THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP discussion
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New Release Books on WW2
Hi Singleton, two interesting books. I have "For Europe" as well but also this one in case your interested:
by Hendrick Verton
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Hi Singleton, two interesting books. I have "For Europe" as well but also this one in case your interested:
, a local history of the Overloon area. One of the guys who accompanied me on the Market Garden trip had it with him and it looked really interesting with many details about the panzertrains which broke through the Dutch defences in 1940 and the battle of Overloon in '45.
Here is a bok due out in a few months that may interest a few here although there isn't much information available yet:
The Wehrmacht Retreats: Fighting a Lost War, 1943 (no cover) by Robert M. CitinoAuthor of:
by Robert M. Citino
I recently released a novel that this group might be interested in, but don't want to spam this thread if it's not appropriate. Would you mind if I posted here? It's right up this group's alley, I think (WW2 historical fiction, based on my mother's experiences).
Hi Tina, thanks for asking, Im not a moderator at this group but I'm sure members won't mind a bit of info on your book.
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Tina wrote: "I recently released a novel that this group might be interested in, but don't want to spam this thread if it's not appropriate. Would you mind if I posted here? It's right up this group's alley, I ..."It's a new book Tina so why not :)
Great! Thank you!I recently published River in the Sea. I categorize it as literary/historical/coming-of-age (how's that for specificity!) and here's the book's description:
At fifteen, Leen De Graaf likes everything she shouldn't: smoking cigarettes, wearing red lipstick, driving illegally, and working in the fields. It seems the only thing she shares with her fellow Dutchmen is a fear of the German soldiers stationed nearby and a frantic wish for the war to end. When a soldier's dog runs in front of Leen's truck, her split-second reaction sets off a storm of events that pitches her family against the German forces when they are most desperate - and fierce. Leen tries to hold her family together, but despite her efforts, bit by bit everything falls apart, and just when Leen experiences a horrific loss, she must make a decision that could forever brand her a traitor, yet finally allow her to live as her heart desires. Inspired by the life of the author's mother, River in the Sea is a powerful and moving account of one girl reaching adulthood when everything she believes about family, friendship, and loyalty is questioned by war.
This is a more domestic look at WWII, and nearly all of my research comes from conversations with my parents about their experiences during this time (they were born in '32; both still alive). As they are Frisian (distinct ethnic group in the Netherlands) I feel the book is also unique in that regard as well.
Finally, nearly all the events in the book have a root in my actual family history, although I clearly changed, embellished, added, etc.
The ebook is here and paperback is here.
Enjoy!
Tina wrote: "Great! Thank you!I recently published River in the Sea. I categorize it as literary/historical/coming-of-age (how's that for specificity!) and here's the book's description:
At f..."
Hello Tina, Thanks for sharing.
Leen is not a common Dutch name for a woman, in fact my grandfather was called Leen. The book sounds very interesting indeed, I´ve added it to my wish-list for next time I buy some books abroad. Where in Friesland is te book situated, I was born there myself and now the province quite well.
Thanks!,
Mark
Hi Mark! The book takes place in Wierum, where much of my extended family is still situated. In the States, I have one family of third cousins who always felt like my first cousins. But in Friesland, I have over 30 first cousins and half of us all have the same name. My mom's given name is Leentje. I did not know that it was not a common name for a woman; my "aunt" (my mom's first cousin) is also named Leentje, for the same grandmother. In America they became Lina and Linda.My dad is from Bolingavier; both villages are absolutely tiny. As a kid my mom worked as a maid in Dokkum, which is one of my favorite places anywhere.
Thank you for adding the book! If you're Frisian, I think you'll definitely appreciate it. My parents quibble with me over some of the language (I don't speak it) but overall I have their stamp of approval. My father, in fact, was the one who supplied me with most of the details about what it was like to live during that time.
Dare I say, Doeie!
This looks like a very interesting book due out in a few months time:
by Patrick BishopDescription:
Target Tirpitz is gripping WW2 storytelling at its best and a return to the RAF territory of Patrick Bishop’s bestselling Bomber Boys and Fighter Boys.
