Recommend me some literature!

[Broadsword56]

Some of my faves that really seem to cover the CM-level small-unit action, tell a good human story (not just maps and numbers and hardware), and illuminate various corners of WWII history quite well:

Saving the Breakout: The 30th Division's Heroic Stand at Mortain, August 7-12, 1944

by Alwyn Featherston

Day of the Panzer: A Story of American Heroism and Sacrifice in Southern France [available in Kindle] by Jeff Danby

Alamo in the Ardennes: The Untold Story of the American Soldiers Who Made the Defense of Bastogne Possible [available in Kindle] by John C. McManus

Key to the Bulge, The: The Battle for Losheimergraben (Stackpole Military History Series) [Paperback] by Stephen M. Rusiecki

The following one is fiction, but written as a blow-by-blow account (from both sides) of a typical hedgerow battalion-level battle in Normandy, summer 1944. It's by a British vet who was there. Probably my favorite of the list, and it gives you a really good insight into how the units operated, command-control, snipers, patrols, orders, etc., all while telling a page-turning story:

Anatomy of a battle [Hardcover] by Kenneth Macksey

[John Kettler]

Tug of War: The Battle for Italy, 1943-1945 by Dominick Graham, MG Shelford Bidwell was, as I recall, a good read. No idea whether it's withstood the test of time and new info.

Combatintman,

I hope whoever commanded the real 18 Platoon did better at it than I did! The brief, tragic story is in the John Kettler vs CMBN thread. The book can be had from Blighty for 19.99 pounds at RiflesDirect. No idea what postage might run, and might VAT be waivable?

Ultradave,

I can't believe I didn't include the Cornelius Ryan books! I suspect it was because of the way the request was framed, but who knows?

Quintus Sertorius,

I loved Keegan's the Face of Battle, but nearly gagged over his grotesque misplacement of vital Midway Island in The Price of Admiralty.

Regards,

John Kettler

[JonS]

Ambrose is indeed a tool. JonS would know, being a tool himself. He likes the fact that Ambrose is a tool because it gives him a chance to indulge his reflexive anti Americanism and to feel all justified inside being a tool about it. But still, Ambrose remains a tool, regardless of the toolhood of JonS himself and others who enjoy the fact.

Oh, go on Jase. Why doncha regale us again with that tale about how slaves should just be grateful and justice is only possible when evryone has an AK. That was ever so much fun.

[Pak40]

You miss the point. The problem is not that he focusses on the US Army—Atkinson, just to name one of hundreds of historians, does that as well—it is that he commits egregious errors of fact that no respectable historian would have allowed to creep into print, and he distorts the image of the American fighting man almost to the level of comic book writing. There is nothing wrong in my view with honest admiration of the GI, but it doesn't help the memory of him to gild the lily so many times over.

Michael

No, actually that is a completely different point. I was simply pointing out that many people criticize Ambrose solely for writing mainly about Americans in WWII and often from the point of view of the American side.

I'm certainly not brushing off the errors that he's made, which were few and not egregious (nice choice of vocabulary, by the way) like you claim. He's made some foot note errors and missed some quote marks that lead to the so called plagiarism scandal. Also, that bit about misquoting the soldier on D-Day, probably the worst offense if it's true. The bit about Eisenhower I've already responded to JonS about.

If you have solid evidence of many historically inaccurate texts beyond what I've posted then by all means, please post links. Until then, anything you or anyone else claim is baseless.

[Los]

The thread should be about recommending literature that people have enjoyed reading. A chance to pass on an enjoyable or thought provoking experience to others. Unfortunate it becomes an exercise in why what ever you read actually sucks.

But anyway...

I just got this book in the mail yesterday: "ARNHEM, A FEW VITAL HOURS. THE SS-PANZERGRENADIER-AUSBILDUNGS UND ERSATZ-BATTALION 16 AT THE BATTLE OF ARNHEM, SEPTEMBER 1944" by Scott Revell, Niall Cherry and Bob Gerritsen.

I wouldn't be surprised if this was a source document for some of the MG scenarios. This training battalion had a large hand in holding up the First Airborne in the first few days. I'm about half way through, 150 pages, lots of detail on this battalion and its actions... maps, pictures, so far so good.

http://www.helion.co.uk/arnhem-a-few-vital-hours-the-ss-panzergrenadier-ausbildungs-und-ersatz-battalion-16-at-the-battle-of-arnhem-september-1944.html

I've read the Losheimergraben book as well, very enjoyable.

