Light Reading

[Oudy]

While waiting to purchase TOW2 I'm preparing with a little "light" reading.

At the moment I'm 2/3 of the way through Rick Atkinson's An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa 1942-43. This is not a book about small arms and battlefield tactics but one that take a grand strategic view of the campaign. It examines how the US commanders, including Eisenhower, and US troops began the transformation from rank green amateurs to the beginning of a professional disciplined army. Atkinson has a wonderful way of incorporating personal anecdotes from diaries and letter that really make the campaign come alive. I am enjoying the book tremendously and would recommend it to anyone interested in the North African campaign.

The next book on my list is Douglas Porch's, The Path of Victory: The Mediterranean Theater in World War II. This book has been on my reading list for a couple of years and now is the time to finally get around to reading it. Porch also takes the long view of the Mediterranean theater. One of his main arguments that the invasions of North Africa and Sicily were necessary learning experiences for success in the Normandy invasion. I'll let you know what I think of this book when I finish it.

Both of these books would be valuable reads for anyone interested in a deeper understanding, not just of battles and tactics, but of how North Africa helped contribute to the Allied victory in WWII.

Oudy

By the way Atkinson's book won a Pulitzer Prize.

[Tactical Wargamer]

While waiting to purchase TOW2 I'm preparing with a little "light" reading.

At the moment I'm 2/3 of the way through Rick Atkinson's An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa 1942-43. This is not a book about small arms and battlefield tactics but one that take a grand strategic view of the campaign. It examines how the US commanders, including Eisenhower, and US troops began the transformation from rank green amateurs to the beginning of a professional disciplined army. Atkinson has a wonderful way of incorporating personal anecdotes from diaries and letter that really make the campaign come alive. I am enjoying the book tremendously and would recommend it to anyone interested in the North African campaign.

The next book on my list is Douglas Porch's, The Path of Victory: The Mediterranean Theater in World War II. This book has been on my reading list for a couple of years and now is the time to finally get around to reading it. Porch also takes the long view of the Mediterranean theater. One of his main arguments that the invasions of North Africa and Sicily were necessary learning experiences for success in the Normandy invasion. I'll let you know what I think of this book when I finish it.

Both of these books would be valuable reads for anyone interested in a deeper understanding, not just of battles and tactics, but of how North Africa helped contribute to the Allied victory in WWII.

Oudy

By the way Atkinson's book won a Pulitzer Prize.

Any other good WWII books you would recommend? Anyone?

[Redjac]

In keeping with Afrika during WWII I would recommend a novel called EASTER DAY 1941 by GF Borden. Its fiction but very factual and goes into great detail about the weapons and armored vehicles of the day. This was a well-written, exciting novel about action in the Libyan desert during the initial attack by Rommel in March-April 1941. The plot centers arounds the attempt by a mixed British American crew in an Italian tank attempting to return to their own lines. What lifts the book above the run-of-the-mill WWII novel is the tight focus on the actions of the tank crew and the frequent encounters that propel the story line.

[jcmil]

I've found these to be very good: -

Black Edelweiss - Johann Voss

Death Traps - Belton Y. Cooper

Invasion! - They're Coming!: German Account of the D-Day Landings and the 80 Days' Battle for France - Paul Carell

It Never Snows in September.The German View of Market Garden and the Battle of Arnhem, September - Robert J. Kershaw

The Battle of Hurtgen Forest - Charles Whiting

[prlugo]

The Sergeant in the Snow - Mario Rigoni Stern. Italians fight and

terrible withdrawal from river Don in Russia.