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I want to read up on WW1, WW2 and Cold War. I want like small non-fiction books, not those large picture books. What r the best books for each?
Answer
It depends on what you're looking for. Both World Wars were so great in size that books have been written about individual battles and campaigns in the wars... the political negotiations that went on behind the scenes... and various other things. And in fact there probably is no one single book that will cover everything adequately.
In terms of the World Wars, I would think that Martin Gilbert's books, the "First" and "Second World War" are excellent for covering the overall history of the war.
However, because details are extremely important for understanding the World Wars, I would also advise looking at some of the more detailed works that focused on smaller portions of the war. Barbara Tuchman's "Guns of August" does an excellent job of covering the first month of the war. There are also countless diaries, autobiographies and other books written on the war from the soldier's point of view, and in World War I these carry a lot of weight and "imagination" when you consider the fact that it was when the "Victorians" really went to war.
For more detailed stuff on WW2... I would suggest Anthony Beevor's book, "Stalingrad" covering the largest battle of the war and bloodiest battle in human history, and a key turning point in the European war. There is also the book, "Decision in Normandy" by Carlo D'Este, which is an in depth campaign study of the Normandy campaign. There is also Maxwell Kennedy's book, "Danger's Hour: The Story of the USS Bunker Hill and the Kamikaze Pilot Who Crippled Her". It follows the origins of Japan's suicide tactics in WW2 and the flagship of the US fleet attacking Okinawa, and the inevitable attack that took that flagship out of the war.
There are again diaries and autobiographical works. "With the Old Breed" by EB Sledge covers Sledge's service in the US Marines in the Pacific war. There is also "Panzer Leader" by Heinz Guderian giving the world the father of armored warfare's take on the war in Europe and the mistakes that cost Germany the war. There is also "Soldat: Reflections of a German Soldier, 1936-1949" written by Siegfried Knappe and follows his career from highs during the invasion of France and the lows in giving briefings in the Fuhrer bunker.
It depends on what you're looking for. Both World Wars were so great in size that books have been written about individual battles and campaigns in the wars... the political negotiations that went on behind the scenes... and various other things. And in fact there probably is no one single book that will cover everything adequately.
In terms of the World Wars, I would think that Martin Gilbert's books, the "First" and "Second World War" are excellent for covering the overall history of the war.
However, because details are extremely important for understanding the World Wars, I would also advise looking at some of the more detailed works that focused on smaller portions of the war. Barbara Tuchman's "Guns of August" does an excellent job of covering the first month of the war. There are also countless diaries, autobiographies and other books written on the war from the soldier's point of view, and in World War I these carry a lot of weight and "imagination" when you consider the fact that it was when the "Victorians" really went to war.
For more detailed stuff on WW2... I would suggest Anthony Beevor's book, "Stalingrad" covering the largest battle of the war and bloodiest battle in human history, and a key turning point in the European war. There is also the book, "Decision in Normandy" by Carlo D'Este, which is an in depth campaign study of the Normandy campaign. There is also Maxwell Kennedy's book, "Danger's Hour: The Story of the USS Bunker Hill and the Kamikaze Pilot Who Crippled Her". It follows the origins of Japan's suicide tactics in WW2 and the flagship of the US fleet attacking Okinawa, and the inevitable attack that took that flagship out of the war.
There are again diaries and autobiographical works. "With the Old Breed" by EB Sledge covers Sledge's service in the US Marines in the Pacific war. There is also "Panzer Leader" by Heinz Guderian giving the world the father of armored warfare's take on the war in Europe and the mistakes that cost Germany the war. There is also "Soldat: Reflections of a German Soldier, 1936-1949" written by Siegfried Knappe and follows his career from highs during the invasion of France and the lows in giving briefings in the Fuhrer bunker.
What are some good books about world war 2?
80l
I'd like to know everything about world war 2
Answer
Martin Gilbert--The Second World War: A Complete History. This is blow-by-blow account of the war. Very useful in seeing how the war unfolded through time.
