for bomb targets on the continent.
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My book "The General's Niece: The Little-Known de Gaulle Who Fought to Free Occupied France" is out now, just in time to celebrate the anniversary of Charles de Gaulle's June 18, 1940 call to arms on the BBC. At the time, his 19-year-old niece Genevieve was fleeing incoming Nazi troops when a priest approached the desperate swarm of people who had walked 40 miles that day and told them about the broadcast, telling them not to give up hope. Genevieve's uncle's words that day sparked her desire to fight back, and the event sparks the rest of the narrative about a young woman who stood up to fight for a certain idea of France and to risk her life doing so. Here's a link to the book, which I hope you'll consider reading:
https://www.amazon.com/Generals-Niece...
Here is a book covering a little known German operation on the Eastern Front, should make for some interesting reading:
Miracle at the Litza: Hitler's First Defeat on the Eastern Front by Alf R. JacobsenDescription:
In the early summer of 1941, German rock hunters under the command of General Eduard Dietl set out in northern Norway up through Finland to the Russian border. Operation Silberfuchs was underway. The northernmost section of the eastern front would ensure Hitler supplies of nickel from Finnish mines, and bring the strategically important port city of Murmansk under German control. The road-less quagmire terrain created major challenges for the German troop movements. Despite this, Dietl's men made quick gains on his Russian foe, and they came closer to Murmansk. Despite repeated warnings of a German attack, Stalin had failed to mobilize, and the British hesitated to come to the rescue of the Red Army. But while the weather conditions steadily worsened, the Russians' resistance increased. Three bloody efforts to force the river Litza were repulsed, and resulted in warfare by riverbeds. The offensive would develop into a nightmare for those inadequately equipped German soldiers, who soon were in the minority on the Litzafronten. In an exciting and authoritative narrative based on previously unknown material, Alf Reidar Jacobsen tells about the prelude and the heavy fighting that would lead to Hitler's first defeat on the Eastern Front. With firsthand accounts of the fighting on the front line, this is a dramatic new account of a forgotten but bloody episode of World War II.
Operation Silberfuchs (Silver Fox):
http://codenames.info/operation/silbe...
Another Viking author... does he read Russian or Finnish ?
Dimitri wrote: "Another Viking author... does he read Russian or Finnish ?"Don't know Dimitri, but at least he lives close by :)
Paige wrote: "My book "The General's Niece: The Little-Known de Gaulle Who Fought to Free Occupied France" is out now, just in time to celebrate the anniversary of Charles de Gaulle's June 18, 1940 call to arms ..."Not to be a spolier, but only the unknowing average Frenchman thought DeGaulle was worth a damn. Generals Omar Bradley, James Doolittle, Curtis Lemay, James Gavin, Matthew Ridgeway (all of my interviews) were happy as hell that he was a political figurehead, and not a decision maker. They knew he was a weak man, and totally out of his element in the world of modern warfare and also untrustworthy. Even the leader of the French Resistance, Pierre Deshayes (another interview) stated that "much was withheld about DeGaulle's private life just for the war effort, otherwise we would have had no political leadership."
Thank you for your feedback. This book is about his niece, a brave and formidable figure whose story has lingered in the enormous shadow cast by her uncle. Admittedly, her uncle was a complicated man, seen differently by different people. But I hope you'll give this story about a woman's contribution to the resistance and to postwar France a chance. Best regards, Paige
Not super new, but I recently read and enjoyed this one about a Japanese family in the U.S. during and after WW2.
Thanks for mentioning this book Rose as I'm sure it will interest a number of our group members.
Not a new release book yet, but just found out on Monday that Jay Stout is working on a new book, this time about the USAAF's 345th BG, The Air Apaches.If you like B-25 strafers as much as I do, this one will be on your list!
Jay is a good historian, worked with him briefly info sharing. Should be good.
Should be an excellent addition to anyones library that enjoys books on WW2 aviation.
This one just popped up on Tuesday:
Storm of Eagles: The Greatest Aviation Photographs of World War IISince it's basically a photo album, it didn't take long to read. My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Good review Marc, thanks for sharing with the rest of the group.
