Rino
Hey guys, I really want to have a real understanding of world history, especially WWII and the Cold War. What books do you recommend to give me a good understanding, more in-depth then school but still more of an overview. I don't need to remember every date, person, or know every single thing that happened, I just want a more in depth understanding of the topic than the few facts I remember from high school. Is there any book that gives you the essentials of WWII and the themes/topics you should understand and remember. The same is true for the Cold War, any books? History Buffs help me out!!
Thanks Guys!
Answer
I would heavily recommend P.M.H Bell's 'The Origins of the Second World War', for an overview - if academic - of why the war broke out.
If you have the time, the 1,000 page 'A World At Arms' by Gerhard Weinberg, has been described as the best single tome book on the war.
Norman Davie's 'Europe at War' is an interesting - if bloated and incorrect in places - book on attempting to highlight that the Eastern Front was the major front of the war and that the Soviet Union were just as bad, or worse, than the Nazi regime.
I would heavily recommend P.M.H Bell's 'The Origins of the Second World War', for an overview - if academic - of why the war broke out.
If you have the time, the 1,000 page 'A World At Arms' by Gerhard Weinberg, has been described as the best single tome book on the war.
Norman Davie's 'Europe at War' is an interesting - if bloated and incorrect in places - book on attempting to highlight that the Eastern Front was the major front of the war and that the Soviet Union were just as bad, or worse, than the Nazi regime.
World War 1/2 Books?
RobUK
Anyone know any good reads on real life accounts of world war 1 or 2, for example, DamBusters, Trench warfare, etc.....im not looking for Fiction, im looking for pure Factual Litereture
Answer
For interesting books on WW II, at least, check out some of the books by Stephen Ambrose. He has written a lot of books on individual units, primarily American, and their actions in WW II. These books are quite informative and easy to read - you don't feel like you are reading a textbook full of names, dates and places. He puts in information that a lot of history books don't include, like first hand reports from soldiers that were actually there. There are quite a few books on the Second World War, but I don't know of any on the First World War by him.
I have read and enjoyed D-Day, and would recommend that as a starting point. He also wrote Band of Brothers, from which the HBO series was taken.
My favorite of his, though, is Undaunted Courage, which is about the explorations of Lewis and Clark, so if you are interested, give that one a try as well.
A complete bibliography for Ambrose can be found at:
For interesting books on WW II, at least, check out some of the books by Stephen Ambrose. He has written a lot of books on individual units, primarily American, and their actions in WW II. These books are quite informative and easy to read - you don't feel like you are reading a textbook full of names, dates and places. He puts in information that a lot of history books don't include, like first hand reports from soldiers that were actually there. There are quite a few books on the Second World War, but I don't know of any on the First World War by him.
I have read and enjoyed D-Day, and would recommend that as a starting point. He also wrote Band of Brothers, from which the HBO series was taken.
My favorite of his, though, is Undaunted Courage, which is about the explorations of Lewis and Clark, so if you are interested, give that one a try as well.
A complete bibliography for Ambrose can be found at:
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