Good wartime reads....

[Spitfire]

Piece of cake...you should see me fly under Tower Bridge and the Eifel Tower! (Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator/WWII Europe)

 

[BellyTank]

"Ill met by Moonlight"

The true WW2 account of deep-cover British SOE/ Commandos and local underground agents on German occupied Crete- the plotting, execution and ultimate success of a plan to kidnap the commanding General, walk him from the north to the south coast and put him on a boat bound for British Intelligence in Cairo.

A real "Boys' Own" adventure- a cracking read and just too short.

In the next year or so, I'm planning on re-tracing their steps- hiking from the NE of Crete, near Heraklion, inland, over the mountains and down to the S. coast.
Clad of course, in an eclectic mixture of khaki, OD and civvies and suitable vintage equipment.

Should be fun.

B
T

 

[MikeyB17]

I defintely agree with the recommendation of Derek Robinson's books, not just just 'Piece of Cake' but his other novels are excellent too, 'A Good Clean Fight' is about the Desert Air Force and includes several characters from 'Piece of Cake', and also includes the SAS as well. Len Deighton's WWII novels are also superb, 'Bomber' and 'Goodbye Mickey Mouse'. Spencer Dunmore wrote some terrific WWII aviation novels, as did Ernest K. Gann, particularly the classic 'Fate Is the Hunter', based on fact. Neville Shute of 'A Town Like Alice' fame also wrote several other excellent WWII-based and aviation-related novels. Heller's 'Catch-22' is one of my favourite novels ever. The list goes on and on. Non-fiction-wise I could go on all day, there are thousands, but a few favourites have been Thomas Childers' 'Wings of Morning', any of Jack Currie's books, especially 'Lancaster Target', Edwards Park's brilliant 'Nanette', John Kilbracken's 'War in a Stringbag' and 'Bring Back My Stringbag', and Norman Hanson's 'Carrier Pilot'. Of particular interest might be Pip Beck's 'A WAAF in Bomber Command'. Happy reading!

MB-17

 

[LadyStardust]

For a different perspective, try Life & Fate(by Vasily Grossman), about the battle of Stalingrad. It's massive, and I personally had to take pauses to digest all the characters and their individual, complex storylines, and then put that into the context of the whole novel. But ultimately very worthwhile, -very- satisfying. A real "eye-opener", you might say.

 

[Sunny]

Can I recommend Alistair MacLean's "HMS Ulysses". A fantastic book, very moving, I can't recommend it enough.

Ooh, that's a good one. Moving is indeed the word. My personal favorites of his are Where Eagles Dare and The Guns of Navarone. In both of these, the difficulty and grimness (particularly of Navarone) is offset by an element of dry humor in both narrative and dialogue. Action-adventure with a bit of humor is about my favorite genre in anything. Ice Station Zebra is my favorite of his post-WWII books.

Twelve O'clock High, which was recommended earlier, is another one. It's got some significant differences from the movie; but the biggest difference is the tone. Accordingly, factual differences don't mean as much, because each change is appropriate to suit the tone. I like both very much indeed.

To Hell and Back is another good one.

I saw the movie Run Silent, Run Deep when I was younger, and didn't quite get it. But then I read the book, by Edward L. Beach. It's significantly different, and I liked it much better. I need to buy that one... it's hard to find at the library.

No one has yet mentioned Iron Coffins, by Herbert A. Werner. Werner served on U-boats throughout the war, working his way from ensign to captain. He was one of the dozen or two that survived out of hundreds. The book is absolutely fascinating, detailing the U-boats' phenomenal success early in the war and gradual loss of supremacy as destroyers grew more numerous and air cover became more deadly. Our copy belongs to my father, and it was my mother who urged me to read it back in junior high. (She has a very perceptive and particular taste - her recommendation really means something.) It is absolutely riveting and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

 

[Parallel Guy]

For a truly personal look at the war, I don't think anything beats Ernie Pyle. He even includes the towns and sometimes addresses of those he talks to... and he talks to every type of soldier you can think of. I just finished Brave Men and came away with a new depth of repsect for those soldiers.

Side note: I talked to my stepfather who was in the Pacific during WWII. He said he played craps with Mr. Pyle and the man was every bit as down to earth as his books make him seem.

 

[dhermann1]

More titles

I find I can't keep my interest in novels any more. So bio's and straight history are my mainstays. Of course there are about a bazillion good books on the war. Eisenhower's "Crusade in Europe" is excellent, and Churchill's 6 volume history is exciting reading, like everything he wrote. I really enjoyed the 2 volume version of Lord Allenbrooks's diaries. He was General Brooke during the war, the CIGS (Chief of the Imperial General Staff) during most of the war, equivalent to General Marshall in the US. His books are fascinating and very personal. To the world he was pretty much an old sourpuss, but the books reveal a much more appealing character. His descriptions of Churchill under pressure are fascinating, and his stories of B24 rides across Persia and Russia, and banquets with Stalin are great. ANYTHING by Stephen Ambrose is worth reading. Robert Sherwood's "Roosevelt and Hopkins" covers both the Depression era relationship, and their war activities. I also enjoyed the three volumes diaries of Harold Nicolson. They cover the period from 1930 right thru to 1967. These books give a wonderful picture of the entire "Vintage Age" from the point of view of a sensitive and insightful British aristocrat. And again, the war is especially well covered.

 

[henderson field]

Sledgehammer

May I offer "With the Old Breed: at Peleliu and Okinawa" by Eugene B. Sledge. "Sledgehammer", as he became known to his buddies, was a mortarman in the 1st US Marine Division during WWII. This classic book describes his experiences of traning and combat in a gripping and vivid narrative. He pulls few punches in describing the appalling conditions he endured ( it certainly gave me the willies!) and provides a compelling, thought-provoking story of one man's war.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

HF

 

[TailendCharlie]

Murrow Boys

Historywise, I liked "The Murrow Boys" by Stanley Cloud and Lynne Olson, the story of Edward R. Murrow and his team of CBS radio correspondents, and how they covered the war. While I disagreed with certain aspects of the premise -- they downplay the accomplishments of other networks' correspondents a bit too much -- I do think that the picture they paint of Murrow and his team is fascinating.

A good overall history is "There's A War To Be Won!" by Geoffrey Perret. A very hefty volume, but good reading thruout. Perret also wrote an excellent biography of Gen. Eisenhower, which is worth checking out too.

Probably the best and most accessible history of the era I've ever read -- not just WW2/the 40s but the whole period from 1932 to 1972 -- is "The Glory and the Dream," by William Manchester. It's a two-volume work published in 1973, and rather than just dully reciting facts, it puts the whole history of the era into a breezy narrative form. Manchester's political point of view sometimes is a bit too prominent for my taste, but the readability and depth of the book more than compensate for that. A must-read for anyone interested in what life in the Era was really like.

You must read the book Eric Sevareid wrote;Not so Wild Dream
(one of the Murrow Boys)

cheers,Tailend Charlie

 

[carebear]

Keegan's "Six Armies in Normandy" is excellent.

 

[TailendCharlie]

Good choice!

For a truly personal look at the war, I don't think anything beats Ernie Pyle. He even includes the towns and sometimes addresses of those he talks to... and he talks to every type of soldier you can think of. I just finished Brave Men and came away with a new depth of repsect for those soldiers.

Side note: I talked to my stepfather who was in the Pacific during WWII. He said he played craps with Mr. Pyle and the man was every bit as down to earth as his books make him seem.

You might want to read Richard Tregaskis;Guadalcanal Diary
cheers Tailendcharlie