Here is a new release that I know will interest a few members of the group. Its due for release in the UK in September:
Alarmstart: The German Fighter Pilot's Experience in the Second World War: North-Western Europe 1939-1944 by Patrick ErikssonDescription:
For anyone interested in the air war 1939-45, the information provided here is of inestimable value. There are no more than a handful of WW2 Luftwaffe members alive today. Patrick Eriksson had the foresight to record these experiences first-hand before it was too late. Some witnesses ended up as senior fighter controllers, and one was even a Luftwaffe psychologist. The recollections and views of the veterans are put within the context of the German aerial war history. By no means all the witnesses were from the ranks of the so-called 'aces', and the awful strain of the conflict is manifest: 'My friend Leo, Kapitan of the 8/JG 54, in the last weeks on the Channel front developed insomnia, anxiety attacks. He was "flown out" (abgeflogen) and should have been relieved. He was shot down and killed in September 1940.'
This first volume (of three) covers Denmark and Norway, the Phoney War, the invasion of France and the Low Countries, the Battle of Britain, combating the RAF sweeps in the West, and the Battle of Germany (home defence).
"First volume of three" the classic death sentence of balanced finance.
Yes, I saw that, it does weigh heavily on the decision making process sometimes :)
My interviews with many German pilots featured in my books also reveal the exhaustion.
The Damned Balkans - a refugee road trip: deals with war in the Balkans. The starting point is the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s, but this is inextricably linked to the various other international power struggles for which the Balkans have been a power struggle, in particular WWII. WWII in Yugoslavia was a civil war, and many of the observations of Scottish SAS officer Fitzroy McLean, who was seconded by Churchill to Tito, inform the rich text of this book, as the narrator passes through the sites of former battles on his road trip through the latest refugee crisis.
I wrote rather extensively on this subject, interviewed many participants as well.
Does sound quite interesting, thanks for posting the details and link 4triplezed.
4triplezed wrote: "This looks interesting. Sterven in de lente - i'm off to the library, it was translated in 2016 :-)
This new Australian release may interest some in the group although I am unsure of its availability overseas (kindle should be easy enough to access). It has an Australian and US content in the Pacific theatre:
The Rag Tag Fleet by Ian W. ShawDescription:
The unknown story of the Australian men and boats which helped win the war in the Pacific.
The unknown story of how a fleet of Australian fishing boats, trawlers and schooners supplied US and Australian forces in the Pacific - and helped turn the course of World War II.
Mid-1942: from China to New Guinea, the Pacific belonged to the Japanese. In this desperate situation, a fleet of hundreds of Australian small ships is assembled, sailing under the American flag, and crewed by over 3000 Australians either too young or too old to join the regular armed forces. Their task: to bring supplies and equipment to the Allied troops waging bloody battles against Japanese forces across the South Pacific.
THE RAG TAG FLEET is the unknown story of the final months of 1942 - when these men ran the gauntlet of Japanese air attacks, malaria and dysentery, reefs, and shallow, shark-infested waters to support the US and Australian troops that defeated the entrenched Japanese forces at Buna on the New Guinea coast, and so helped turn the war in the Allies' favour. Their bravery, ingenuity and mettle helped turn the tide of the war. For the first time, their story is told.
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "This new Australian release may interest some in the group although I am unsure of its availability overseas (kindle should be easy enough to access). It has an Australian and US content in the Pacific theatre..."Rick,
Thanks for putting us in the know about this book. I just put in an order for my copy. It'll go nicely with the book I have about Aussie pilots who flew with RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain.
My pleasure Komet, what's the title of the book you have ordered on the Australians in the RAF?
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "My pleasure Komet, what's the title of the book you have ordered on the Australians in the RAF?"Australia’s Few and the Battle of Britain by Kristen Alexander
I already have this book in my library.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did Komet, keep us posted.
Both of those books sound so very interesting. I will have to look for them. Funny thing, at the beginning of the year I had my to read list compiled and set out to start watching it dwindle. Halfway into the year my list has grown, and grown. But most of the original list is still there, not yet read because I keep finding other books thatI just can't wait to read.
