h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Dear Peter

I think I need to learn some more technical/advanced aspects of history, I'm particularly interested in my GrandFather's campaigns (Dunkirk, Aran, Syracusa, D-Day and Arnhem.) Do you know any good history books/military history books?

I'm particularly interested in technical things e.g. strategy/weapons/uniforms/involvement of different platoons etc I imagine most books contain elements of this kind of information. if this qualifies as military history, I dont know haha I would appreciate your help.

Regards

Nabil

Hi greyowl

Here is my main collection of WW2, and related subjects, books which I have found most useful or of particular interest. Should you, or any one else, want a brief review or explanation of any please ask:


Mee, C. L. The End of Order - Versailles 1919, Secker & Warburg, 1980.
Sharp, A. Macmillan, 1991, softback.
Lamb, R. The Drift to War 1922-1939, W H Allen, 1989.
Mee, C. L. The End of Order - Versailles 1919, Secker & Warburg, 1980.
US Governmentt Printing Office The Treaty of Versailles, (full annotated text of the Treaty), Greenwood Press, New York, 1968.
Taylor, A. J. P. The Origins of the Second World War, Book Club Associates, 1972.

Churchill, W. S. The Second World War (6 volumes), Illustrated edition, The Educational Book Co.Ltd, n.d.
Churchill, W. S. War Speeches (3 Volumes), Cassell, 1952
Jenkins, R. Churchill, Macmillan, 2001.

Gilbert, M. Finest Hour - Churchill 1939-1941, Heinemann, 1983 (invauable, over 1,300 pages)
Gilbert, M. Road To Victory - Churchill 1941-1945, Heinemann, 1986 (invaluable, over 1,400 pages)
Gilbert, M. Second World War (Revised edition) Fontana, 1990, softback.
Salmaggi & Pallavisini 2194 Days of War, Windward, 1977 (a complete day by day chronology)
Masson, P. (ed) The Second World War - Photographic Record in Colour, Hamlyn, 1989.
Parrish, T. (Gen. Ed.) Encyclopedia of the Second World War, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1978.
Weinberg, G. L. A World at Arms - A Global History of World War II, Cambridge University Press, 1994.
Jones, R. V. Most Secret War, Hamish Hamilton, 1978.
Budiansky, S. Battle of Wits – The complete story of codebreaking in World War II, Viking, 2000.
Khan, D. Hitler’s Spies, Macmillan Publishing Co. inc., 1978.
Smith & Erskine (eds) Action This Day, Bantam Press, 2001.

Mackenzie, W. The Secret History of SOE – The special Operations Executive 1940-1945, St Ermins Press, 2000.

Kennedy, L. War Papers, Collins/Fontana, 1989, folio paperback.
Sutton, 1977.
Wallace, S. War and the Image of Germany, John Donald Pub.Ltd, Edinburgh, 1988.
__________________
France

Karslake, B. 1940 - The Last Act, Leo Cooper, 1979.
Ellis, , L. F. The War In France And Flanders 1939-1940, HMSO, 1953.
Curtis, M. Verdict On Vichy, Wiedenfeld & Nicolson, 2002.
Jackson, J. France – The Dark Years 1940-1944, Oxford, 2003, Softback.

__________________
Germany, Third Reich

Fest, J. C. Hitler, Purnell Book Services Ltd, 1974.
Fest, J. C. Speer – The Final Verdict, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2001.
Kershaw, I. Hitler 1889 -1936 Hubris, Allen Lane, The Penguin Press, 1998.
Kershaw, I. Hitler 1936 – 1945 Nemesis, Allen Lane, The Penguin Press, 2000.
Spotts, F. Hitler And The Power Of Aesthetics, Hutchinson, 2002.
Toland, J. Hitler, Wordsworth Editions, 1997, paperback.
Bullock, A. Hitler and Stalin - Parallel Lives, HarperCollins, 1991.
Walther, H. (ed) Hitler – A History in Photographs, Saturn Books Ltd, 1997.