The Tirpitz, Hitler’s greatest weapon, was reputed to be unsinkable and the battleship inflamed an Allied obsession: to destroy her at any cost.
More than thirty daring operations were launched against the 52,000 ton monster. Royal Navy midget submarines carried out an attack of extraordinary skill and courage against her when she lay deep in a Norwegian fjord in an operation that won VCs for two participants.
No permanent damage was done and the Fleet Air Arm was forced to launch full scale attacks through the summer of 1944 to try and finish her off. But still the Tirpitz remained a significant threat to Allied operations.
It was not until November 1944 that a brilliant operation by RAF Lancaster Bombers, under the command of one of Britain's greatest but least-known war heroes finally killed off Hitler’s last battleship.
Full of colour, insight and drama, Target Tirpitz is an unputdownable account of one of the great epics of the Second World War.
Here is a new title due out in a few months covering the Soviet Air Force during WW2:
by Von HardestyDescription:
A groundbreaking account of the Soviet Air Force in World War II, the original version of this book, Red Phoenix, was hailed by the Washington Post as both “brilliant” and “monumental.” That version has now been completely overhauled in the wake of an avalanche of declassified Russian archival sources, combat documents, and statistical information made available in the past three decades. The result, Red Phoenix Rising, is nothing less than definitive.
The saga of the Soviet Air Force, one of the least chronicled aspects of the war, marked a transition from near annihilation in 1941 to the world’s largest operational-tactical air force four years later. Von Hardesty and Ilya Grinberg reveal the dynamic changes in tactics and operational art that allowed the VVS to bring about that remarkable transformation. Drawing upon a wider array of primary sources, well beyond the uncritical and ultra-patriotic Soviet memoirs underpinning the original version, this volume corrects, updates, and amplifies its predecessor. In the process, it challenges many “official” accounts and revises misconceptions promoted by scholars who relied heavily on German sources, thus enlarging our understanding of the brutal campaigns fought on the Eastern Front.
The authors describe the air campaigns as they unfolded, with full chapters devoted to the monumental victories at Moscow, Stalingrad, and Kursk. By combining the deeply affecting human drama of pilots, relentlessly confronted by lethal threats in the air and on the ground, with a rich technical understanding of complex military machines, they have produced a fast-paced, riveting look at the air war on the Eastern Front as it has never been seen before. They also address dilemmas faced by the Soviet Air Force in the immediate postwar era as it moved to adopt the new technology of long-range bombers, jet propulsion and nuclear arms.
Drawing heavily upon individual accounts down to the unit level, Hardesty and Grinberg greatly enhance our understanding of their story’s human dimension, while the book’s more than 100 photos, many never before seen in the West, vividly portray the high stakes and hardware of this dramatic tale. In sum, this is the definitive one-volume account of a vital but still underserved dimension of the war—surpassing its predecessor so decisively that no fan of that earlier work can afford to miss it.
Reviews:
"Red Phoenix was in a class of its own when it was first published but limited by what could be known from Soviet sources. This new edition of a classic can now tell the story in full. For anyone who wants to know what contribution the Soviet Air Force made to the grueling victory over Axis forces on the Eastern Front there is no better guide." - Richard Overy, (author of The Air War, 1939–1945)
"An impressive and long-awaited work that goes a long way towards filling one of the last major gaps in the historiography of the 1939–1945 air war. It should dominate the field for decades." - Richard R. Muller, (author of The German Air War in Russia)
Here is an update on the new book by Robert M. Citino that was mentioned above:
by Robert M. CitinoDescription:
Throughout 1943, the German army, heirs to a military tradition that demanded and perfected relentless offensive operations, succumbed to the realities of its own overreach and the demands of twentieth-century industrialized warfare. In his new study, prize winning author Robert Citino chronicles this weakening Wehrmacht, now fighting desperately on the defensive but still remarkably dangerous and lethal.
