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WWII books

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Justinian View Drop Down
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  Quote Justinian Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: WWII books
    Posted: 06-Jan-2008 at 01:26
There seem to be millions of books on the subject including memoirs, I figured I'd comment on the few I've read (and still have around) and have others do the same. 
 
General Patton:  A Soldiers Life; by Stanley P. Hirshson, ~ 707 pages.  The only biography I've read on the man, but from what I can tell a good one.  The author uses family papers and letters as well as archive materials, opening the book with the background of the generals family, then proceeding up to his demise, with a final chaptered devoted to an assessment of the man.  The author does a good job of trying to give an objective account of Patton, neither pro nor con.  It is somewhat long, but worth it I feel for the detail held within. 
 
Panzer Commander:  The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck; by Hans von Luck, introduction by Stephen Ambrose, ~ 347 pages including epilogue.  I'm not a huge fan of Ambrose but he's only there for the introduction, the story is a recounting of Colonel von Luck's life, focusing on WWII.  It makes for a fascinating read, as always the authors opinion on various figures is intriguing. (apparently von Luck was an aquaintance of the composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, which I found quite cool)  The perspective is more personal than a generals memoir but retains a strategic sense throughout. 
 
Soldat: Reflections of a German Soldier, 1936-1949; by Siegfried Knappe, with Ted Brusaw, ~ 413 pages.  Another german memoir, this time of a major. (promoted to that rank near wars end)  Another remarkable read, gives true insight into what it was like as an officer during the reign of hitlers reich. 
 
The Enigma of General Blaskowitz; by Richard Giziowski, ~ 442 pages.  This book is about General Johannes Blaskowitz and I'll be honest and say its a tough read.  The story is hardly an uplifting one, before I read it I had no idea there were german generals opposed to hitler. (its what got me reading german memoirs)  An interesting subject that deals with the losing battle blaskowitz had with hitler and the nazi's ideology and concludes with his cloudy "suicide".
 
The Flight of Rudolph Hess: Myths and Reality; by Roy Conyers Nesbit and Georges Van Acker, ~ 133 excluding appendix.  This book covers the peculiar event of Rudolph Hess' flight to england.  It gives a bit of background on Hess before delving into his pre flight training, the flight itself and the rather deflating aftermath of his endless years in captivity, as well as some of the more incredible conspiracy theories that have been put forth over the years. 
 
German Generals Talk: Startling Revelations from Hitlers High Command; by B.H. Liddell Hart, ~ 300 pages.  Regardless of what some have called Harts eccentric personality this book, centered around his interviews with various former german generals discussing the war and pre-war hitler years, is quite interesting.  Most of the participants are recognizable: von Rundstedt, and von Kleist probably being the most well known.  Overall, a book definitely worth reading if interested in germany and its generals during the war.
 
Hitler's Generals; edited by Correli Barnett, ~ 479 pages.  This book is a collective effort, essays being written on various generals by various authors broken down into parts based on the subject generals ability/personality etc.  The generals written about include:  von Brauchitsch, Fritsch, Beck, (both are covered in the same essay) Guderian, von Rundstedt, Senger, Reichenau, von Manstein, Blomberg and so on.  The essays are overall excellent, natural bias is for the most part kept to a minimum/does not effect the article much.  (excluding some of the more controversial generals like Reichenau for instance)  Some of the generals (Senger for ex.) were ones I knew nothing about, so for that it was a worthy read for me.  Would be great as an introduction to one unfamiliar with most german generals or one looking for a good review of some of germany's main generals.
 
Panzer Operations: The Eastern Front Memoir of General Raus, 1941-1945; by Erhard Raus, compiled and translated by Steven H. Newton, ~ 347.  This is the memoir of Erhard Raus' experience on the eastern front, starting in 41' when he was a colonel, ending with him as a colonel general.  This book is somewhat technical, but not overly so (if I can read it without trouble not many others should have any problems with it) and is a great source for seeing the tactics and strategy used by Raus on the eastern front, from Kampfgroupe (like a brigade sized formation) to army formations.  Also of note is his interaction with hitler, thoughts on other generals, (von Manstein, Guderian, Balck and many others) and thoughts on the russians. 
 
Panzer Leader; by General Heinz Guderian, ~ 466 pages not including appendix.  Besides Manstein probably the most well known and read of any german general's memoir is Guderians'.  A very opinionated personality, Guderian's book is unsuprisingly somewhat technical, (again not overly so) but a must read.  Guderian discusses his thoughts on most of the major figures in the reich and army as well as his career in depth, as well as blitzkrieg and the strategy of panzers.  Guderians' thoughts on the holocaust and persecution of the jews are kept to a minimum, he was a soldier and thats that was his mentality.  Even with the natural bias of the author (impossible to avoid in a memoir) this book is still one of, if not the, best german generals memoir out there.
 
Lost Victories:  The War Memoirs of Hitler's Most Brilliant General; by Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, foreword by B.H. Liddell Hart, introduction by Martin Blumenson, ~ 548 pages not including appendix.  This book is the war memoirs of Erich von Manstein and his career from Poland till he was relieved by hitler in 44'.  Manstein discusses his strategy and tactics in various situations, of course hitler, and his thoughts that if hitler had not interferred that the germans could have perhaps won in the east or at least fought it out to a draw.  I would probably say this is my favorite german generals memoir because of Manstein discussing strategy, how and why he would react to certain situations and such.  If one has any interest in the eastern front then this is a memoir one should most definitely read.
 
