If U wana know about the War
 

If U really want to know about "the War" I would suggest reading books that were written in the late 1950s and 1960s. It was a period when many of the participants were writing their memoirs and the historians had access to first hand accounts and documents. The passions had died down and the memories were still fresh so that an acurate account could be given.

The following books I have found to be well written solid accounts of what transpired. Instead of the revisionist history that is being pawned off on the gulible today.

For a foundation:

"Guns of August"..Barbara Tuchman...about the beginings of WW1. JFK read the book and it helped him advert a hot WW3.

"1918"..John Toland...a very readable history of the last year of the Great War.

"Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" by William Shier. Shier was an American journalist in Germany before WW2 and saw first hand the rise of Nazi Germany. A bit ponderous and tedious to read

"Adolf Hitler" by John Toland, tells much the same tale as Shiers book but easier to read.

From the German side.

"Lost Victorys" by FM Erich von Manstein...Germanys great tactical and strategic commander. The architect of the invasion of France in 1940 to being the commander of Army Group South who pulled Germanys chesnuts out of the fire after the fall of Stalingrad.

"Panzer Leader" by Heinz Guderian...the founder of modern Amoured warfare.. the Panzer leader of Army Group Center on the invasion and drive to Moscow in 1941.

"The First and the Last" by Adolf Galland. The commander of Germanys fighter forces and WW2 ace. He was also among those that flew the first operational jet fighter the ME 262 in combat.

"Inside the Third Reich" by Albert Speer. Hitlers architect and confidant who became the Minister of Production in 1942. he served 20 years in prison for his role in the 3rd Reich. Speer also wrote a further memoir.

"The Luftwaffe War Diaries" by Cajus Becker..Chronicals the rise and fall of the Luftwaffe during WW2 with an analysis of the successes and failures of each campaign the Luftwaffe participated in.

"Hitler Moves East" and "Scorched Earth" by Paul Carrell. Two books that chronicals the war with Russia from June 22, 1941 to the destruction of Army Group Center in the summer of 1944. Taken from the German point of view this is a MUST read for anyone interested in the Russo German war.

"Invasion They Are Coming" by Paul Carrell...The German point of view of the Campaign in Normandy in the summer of 1944.

"Foxes of the Desert"..by Paul Carell...the Africa Corps in action.

"Horrido"...by Trevvor and Constable..biographys of Germanys leading fighter aces.

"Stuka Pilot" by Hans Ulrich Rudel...the auto biography of Germanys leading tank buster..credited with over 500 Russian tanks destroyed.

"Iron Coffins" by Herber Werner..Unter see boots...

"Stalingrad" by Heinz Schroter. Schroter was a German war correspondent.

Allied or General POV:

" The Longest Day" by Cornealius Ryan...D-Day in the words of those who were there. excellent

"A Bridge to Far" Cornealius Ryan.....the Arnhem Air drops

"The Last Battle" C. Ryan..the final battle for Berlin in 1945

"Thunderbolt" by Robert Johnson. Autobiography by one of Americas leading Aces in the ETO. Excellent

"Black Thursday" by Martin Caidin...the raid on Schweinfurt in Oct 1943, in which 60 American bombers were shot down. Excellent

"B-17" by Jabloski a chronical of the B-17 in the ETO daylight bombing campaign

"The Last 100 Days" by John Toland. The last 100 days of the war in Europe. Excellent

"The US Navy in WW2" edited by Samuel Elliot Morrison. Compilation of narratives of different actions the US Navy participated in during WW2.

"The US Marine Corp in WW2" editied by Morrison..compilation of Marine corp actions in WW2.

"Enemy at the Gates" by William Craig A concise history of the battle for Stalingrad

"900 Days, Siege of Leningrad" by Harrison Salisbury...epic siege of Leningrad during WW2. unrelenting.

"Battle of the Bulge" by John Toland...Hitlers last offensive in December 1944

"The Tigers are Burning" by Martin Caidin the battle of Kursk in July 1943. Truly the battle that sealed Germanys fate in WW2.

War with Japan:

"The Rising Sun" by John Toland...the war from the Japanese point of view.

"But Not in Shame" by John Toland...the first 6 months of the war in the Pacific. Including the fall of the Philiphines.

