I blame all the people in the BoB rewatchSince its the Holidays and as such, we've all got some free time/disposable income how about a rec post on some of our favorite WWII/War-themed books
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Can we rec fiction? If so, I have to recommend A Town Like Alice. It's one of the few (average-length) books that I've read in a single day because I just couldn't put it down. So good. A large part of it involves women POWs in WWII.
wwii: north africa/australian-centricrenneNovember 27 2010, 01:14:13 UTC
We were the Rats, Lawson Glassop - a fictionalised account of the seige of Tobruk. I read this in a day and then read it again. The language is very specific for the time. This book was banned at one point circa 1945 for "obscene language".
And in the Rats vein, Tobruk 1941, by Chester Wilmot. LOVE THIS. LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS. I would read it again rn if I hadn't leant it to a friend. Chester was in Tobruk during the siege & it's a really good look at what they did, the moral, how they managed to put the Afrika Corps on the back foot when they were the ones trapped.
Nicky Barr, an Australian Air Ace, by Peter Dornan. This is one of my all time favourite WWII books. He was: a pilot with No 3 Sqn (MY FAVOURITE) in North Africa against the Afrika Corps, became CO six months after joining the unit, was shot down three times, won the DFC & Bar, was captured and escaped 4 times and the
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Re: wwii: north africa/australian-centricrenneNovember 28 2010, 10:22:38 UTC
The North Africa campaign and particularly the movement of the Australians there is one of my particular interests in WWII. :D
Also an interesting Australian air ace to read about is Clive "Killer" Caldwell who pioneered the shadow shooting technique, lied to get in to the RAAF due to his age, had a pretty amazing moustache and also was kind of a douche. He spent part of his career flying in North Africa too, but with a couple of RAF not RAAF sqns over there.
It’s 506 PIR from a different point of view, with lots of testimony from Ed Shames and a very easy read. It satisfies my own personal curiosity for what Camp Toccoa was like for those not in Easy Company, not members of the Church of Dick Winters, with no Jolly Old St. Luz etc etc. Gardner and Day have a very informative, very easy to read, history of the Third Battalion here.
This is Sloan’s sequel to Brotherhood of Heroes and follows the Marines introduced in that book, along with introducing some new men. And yes, Burgin, Sledge, and Snafu are still mentioned in the narrative.
For some odd reason, survey courses and history books like to ignore how Greece got screwed over by the Nazis and the Allies in World War II. Mazower is one of the few historians who writes about Greece during and after this time period. The fact that the blame for the famine which killed thousands of Greeks rests equally on the shoulders of the Allies probably explains why it’s not so often mentioned in History Channel programs. Mazower’s book is one of my favorites, and I also recommend his After the War Was Over: Reconstructing the Family, Nation, and State in Greece, 1943-1960.
Nurse stories are kind of amazing. My favourite nurses book is The Other ANZACs by Peter Rees, which is about the ANZAC nurses who volunteered to go to war in WWI in their own words - it was all written from diaries and letters and it is so good. Books don't usually make me cry, but there was something about this one that even had me feeling choked up after only a dozen pages or so. And the way they talk about the boys they had to look after and the way the government pretty much left them hanging out to dry after the war, ugh. This book.
Rees' book is on my to-read list. Nurse stories really are amazing and I'm glad that more books are being published on the subjects. I mean, the nurses in Operation Torch landed on the beach with the soldiers. And then had to make a hospital with no running water, lights, etc, all while facing down sniper fire. And that's just one example.
I'd second With the Old Breed. Although I preferred Helmet for my Pillow, I liked it for the level of detail that explained very clearly what fighting involved on an individual level.
Logically, I need to rec Helmet for my Pillow by Robert Leckie. Whether describing the battles or relating the off-duty shenanigans, it's all so vivid (and yeah, all the Team Leckie banter and bromance). Also his Strong Men Armed, a history of the Marines' battles in the Pacific during WWII, which I found clearly explained what happened when and where without ever being dull. Great mix of big picture/individual actions too.
If we're allowing fiction, I'd love to rec the Regeneration trilogy by Pat Barker (link is to the first book), even though it'll get you down like watching Bastogne, The Breaking Point and Hillbilly and Haldane getting shot one after the other. Set during WWI, it tells the story of some of the men who pass through Craiglockhart War Hospital (including Sassoon and Owen) and their
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I'm a bit late to comments but thanks nonetheless!
I'm still very intrigued to start Helmet for my Pillow, I've had many opportunities to pick it up but something like school ugh usually steps in and just like intrudes. I've actually had Strong Men Armed rec'd to me before actually by rivlee up there for a paper. I'll have to add it also on my list.
And timing, I had a professor mention Chapman briefly in lecture a few days ago. This is surely a sign.
Eyewitness Auschwitz: Three Years in the Gas Chambers by Filip Muller. I finished this just recently. It's a memoir of Muller, who was a sonderkommando in Auschwitz. It's just- definitely something that should be regarded as an important piece of history. Day-to-day life, how the Nazis fine-tuned the whole facade; the differences in treatment; the black market. There was this one part in it that I was reading on the train, and I had to snap the book shut and stop reading because it was this close to just crying.
Inside the Third Reich by Albert Speer. I'm not going to lie, this book is a tough slog. But come the end, I was absolutely stunned at how much Speer was able to achieve, how he managed it all, how clever he was (of course, I'm not condoning anything, lol).
Part of Hitler's inner circle, we're able to have an understanding how Hitler attracted those to him, what sort of an influence he had on others, and how everything fell apart towards the end.
Akajsdf you flatter me--I am after all horribly late pfft, also unrelated, do you mind if I make this post public? I kind of wanted to link it on my journal/the other comms/plurk?
