Feinder
Posts: 6589
Joined: 9/4/2002
From: Land o' Lakes, FL
Status: offline
|
There are quite a few available. And FYI, there tends to be a lot of "fudge factor" for even things as "factual" as what weapons were on what ships, or the top speed and alt of aircraft. The actual performance of aircraft, often varied wildly from the specs provided by the manufacturer (often made under ideal situation or unarmed or whatever). But even giving the manufacturer "data" a degree of skepticism, and putting emphasis on what was demonstrated in the field, leads to putting too much faith in the anecdotal evidence. Or even if you're looking for numbers on what ground units were committed where, again, the frequency of "2 companies of the 15th Div were detached and stationed at Lagapsi beach" or "a Btn was hastily formed from the remnants of 3 Commonwealth (Indian) Brigades was formed to provide a rear-guard as units continue to retreat to Singapore..."
We wary of any single source. The best you can do is grab a library of books that offer many differering points of view on the subject.
A what "level of detail" are you looking for? What is your pre-existing background knowledge?
If you don't know much about WW2 Pacific history, even the most basic of the "coffee table" books will be useful for you. While many of those folks that consider themselves amature historians would look on these with disdain, if you don't know difference between a Zero and Val, these books (that can often be found on the large tables in the center of Borders for about $20), are are quite useful. They give generic info on the various planes or ships or campaigns, whatever the book is about. They're loaded with illustrations, and summary data. Good to help you get acquainted with the subject. just consider the fact that these books are about "80% correct" (and very generalized), and should really only be used to get you -more- interested in the subject.
For "phase 2", you're looking at more in-depth books. This might be a single book on the Pilippines campaign. Or book on the specific battles and issues faced in the Solomons. Or a comparison of IJN vs. USN carriers and operations. These are a bit harder to find, as they tend to be a bit "niche" for Borders or your local bookstore. However, Amazon is great, you pretty much get anything you want off Amazon.
For "phase 3", it's really the highest level of acedemia and minutia of detail. These are books that you basically would never hear about, unless you contact a local university history dept. Or have access to "the stacks" or other dusty references at a well-stocked library. These tend to be papers/essays/books that are printed on a very specific subject. If you have access to some of the local (official) military museums or military bases, they often have useful reference material (which would otherwise be very boring to read, but is often availble if you ask the right people).
-F-
_____________________________
"It is obvious that you have greatly over-estimated my regard for your opinion." - Me  |
Printable Version
references : advice needed - 
(and skip the inferior one)
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread