The Super Summary of World History - Alan Dale Daniel [241]
Books and References:
I have read hundreds of books on World War II. Here are a few of the best, in no particular order (* means superior):
*Cross Channel Attack, Harrison, Gordon A., 1950, Konecky & Konecky. The best book on the D-Day landings at Normandy.
*History of the Second World War, Hart, B.H. Liddell, 1970, Konecky & Konecky. One of the best books on WWII. Wonderful maps!
*Lost Victories: The War Memoirs of Hitler’s Most Brilliant General, von Manstein, Field Marshal Erich, 2004, Zenith Press. How the war in the east was lost, from the mouth of the man who was there.
*Miracle at Midway, Prange, G., 1983, Penguin. A great account of the battle of Midway, easy to read, and authoritative. Considered a classic by most historians.
*The Oxford Companion to World War II, Dear & Foot, 1995, Oxford Press. Huge reference book, probably the best general reference on WWII.
The Coming of the Third Reich, Evans, Penguin, 2005
The Third Reich in Power, Evans, Penguin, 2006
*The Two Ocean War, Morison, Samuel Eliot, 1963, Back Bay Books. Morison can’t be beat on the naval war. Please recall that Morison, like many of the early authors, did not know about Ultra, and Magic, the code breakers who did so much to win the war for the allies.
*There’s A War to be Won, Perret, Goeffrey, 1992, Ballantine books. I love this book. So much is explained so well that it is hard to overstate the importance of reading this author.
At Dawn We Slept: the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor, Prange & Goldstein, 1982, Penguin. Prange on Pearl Harbor, what more do you need to know? Gordon Prange also wrote Miracle at Midway.
Dirty Little Secrets of World War II, Dunnigan & Nofi, 1995, Morrow. Fun!
Eagle Against the Sun, Spector, Ronald H., 1985, Random House. Easy to read, and comprehensive when it comes to the Pacific War.
Guadalcanal, Frank, R.B., 1992, Penguin. This is a must read book if you want to understand the Pacific War, and why everything changed after this epic campaign.
How Great Generals Win, Alexander, Bevin, 1993, WW Norton & Co. Some coverage of WWII generals. Alexander’s thoughts are always worth reading.
How Wars are Won, The 13 Rules of War from Ancient Greece to the War on Terror, Alexander, Bevin, 2002, Three Rivers Press.
Miracle at Midway, Prange,G., 1983, Penguin
Panzer Battles, von Mellenthin, FW, 1956, Konecky & Konecky
The Gathering Storm, Churchill, W., 1986, Mariner Books
The Pacific War Companion, From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima, ed. Marston, D., 2005, Osprey Publishing
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Shirer, William, 1990, Simon & Schuster. A classic, but somewhat difficult to read. None-the-less, there are few better books on the regime.
The Rommel Papers, Rommel, Erwin, 1982, Da Capo Press
The Second World War 1939-1945, Fuller, J.C.F., 1948, Da Capo Press. Yet another must read book on WWII by an outstanding English analyst.
The Shattered Sward, The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway, Pershall and Tully, 2005, Potomac Books. Excellent book, somewhat controversial.
The United States Strategic Bombing Survey, Greenwood, 1946 (also available on line). First hand information, great statics, well written.
The US Army in World War II, The Fall of the Philippines, The War in the Pacific, Roberts, Greenfield general editor, 1953, National Historical Society. This is a series of books on the US Army in the Pacific War. Excellent detailed analysis of each campaign, but detail on other services and their role is small, and the impact of Ultra and Magic is missing because of the date of publication.
The World At Arms, The Reader’s Digest Illustrated History of World War II, Wright, Michael editor, 1989, The Reader’s Digest Association Limited. Excellent and pithy account of the world wide struggle.
War Plan Orange, The US Strategy to Defeat Japan 1897-1945, Miller, Edward S., 1991, Naval Institute Press. Surprising analysis of the Pacific War, and how the US planned for the conflict.
Wikipedia, the