WWII Books Suggestions Needed? (Full Version)

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mashkis -> WWII Books Suggestions Needed? (2/6/2005 11:32:57 PM)

Hi,

Looking at this game makes me want to brush-up on my WWII history. There are tons of books on the subject. I am looking for a book that covers the major battles, the plans and strategy used and why the battles were significant. I don't want a book that offers tons of date and locations without the analysis.

Also, what would be a good book that would help in understanding the war in the Pacific as it would be helpful for this game?

Thanks.



waynec -> RE: WWII Books Suggestions Needed? (2/6/2005 11:44:25 PM)

The Barrier and The Javelin by H.P. Wilmott
The Pacific War 1941-1945 by John Costello
The Pacific Campaign by Dan van der Vat
Combined Fleet Decoded by John Prados
The Eagle and The Rising Sun by Alan Schom (some of the picture captions are wrong)
Guadalcanal by Richard B. Frank
Fire in the Sky by Eric M. Bergerud

for insight on why the Japanese fought like they did

Kaigun by Davis C. Evans
Empires in the Balance by H.P. Wilmott

to understand US planning prior to WW2

War Plan Orange by Edward S. Miller

[image]local://upfiles/6704/Ay733421308.jpg[/image]



Tom Hunter -> RE: WWII Books Suggestions Needed? (2/7/2005 5:11:51 AM)

I strongly suggest reading this one:

Gerhard L. Weinberg, A World At
Arms: A Global History of World War II

He does a good job of explaining the motivations of the major powers and this is important because a lot of strange irrational things were done in the middle of the last century. I have read a lot on the war and this book still taught me things I did not know which is unsual for a general history.

This proffessor posted a list of books for his history class that looks like a good place to start: http://www.kings.edu/history/stevens/hist425sbib.html

I have read 17 of the books on his list and that makes me want to read some of the ones he suggests that I have not read.



Tom Hunter -> RE: WWII Books Suggestions Needed? (2/7/2005 5:26:25 AM)

Also, what would be a good book that would help in understanding the war in the Pacific as it would be helpful for this game?


This is a tougher question though Brute Force by John Ellis.. I don't agree with everything he has to say but after you read it you will understand how little chance Japan really had. The problem is that as player we don't face the same problem the Japanese or the American had.

I have a very low opinion of the Japanese leadership and I think its unlikely that I will ever face an individual who makes as many bad decisions as the Japanese military did in the war. Japanese players understand that the Americans are going to come booming in 1943, the real Japanese thought the Americans were going to surrender in 1943.

Likewise as an Allied player I know so much about the Japanese that the real Americans did not know. The range of the zero and the existance of the Yamato are not a suprise for me.

Because of this its hard to learn specific strategy from a history book that is applicable to the game.

If you read a book about the invasion of Russia there are a few turning points where you can learn what to do or not to do from books. Don't get surrounded at Stalingrad, do expect a Soviet army to show up in December 1941.

In the Pacific there are so many problems with Japanese strategy and exicution that it is hard to know where to start: Don't start the war? Don't go to war if you don't have enough merchant shipping to feed your economy and your relying on shipping from countries you plan to attack in order to eat? Don't create overly complex plans that are bound to break down because you could not get all the forces to the right place at the right time even if you were not fighting a war? Don't send armies off to places you can't supply like Imphal and Khohima? Did you know that Slim killed Japanese at a rate of between 15 and 25 to one in that campaign. And I mean killed, not captured or surrounded or forced to retreat, when it was over the Japanese army that had been in Burma was dead, extinct (start the parrot monolog from Monty Python.)



DeepSix -> RE: WWII Books Suggestions Needed? (2/7/2005 4:48:28 PM)

I second the recommendations for Guadalcanal and World at Arms. Both are excellent and authoritative. Costello's book is very good, too, but it's looooong and at times I found his writing style cumbersome. Definitely worth reading, though, if you're *really* into the Pacific Theatre. Another handy reference to have is The Oxford Companion to World War II, by I.C.B. Dear (general editor). Although it isn't limited to the Pacific, I reach for it often when I'm playing because I can look up a relevant topic and get a quick refresh. Also, if you like the "classic" scholarly works, try The Two-Ocean War by Samuel Eliot Morison. One of my favorites. Some might say it's out of date (1963), and to some extent it does reflect the ideology of a man of his generation and wartime experience, but Admiral Morison was a veteran of the war, serving on about 12 different USN ships (including the Honolulu, the Tennessee, and the Washington). The book is more of a narrative, and as such it may not have enough of the analysis you're looking for, but don't discount it entirely.

Cheers,
Rob



Hornblower -> RE: WWII Books Suggestions Needed? (2/7/2005 7:24:37 PM)

I've always found Fire in the Sky, by Eric M. Bergerud a good read. And Duffy's the imperial Japanese Navy isn't bad too



MikeH1952 -> RE: WWII Books Suggestions Needed? (2/7/2005 8:27:34 PM)

Following the Forum's recomendations I got "Rising Sun" by John Toland at Xmas.
It's a Pulitzer prize winner and it gets my vote.