Drawing on his impeccable command of German-language sources, Citino offers fresh, vivid, and detailed treatments of key campaigns during this fateful year: the Allied landings in North Africa, General von Manstein’s great counterstroke in front of Kharkov, the German attack at Kasserine Pass, the titanic engagement of tanks and men at Kursk, the Soviet counteroffensives at Orel and Belgorod, and the Allied landings in Sicily and Italy. Through these events, he reveals how a military establishment historically configured for violent aggression reacted when the tables were turned; how German commanders viewed their newest enemy, the U.S. Army, after brutal fighting against the British and Soviets; and why, despite their superiority in materiel and manpower, the Allies were unable to turn 1943 into a much more decisive year.
Applying the keen operational analysis for which he is so highly regarded, Citino contends that virtually every flawed German decision—to defend Tunis, to attack at Kursk and then call off the offensive, to abandon Sicily, to defend Italy high up the boot and then down much closer to the toe—had strong supporters among the army’s officer corps. He looks at all of these engagements from the perspective of each combatant nation and also establishes beyond a shadow of a doubt the synergistic interplay between the fronts.
Ultimately, Citino produces a grim portrait of the German officer corps, dispelling the longstanding tendency to blame every bad decision on Hitler. Filled with telling vignettes and sharp portraits and copiously documented, The Wehrmacht Retreats is a dramatic and fast-paced narrative that will engage military historians and general readers alike.
Here is another new release due out in mid 2012 so keep you eyes open for it:
by Armin BottgerDescription:
Until seriously wounded on the Eastern Front in August 1944, Armin Bottger experienced the horrors of the Second World War from the perspective of a panzer radio operator. In his very personal account, Bottger relates in a sober and realistic manner the fighting and experiences on and behind the front. He details his involvement in battles across Europe in honest terms.
He describes vividly the cruelty and senselessness of war, along with the injustices and irritations of army life. The author was by no means a hero: he admits that he volunteered for the Wehrmacht to avoid sitting his school leaving exams (but obtain his Abitur leaving certificate). He also concedes that he lied about his health in an attempt to avoid being sent to the Eastern Front and was determined to stay alive at all cost.
The book features almost 200 photographs taken by the author during the war and includes images taken in action.
I received my copy of "The Outermost Frontier" by Helmut Pabst. I've had a quick flick inside the book and it looks very interesting. It was first published in 1957 and republished in 1986.
by Helmut PabstDescription:
Early on the morning of 22nd June, 1941, the German army, with an overall strength of more than three million men, crossed the Russo-German frontier. One army group struck north-east, in the direction of Vilna-Leningrad. Another struck south-east, towards Kiev and the Ukraine. The third – Army Group Centre, under von Bock – advanced due east in the direction Bialystok-Minsk-Smolensk-Moscow.
Attached to an artillery unit within this army group was a thirty-year-old Signals N.C.O., Helmut Pabst, formerly a law student and a veteran of the German occupation of France. From the first week of the Russian campaign Pabst kept a diary in the form of letters to his parents and friends in Frankfurt-on-Main, and particularly to his father, who had served in the Russian campaign of 1914-17.
The story itself is unretouched and its observations remain unrationalized, for Pabst fell in action in the autumn of 1943.
AR you're making the list longer... all good stuff.
I like to share Carl :)
"The Outermost Frontier" sounds like a very interesting book Rick, thanks for sharing.
My pleasure Singleton, I am going to try and read is very soon. I will let you know if it is any good.
Bought myself two new books this weekend. 
and this one, recommended by Aussie Rick.
"Lost Victories" is a very good book but I don't know about "Red CRown & Dragon". It might be a book Geevee recommended but it looks good, two good purchases there Singleton!
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'Aussie Rick' wrote: ""Lost Victories" is a very good book but I don't know about "Red CRown & Dragon". It might be a book Geevee recommended but it looks good, two good purchases there Singleton!"Possibly was me, and I think it came from a discussion we had on S'Hertogenbosch.
I've read a few of Daleaforce's books and they are good for the contributions from veterans of the division/brigades featured.