Bower, T. Blind Eye To Murder, Little Brown & Co, 1995.
Burleigh, M. The Third Reich – A New History, Macmillan, 2000.
Burleigh & Wippermann The Racial State - Germany 1933-1945, Cambridge University Press, 1991, softback.
Carsten, F. L. The Reichswehr and Politics 1918-1933, California University Press, 1973, paperback.
Davis & McGregor Flags of the Third Reich, Osprey History, 2000.
Doenitz Memoirs –Ten Years And Twenty Days, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1959, (Copy signed by Doenitz)
Evans, R. J. Telling Lies About Hitler, Verso, 2002, softback.
Fischer, K. P. The History of an Obsession – German Judeophobia and the Holocaust, Constable, 1998.
Fleming, G. Hitler and the Final Solution, Oxford University Press, 1986, paperback.
Fowler, E. W. W. Nazi Regalia, Bison Books Ltd, 1992.
Friedländer, S. Nazi Germany & The Jews – The Years of Persecution 1933-39, Phoenix, 1998, softback.
Gilbert, M. The Holocaust - The Jewish Tragedy, Collins, 1986.
Goebbels, J. (ed.) Adolf Hitler – Pictures From The Life Of The Führer, (Berlin, 1936 edition) Reprinted 1999.
Goldhagen, D. J. Hitler’s Willing Executioners – Ordinary German’s and the Holocaust, Little, Brown and Co., 1996.
Hauner, M. Hitler - A Chronology of his Life and Times, Macmillan, 1983, softback.
Heiber & Glantz (eds) Hitler and his Generals – Military Conferences 1942 -1945, Greenhill Books, 2003. This is an astonishing publication, the complete stenographic recored of the Military Situation Conferences from Stalingrad to Berlin. Only recently translated from the surviving German archive it shows that Hitler wasn't so incompetent militarily as his generals tried to portray post-1945.
Hitler Mein Kampf, Hurst & Blackett, 1939.
Hoess, R. (intro Primo Levi) Commandant of Auschwitz, Phoenix Press, 2000, softback.
Klemperer, V. The Klemperer Diaries 1933 - 1945, Phoenix Press, 2000, softback.
Lipstadt, H. Denying the Holocaust - The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory, (signed copy), Penguin Books, 1993, paperback.
Lumsden, R. Himmler’s Black Order 1923-45, Bramley Books, 1997.
MacLean, F. L. the cruel hunters – SS-Sonder-Commando Dirlewanger, Schiffer Publishing, Atglen, PA, USA, 1998.
Marrus, M. R. The Holocaust in History, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1988.
Nicholas, L. H. The Rape of Europa – The Fate of Europe’s Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War, Macmillan Papermac, 1995, softback.

Noakes & Pridham (eds) Nazism 1919-1945 vol.1: The Rise to Power 1919-1934, Exeter University Press, 1991 softback.
Noakes & Pridham (eds) Nazism 1919-1945 vol. 2: State, Economy and Society 1933-39, Exeter University Press, 1991, softback.
Noakes & Pridham (eds) Nazism 1919-1945 vol. 3: Foreign Policy and Racial Extermination, Exeter University Press, 1991, softback.
Noakes, J. (ed) Nazism 1919-1945 vol. 4: The German Home front in World War II, Exeter University Press, 1998, softback.

O’Donell, J. P. The Bunker, Da Capo Press, 2001, paperback.
Overy, R. Interrogations – Inside the Minds of the Nazi Elite, Penguin Books, 2003, pareback.
Read & Fisher, The Deadly Embrace - Nazi-Soviet Pact 1939-1941, Michael Joseph, 1988.
Rhodes, R. Masters of Death – The SS Einsatzgruppen, The Perseus press, 2002.
Lord Russell of Liverpool The Scourge of the Swastika, Greenhille books, 2002.
Shermer & Grobman Denying History, University of California Press, 2000.
Shirer, W. L. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Book Club Associates, 1971.
Snyder, L. L. Encyclopedia of the Third Reich, Blandford, 1976.
Steinberg, J. All or Nothing - The Axis and the Holocaust 1941-43, Routledge, 1991, softback.
Taylor, T. The Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trial, Bloomsbury, 1993, softback.
Trevor-Roper, H. (ed) The Goebbels Diaries - The Last Days, Secker & Warburg, 1978
Trevor-Roper, H. (intro) Hitler's Table Talk, (3rd edition) Phoenix Press, 2000, softback.
Wistrich, R. S. Who’s Who in Nazi Germany, Routledge,1995, softback.
__________________
Italian Fascism

Bosworth, R. J. B. Mussolini, Arnold, 2002.
Mack Smith, D. Mussolini Paladin, 1985, paperback.
Milza, P. Mussolini, Carocci, Rome, 2000.