John Keegan--The Second World War. More analytical. Nicely complements Gilbert.
William Shirer--The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. The classic account of Hitler's Germany.
John Toland--The Rising Sun. A suburb narrative of Japan in WW2 by a master historian.
Ed Sledge--With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa. Often considered the best first person account of fighting in the Pacific. A haunting work.
Some more books, randomly listed:
Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins--Is Paris Burning?
Evan Thomas--Sea of Thunder
Carlos d'Este--Patton: A Genius for War
David Fischer--The Desert Warrior (on Rommel)
Dwight Eisenhower--Crusade in Europe
Joachim Fest--Hitler
David Glantz--Kursk (and many other studies of the Eastern front)
John Erickson--The Road to Stalingrad; The Road to Berlin
John Toland--The Last 100 Days
Anthony Beevor--Stalingrad; The Fall of Berlin
Anthony Reid--The Devil's Disciples: Hitler and His Inner Circle (a nice companion to Shirer's Rise & Fall)
Gordon Prange--At Dawn We Slept
--Miracle at Midway
Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully--Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Omar Bradley--A Soldier's Story
Erich von Manstein--Lost Victories
Heinz Guderian--Panzer Leader
Douglas Porch--The Path to Victory: The Mediterranean Theater
Cornelius Ryan--The Longest Day
--A Bridge Too Far
Rick Atkinson--An Army at Dawn
Richard Frank--Guadacanal
E.B. Potter--Nimitz
William Manchester--American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur
Charles B. MacDonald--A Time for Trumpets: The Untold Story of the Battle of the Bulge
Bill D. Ross--Iwo Jima: Legacy of Valor
Haruko Taya Cook and Theodore Cook--Japan at War: An Oral History
John Ellis--Brute Force: Allied Strategy and Tactics in the Second World War
Richard Overy--Why the Allies Won (thought-provoking)
Gerhard Weinberg--A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II
....and many more.
Martin Gilbert--The Second World War: A Complete History. This is blow-by-blow account of the war. Very useful in seeing how the war unfolded through time.
John Keegan--The Second World War. More analytical. Nicely complements Gilbert.
William Shirer--The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. The classic account of Hitler's Germany.
John Toland--The Rising Sun. A suburb narrative of Japan in WW2 by a master historian.
Ed Sledge--With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa. Often considered the best first person account of fighting in the Pacific. A haunting work.
Some more books, randomly listed:
Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins--Is Paris Burning?
Evan Thomas--Sea of Thunder
Carlos d'Este--Patton: A Genius for War
David Fischer--The Desert Warrior (on Rommel)
Dwight Eisenhower--Crusade in Europe
Joachim Fest--Hitler
David Glantz--Kursk (and many other studies of the Eastern front)
John Erickson--The Road to Stalingrad; The Road to Berlin
John Toland--The Last 100 Days
Anthony Beevor--Stalingrad; The Fall of Berlin
Anthony Reid--The Devil's Disciples: Hitler and His Inner Circle (a nice companion to Shirer's Rise & Fall)
Gordon Prange--At Dawn We Slept
--Miracle at Midway
Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully--Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Omar Bradley--A Soldier's Story
Erich von Manstein--Lost Victories
Heinz Guderian--Panzer Leader
Douglas Porch--The Path to Victory: The Mediterranean Theater
Cornelius Ryan--The Longest Day
--A Bridge Too Far
Rick Atkinson--An Army at Dawn
Richard Frank--Guadacanal
E.B. Potter--Nimitz
William Manchester--American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur
Charles B. MacDonald--A Time for Trumpets: The Untold Story of the Battle of the Bulge
Bill D. Ross--Iwo Jima: Legacy of Valor
Haruko Taya Cook and Theodore Cook--Japan at War: An Oral History
John Ellis--Brute Force: Allied Strategy and Tactics in the Second World War
Richard Overy--Why the Allies Won (thought-provoking)
Gerhard Weinberg--A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II
....and many more.
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