The Order of the Death's Head: The Story of Hitler's SS; by Heinz Hohne, ~ 583 pages.  This book details the history of the SS from its very inception up to its extinction.  It is possibly one of the most detailed books I've read, if one has any questions at all on the workings of the SS, its almost a guarantee its addressed in this book.  One gets a true sense of the somewhat organized chaos that was the third reich government and its numerous branches, Hohne discusses many of the main SS members from Himmler and Heydrich on down the list.  Essential reading for an understanding of the SS organization and its place in the third reich.
 
A War to Be Won: Fighting the Second World War; by Williamson Murray and Allan R. Millett, ~576 pages not including appendix.  A great introduction book of the entire second world war, pacific and european theatre.  I had to read it for a history class in college and the book is one of the better general histories on WWII I've come across.  It was helpful to me because my knowledge on the pacific theatre is nowhere near that of the european theatre.  This book helped with that problem nicely. 
 
With The Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa; by E.B. Sledge, ~ 315 pages.  This book tells the story of a marine's years in the pacific fighting at peleliu and okinawa.  The author uses a simple to follow style that makes reading the book easy to read; even if the story is rather dark.  One of the better memoirs of a servicemen in the pacific. 
 
German Boy: A Child in War; by Wolfgang W.E. Samuel, ~ 424 pages.  This story is of a german boy's journey from his families flight from their Sagan home fleeing the russians, the after war years and his subsequent emmigration to the US.  (where he retired as a colonel in the US air force)  A difficult book to read, (it ends happy, I suppose, but most of the book is anything but uplifting, the spirit of the author is remarkable) its not for the faint hearted.  Does the best job of any memoir I've ever come across at showing the tragedy of WWII, especially for the civilians.  That being said I would still recommend it, one gains a better understanding and appreciation of the conflict from a non-military point of view and what germany was like immediately following the war. 
 
Leap into Darkness: Seven Years on the Run in Wartime Europe; by Leo Bretholz, with Michael Olesker, ~ 263 pages.  This is the story of a young jewish boy who amazingly kept himself alive living in underground europe during WWII.  The young mans will is truly incredible.  An incredible story, giving the reader an appreciation for the horror of the second world war and the nazi's actions as well as the attitudes and actions of those just trying to keep out of it.  The author flees Vienna, heads to Belgium, a brief stay in Switzerland, and spends much of the time in France. 
 
*I can't find any more in my house or recall any others I've read offhand, if/when I do I'll update the thread.Smile


Edited by Justinian - 06-Jan-2008 at 05:00
"War is a cowardly escape from the problems of peace."--Thomas Mann

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  Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06-Jan-2008 at 06:25

American Ceaser is probably the book for the Pacific Wars greatest personality.

 
Panzer Leader should be read with Actung Panzer! the former is in many ways a sequel.
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ulrich von hutten View Drop Down
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  Quote ulrich von hutten Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06-Jan-2008 at 07:56
I would recomend:
 
Deutschland Berichte der SoPaDe
 
A Diary Compendium from 1934-1940. The exil-leading of the Social Democratic party gathered informations of the all-day life of the germans during this time ans issued a monthly paper of it.
 
The whole collection contains about 8000 pages and as far as i know, an english and french translation was published as well in the 1980s.
 
You can find many interessting things and the very popular statement of many germans after the war, that they hadn't noticed the cruels and no knowledge of the holocaust is disproved in many cases by this report.

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  Quote jacobtowne Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06-Jan-2008 at 16:45
The Berlin Diaries by Marie "Missie" Vassiltchikov.

(The following unattributed commentary was posted at Amazon.com. It may be a jacket description from the publisher, or it may not. In any event, it is not mine)


Elegantly written true life account of an emigre white Russian princess who worked in the German foreign office during the war and whose friends in the German aristocracy became involved in the army plot to kill Hitler. In describing the daily crises of her society she documents subtextually the loss of her youth, her illusions, and the best of the civilization of old Europe. The accompanying commentary by her brother is lucid and most informative of the events she describes--a very sad, beautiful story that deserves a much wider readership than it has achieved to date.

My comment: This is a fascinating account, with an excellent collection of photographs, mostly of Missie's family and friends, almost all of whom belong to the old aristocracy that is rapidly vanishing before her eyes.

JT



Edited by jacobtowne - 06-Jan-2008 at 16:47
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Justinian View Drop Down
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  Quote Justinian Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18-Jan-2008 at 02:59
Quite true Sparten, one is Guderians memoirs after the war, the other is his thoughts on modern tactics/strategy with modern equipment.  Ulrich that collection sounds fascinating. 
 
Originally posted by jacobtowne

...The Berlin Diaries by Marie "Missie" Vassiltchikov.
LOL  I just read that back in May!  That review of it is spot on, though I will add its format is that of a diary; the book follows her daily journal entries up through the war.  (though there are some spots where portions were lost and are therefore absent from the book)
"War is a cowardly escape from the problems of peace."--Thomas Mann

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