Gen. Sosaboski Posted March 25, 2001 Share Posted March 25, 2001 Hi Guys, I'm going on a book buying run soon with Amazon, so I just wanted to know if there were any suggestions on the following, which seemed good. "A Dark and Bloody Ground" "On Time, on Target" "G Company's War" Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunny Bunny Posted March 25, 2001 Share Posted March 25, 2001 http://www.siteonsound.com/CMReadingList.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citizen Posted March 25, 2001 Share Posted March 25, 2001 I found G Company's War to not be all that interesting. They barely did any fighting! I like personal accounts much more than operational ones, but this one didn't draw me in. Much of the "diary" of the two men was not written "the day of," but long afterward based on scribbled, incomplete diary entries. Best part of the book to me: The casualty reporting on Egger's Squad & Platoon. Whenever a man was injured, the editor (who contributes the operational background to the events of the day) reports on the fate of the injured man. I couldn't believe how much time some guys spent in the hospital... and then still returned to the unit. Or how quickly some of the replacements became casualties. Thanks, Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
109 Gustav Posted March 25, 2001 Share Posted March 25, 2001 Dictionary of Military and Naval Quotations Robert Debs Heinl, jr ISBN 0-87021-149-8 It isn't really related to CM, but it is a great reference. Probably out of print. ------------------ The Last Defense- Made any scenarios? Send them here! Well my skiff's a twenty dollar boat, And I hope to God she stays afloat. But if somehow my skiff goes down, I'll freeze to death before I drown. And pray my body will be found, Alaska salmon fishing, boys, Alaska salmon fishing. [This message has been edited by 109 Gustav (edited 03-24-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gen. Sosaboski Posted March 25, 2001 Author Share Posted March 25, 2001 Thanks fellas. I have a good amount of the books on the "CM Reading List" (great job GB!) and will continue to accumulate them unti I end up drowning in books, probably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Leader Posted March 25, 2001 Share Posted March 25, 2001 I recently went on a similar spree at Amazon, and I bought "Stalingrad" by Beevor (its great) "Enemy at the Gates" novel which inspired the movie of same name, the book by Guy Sajer(can't remember the name) but it is a highly acclaimed memoir by a german foot-soldier in WW2, and "Tides of War" by Pressfield, who wrote the AMAZING book "Gates of Fire" about the battle of Thermopylae. My two pfennigs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mlapanzer Posted March 25, 2001 Share Posted March 25, 2001 "Seven roads to Hell" a screaming eagles account of the battle for Bastone. A quick read but one of the best first person accounts of battle I have read.Happens to have been written by a guy just up the road from me in Michigan. There are at least 10 different battles that could be recreated in CM in it. I am playing one right now. Don't know how those men held out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screamineagle Posted March 26, 2001 Share Posted March 26, 2001 I am just finishing an intersting book titled "Frontsoldaten" by Stephen Fritz. The book is based upon letters, diaries, and memoirs from the Landser- the ordinary German infantryman of WWII. An unusual look at the viewpoint of the average German grunt. I enjoyed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gen. Sosaboski Posted March 26, 2001 Author Share Posted March 26, 2001 "Frontsoldaten" sounds interesting-I'll have a look at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest *Captain Foobar* Posted March 26, 2001 Share Posted March 26, 2001 The Forgotten Soldier, is the name of the book by Guy Sajer... And if you want to read a novel form of Enemy at the Gates, get a book called "War of the Rats". The names are the same as in the movie, both accounts are fictionalised, but the tensions, and character developments in War of the Rats are much better. Another Cool book I got is called "The Mammoth Book of War Stories". Its like 800 pages, and its filled with 1st hand accounts and diaries from wars throughout history. Almost half the stories are ww2 related, and one of the highlights is the Memoirs of Otto Skorenzy, and his commando raid to Free Mussolini Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Martin Cracauer Posted March 26, 2001 Share Posted March 26, 2001 I found "Frontsoldaten" to be very disappointing. You can get most of its contents in the memoirs of the individuals. I have "Frontsoldaten" and some of the individual memoirs and have to say that the contents of Frontsoldaten lost most of what the guys had to say. It is "outwashed" (someone knows a better english term?) like any repetition in other words by an author who did not experience the subject of the writing. Most of these first-hand accounts get their quality from the continuous narration of the whole experience, not the pointed selection of exiting moments. Granted, if you read Frontsoldaten, it is an exiting read, but the first-hand accounts are 10 times better. Some fictional works are very good in transporting an impression as well. [This message has been edited by Martin Cracauer (edited 03-26-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Knudsen Posted March 26, 2001 Share Posted March 26, 2001 I would tend to agree about Frontsoldaten; it is too dry and one tends to lose the feeling in the minutiae and the sheer volume of material (and the fact that as I recall the author leans disproportionally on a few sources). On the other hand, Frontsoldaten is one of the very few english language secondary sources that attempts to look at the German war on the individual and small group scale, as opposed to the volumes available on the larger picture(s)... ------------------ Cede Nullis - Yield to None Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Fredriksson Posted March 26, 2001 Share Posted