Susan wrote: "Both of those books sound so very interesting. I will have to look for them. Funny thing, at the beginning of the year I had my to read list compiled and set out to start watching it dwindle. Halfw..."Join the club Susan, we seem to all share the same problem :)
Thank you Aussie! My house has always resembled a not very organized library. I love books. I have often rescued books from certain death. Alas, if only there were more hours to read--
This future release is one that I'm very interested in as it covers a period of WW2 history that has rarely been covered in great detail. I am sure it may interest other members in the group as well:
Hidden Atrocities: Japanese Germ Warfare and American Obstruction of Justice at the Tokyo Trial by Jeanne GuilleminDescription:
In the aftermath of World War II, the Allied intent to bring Axis crimes to light led to both the Nuremberg trial and its counterpart in Tokyo, the International Military Tribunal of the Far East. Yet the Tokyo trial failed to prosecute Imperial Japanese leaders for the very worst of war crimes: inhumane medical experimentation, including vivisection and open-air pathogen and chemical tests, which rivaled Nazi atrocities, as well as mass attacks using plague, anthrax, and cholera that killed thousands of Chinese civilians. In Hidden Atrocities, Jeanne Guillemin goes behind the scenes at the trial to reveal the American obstruction that denied Japan's victims justice. Responsibility for Japan's secret germ warfare program, organized as Unit 731 in Harbin, China, extended to top government leaders and many respected scientists, all of whom escaped indictment. Instead, motivated by early Cold War tensions, U.S. military intelligence in Tokyo insinuated itself into the Tokyo trial by blocking prosecution access to key witnesses and then classifying incriminating documents. Washington decision makers, supported by the American occupation leader General Douglas MacArthur, sought to acquire Japan's biological warfare expertise to gain an advantage over the Soviet Union, suspected of developing both biological and nuclear weapons. Ultimately, U.S. national security goals left the victims of Unit 731 without vindication. Decades later, evidence of the Unit 731 atrocities still troubles relations between China and Japan. Guillemin's vivid account of the cover-up at the Tokyo trial shows how without guarantees of transparency, power politics can jeopardize international justice, with persistent consequences.
An earlier book on the subject:
Unit 731: Japan's Secret Biological Warfare In World War II by Peter Williams
Another new release, this one for our ETO aviation buffs:
The Coffin Corner Boys: A WWII Story of Survival Behind Enemy Lines by Carole Engle Avriett
One more new release for our Pacific and S.E. Asia naval/aviation enthusiasts:
Neglected Skies: The Demise of British Naval Power in the Far East, 1922-42 by Angus BrittsDescription:
Neglected Skies uses a reconsideration of the clash between the British Eastern Fleet and the Imperial Japanese Navy's First Air Fleet in the Indian Ocean in April 1942 to draw a larger conclusion about declining British military power in the era. In this book, Angus Britts explores the end of British naval supremacy from an operational perspective. By primarily analyzing the evolution of British naval aviation during the interwar period, as well as the challenges that the peacetime Royal Navy was forced to confront, a picture emerges of a battle fleet that entered the war in September 1939 unready for combat.
By examining the development of Japan's first-strike carrier battle group, the Kido Butai, Britts charts both the rise of Japan as a wartime power as well as the demise of the Royal Navy. Japan, by concentrating their six largest aircraft-carriers into a single strike force with state-of-the-art aircraft, had taken a quantum leap forward in warfighting at sea. Simultaneously, British forces found themselves outmatched in this Eastern theatre and Britts makes the case, by looking at a set of key battles, that this is where the global supremacy of Britain's naval power ended.
Working on my next book on airmen in the ETO, another set of full interviews.