Franzinelli, M. Delatori – spie e confidenti anonime: l’arma segreta del regime Fascista, Oscar Mondadori, 2001, paperback.
Franzinelli, M. Le stragi nascoste, Oscar Mondadori, 2003, paperback.
Franzinelli, M. Squadristi – Protagonisti e techniche dell violenza fascista. 1919-1922, Mondadori, 2003.
Mack Smith, D. Italy and its Monarchy, Yale University Press, 1989, softback.
Sestan, E. (ed) Dizionario Storico Politico Italiano, an invaluable work of reference Sansoni, Florence, 1971.
Bossworth, R. J. B. The Italian Dictatorship, Arnold, 1998, softback.
Cannistraro, P. V.(ed) Historical Dictionary of Fascist Italy, Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut.
De Grand, A. Italian Fascism - Its Origins & Development, University of Nebraska Press, 1990, softback.
Deakin, F. W. The Brutal Friendship, (I searched for this book for about 20 years, I found a very poor copy in London in 1987 which went whilst I was still trying to make up my mind, then in 1991 I found this one in SKOOB's; the cover was battered but the pages were still uncut! It is an historian's gem and is constantly cited.), Harper & Row, 1962.
Ghiringhelli, P. The Rise of Italian Fascism (My M.A. Dissertation), University of Bradford, 1993.
Lamb, R. War in Italy 1943 - 1945 - A Brutal Story, John Murray, 1993, softback.
Lyttelton, A. The Seizure of Power - Fascism in Italy 1919-1929, (2nd edition) Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1987.
Mussolini, B. (Klibansky, R. ed.) Mussolini Memoirs 1942-1943, Phoenix Press, 2000, softback.
Salvatorelli & Mira Storia d'Italia nel periodo fascista, Einaudi, Turin, 1964.
Vivarelli, R. Storia delle origini del fascismo (volumes 1 & 2. Vivarelli published volume I in 1962, vol II appeared 29 years later! He is now said to be working on the concluding volume. Well worth the long wait.), Il Mulino, 1991, Bologna.
__________________
History Russia/USSR

Applebaum, A. GULAG – A History of the Soviet Camps, Allen Lane, 2003.

Conquest, R. The Great Terror - A reassessment, Hutchinson, 1990.
Conquest, R. Stalin - Breaker of Nations, Weidenfeld, 1991.
Moynahan, B. The Russian Century Chatto & Windus, 1994.

Sebag Montefiore, S. Stalin – The Court of the Red Tsar, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2003.

Stalin, J. Leninism, Lawrence & Wishart Ltd, 1940, softback. (now very rare, an invaluable source on Stalinism)

Sudoplatov, P. Special Tasks - The Memoirs of an Unwanted Witness - A Soviet Spymaster, Little, Brown & Co., 1994.
Volkogonov, D. Stalin - Triumph and Tragedy, Wedenfeld & Nicolson, 1991.
Yakolev, A. N. A Century Of Violence In Soviet Russia, Yale University Press, 2002.
__________________
WW2 Militaria and Campaign History

Ambrose, S. E. D-Day June 6 1944, Touchstone, 1995, softback.
Arkinson, R. An Army At Dawn – The War in North Africa, 1942-1943, Little Brown, 2003.
Arnold et al Into the Third Reich – Battles on Germany’s Western Frontier 1944-1945, Osprey Publishing, 2002, softback.
Beevor, A. Stalingrad, Viking, 1998.
Beevor,A Berlin – The Downfall 1945, Viking, 2002.
Bishop, P. Fighter Boys – Saving Brita in 1940, Harper Collins, 2003.
Blair, C. Hitler’s U-Boat War 1939-1942, Cassell & Co., 2000, softback.
Blair, C. Hitler’s U-Boat War 1942-1945, Cassell & Co., 2000, softback.
Blair, C. Silent Victory – The U.S. Submarine War against Japan, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, USA, 2001, softback.
Bragg, M. RDFI, Hawkhead Publishing, 2002.
Bryant, A. The Turn of the Tide 1939-1943, Doubleday & Co. New York, 1957.
Brown, A. B. Bodyguard of Lies, Comet, 1986, paperback.
Chandler & Collins (eds) The D-Day Encyclopedia, Helicon, 1994.
Clutton-Brock, O. Footprints on the Sands of Time, Grub Street, 2003.
Crabb, B. J. The Forgotten Tragedy – The Sinking of HMT Lancastria, Shaun Tyas, Donington, 2002.
Davies, N. Rising ’44 – The Battle for Warsaw, Macmillan, 2003.
Davis, B. L. German Army Uniforms and Insignia, Brockhampton Press, 1998.
Dupoy, Bongard, Anderson Hitler’s Last Gamble – The Battle of the Bulge, Airlife Publishing, Ltd., 1995.
D’Este, C. Bitter Victory – The Battle For Sicily 1943, Collins, 1988.
D’Este, C. Fatal Decision – Anzio And The Battle For Rome, Harper Collins, 1991
D’Este, C. Decision in Normandy, Robson Books, 2000.
Eisenhower, D. D. Report by the Supreme Gommander to the Combined Chiefs of Staff on the Operations in Europe … 6 June 1944 to 8 May 1945, H.M.S.O., 1946, softback.
Erickson, J. The Road to Berlin, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1983, softback.
Erickson, J. The Road to Stalingrad, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1983, softback.
Forty, G. British Army Handbook 1939 – 1945, Sutton Publishing, 2002, softback.
Goss, C. Luftwaffe – Fighter-Bombers Over Britain, Crécy Publishing Ltd, 2003.
Harclerode, P. Arnhem – A Tragedy of Errors, Caxton Editions, 2000.
Keegan, J. (ed) Atlas of the Second World War, Harper Collins, 2003.
Lenton, H. T. German Warships of the Second World War, Macdonald & Jane’s, 1975.
McKee, A. The Race For The Rhine Bridges, Souvenir Press, 2001, paperback.
Hastings, M. Overlord – D-Day And The Battle For Normandy, Michael Joseph, 1984.
Hogg, I. V. A History of Artillery, Hamlyn, Feltham, 1974.
Hogg & Weeks The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Military Vehicles, New Burlington Books, 1980.
Jolsen, H. F. Orders Of Battle – Second World War 1939-1945, The Naval & Military Press, 1990.
Kaplan & Currie Round The Clock (Allied Bomber Crews), Cassell, 2001, paperback.
Lucas, J. War On The Eastern Front 1941-1945, Greenhill Books, 1991, softback.
Mason, F. K. Battle Over Britain, Aston Publications Ltd, Bourne End, 1990.
Middlebrook & Everitt, The Bomber Command War Diaries, Midland Publishing, 2000, softback.
Montgomery, El Alamein To The River Sangro, Hutchinson, c1946. †
Neillands, R. The Bomber War, John Murray, 2001.

