WW2 books

[vect0r]

This thread is for the discussion of fiction set in the second world war and non-fiction written by historians or people who directly experienced it (first source).

Personally, I have read very little WW2 books so far. The only one I've read and can recommend is Inside The Third Reich - Albert Speer. Something very important to keep-in-mind while reading Inside The Third Reich is that Albert Speer used the text as a means to absolve himself of any involvement in the holocaust. As for background, Albert Speer worked as an architect in Nazi Germany, was fairly close (socially and politically) to Adolf Hitler and was an early member of the NSDAP before they were in power. He utilized slave labour in his factories, worked as an armaments minister and lied while in that position. There's a lot to list so I'll leave the rest for you to research at your own discretion.

Overall, it's a very interesting book if you want to learn about the inner-workings of the NSDAP and the Wehrmacht. The main focus being on Hitler and his inner circle. As I was reading further, the decay and dread really started to become apparent not only in the government; but Germany as a whole. It seemed as if the majority of people in Nazi Germany were in complete denial of the war's apparent outcome. I believe the information about Hitler and most other details were accurate except for how Speer described himself and his involvement.

 

[Imnotpervertedjustitalian]

King rat By James clawell

"King Rat is a 1962 novel by James Clavell and the author's literary debut. Set during World War II, the novel describes the struggle for survival of American, Australian, British, Dutch and New Zealander prisoners of war in a Japanese camp in Singapore. Clavell was a prisoner in the Changi Prison camp, where the novel is set. One of the three major characters, Peter Marlowe, is based upon Clavell."

It shows how much of the bigger things happening on the world do not matter at all when your personal environment is out of wack.

Its good if you want to see what really happens when the so called civilized western people will do in the harshest conditions to survive and how it literally doesn't matter to anybody else.

 

[InternetGeist]

I own a copy of Liddell Hart's History of the Second World War but I used it more as a reference to look up information. It is a single volume that covers up both the Pacific Theater and European Theater in depth with focus on some particular battles the author liked. Liddell Hart is most well-known as a military theorist so if you are more into political decisions, power dynamics, civilian life, the use of propaganda, economic policies etc. then avoid this book since most of the book emphasizes on analysis of warfare tactics and military background for each battle and country with a great number of maps for a better understanding of the geography. It is a well-written descriptive and argumentative military history book, but I unfortunately find myself to have fallen asleep to it when I tried to read it from cover to cover.

Since you mentioned Inside the Third Reich, you might also be into something similar but from Soviet Union's side. I read Dmitri Volkogonov's Stalin: Triumph and Tragedy a long time ago so my memory is fading in terms of the content. The author "had an incredible access to secret KGB files in his role as historian for the Soviet Army" (quoted from Goodreads) and provided many anecdotes throughout the book as well as historical documents other historians don't have the privilege to see. He also took an approach that is as neutral and objective as possible to depict Stalin so if you would like an unbiased biography of Stalin, this one might be worth taking a look at. I am surprised to see the lack of attention it gets considering how much information unknown to any other historian it contains.

 

[PraxHeadroom]

I'm currently reading "Stalin's War: A New History of World War II" by Sean McMeekin. The thesis is basically that Stalin should be viewed as the central actor of the war instead of Hitler. I've only made it to 1943 but I'm liking it so far.

 

[starbreaker]

I've been reading Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead. It was his first novel, and made him famous for, among other things, not knowing how to spell "fuck". At least, Tallulah Bankhead reputedly mocked him for this inability. The reality was that the publishers had a shit hemorrhage over his use of the word "fuck", which was reminiscent of the bombings of Dresden and Tokyo, and insisted he use "fugg" instead.