Also just fyi, but oh my god I SHARE YOUR VIEW ON BILL AND BABE'S BOOK, I haven't even read all of it and I was just blown away with how cute they both are.
I've heard Inside the Third Reich mentioned to me before, and I have almost checked it out for morbid curiousity's sake. I'm solhd, I will have to check to this one out after all.
Do check it out! As I said, it's a bit of a slog but well worth the read. Feel free to make this post public, btw, we got some awesome recs that should really be shared. 8D
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I should probably edit the post to clarify that...
I think I've heard of that book before actually, the title sounds familiar.
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And in the Rats vein, Tobruk 1941, by Chester Wilmot. LOVE THIS. LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS. I would read it again rn if I hadn't leant it to a friend. Chester was in Tobruk during the siege & it's a really good look at what they did, the moral, how they managed to put the Afrika Corps on the back foot when they were the ones trapped.
Last Man Standing: Herb Ashby and the Battle of El Alamein, by Peter Dornan. The 2/48th was the most highly decorated Australian battalion in the war.
Nicky Barr, an Australian Air Ace, by Peter Dornan. This is one of my all time favourite WWII books. He was: a pilot with No 3 Sqn (MY FAVOURITE) in North Africa against the Afrika Corps, became CO six months after joining the unit, was shot down three times, won the DFC & Bar, was captured and escaped 4 times and the ( ... )
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I was just talking in the rewatch chat about how I wanted recs for good books about the North Africa campaign.
Also, sexy Australian air aces? I'm sold.
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Also an interesting Australian air ace to read about is Clive "Killer" Caldwell who pioneered the shadow shooting technique, lied to get in to the RAAF due to his age, had a pretty amazing moustache and also was kind of a douche. He spent part of his career flying in North Africa too, but with a couple of RAF not RAAF sqns over there.
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Tonight We Die As Men: The Untold Story of Third Battalion 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment from Toccoa to D-Day by Ian Gardner and Roger Day.
It’s 506 PIR from a different point of view, with lots of testimony from Ed Shames and a very easy read. It satisfies my own personal curiosity for what Camp Toccoa was like for those not in Easy Company, not members of the Church of Dick Winters, with no Jolly Old St. Luz etc etc. Gardner and Day have a very informative, very easy to read, history of the Third Battalion here.
The Ultimate Battle: Okinawa 1945- The Last Epic Struggle of World War II by Bill Sloan.
This is Sloan’s sequel to Brotherhood of Heroes and follows the Marines introduced in that book, along with introducing some new men. And yes, Burgin, Sledge, and Snafu are still mentioned in the narrative.
Goodbye, Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War by William Manchester ( ... )
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For some odd reason, survey courses and history books like to ignore how Greece got screwed over by the Nazis and the Allies in World War II. Mazower is one of the few historians who writes about Greece during and after this time period. The fact that the blame for the famine which killed thousands of Greeks rests equally on the shoulders of the Allies probably explains why it’s not so often mentioned in History Channel programs. Mazower’s book is one of my favorites, and I also recommend his After the War Was Over: Reconstructing the Family, Nation, and State in Greece, 1943-1960.
A History of Fascism 1914-1945 by Stanley G. Payne ( ... )
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I'd second With the Old Breed. Although I preferred Helmet for my Pillow, I liked it for the level of detail that explained very clearly what fighting involved on an individual level.
Logically, I need to rec Helmet for my Pillow by Robert Leckie. Whether describing the battles or relating the off-duty shenanigans, it's all so vivid (and yeah, all the Team Leckie banter and bromance). Also his Strong Men Armed, a history of the Marines' battles in the Pacific during WWII, which I found clearly explained what happened when and where without ever being dull. Great mix of big picture/individual actions too.
If we're allowing fiction, I'd love to rec the Regeneration trilogy by Pat Barker (link is to the first book), even though it'll get you down like watching Bastogne, The Breaking Point and Hillbilly and Haldane getting shot one after the other. Set during WWI, it tells the story of some of the men who pass through Craiglockhart War Hospital (including Sassoon and Owen) and their ( ... )
Reply
I'm still very intrigued to start Helmet for my Pillow, I've had many opportunities to pick it up but something like school ugh usually steps in and just like intrudes. I've actually had Strong Men Armed rec'd to me before actually by rivlee up there for a paper. I'll have to add it also on my list.
And timing, I had a professor mention Chapman briefly in lecture a few days ago. This is surely a sign.
Reply
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Eyewitness Auschwitz: Three Years in the Gas Chambers by Filip Muller. I finished this just recently. It's a memoir of Muller, who was a sonderkommando in Auschwitz. It's just- definitely something that should be regarded as an important piece of history. Day-to-day life, how the Nazis fine-tuned the whole facade; the differences in treatment; the black market. There was this one part in it that I was reading on the train, and I had to snap the book shut and stop reading because it was this close to just crying.
Inside the Third Reich by Albert Speer. I'm not going to lie, this book is a tough slog. But come the end, I was absolutely stunned at how much Speer was able to achieve, how he managed it all, how clever he was (of course, I'm not condoning anything, lol).
Part of Hitler's inner circle, we're able to have an understanding how Hitler attracted those to him, what sort of an influence he had on others, and how everything fell apart towards the end.
The Nazis: A Warning from History by ( ... )
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Also just fyi, but oh my god I SHARE YOUR VIEW ON BILL AND BABE'S BOOK, I haven't even read all of it and I was just blown away with how cute they both are.
I've heard Inside the Third Reich mentioned to me before, and I have almost checked it out for morbid curiousity's sake. I'm solhd, I will have to check to this one out after all.
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Do check it out! As I said, it's a bit of a slog but well worth the read. Feel free to make this post public, btw, we got some awesome recs that should really be shared. 8D
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