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WWII books to read....
Posted on 12/13/14 at 9:38 pm
Posted on 12/13/14 at 9:38 pm
Hey guys, just looking for a few different WWII books to read over Christmas break.
I've read most of books written by/about Easy Company. Helmet for my Pillow, With the Old Breed.
Really like reading personal books that people have written about there experiences.
Anyway, thank you very much for whoever responds
I've read most of books written by/about Easy Company. Helmet for my Pillow, With the Old Breed.
Really like reading personal books that people have written about there experiences.
Anyway, thank you very much for whoever responds
15
Posted on 12/13/14 at 10:33 pm to TheJunction
Reach for the Sky by Lewis Gilbert... Story of Douglas Bader a double amputee that flew for the RAF during the Battle of Britain. He was eventually shot down over Europe and held as a POW. The Red Cross dropped new legs for him to have while being held...
Pair that with...
Fighter- The True Story of the Battle of Britain by Len Deighton
Pair that with...
Fighter- The True Story of the Battle of Britain by Len Deighton
Posted on 12/13/14 at 10:36 pm to TheJunction
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption.
Read it before the movie comes out.
Read it before the movie comes out.
This post was edited on 12/13/14 at 10:38 pm
Posted on 12/14/14 at 6:01 am to TheJunction
The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer
Posted on 12/14/14 at 6:41 am to TheJunction
Ambrose - D Day, The Victors, Ike's Spies and Pegasus Bridge.
25 Yards of War - Ronald Drez
Halsey's Typhoon - Drury and Clavin
And while not WWII - Chickenhawk - can't remember the author. It was written by a Vietnam chopper pilot and is a must read.
EDIT: Robert Mason is the author. If I had to pick one of the above I would pick Chickenhawk.
Mason had balls of steel!
More than half a million copies of Chickenhawk have been sold since it was first published in 1983. Now with a new afterword by the author and photographs taken by him during the conflict, this straight-from-the-shoulder account tells the electrifying truth about the helicopter war in Vietnam. This is Robert Mason’s astounding personal story of men at war. A veteran of more than one thousand combat missions, Mason gives staggering descriptions that cut to the heart of the combat experience: the fear and belligerence, the quiet insights and raging madness, the lasting friendships and sudden death—the extreme emotions of a "chickenhawk" in constant danger.
25 Yards of War - Ronald Drez
Halsey's Typhoon - Drury and Clavin
And while not WWII - Chickenhawk - can't remember the author. It was written by a Vietnam chopper pilot and is a must read.
EDIT: Robert Mason is the author. If I had to pick one of the above I would pick Chickenhawk.
Mason had balls of steel!
More than half a million copies of Chickenhawk have been sold since it was first published in 1983. Now with a new afterword by the author and photographs taken by him during the conflict, this straight-from-the-shoulder account tells the electrifying truth about the helicopter war in Vietnam. This is Robert Mason’s astounding personal story of men at war. A veteran of more than one thousand combat missions, Mason gives staggering descriptions that cut to the heart of the combat experience: the fear and belligerence, the quiet insights and raging madness, the lasting friendships and sudden death—the extreme emotions of a "chickenhawk" in constant danger.
This post was edited on 12/14/14 at 6:50 am
Posted on 12/14/14 at 9:06 am to TheJunction
quote:
With the Old Breed.
Good book.
If you like personal books I'll recommend something from a different but extremely interesting angle, Reaping the Whirlwind by Nigel Cawthorne is made up of interviews and personal accounts of German and Japanese Soldiers and civilians through different stages of the war. There are a proverbial shite ton of books about the American experience in the war but to see it from the other side is kind of eye opening.
Those are just accounts from the "average" people involved on the Axis side. If you want something a little more highspeed then there's Skorzeny's Special Missions by Otto Skorzeny himself. How his life hasn't been made into a movie is beyond me.
Mannerheim: President, Soldier, Spy is the last thing I'll recommend. Fought the Western Allies, the Soviets and the Nazis and still managed to protect Finland's independence. He was pretty boss.
This post was edited on 12/14/14 at 9:36 am
Posted on 12/14/14 at 9:40 am to TheJunction
Tales from The South Pacific by James A. Michener
Posted on 12/14/14 at 2:32 pm to TheJunction
"Requiem for Battleship Yamato" by Mitsuru Yoshida. A first-hand account of the suicide sortie by the giant Japanese battleship in early April 1945. Yoshida was one of a handful of survivors of the ship's crew of 3300. This is a book you'll reread many times over the years.
Posted on 12/14/14 at 4:40 pm to TheJunction
quote:
Helmet for my Pillow, With the Old Breed.
These two HANDS DOWN. The mini-series "Pacific" combined the stories from these two books. One tells the story of the marines early in the pacific campaign, and the other a bit later through Okinawa and the end of the war.
Damn great books. Unconquered ranks right up there as well. That movie is going to be awesome.
Posted on 12/14/14 at 7:41 pm to TheJunction
I'll throw in
The Bedford Boys by Alex Kershaw
The Liberator by Alex Kershaw (I like this one because it takes you through part of the war in Italy, which you don't read about too much)
The Bedford Boys by Alex Kershaw
The Liberator by Alex Kershaw (I like this one because it takes you through part of the war in Italy, which you don't read about too much)
Posted on 12/15/14 at 7:51 am to TheJunction
I've read several and my favorite was Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides. It chronicles the Bataan Death March and the mission to free the POW's in the Phillipines. Had a close family friend that survived it and is in the book.
Posted on 12/15/14 at 12:54 pm to TheJunction
If the Pacific naval war interests you, anything by James Hornfischer. also, it is technical, but Shattered Sword is the best book ever written about the battle of Midway.
Posted on 12/15/14 at 8:48 pm to TheJunction
The Wild Blue
Citizen Soldiers
D Day
Basically Stephen Ambrose
Citizen Soldiers
D Day
Basically Stephen Ambrose
Posted on 12/16/14 at 4:59 pm to TheJunction
Operation Mincemeat was a good read.
Posted on 12/16/14 at 7:37 pm to TheJunction
30 seconds over Tokyo. Real easy quick read and totally worth it. Written by a pilot in the Doolittle raids.
PT 109
Great book about JFK. frick all the haters. Dude was a hero.
PT 109
Great book about JFK. frick all the haters. Dude was a hero.
Posted on 12/18/14 at 7:47 am to TheJunction
Not WWII but The Passing of the Night by Col. Robinson Risner is an awesome read about Vietnam. The book's sub title is My Seven Years in the Hanoi Hilton
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