Fighting Irish Forums

I would like to get some books on WWII to read if anyone can make any reccomendations. My particular interest lies in the Allied invasion from the west. I have already read Band of Brothers and a couple of others, but would really like some more to digest in the winter months.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Hey, Doc!

Gret topic, lads, let's post your recommendations here

here are mine

Poles Apart: The Polish Airborne at the Battle of Arnhem by George Cholewczynski.

and

Rising '44: The Battle for Warsaw - by Norman Davies.

A Question of Honor: The Kosciuszko Squadron: Forgotten Heroes of World War II by Lynne Olsen and Stanley Cloud. The book is also sold unde the title "For your freedom and ours" Not very D-Dayish, but worth reading

and Cornelius Ryan's book - The Longest Day

Brilliant books

Doc
i read one, well many but one that stands out to me right now is
"The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors"
not ground troops or air force but a amazing story
http://www.tincansailorsbook.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

i forgot, there were some planes init a lot of them without ammo making dry runs on the Japs big warships

If you haven't already read it, Piece of Cake (the author's name eludes me for the moment) is a book on the Battle of Britain, I believe. I've only just started it, and can't really remember when, or why, I bought it.

The only good book I've read recently is The Black Angels- The Story of The Waffen-SS by Rupert Butler. I'd recommend it as it has some interesting insights into this unit and the war, particularly a rather horrific murder of a French town.

"Terror in the Starboard Seat"- About a Canadian Mossie Navigator doing intruder raids into Nazi Territory. Favortie quote "The Mosquito had a rather substantial armour plate underneath the pilot to protect him from ground fire, the navigator got an extra thick piece of plywood. The theroy being, that pilots make better fathers."

"Death of a Division"

"Flying Tigers" by Don Lopez

ooh, "The Longest Day" looks promising as well as "A Bridge Too Far" by the same author about Market Garden.

Great suggestions so far fellas, keep em coming.

Hello!

Hmmm, if no one's suggested it; there's 'The Big Show' by Pierre Clostermann. It does give fantastic recollections of the air support given to the push in '44 &'45, but is mainly about how he came to the UK and gave the blues a bit of a hammering in Spits, Typhoons and Tempests.

As a flyers memoir - it's superb!

Pip-Pip!

The subject is not what you were initially asking for, however the topic- German POW's in America, I find fascinating as there is so little interest in the ouvre. "The Faustball Tunnel" by John Hammond Moore, Bluejacket books. Over one thousand German POW's escaped U.S. captivity 1942-1946; a statistic few could remotely consider. Decently written through newly de-classified State Dept. information. Fascinating. ~S~

If you're interested in the Allies' assault on the German West Front, check out the West Wall series by Charles Whiting... off the top of my head the titles include Seigfried, Bounce the Rhine, Patton's Last Battle, The Battle of the Huertgen Forest; there are a few more in the series and further to those I'd strongly reccommend anything by Whiting, and that's saying quite something as the guy's written dozens of books on WWII.

Cornelius Ryan's 'The Last Battle' covers a large amount of the Allied advance through Germany, East and West, and is the most compelling WW2 book I have read to date, although with more and more previously secret information becoming declassified, the book is beginning to show its age. As far as the narrative goes however, it's unparallelled. Ryan strongly influenced Stephen E. Ambrose so you'll probably like him a lot.

Max Hastings, Carlo d'Este, Chester Wilmot, and John Keegan are a bit weightier and more academic but ultimately thoroughly rewarding. Keegan is arguably the most widely-versed contemporary author writing on the topic of military history.

Jeez you'll have a hell of a lot of books on your bedside table, better keep some free time for flying

For fun and adventure, read anything and EVERYTHING by Ernest K. Gann.

FATE IS THE HUNTER is a wonderful collection of events that forged MR. Gann's career in the MAC ( military airlift command ) His life from the 30's through the end of WWII and beyond. No dogfghting, just man and machine against the elements and the shipping clerks.

GENTLEMEN OF ADVENTURE is a good semi historical fiction novel. FLYING CIRCUS is a great read.

For heavier reading, Antoine De Saint Exupery's books are great as well. He is a lot more introspective and philosophical in his writing. I'm currently reading WIND,SAND, and STARS. Stories of the French AIr Mail Service in the 30's. Flying across the Sahara and through the Andes in South America. Those guys were some ballsy bastards!

Stealing the thread slightly I have just re-read for the umpteenth time "Red Storm Rising" I think it's Clancys best.

I just finished "On The Trail of the Fox" It's an autobiography on Erwin Rommel, warts and all. It's a really pollished, well reasearched read. It's available for free download HERE http://www.fpp.co.uk/books/Rommel/

Try these.
The Pacific War 1941-1945/ John Costello.
Wing's Of Gold, The US Naval Air Campaign in WW2/ Gerald Astor.
Fire in the Sky, The Air War in the South Pacific/ Eric M. Bergerud.
Black Cross/Red Star Vol. 1-3./ Bergstrom&Mikhailov.
Stalin's Eagles/Hans D.Seidl.
Zemke's Wolf Pack/ Roger A. Freeman .
Gunter Rall/ Jill Amadio.
The Blond Knight of Germany/ Raymond F. Toliver& Trevor J. Constable.
JG26 The Top Gun's of the Luftwaffe/ Donald L. Caldwell.

I just started reading The Longest Day...wow is it good.