[John Kettler]

Los,

The Defending Arnhem site has several specialized works dealing with the defending German units at Arnhem. If you haven't been there yet, may I recommend it?

Regards,

John Kettler

[JonS]

"... and no birds sang" by Farley Mowat is a very good read.

Spike Milligan's wartime memoirs are funny, of course, but also well written and unexpectedly emotional.

"Quartered safe out here" by George MacDonald-Fraser is great. Funny, and insightful about people and personalities.

"Roll me over" by Raymond Gantter is yet another really good worm's eye view.

[Mord]

"Roll me over" by Raymond Gantter is yet another really good worm's eye view.

That was one of the first WWII books I ever read, all the way back when I discovered CMBO. I enjoyed it.

Mord.

[JonS]

In the U.S., at least, it's probably because copies start at USD $97.89

Holy FSM! I have a second hand copy of that edition, and it set me back £9, although that was back in 2002. It's a great book, but no way is it worth $100. I was going to recommend Book Depository, but neither they nor Abe Books have it in stock

[JonS]

Yeah and I'm really annoyed at Jason D. Mark because in every book about Stalingrad that he writes, he never covers the fighting in Tunisia. Now that's a poor author...

I just wanted to come back to point out how much I agree with you here. The concurrent fighting in Tunisia was actually fairly significant for Stalingrad, and that yes; depending on specific context then omitting it could well mark the author as poor.

A book about the 1081st Pz Pioneer Abt's attack up the Mamayev Kurgan on 31 November? Meh. Tunisia isn't important in that context.

A campaign history of Op BLAU and especially Op URANUS? Yeah, omitting Tunisia from would be a bad idea.

[Michael Emrys]

I'm certainly not brushing off the errors that he's made, which were few and not egregious (nice choice of vocabulary, by the way) like you claim. He's made some foot note errors and missed some quote marks that lead to the so called plagiarism scandal. Also, that bit about misquoting the soldier on D-Day, probably the worst offense if it's true.

By 'egregious' I meant such howlers as stating as bald fact that the Panthers in Normandy were armed with 88mm cannon. As I recall, there were within two or three pages two other errors of fact more or less equally inexcusable coming from someone who makes his living writing this stuff. I stopped reading at that point as he had totally lost my confidence. And since I divested myself of the book as quickly as I could, I can't quote you chapter and verse. But it is there in black and white.

I think I should point out I took up the book predisposed to liking it based on his by then considerable reputation as a historical writer. I am given to understand that his earlier work was indeed solid and I am not going to challenge that until I have had a chance to read it myself. But it does seem to me that his later reputation is based on hype and self-promotion.

Michael

[Tim1966]

I prefer memoirs rather than unit histories so here are my recommnedations.

Accidental Warrior by Geoffrey Picot. He was the battalion mortar office fro the Hampshires from D-Day +1 to the end of the war. Fought in Normandy and in Market Garden. Not so good on characters and the prose is slightly clunky (he's not Robert Graves or Siegfried Sassoon) but very interesting for a British view of small unit action seen from the sharp end. A fair bit bias towards the British view and defends Monty a bit but a good read and I think there's a number of scenarios that could come from this book. (Thinking of having a go myself when I find time...).

I quite enjoyed Evelyn Waugh's Sword of Honour Trilogy - not much action but a great read - funny, poignant and a great period flavour.

[John Kettler]

It's online only, but I highly recommend John Crook's War. He served with the Hallamshires of the York & Lancasters.

http://www.irdp.co.uk/JohnCrook/index.html

Similarly, here are extended excerpts of Landser Private Werner Mork's From My Eyes. He served in Africa, Corsica, Italy and the Eastern Front. This man was in the thick of it!

http://home.comcast.net/~dhsetzer/Mork/

Tanks for the Memories at www.tankbooks.(usual) is a must read, as are the other accounts by veterans on the site. U.S. 712th Tank Battalion at war.

If the site decides to work again, this is a real eye-opener of being in ammunition parties and signals at Anzio, under the fire of Anzio Annie and friends.

Anzio to Rome: May - July 1944 - Dogface Soldiers Memoirs ...

www.dogfacesoldiers.org/info/memoirs/nickelson/breakout.htm‎

Regards,

John Kettler