"Samuari" Saburo Saki...Autobiography by the highest scoring Japanese ace to survive WW2..EXCELLENT

"Japanese Destroyer Captain". by Hara..U wana know the Jap side, this is it.

"Challenge for the Pacific" by Robert Leckie....The Guadlcanal campaign EXCELLENT

"Strong Men Armed" by Rober Leckie...The US Marine Corp in WW2..Excellent

"Guadlcanal Diary" by Richard Tregikas. War correspondents account of the campaign written during WW2.

"Battle of Leyte Gulf". Edwin Hoyt...How the Japs had the US beat but turned back at the last moment.

"Day of Infamy" by Walter Lord.. Pearl Harbor.december 7. 1941

"Midway" by Walter Lord.. June 1942 and 4 jap aircraft carriers go to the bottom sealing japans fate in WW2.

"Savo" by Newcomb...the battle for Savo Island on 8/9/42. The night the japs kicked the ***** out of the US Navy off Guadlcanal.

Undersea Victory by WJ Holmes...... The Subramarine war with Japan

"Fighter Aces" Trevor and Constable.. US fighter aces in WW2.

When U get done reading these come back and talk to me about WW2...I read most of these by the time I was in High School. I was so knowledgeable in HS that I was lecturing on WW2. These are just the ones that I remember off hand..

Tabs , you forgot like the biggest and most controversial book in the whole list
Mein Kampf by Adolf himself

Didn't I mention that one...darn...and I have an autographed copy to ...inscribed in Ballpoint pen..."To Tabdulla a right on guy your friend Adolf"

Did U read past WW2 Tabs?

Gen Smedley Butler USMC, MOH (twice)- "War is a Racket"?

http://lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/warisaracket.htm

so do you still dress up on sundays in front of the mirror? with your Sturmbahn fuhrer SS uniform, tabs? then goose stepping on the Vegas strip, shouting german obscenities at the crowds? :D

Another one: "The House that Hitler Built", written in 1937 by Stephen H. Roberts.

CYNICAL....

When a country embarks on the course of war it risks everything. Take a look at Germay, Japan and Russia. All lost heavily from embarking on a course of military action.

Great Britain nearly went broke fighting 2 World Wars, lost an empire. The French suffered so many casualities in WW1 that the Army mutinied and were worthless as a fighting force in 1940.

When a country goes down fighting, the rich and powerfull go down with it.


The USA was the great benificary of WW1 and WW2 financially. The USA in essence took over the British empire. The USA made its money before we ever became involved in WW1 from selling munitions to the Brits and French primarily, and after WW2 because the world needed rebuilding from the devastation wrought on other industrialized nations.

Good list Tabs, particularly from the German side. Suggest you add:

The Arms of Krupp
American Caesar - both by William Manchester IIRC

Also, The War in the East by Alexander Werth

Tabs:

You might just be the most erudite buffeteer I have ever come across!

Cheers!

Try "The Forgotten Soldier" by Guy Sajer.

I think I've read the "War in the East" just couldn't remember the title.

Also I don't really want to read about MacArthur and his narcissism.

Arms of Krupp...Question????

What did the Germans do with the Paris Cannon after they signed the Versailles Treaty????

I would expect nothing less from someone who was in the generals' ranks when the Blitzkrieg raged.

Didn't ballpoint get invented in 1947?

Well the patent came out in 1938 but didn't get widely used until 1943 when the RAF started using the new technology. I guess that dates the signature. Wonder is the came from an RAF POW.

Manchester doesn't pull any punches with "Dougout Doug", interesting reading..

The Paris Cannon? Many years since I read that book but IIRC they don't really know other than it was destroyed by the Germans, i.e. they never found it..

War? What war?

They took it and upended it to make it look like a smokestack at one of their factorys...ACHT ZOOOO....

Eisenhower was Dugout Dougs Chief of Staff before he retired from the Army in the late 30s. He was a bit miffed that Eisenhower got command of the ETO Theater of Ops. He said Eisenhower was just a good bean counter or something to that effect.

Years ago I met a WW2 Vet who was there when MacArthur landed in the Philiphines, He said they did it multiple times until MacArthur was satisified the Newsreel got it right. The Vet also said that he saw Goodyear Tires and Pratt & Whitney engines on a downed Jap Bomber??

I also talked to a German Panzer Grenadier who said Ford made German helmets.

Theres a war????