For those interested I have found some more detail on the future release by Jeanne Guillemin; "Hidden Atrocities: Japanese Germ Warfare and American Obstruction of Justice at the Tokyo Trial."Contents:
Prologue: General Ishii and Germ Warfare
Introduction: Lasting Peace and the Protection of Civilians
1. MacArthur in Japan: “Punish the War Criminals”
2. Spoils of War: Secret Japanese Biological Science
3. International Prosecution Section: Toward the “Swift and Simple Trial”
4. The Investigation for Evidence in China
5. The Best Witnesses
6. Tokyo: The Rush to Trial
7. The Trial Begins
8. The Atrocities
9. The Soviet Division Versus US Military Intelligence
10. National Security Versus Medical Ethics
11. Open and Closed Trials
Epilogue: The Fallout
Acknowledgments
Source Notes
Acronyms
Principal Characters
Notes
Index
Reviews:
"Guillemin is a recognized, well-published leading authority on the history of biological warfare in the United States. No other book delves this deeply into the behind-the-scenes machinations of U.S. military intelligence in Japan and the inner circle of presidential advisors in Washington to keep Unit 731 and its horrendous acts from being exposed to the light of justice in the Tokyo Trials." - Walter E. Grunden, Bowling Green State University
"It has taken decades for the cruel human experiments perpetrated by Imperial Japan to come into sharp relief. Jeanne Guillemin's book is both a fascinating background account of the Tokyo war crimes trial and a dispiriting tale of moral compromise. Her meticulous reconstruction of this failure of justice should stand as a worthy if long-delayed memorial to the victims." - Jonathan Moreno, University of Pennsylvania
"Hidden Atrocities is a meticulously sourced, very readable, and deeply disturbing blow-by-blow account of how Japanese military doctors first colluded to conceal their research, development, and field trials of germ warfare against people in China and were then recruited by U.S. Army counterparts eager to deny Japanese data to the Soviets while using it to build America's own germ warfare capabilities. In combination, these cover-ups left the ill-prepared prosecutors at the incompetently organized Tokyo war crimes trials without the evidence they needed to bring charges, freed war criminals to pursue prestigious careers in medical business, education, and research in postwar Japan, and denied closure to the victims of Japanese aggression. Full of memorable personalities, Hidden Atrocities is a documentary 'whodunit' that brings a disgraceful moment in history long erased by a shocking obstruction of justice back to vivid life." - Ambassador (ret.) Chas W. Freeman, Jr., former assistant secretary of defense
"Jeanne Guillemin has used extensive new archival materials to tell an important and disturbing story that casts doubt on how justice was administered in postwar Asia. She shows that U.S. actions prevented the prosecution of Japanese war crimes including experiments on humans and work on bacteriological warfare. Standing alongside classic works by Barak Kushner, Sheldon Harris, and Bu Ping, this book is essential reading for those who want to understand the complexities and compromised realities of the post-World War II order." - Rana Mitter, University of Oxford
"Imperial Japan’s germ warfare program with its brutal experiments, numerous nameless victims and many atrocities against Chinese civilian populations disappeared from history at the end of WWII. This despite the American directed Tokyo war crimes trial in 1946 and later Soviet proceedings. Thanks to Jeanne Guillemin we now have the reasons why this indefensible omission occurred lucidly and skillfully presented. The Japanese had destroyed records, killed witnesses and razed research sites making prosecution very difficult. U.S. Military Intelligence was not inclined to push to make public what had happened since they wanted to take advantage of what the Japanese knew about biological warfare as the Soviet Union loomed as a new opponent of the West. Japan was seen as a potential powerful ally in the emerging cold war environment meaning foreign policy and national security trumped holding an important new ally to account. The U.S. dismissed Soviet efforts at prosecution as propaganda. To this day silence and denial have dominated the gruesome facts. Hidden Atrocities provides a long overdue scholarly remedy. The victims now have a powerful voice to contend with those who decided to bury their right to justice" - Arthur Caplan, Drs. William F and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor and head of the Division of Bioethics at New York University School of Medicine
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "One more new release for our Pacific and S.E. Asia naval/aviation enthusiasts:[book:Neglected Skies..."I think it's a bit of an exaggeration to talk about the "demise of the Royal Navy" when after the 1942 battle it came back much stronger in the form of the British Pacific Fleet.
Hi Nishant, any device to grab a potential readers attention and money I suppose :)
A May 2018 release:
by Samuel KleinerDescription:
Sam Kleiner’s The Flying Tigers uncovers the hidden story of the group of young American men and women who crossed the Pacific before Pearl Harbor to risk their lives defending China. Led by legendary army pilot Claire Chennault, these men left behind an America still at peace in the summer of 1941 using false identities to travel across the Pacific to a run-down airbase in the jungles of Burma. In the wake of the disaster at Pearl Harbor this motley crew was the first group of Americans to take on the Japanese in combat, shooting down hundreds of Japanese aircraft in the skies over Burma, Thailand, and China. At a time when the Allies were being defeated across the globe, the Flying Tigers’ exploits gave hope to Americans and Chinese alike.
