Wars and ConflictsΒ permalink
Recommended reading
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Message 1.Β
Posted by DANNY-FRANKS (U2186615) on Saturday, 10th December 2005
Hi,
Don't know if a thread is already on this as I'm relatively new to the forum.
Just thought of a post where members can recommend good books for either general reading or studies which aren't well publicised/heard of.
For me I can recommend Sir Edward Creasy's 15 decisive battles of the world which was written in 1851. Has some excllent first hand accounts especially of waterloo. Quite poignant in that it writes about European peace since waterloo and the optimistic future, not realising that WW1 and WW2 are in the future.
Another good book is on Alexander the Great by Robin Lane Fox. Well researched and in depth but very readable.
WW2/Germany books include Soldiers of destruction by Charles Sydnor which is about the SS Totenkopf Division. It is quite definitive and objective and puts to rest some urban myths from both sides.
The other is The order of the SS by Frederic Reider which goes into some weird departments within the SS which I had never heard of before.
I'm interested in most history and would be grateful for any replies.
Oh and Merry Xmas to all members
DF -
Message 2
Posted by Slimdaddy101 (U2553470) on Saturday, 10th December 2005
Hi Danny,
Good idea, its always good to share good reading. One of my favourite WW2 books is Stalingrad by Antony Beaver. It is one of the most comprehensive, page-turners you will ever read. A WW1 put that is equally compelling is Deaths Men by Denis Winter or The Somme by Lynn McDonald.
Anything by Stephen Ambrose (of Band of Brothers fame) with the exception of Wild Blue, will keep you engrossed too.
I'll keep an eye out for those books you mentioned.
Merry christmas to you too. -
Message 3
Posted by Scottish Librarian (U1772828) on Saturday, 10th December 2005
Dresden by Frederick Taylor is excellent, The Pity of War (WW1) by Niall Ferguson is also good (though controversial), Russias War by Richard Overy is very entertaining. Not a fan of Stephen Ambrose though. Towards the end of his career he took to raising monuments rather than writing history by producing book after book paying homage to the American fighting man. There is nothing wrong with the creation of romantic records of military experience as long as their limitations as history are understood. But each to his own i suppose,
cheers,
Paul -
Message 4
Posted by Mark (U2073932) on Sunday, 11th December 2005
Big fan of Beevors work.
And of course his Battle for Berlin book - superb! -
Message 5
Posted by grey ghost (U2012073) on Sunday, 11th December 2005
PJ Odonells Berlin Bunker is an excelllent read,almost a thriller even if you know what the ending is,with lots of eyewitness accounts its still grips me after several readings.
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Message 6
Posted by U1969296 (U1969296) on Sunday, 11th December 2005
Hi Guys
I just purchased The Collins Encyclopedia of Military History from my local library sale brilliant bargain @Β£5. Hi,
Don't know if a thread is already on this as I'm relatively new to the forum.
Just thought of a post where members can recommend good books for either general reading or studies which aren't well publicised/heard of.
For me I can recommend Sir Edward Creasy's 15 decisive battles of the world which was written in 1851. Has some excllent first hand accounts especially of waterloo. Quite poignant in that it writes about European peace since waterloo and the optimistic future, not realising that WW1 and WW2 are in the future.
Another good book is on Alexander the Great by Robin Lane Fox. Well researched and in depth but very readable.
WW2/Germany books include Soldiers of destruction by Charles Sydnor which is about the SS Totenkopf Division. It is quite definitive and objective and puts to rest some urban myths from both sides.
The other is The order of the SS by Frederic Reider which goes into some weird departments within the SS which I had never heard of before.
I'm interested in most history and would be grateful for any replies.
Oh and Merry Xmas to all members
¶ΩΉσΜύ -
Message 7
Posted by DANNY-FRANKS (U2186615) on Sunday, 11th December 2005
Thanks for your contributions.....know what to ask for Xmas now!!
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Message 8
Posted by gooserss (U1983611) on Monday, 12th December 2005
As mentioned on another thread ' the devils guard ' is an excellent book. It is used in US military acedemys and tells the true story of SS soldiers joing the foreign legion at the end of ww2 and then fighting in indochina. The soldiers used all the tactics they used in russia and were successful against the vietmin.
The long walk is another excellent read. -
Message 9
Posted by Battlegroup (U1908324) on Monday, 12th December 2005
Hi,
Good books to reccommend:
Hitlers Praetorians by Tim Ripley (Waffen SS 1924/45)
SS Das Reich Greg L Mattson 2Nd SS Division 1939/45
Barbarosa by Alan Clark
Tigers in the Mud by Otto Carous Personal story
Best wishes to all
Bazz -
Message 10
Posted by DL (U1683040) on Monday, 12th December 2005
Good books from recent reading.
Since the majority seem to be WW2 books, I'll add these ones.
Fighting for Peace by Gen Michael Rose,
A good, very unbiased look at the Bosnian War, written covering his tour as commander of UNPROFOR.
My War gone by, I miss it so.. by Anthony Loyd, a former British Army officer turned war photographer's memoir of the same war. IMO a very good counterbalance to the above, written on a more personal intimate level. Excellent book.
Favourite Vietnam book has to be Rumor of War by Philip Caputo, a man who joins the US Marines filled with idealism, is a Lieutenant in the Marine units which landed on the beach near Da Nang, and the effects on the following war. He ends up being charged (and found not guilty) of war crimes.
Cheers
DL
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