Geevee wrote: "Possibly was me, and I think it came from a discussion we had on S'Hertogenbosch. I've read a few of Daleaforce's books and they are good for the contributions from veterans of the division/brigades featured. "
A yes, it indeed was you. The 53rd are particularly intresting to me because I do know nothing of the battles around ´s-Hertogenbosch (the ´ goes before the s as it originally read ´des´. The name of the city means, `the Duke´s forest´. Same goes for The Hague which is written ´s-Gravenhagen, ´the Duke´s hedge´).
Their further battles into Germany in ´45 are also interesting. I already read about these in
but this book has a lot of personal accounts.
Looking forward to reading it.
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Singleton wrote: s-Hertogenbosch (the ´ goes before the s as it originally read ´des´. The name of the city means, `the Duke´s forest´. Same goes for The Hague which is written ´s-Gravenhagen, ´the Duke´s hedge´). ..."
Thanks I had wondered about the use of S.
'Aussie Rick' wrote: ""Lost Victories" is a very good book but I don't know about "Red CRown & Dragon". It might be a book Geevee recommended but it looks good, two good purchases there Singleton!"Be advised that Lost Victories is probably abridged, and is, in any event, rather heavily sanitized; it is very much in the "Hitler made me do it" school of history so if you're predisposed to like that sort of thing, you'll like this.
There have been two recent biographies of Manstein that are a lot more balanced (and hence a lot less laudatory). Convention wisdom looks at Manstein a bit through rose-colored glasses. The reality is a bit darker.
The two recent books on Manstein are below. I have the first title but am yet to read it.
by Mungo Melvin and
by Benoit LemayI still think Lost Victories is well worth reading regardless.
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "The two recent books on Manstein are below. I have the first title but am yet to read it. by Mungo Melvin and [bookcover:..."Thanks a lot Nick and Aussie Rick. After I've read Lost Victories I will continue with Melvin's biographie.
Here are two new WW2 titles from Osprey that may interest some readers here:
by Ian GardnerDescription:
At short notice on Sept 17, 1944 the 101st Airborne Division parachuted into Holland as part of Operation Market Garden. The plan was to secure the main highway that passed through the city of Eindhoven - facilitating the advance of Gen. Sir Miles Dempsey's Second British Army towards Arnhem. The objective of the 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) was to capture four crucial bridges over the river Dommel in southern Eindhoven. Indeed, with the capture of Eindhoven the 101st Airborne thought that its mission in Holland was over. However, this was only the beginning of a bloody 72-day campaign that would see no quarter given by either side. Thousands of heavily armed enemy troops trapped behind Allied lines were reorganised into temporary fighting groups and sent on the offensive. Supported by Tiger tanks and self propelled artillery the German army began an audacious series of counter attacks along the road to Nijmegen that became known as 'Hell's Highway'. Over the next two weeks the 506PIR were constantly called upon to defend the transport hubs north of Eindhoven at Sint Oedenrode, Veghel and Uden suffering horrendous casualties.
By October the 506th were sent further north to take over from the British 214th Infantry Brigade near Arnhem. Surrounded by water 'The Island' was the name given by the Allies to the Betuwe, the area of land northwest of Nijmegen between the Neder Rijn (Lower Rhine) and the river Waal. The 3rd Battalion played a pivotal role when a major German attack was thwarted near the town of Opheusden despite heavy losses which shook the Battalion to the core. But this was simply the beginning of a bitter struggle that would continue for another two months. Heavy rain, flooding and constant shelling turned the area into a no-mans land reminiscent of the Somme in the First World War. The men lived like animals in such squalid conditions that trench foot became a normal part of life. By the end of November, after sustaining appalling losses in the face of the determined resistance the Germany Army finally abandoned all hope of ever retaking 'the island'. Finally on Nov 27, the 101st were withdrawn from the line and sent to France to recuperate. The mission in Holland would be one that the men would never forget. Many felt that their lives had been misused and wasted, Normandy had been bad enough, but this time the members of 3/506 had been through hell...