Moyes, P. Bomber Squadrons of the RAF, Macdonald, 1964.
Rawlings, J. D. R. Fighter Squadrons of the R.A.F., Crecy Books, 1993.
Robinson, A. (ed) In the Cockpit - Flying the World's Great Aircraft, Orbis Publishing, 1979.
Rosignoli, G. World Army Badges & Insignia since 1939, Blandford Press, Poole, 1986.
Schick, I. T. (ed) Battledress - 1700 to the Present, Peerage Books, 1983.
Taprell Dorling, H. Ribbons and Medals, George Philip & Son Ltd, 1970.
Taylor, F. Dresden, Bloomsbury, 2004.
Ward & Lee Dambusters, Red Kite Publishing, 2003.
Wilmot, C. The Struggle For Europe, Collins, 1952.
Withers, A. J. (intro) The U-Boat War in the Atlantic 1939-1945, HMSO, 1989.

Morgan & Shacklady Spitfire – The History, Key Publishing Ltd,Stamford, Lincs, 1993.
n.n. The Spitfire V Manual, (facsimile) RAF Museum Series, Greenhill Books, 2003.
n.n. The Huricane II Manual, (facsimile) RAF Museum Series, Greenhill Books, 2003.
Sharpe, Scutts, & March Aircraft of World War II, Parkgate Books, 1999.
Warner, G. The Bristol Blenheim, Crécy Publishing, 2002.
Hogg & Weeks The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Military Vehicles, Burlington, 1980.

Cor!
Pity you can't see me turning green with envy but I was pleased to see that I've actually got 3 books not on your list namely:
1. Behind Enemy Lines, WW2 Allied/Axis Propaganda by Edward Boehm
2. The Armed Forces of World War II, Uniforms, Insignia and Organisation
3. The Campaign in Italy by Eric Linklater
Very impressed (as always)
Ron

Hi Ron,

You may well be envious, but I am the despair of my wife. I have similar collections for WW1 and the Napoleonic wars, not to mention History in general. Space is a problem with some 3,000 volumes and I am constantly weeding out and giving books to charity shops.

Of the books you mentioned, on army badges and insignia I use Guido Rosignoli's "World Army Badges & Insignia Since 1939", the colour illustrations are superb and the text is packed with information, almost giving orders of battle.

On propaganda I have "Propaganda in War 1939-1945" by Michael Balfour. Professor Balfour was in the Intelligence Directorate of the Political Warfare Executive during the war so he writes with authority; he is very fair to Goebbles and his skillful use of propaganda, avoiding the usual mocking stereotype.

If you haven't already read them, you may find of interest Victor Klemperer's "The Klemperer Diaries 1933-1945" (Phoenix Press, 2000) and Mihail Sebastian's "Journal 1935-44" (Heinemann, 2001). Sebastian was a talented young Jewish writer in Bucharest; he somehow survived the war only to be run over by a truck and killed on 29 May 1945. These two make one feel ashamed not to be Jewish.

Kind regards,

Peter

Dear Peter

I am also envious, when I get married and if I make a lot of money I shall rent a flat where I can hide all my books haha I wish I could buy those books from you!!

Regards

Nabil