Kleiner takes readers into the cockpits of their iconic shark-nosed P-40 planes—one of the most familiar images of the war—as the Tigers perform nail-biting missions against the Japanese. He profiles the outsize personalities involved in the operation, including Chennault, whose aggressive tactics went against the prevailing wisdom of military strategy; Greg “Pappy” Boyington, the man who would become the nation’s most beloved pilot until he was shot down and became a POW; Emma Foster, one of the nurses in the unit who had a passionate romance with a pilot named John Petach; and Madame Chiang Kai-shek herself, who first brought Chennault to China and who would come to visit these young Americans.
A dramatic story of a covert operation whose very existence would have scandalized an isolationist United States, The Flying Tigers is the unforgettable account of a group of Americans whose heroism changed the world, and who cemented an alliance between the United States and China as both nations fought against seemingly insurmountable odds.
Another:
by Roman ToeppelDescription:
The Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943 was one of the greatest battles in military history involving more than 3 million soldiers, 10,000 tanks and 8,000 aircraft. While many books have been written on this allegedly most decisive battle of the Second World War, many legends live on, above all because of misleading information that recur in most publications - even in the most recent ones.
Based on almost 20 years of research reassessing the primary sources, Roman Toeppel sheds light on the phase of decision-making, the preparations and the development of the battle in an engaging style that grips the reader's attention from the first page on. The author concentrates on little-known developments and events leading the reader to astonishing results. He also gives entirely new insights into the historiographic appraisal of this battle, putting thoroughly researched facts against erroneous popular beliefs, myths and legends that have been passed down among historians for generations.
20 years in the making... revisionist flap text .... guess there's room for one more Kursk...
Jerome wrote: "A May 2018 release: by Samuel KleinerDes..."
I knew and interviewed a few of the AVG guys, like Rossi, Boyington, Hill and others. Great guys and even better stories.
Jerome wrote: "Another: by Roman ToeppelDescription:
The Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943 was one of the great..."
Did he interview any participants? I have a few tankers, pilots and grunts from both sides.
Colin wrote: "Jerome wrote: "Another: by Roman ToeppelDescription:
The Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943 was o..."
Don't know, doesn't say anywhere.
Jerome wrote: "A May 2018 release: by Samuel KleinerDes..."
That one does look interesting, Jerome! Have you ever read Daniel Ford's Flying Tigers: Claire Chennault and the American Volunteer Group? I would definitely recommend it if you have not. Mr. Ford is an interesting old gentleman- I don't really know him & have never met him in person, but used to communicate with him several years ago via Amazon.com and a couple of "history of flight" type forums. He has lived an amazing life, and is an accomplished story-teller. His Viet Nam memoir, The Only War We've Got: Early Days in South Vietnam, is also quite good...
Liam wrote: "Jerome wrote: "A May 2018 release: by [author:Samuel Kleine..."I haven't heard anything bad about his work, but I haven't read it yet. Maybe his "Flying Tigers" one would be a good place to start.
A May 2018 release:
by Thomas McKelvey CleaverDescription:
The United States Navy won such overwhelming victories in 1944 that, had the navy faced a different enemy, the war would have been over at the conclusion of the battle of Leyte Gulf.
However, in the moment of victory on October 25, 1944, the US Navy found itself confronting an enemy that had been inconceivable until it appeared. The kamikaze, "divine wind" in Japanese, was something Americans were totally unprepared for; a violation of every belief held in the West. The attacks were terrifying: regardless of the damage inflicted on an attacking airplane, there was no certainty of safety aboard the ship until that airplane was completely destroyed.
Based on first-person accounts, Tidal Wave is the story of the naval campaigns in the Pacific from the victory at Leyte Gulf to the end of the war, in which the US Navy would fight harder for survival than ever before.
Jerome wrote: "A May 2018 release: by Thomas McKelvey CleaverDescription:
The United States Navy won such overwhelming victories in..."
I have his book on VF-15, which was really good, and I've pre-ordered another which is due next month. Looks like I'll be adding a third book of his to my library! Thanks for the info!
Sounds like a pretty interesting book, thanks for the information Jerome.
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