Drawing on years of research and more than seventy extended interviews with veterans and civilians caught up in the fighting, Deliver Us From Darkness is a gripping account of the paratroopers of the 3rd Battalion 506th Regiment. From the terror of jumping behind enemy lines, to the desperate struggle to stay alive in the terrible conditions and finally the bitter fighting as the Third Reich fought desperately to turn back the tide of the Allied advance, meticulous research is combined with a gripping narrative to reveal the events that stretched the Battalion almost to its breaking point.
by Nicholas BestDescription:
April 1945. The mutilated bodies of Mussolini and his mistress hang by their heels in Milan while a hostile crowd whistles and jeers. Desperate to avoid the same fate, Adolf Hitler leaves orders for his own body to be burned after his death. With the Russian Army closing in on Berlin and his world crashing in to flames, Germany's doomed leader would never allow his enemies the satisfaction of desecrating his corpse. This is the story of an immensely exciting few days, but it is also a snapshot of the whole world at the end of an extraordinary week. Nicholas Best tells a compelling tale of the men and women from all around the world who experienced the final chaotic days of World War II. Fast-paced, at times brutal and at others poignant, this page-turner of a book recreates the dying days of the Axis powers as the Allied armies closed in on Berlin.
And another new book on one of the more horrific battles fought in Italy:
by Peter Caddick-AdamsDescription:
Peter Caddick-Adams, one of the world's authorities on battle field history and author of the applauded joint biography of Montgomery and Rommel, writes a compelling and authoritative account of the greatest battle of the Italian campaign of World War Two. The five-month Monte Cassino campaign in central Italy is one of the best-known European land battles of World War Two, alongside D-Day and Stalingrad.It has a particular resonance now, because Cassino, with its multitude of participating armies -- most notably the American 5th Army under the controversial General Mark Clark -- was perhaps the campaign of the Second World War that most closely anticipates the coalition operations of today, with its ever-shifting cast of players stuck in inhospitable, mountainous terrain, pursuing an objective set by unknowing politicians in distant capitals, where victory is difficult to define. Monte Cassino was characterised by the destruction of its world famous Abbey: in retrospect, considered an unjustifiable act of cultural vandalism by the allies.The audit trail of decision-making to destroy an icon as well known then as the Eiffel Tower or Lincoln Memorial, is a chilling reminder that similar decisions are still being made in Iraq and Afghanistan and indeed Libya. To this day, reversing normal prejudice, German troops are welcome in the abbey, having rescued its treasures from allied destruction in February 1944. Cassino was an unusual campaign for World War II in that its outcome was not reliant on sweeping movements or the use of tanks or aircraft -- but by old-fashioned boots in the mud, whether capturing the town of Cassino after months of grinding urban warfare (a Stalingrad in miniature) or scrambling up the steep mountain to seize the heights and the religious complex on top of Monte Cassino. Monte Cassino Abbey was painstakingly rebuilt after the war (its baroque chapel remains incomplete) and is now a World Heritage site. An hour south of Rome, it is visited each year by up to one million tourists and pilgrims from around the world.
Last one for today, great subject by a very good author:
by Tom HollandDescription:
The night of May 16th, 1943. Nineteen specially adapted Lancaster bombers take off from RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, each with a huge 9,000lb cylindrical bomb strapped underneath them. Their mission: to destroy three dams deep within the German heartland, which provide the lifeblood to the industries supplying the Third Reich's war machine. From the outset, it was an almost impossible task, a suicide mission: to fly low and at night in formationover many miles of enemy occupied territory at the very limit of the Lancasters' capacity, and drop a new weapon which had never been tried operationally before at a precise height of just sixty feet from the water at some of the most heavily defended targets in Germany. More than that, the entire operation had to be put together in less than ten weeks. When visionary aviation engineer Barnes Wallis' concept of the bouncing bomb was green lighted, he hadn't even drawn up his plans for the weapon that was the smash the dams. What followed was an incredible race against time, which, despite numerous set-backs and against huge odds, became one of the most successful and game-changing bombing raids of all time.