March 26, 2001 As someone already mentioned, "Stalingrad" by Anthony Beevor. I warmly recommend this book! It gives both a wider perspective on the eastern-front war, and Stalingrad in particular. It is based mostly on letter, many unpublished before as I understood it, from Germans and Russians. It is sometimes horrible reading, but worth every penny. Get it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GillFish Posted March 26, 2001 Share Posted March 26, 2001 I'll second the 'Seven roads to Hell' suggestion. Also recommend "Flags of our Fathers" about the battle of Iwo Jima (brought tears to my eyes) and anything by Cornelius Ryan. I'm currently reading "A Time for Trumpets" about the Battle of the Bulge; well written, extensive, and informative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GillFish Posted March 26, 2001 Share Posted March 26, 2001 Also wanted to mention: http://www.sonic.net/~bstone/archives/ Excellent reviews on WWII books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterNZer Posted March 26, 2001 Share Posted March 26, 2001 I thoroughly recommend "An intimate history of killing" It's essential for anyone interested in the field of war studies or stuff. I think it's quite illuminating and a useful guide to all your other books on the issues.. um, yeah, buy. Bevor's "Stalingrad" of course. "In Deadly Combat" - German pak gunner at Sevastopol and Lenningrad. "The Guns of War" - Canadian FOO, very engagingly written with lots of detail PeterNZ ------------------ - Official owner of the sig files of Dalem, Croda and JeffShandorf - Der Kessel scenario design group Combat Vision movies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homba Posted March 26, 2001 Share Posted March 26, 2001 I am tending to agree with the above negative impressions of "Frontsoldaten," by Stephen Fritz. I was really excited about this book, but it hasn't lived up. The author heavily quotes Guy Sajer, and as some have said, there seems to be a dilution effect. I have found much of the material to be highly "repeditive" in nature. It is taking me forever to finish this book, and I have contemplated abandoning it- but I am hoping "the Seasons of War" chapter has some good anecdotes on the winter weather fighting. The chapter on the German training methods was very interesting. I am still waiting for a chapter on actual combat experiences- I hope I'm not disappointed... My estimation of the material and the author dropped when I read a quotation about an infantry company in Stalingrad gathering around as one of their own played Beethoven on an abandoned grand piano amid some nearby shelling. This immediately pricked my attention, and I checked the source. It was "Last Letters from Staligrad," which has been authoritatively reported (if not confirmed- I am uncertain) to be a fabrication by german war correspondents- admittedly great for atmosphere and realistic fiction, but nonetheless a fabrication portrayed as reality. However, Fritz made no mention of this when he offered the quote! On the contrary he portrayed it as authentic. So I am left wondering- how much of this is real and how much fantasy, did the author leave this out intentionally, or is he just a poor researcher? I am about to dive into Beevor's "Staligrad," which comes highly recommended, and I can also recommend Clark's "Barbarossa: The German-Russian Conflict, 1941-45" as an excellent read, and great history of the Eastern Front with tons of very readable detail. I believe that 95% of this book (published in 1965) has stood the test of time. Anyone have definite knowledge on the authenticty (or not) of "Last Letters from Stalingrad" ? Homba Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LimShady Posted March 26, 2001 Share Posted March 26, 2001 Against the Panzers, Closing with the Enemy, Downfall, Storm Landings (yeah, its the Pacific, but great reads anyway). LimShady Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mikey D Posted March 27, 2001 Share Posted March 27, 2001 I've always leaned more towards the 'tech' end of the genre. If you're into halftracks you should grab the brand-new book from R.P. Hunnicutt. A massive reference work called "Half-Track, a history of the American Semi-tracked vehicles". 250 pages, 28 detailed 5-view scale plans! I got mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gyrene Posted March 27, 2001 Share Posted March 27, 2001 While not WWII books I very strongly recommend "Breakout" by Martin Russ and "East of Chosin" by Roy Appleman both about the Chosin Reservoir campaign in Korea, both gripping accounts of some of the most intense squad level combat this century. I hope that someday (When BTS is done with all WWII CM modules, of course ) there'll be Korean war CM modules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Posted March 27, 2001 Share Posted March 27, 2001 "I am about to dive into Beevor's "Staligrad," which comes highly recommended" aye, a good book so far but the negative reviews @amazon.com about it are pretty much correct. Beevor 's writing style jumps around alot and he already lost me a couple of times already where I had to re-read the previous sentences a few times to make sure what the thought was. There's also a good bit of artistic license sprinkled throughout for flavor I guess. Example: "'The order is just that,' agreed Tresckow. Stahlberg then asked where it had come from. 'From the man to whom you gave your oath,' answered his cousin. 'As did I,' he added with a penetrating look." Beevor uses a good bit of *cough* "additive" like above to make parts of his writing seem more like a fictional novel. "penetrating look"? Come on. jmtcw, -John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricM Posted March 27, 2001 Share Posted March 27, 2001 I recommend Marine Tank Battles in the Pacific by Gilbert. I know it's PTO but it was very interesting reading with personal and operational accounts. The amazing thing is how fast the repair units could fix a knocked out Sherman. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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