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WWII books?

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#2
Siege is EXCELLENT, it about a couple german soldiers who fight in a town in the winter after the Russian encircled them.

Also this is an older book and probably hard to find, but it's called(EDIT the book is called The Master Sniper not sharpshooter), its a scifi book and I really don't want to say anything about it because I don't want to ruin all the twists and turns! Basically its about a german SS Sniper, thats really all I can divulge.
 
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#5
If you just want books set during the time frame

Eye of the needle (theres a movie too) its about a German spy in england who finds out Pattons army in the england is all fake but he doesnt have a radio to send the message. By Ken Follett

Mila 18 by Leon Uris:
Its kinda like the CBS movie Uprising. Its set in the Warsaw ghetto during WW2. It centers around a group inside the ghetto who are fighting the Nazis.

This author also has some other good books.


If you want something alittle more real.
Band of Brother: You may have seen the show but the book is still good and very interesting.
The same author also has a book D-day and Citizen soldier both of which are filled with infomation and have alot of individual soldiers expieiences (particularly the second book) but I suggest reading a bit at the store first, you might find it a bit text bookish.

World War 2 by Winston Churchill. Its a 6 volume set and is filled with his expieriences of the war but again, try it there text bookish but you never know. Alot of primary documents in there.
 
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#6
Siege: http://www.amazon.com/Siege-Novel-E...=pd_bbs_2/104-3669834-6392755?ie=UTF8&s=books

The Master Sniper: http://www.amazon.com/Master-Sniper..._bbs_sr_1/104-3669834-6392755?ie=UTF8&s=books

The War in the Desert: http://www.amazon.com/Time-Life-Wor...ef=sr_1_1/104-3669834-6392755?ie=UTF8&s=books
I'm currently reading this book, it has a lot of pictures and covers the ins and outs of the desert war, the majority of it is from small units and individual view points without being overbearing on the topics of numbers and divisional movements. There are a lot of humerous parts as well.

I'm also reading Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor, it covers what happened and has some individual soldier stuff as well.

I prefer books that cover small units and individuals and their struggles throughout the war, books based on unit movement and numbers is extremely boring to me. Oh by the way Siege is one of the best books I've ever read, I almost cried at the end lol, it is extremely detailed and you WILL feel like you are fighting along side them, you will feel cold, hungry, wounded, and scared as you read. Or maybe my imagination is greater than most peoples?
 
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#9
If you want some western front stuff:

look up some stuff by Donald A. Burgett, he was a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne and his books are essentiallyjust his reliving of everything he saw from the first time he landed to all his experiences. The yare easy to follow because it's just essentially him retelling everything that went on, all true stories as told by him I just finished up Currahee! (what happened when they jumped in before the D-Day invasion), and am currently reading "The Road to Arnhem" which covers his involvement in Market Garden. Highly recommended, he kind of gives you the soldier's insight during every bayonet charge, every bullet fired, every soldier killed.

Another good one in the same vein is "All the Way to Berlin" which is written by James Magellas, the 82nd Airborne's most decorated officer. Another really good read and I personally like it because not only is he telling you what he does throughout the whole book step by step, but for the whole book he interviews other guys he fought alongside with to sort of give you a different perspective of what was going on while he was doing something, so he'll be describing where he was during a night raid on a farm to capture capture german prisoners, but he'll also quote letters, interviews, etc. of where the other guys in his squad were while he was doing his job. It takes a little bit of getting used to but it is definitely a must read. You get a broader perspective of what was actually going on during the fight .
 
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#10
Eh one of my all time favorites, Panzer Commander the memoirs of Hans Von Luck. Luck commanded Rommel's 7th and 21st Panzer division. He was in El-Alamein, Kasserine Pass, Poland, Belgium, Normandy on D-Day and was on the Russian Front before Africa came calling. This is a must read if you are interested in the Afrika Corps on the Third Reich. It is a book that looks at the war from the German side. Also Luck was one of Rommel's favorites, you get to alot of their conversations. This book for me, has made want to read more about Rommel, because Rommel new the war was lost by late 42 and tried to get it to end, but Hitler wouldn't have it.
 
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#12
Yes, I agree Strother, I think he was one of the best, even though it can be said he had some of the most elite fighting men of the third reich at that theater. The thing that I really hate and trying to get into more detail is why Hitler wrote this theater off. Rommel believed, as I agree with him, they only lost Africa because they never got the supplies needed because of Hitler's ideas.
 
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#13
Yeah a few more hundred tanks would have put Cairo under German control. But 400 more tanks on the Ostfront is always good. If Rommel did get what he wanted, and he did kick the British out of NA, the war would've been much different, I mean he could have easily pushed onto the Saudia Arabian oil fields (...wait did they have many oil fields back then, something in my head says they didn't) but if they did the Germans could have shipped that oil right across the meditteranean with minimal interference.
 
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#14
The trick with Rommel is seperating the Fact and myth of Rommel. After the war there was alot of Myths about him which werent true. Like how he called Hilter all the time. Whether or not we was involved in the July 20th plot? Alot of people say yes but Trail of the Fox says no and if I remember correctly provide some good proof for it as well, that combine with Rommels Charactor he doesnt seem like the type that would Assigninate someone.


But I really cant recommend Trail of the Fox enough, its a great book on Rommel. I would say its better then The Rommel Papers because he takes on the roles of the people around him as well, so you get a better idea of what really happened and most is based on the Daily reports or journals of the staff.
 
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#15
Im telling you guys read Panzer Commander, not only did Hitler write off this theater but the British had cracked the German codes and knew bascially everything they did in Africa. The reason Rommel was so successful is because he was relentless, I think you have to be when you are out numbered in every way, catch them with their pants down.
 
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#17
Vader said:
Im telling you guys read Panzer Commander, not only did Hitler write off this theater but the British had cracked the German codes and knew bascially everything they did in Africa. The reason Rommel was so successful is because he was relentless, I think you have to be when you are out numbered in every way, catch them with their pants down.
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Well Rommel when he was well supplied had a habit of not following orders and doing his own thing so while the Brits have the Ultra intercepts Rommel wasnt sending any messages to Rome or Berlin about his plans so everything was a surprise. The British also had alot of supply trouble themselves in the begining because there ships couldnt enter the med. However when Rommel was low on supplies he was sending constant messages to Rome and Berlin so the British always knew his plans and were able to gain superiority in numbers.
 
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#18
The books on Colditz are interesting.

Henry Chancelor:
Colditz: The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes London: Hodder and Stoughtton, 2001

Patrick Reid (a British escapee) wrote several:
The Colditz Story. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1952.
The Latter Days [Men of Colditz]. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1953.
Escape from Colditz: The Two Classic Escape Stories-The Colditz Story and Men of Colditz-in one Volume. New York: Lippincott, ?
Colditz: The Full Story. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1984.
Prisoner of War. New York: Beaufort Books Publishers, 1984.
 
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#19
You might want to try "life and fate" http://tinyurl.com/t96h3its a novel written by a russian who I think was a war writer or something on the eastern front. Its set at the battle of stalingrad and its pretty heavy going, I couldnt get into it...when youre looking at 50+ russian characters, trying to remember the names and who is who is a nightmare but give it a try, you might like it.

p.s. dont read panzer commander
 
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