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Here are two new WW2 titles from Osprey that may interest some readers here:[bookcover:Deliver Us From Darkness: The Untold Story of Third Battalion 506 Parachute Infantry Company During Market ..."
That book sounds really interesting Rick, thanks for sharing.
Bought a bunch of new books at my favorite Bookshop in Leiden: 
Battleground Prussia: The Assault On Germany's Eastern Front 1944 45
by Prit Buttar
The terrible months between the arrival of the Red Army on German soil and the final collapse of Hitler's regime were like no other in the Second World War. The Soviet Army's intent to take revenge for the horror that the Nazis had wreaked on their people produced a conflict of implacable brutality in which millions perished.
Eagles of the Third Reich by Samuel W. Mitcham Jr.
From its secret post World War I beginnings to its virtual destruction by the Allied air forces, the story of the German air force is best told by examining its leaders
Panzer Aces II by Franz Kurowski
In this sequel to his well-regarded "Panzer Aces," Kurowski relates the combat careers of six more decorated German Panzer officers--men who were German tank commanders during World War II.
And another book on the end of the Luftwaffe which I can't find here.
Some good books there Singleton, nice buys! I think you will enjoy (I hope anyhow) "Battleground Prussia".
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Some good books there Singleton, nice buys! I think you will enjoy (I hope anyhow) "Battleground Prussia"."Think so as well. Your review and rating was rather positive. I am tempted to start reading straight away but I am already reading another 400+ page book so I'll wait till I've finished that one.
Singleton wrote: ""Panzer Aces," Kurowski "hey Singleton,
i read Kurowski's 'Brandenburgers', i liked it, however he is a strictly straightforward type of author, well in my sampling of 1 book anyway. it appears he gathers the official military reports and puts them in a pile, no ambrose or cornelius ryan type prose around them.
he was a german soldier, goes by several pen-names, and a lot of books, i'll say produced rather than written.
i get the impression that the 'green books' at least in general (not just Kurowski's) are a re-marketing of previously published material.
our area's used books stores usually
have a few stacks of them, and they aren't used.
i usually find myself interested in the subject on the cover and wondering which one to buy next time.
Just obtained Ian Kershaw's latest - not yet started.
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Ian wrote: "Just obtained Ian Kershaw's latest - not yet started. "I'll be very interested to hear your views Ian; I've read his first volume on Hitler (2nd on TBR) and found it very good indeed and plan to buy this too.
Here are two new books due out in a few months covering the Pacific War:
by Bill SloanDescription:
An epic story of exceptional valor, and based on exclusive interviews with more than thirty survivors, Undefeated tells in gripping prose how outnumbered and outgunned American soldiers and airmen fought against invading Japanese forces in the Philippines at the beginning of World War II and then continued to resist through three harrowing years as POWs.
Called “a master of the combat narrative” (The Dallas Morning News), Bill Sloan captures the valor, fortitude, and suffering of the American defenders of the Philippines as no other author has. Abandoned by their government, the men and women of the American garrison struggled against impossible military odds, rampant disease, and slow starvation to delay inevitable surrender by the largest American military force ever. Rather than picturing these defenders as little more than helpless victims of an overwhelmingly powerful and sadistic enemy—as most previous books about the Philippines campaign have done—Undefeated credits American troops with the unexcelled heroism and indomitable spirit they displayed under the worst imaginable conditions.
Interwoven throughout this panoramic narrative are the harrowing personal experiences of dozens of American soldiers, airmen, and Marines. Sloan also provides intimate, in-depth profiles of General Douglas MacArthur, who evacuated to Australia as the situation on Bataan worsened, and of General Jonathan Wainwright, who succeeded him as top U.S. commander in the Philippines and himself became a prisoner of the Japanese.
by Jim McEneryDescription:
In the tradition of E.B. Sledge’s With the Old Breed, this is a Marine rifleman’s extraordinarily vivid, brutally candid memoir of what it was like on the front lines of World War II in the Pacific.
