I think I asked for WWII book recommendations in a thread a while back, but now I can't find that thread anywhere. I've always been fascinated with WWII but have never actually read any books that cover it. And that's just plain ridiculous because I read a couple books a month. I'm most interested in recommendations covering the rise and fall of the Third Reich, as well as some that focus more on America leading up to and during the war. I'm looking for interesting page turners and not just a dry history lesson. I've tried looking on Amazon for suggestions but I figured Clutchfans would be able to point me in the right direction.
Sure - read anything by Antony Beevor, british guy, good writer, incredibly thorough, great scholar, taught himself Russian and German and I think Greek as well. Of his books on WWII, He has written a number of well-received books on: Stalingrad Berlin D-Day (I haven't read this one, yet, just came out in the fall). Also one on the battle of Crete, and one on the Spanish Civil War (the warm-up to WWII). Both worth reading. Here you go: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=antony+beevor&x=0&y=0
Check out "Stalingrad" and "The Fall of Berlin 1945" by Anthony Beevor. The scale of the war and brutality in the East is beyond comprehension.
Here are a couple from different points of view. Both of them were excellent historical fiction novels. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak. This is an absolutely brilliant, beautiful story of a teenage girl growing up with foster parents just outside of Munich during WWII. It is a crime that this book is classified as young adult, because it's a mature, moving story and is one of the best books I've ever read. City of Thieves - David Benioff. This is a coming of age tale of a Russian teen caught up in the brutal siege of Leningrad.
How Hitler Could Have Won World War 2 by Bevin Alexander is a great book. Goes into a deep assessment on his errors. Link...
since you say you have never read anything on WWII i would recommend a book called 'delivered from evil', by robert leckie - its like 1000 pages, but its a very comprehensive overview starting w/ the end of WWI and the events leading up to germany's invasion of poland. i took a history of WWII class at austin community college in the mid-90's and this was our main textbook. ive come back and read it a couple times since then though. i also read his book on the revolutionary war recently. i like the fact that he will spend a chapter (20-30 pages) talking about the key persons like stalin, hitler or american generals like patton or macarthur. each chapter is kind of a mini-bio in its own right. there is an encyclopedic quality to the book due to the sheer amount of 'stuff' he covers, but i think his writing is very engaging - not a dull read. b/c its so long there are some events that get glossed over, but for a good introductory overview i think this book is great. if you want to read something more specific i would throw out 'the longest day' - about d-day.
If you are in Houston, hit Half-Price Books. They always have a pretty good selection of WWII books. I picked up a hardcover of Stalin's Folly for like $5.00. The theory behind the book is that Stalin was planning to attack Germany, and was written by a Russian based on documents obtained right after the fall of the Soviet Union. I think historians have some issues with this theory, but it does give you a general idea what it was like to be working with closely with (and terrified of) Stalin, and you also really get a sense of how confused and dysfunctional the Soviet military was. Another good book is A Stranger to Myself: The Inhumanity of War: Russia, 1941-1944. It is the personal memoirs of a German soldier who died in Russia that were found not too long ago. It is a great first hand account by a low ranking soldier about all the crap that happened. And it hasn't been filtered by someone editing it fifty years later and thinking about posterity. It is a disjointed memoir written by an 18 year old kid, so the quality of the writing can be uneven at times, but the fact that it is untouched means it is pretty unique. Stuff like cutting the feet off a frozen dead Russian, and warming the feet over a fire so the Germans could get a "slightly used" set of warm Russian boots. Just before reading it, I read a book called Sniper on the Eastern Front: The Memoirs of Sepp Allerberger, that it is basically Nazi war p*rn. It contrasted night and day with the realism of the Willy Peter Reese book.
This is not exactly what you asked for but.... I am reading a book by Neil Stephenson called Cryptonomicon. While it is not a WWII book, per se, many of the events are historical fiction that takes place during WWII centered around code breaking. While the dialog and (most of) the characters are made up, the events surrounding them are real and reasonably accurately described. Some info: http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780060512804/Cryptonomicon/index.aspx? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptonomicon
Harrisment -- last week I had the same question (never asked aloud) so am grateful for this thread; thanks.
I had the privilege of having an undergraduate US History class taught to me by Dr. Arnold Krammer at Texas A&M. I didn't know he was a world renowned WW II historian when I signed up for his class, it was just the luck of the draw. He has several interesting books about WWII. One of the most fascinating is an in depth book about US POW camps with German soldiers. I believe it was Nazi Prisoners of War in America. It was not required reading for his class, but I read it anyways.
The last 2 books I read were: My Father Rudolf Hess and The Lonliest Man In The World the books are more focused on Rudolf Hess and the second book is more focused on his imprisonment at Spandau after the war and Nuremberg. They are both really good books and a one of the stranger WW2 stories.
If you're a fan of Band of Brothers, this is a great book... http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Beyond-Band-of-Brothers/Dick-Winters/e/9780425208137
To Hell and Back, by Audie Murphy. He was the most decorated soldier during WWII and these are his memoirs. I couldn't put it down. Just don't watch the movie from 1955. It was turrble.
That was a great book. Got me to start shaving everyday. Another one by Ambrose is D-Day http://www.amazon.com/Day-June-Climactic-Battle-World/dp/068480137X A good comprehensive book is edited by Ambrose http://www.amazon.com/American-Heri...r_1_17?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260904696&sr=1-17 There's a ton out there though.
I just read some reviews of this book. GOD. Sounds like a difficult but interesting read. I just ordered a used copy. It's funny, we all think of the Nazis as blood-thirsty tyrants - and they were - but as a 19-year old kid drafted into the army in 1941 Germany, what choice do you have but to fight? You hear interviews with WWII vets all the time saying that there was a certain respect they had for the guys they were trying to kill. The rank and file infantrymen on both sides were all just barely out of their teens, following orders and trying to stay alive. Very sad.