Hornblower -> RE: WWII Books Suggestions Needed? (2/7/2005 8:33:38 PM)

"But not in shame" by toland is a excellent read. I must have read my copy a few dozen times since i got it as a kid.



LittleJoe -> RE: WWII Books Suggestions Needed? (2/7/2005 8:51:07 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mike Hayday

Following the Forum's recomendations I got "Rising Sun" by John Toland at Xmas.
It's a Pulitzer prize winner and it gets my vote.




Seconded got it at christmas also, very very good.



Titanwarrior89 -> RE: WWII Books Suggestions Needed? (2/8/2005 4:13:53 AM)

"But Not in Shame"[;)]



Tiornu -> RE: WWII Books Suggestions Needed? (2/8/2005 4:36:43 AM)

It's not a history per se, but I am contractually obligated to mention that FLEETS OF WORLD WAR II is the greatest book since the publication of Don Quixote.



afspret -> RE: WWII Books Suggestions Needed? (2/8/2005 8:05:26 AM)

The book 'December 8th, 1941-MacArthurs Pearl Harbor' by William Bartsch was an excellent book. I've also read 'The Eagle and the Rising Sun', can't recall the author, which is also a pretty good.

I've just ordered Bartsch's 'Doomed at the Start', which is about USAAF fighter unit operations in the PI before and after the start of the war.



DeepSix -> RE: WWII Books Suggestions Needed? (2/10/2005 1:40:07 PM)

The Second World War in the East, by H.P. Willmott. Part of The Cassell History of Warfare, a multi-volume set edited by John Keegan. This is the only volume I have but it's a very good source. Excellent maps and (I think) analysis of the overall strategy for both sides in the Pacific.



AmiralLaurent -> RE: WWII Books Suggestions Needed? (2/10/2005 1:48:14 PM)

"Bloody Shambles" by Chris Shores and others describes in two volumes the air war from the start of the war until the fall of Burma on a daily basis, describing known losses and victories of both sides with many first hand testimonies (essentially British). Pearl Harbor is not covered but the whole PI, Malaya, Burma and DEI campains are here with the Darwin raid, the failed Lexington raid on Rabaul in February 1942 and Indian Ocean operations in April 1942.

Not included are Pearl Harbor and the US CV early raids in Pacific (Kwajalein and Wake), neither the Doolittle raid or the Battle of Coral Sea.



DeepSix -> RE: WWII Books Suggestions Needed? (2/10/2005 2:02:38 PM)

Actually, as an American, it would be nice to read a different/British perspective. View the war from Burma looking east instead of Pearl Harbor looking west, for a change.



tonyingesson -> RE: WWII Books Suggestions Needed? (2/10/2005 7:08:29 PM)

The other day I bought "Fighting Techniques of a Japanese infantryman" by Leo J. Daugherty III (2002). Quite good, it deals with training, background, doctrine, organization, etc. It also includes basic facts and illustrations covering infantry weapons, support weapons, tanks, artillery, etc.

The author presents a few strange ideas briefly (such as the Malayan and Mongol ancestry of the Japanese having something to do with their obedience and fierceness) but apart from that it's well worth buying.



anarchyintheuk -> RE: WWII Books Suggestions Needed? (2/10/2005 8:50:22 PM)

Battle History of the IJN by Paul Dull is excellent. Read it when you're familiar with the outline of the Pacific Theater. Only things I didn't like about the book really weren't specific to his topic. He doesn't write much about 1943, for obvious reasons. Even though the book is entitled battle history, I wish he had gone into some more background concerning the IJNAF, why the IJN built the ships they did and some more of they whys and hows of the IJN leadership.



DrewMatrix -> RE: WWII Books Suggestions Needed? (2/10/2005 9:16:50 PM)

quote:

as an American, it would be nice to read a different/British perspective. View the war from Burma


"Stationed Safe Out Here", George McDonald Fraser. Small Infantry Unit action in Burma



LittleJoe -> RE: WWII Books Suggestions Needed? (2/10/2005 9:36:21 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Beezle

quote:

as an American, it would be nice to read a different/British perspective. View the war from Burma


"Stationed Safe Out Here", George McDonald Fraser. Small Infantry Unit action in Burma



Think its "Quartered safe out there" Got the book lying around somewhere, pretty good book i got it after finding out that my grandad served in Burma.



Warfare1 -> RE: WWII Books Suggestions Needed? (2/10/2005 9:51:03 PM)

My suggestions:

By John Toland:

"But Not in Shame" - excellent and very readable account of the first six months of the Pacific War. Great detail about fighting in the Philippines and Bataan Death March.

"The Rising Sun" - excellent account of the ENTIRE Pacific War from Japanese perspective.


By John Costello:

"The Pacific War" - excellent account of the ENTIRE Pacific War with great pre-history of Pacific region and the war.

All the above books are VERY readable and interesting. These should definitely get you in the mood to play Pacific War games.



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