In what may be the last memoir to be published by a living veteran of the pivotal invasion of Guadalcanal, which occurred almost seventy years ago, Marine Jim McEnery has teamed up with author Bill Sloan, “a master of…the combat narrative” (The Dallas Morning News) to create an unforgettably immersive chronicle of horror and heroism.
Made famous by the HBO miniseries The Pacific, McEnery’s rifle company—the legendry K/3/5 of the First Marine Division—fought in some of the most ferocious battles of the Pacific. In arresting detail, the author takes us back to Guadalcanal, where the Americans turned the tide of war against the Japanese; Cape Gloucester, where 1,300 Marines were killed or wounded; and to bloody Peleliu, where McEnery assumed command of the company and helped speed the final defeat of the Japanese garrison. From his evocative recollections of hand-to-hand fighting and the loss of buddies in hellish fighting to his frank portraits of legends like Colonel Lewis “Chesty” Puller and General Douglas MacArthur, McEnery’s gritty narrative is as valuable for its insights on a war increasingly lost to memory as it is terrifying and engrossing—a masterwork that no reader of military history can afford to pass up.
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Rather than picturing these defenders as little more than helpless victims of an overwhelmingly powerful and sadistic enemy—as most previous books about the Philippines campaign have done "AR, that's the impression I get from a lot of books on the
subject. i recently read 'Reaping the Whirlwind' which contained
about 40 pages from a diary of a japanese sub-lieutenant in the Phillipines during this intial invasion. they way he describes the battles i had to check a couple times to make sure he wasn't talking about 1944/5. he lost a lot of men, and every battle was difficult with the American and Fillipino forces. so 'Undefeated' looks like a good one to fulfill my renewed interest of that area of the war.
Hi Carl,I am thinking of getting a copy myself. Has anyone conducted a buddy or group read here? Maybe a few of us should organise one?
Well if we can get a few people interested and maybe we can all suggest a few titles and select one by ballot and see how we go, anyone else interested?
Here's a short read that is being offered FREE on the Kindle today (Friday, 2 March)
- fiction, but based on historical facts...Cheers,
Edward
A group read sounds nice. I would be joining for sure (if the book is interesting of course).
Good, that's 3 of us! :)
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Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces
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This is not wholly about WWII but having that I've just bought it, I thought some members would find this of interest. My only disappointment is that he chose not to cover the British Army's experiences in Northern Ireland, although the Falklands War is covered, but that is a personal view, and unrelated to the group's interest on WWII, which is covered in a number of specific or related chapters.
by Ben ShephardDescription:
"I wish you could be here," the Oxford Professor of Medicine wrote to a friend in 1915, "in this orgy of neuroses and psychoses and gaits and paralyses. I cannot imagine what has got into the central nervous system of the men."
A War of Nerves is a history of military psychiatry in the twentieth century - an authoritative, accessible account drawing on a vast range of diaries, interviews, medical papers and official records. It reaches back to the moment when the technologies of modern warfare and the disciplines of mental medicine first confronted each other on the Western Front, and traces their uneasy relationship through the eras of 'shell-shock', combat fatigue and 'post-traumatic stress disorder'. At once absorbing historical narrative and intellectual detective story, it tells the full story of 'shell-shock'; explains the disastrous psychological aftermath of Vietnam; and shows how psychiatrists kept men fighting in Burma. But it also tries to answer recurring questions about the effects of war. Why do some men crack and others not? Are the limits of resistance determined by character, heredity, upbringing, ideology or simple biochemistry? It explores the ethical dilemmas of the military psychiatrist - the 'machine gun behind the front', as Freud called him. Finally, it looks at the modern culture of 'trauma' and compensation spawned by the Vietnam War.
A War of Nerves offers the general reader an indispensable guide to an important and controversial subject.
It sounds like a very interesting book Geevee, thanks for sharing.
Damn you Geevee, I went and ordered a copy!:)
THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP
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(Wiking: A dutch SS-soldier at the Eastfront)