How to Lose WWII: Bad Mistakes of the Good War


Bill Fawcett - 2010
    In the vein of his other phenomenal compendiums of amazing battlefield blunders, How to Lose a Battle and How to Lose a War, Fawcett focuses on some amazing catastrophic missteps of Axis and Allies alike.

Tank Commander: From the Fall of France to the Defeat of Germany: The Memoirs of Bill Close


Bill Close - 2013
    He was wounded three times. He finished the war as one of the most experienced and resourceful of British tank commanders, and in later life, he set down his wartime experiences in graphic detail. His book is not only an extraordinary memoir; it is also a compelling account of the exploits of the Royal Tank Regiment throughout the conflict. As a record of the day-to-day experience of the tank crew of seventy-five years ago--of the conditions they faced and the battles they fought--it has rarely been equaled.

At Close Quarters: PT Boats in the United States Navy


Robert J. Bulkley - 1962
    The crews of no other vessels experienced so high a degree of personal engagement with the enemy.” — Robert Bulkley Robert Bulkley’s definitive history of patrol torpedo boats in World War Two is exceptionally detailed, meticulously researched, and is a must-read for any naval enthusiast. Bulkley joined the PT division of the Navy in 1941, and immediately fell in love with the small and deadly weaponized boat. After V-J Day, 1945, the Navy continued Bulkley’s commission and asked him to write the official history of PT boats in WWII — At Close Quarters: PT Boats in the United States Navy is the groundbreaking result. In At Close Quarters, Bulkley uses the fastidious records kept by the US Navy to compile a book which serves as not just a record of the role of the PT boat's role in WWII but also as a lesson to future military and naval scholars. Best-known as the boat that future president John F. Kennedy commanded in the Pacific Theater in WWII, popular interest in PT boats has grown substantially since they first emerged as brilliant boats in naval engagements throughout the war. Bulkley provides a detailed account of the origins and history of PT boats, from the part they played in WWI to the improvements and developments made to their design prior to WWII. He analyses the role of PT boats in some of the major sea battles in the Pacific, opening with Pearl Harbor, through to their involvement in the Mediterranean, the D-Day operations in the English Channel as well as the Solomons campaign and the conquest of New Guinea. “The thorough and competent account herein of over-all PT boat operations in World War II, compiled by Captain Robert Bulkley, a distinguished PT boat commander, should therefore prove of wide interest. The widest use of the sea, integrated fully into our national strength, is as important to America in the age of nuclear power and space travel as in those stirring days of the birth of the Republic.” — President John F Kennedy “An invaluable history of WWII PT-Boat operations worldwide.” — Pacific Wrecks “This thorough and objective account of the operations of PT boats in the U.S. Navy in World War II was prepared in the year after V-J Day by an officer who served in them through most of the war in the far reaches of the Pacific. He knew and loved these small, fast craft with hornet sting. They played their part with zest in the far reaching, powerful Navy team. He gave to the research into the records, into the memories of other participants, and to the writing itself the same zest. As a result he produced a shipshape manuscript.” — Rear Admiral Ernest McNeill Eller Robert J. Bulkley, a retired USNR captain now deceased, commanded PT boats in the southwest Pacific, mostly in New Guinea and the Philippines, from June 1942 to the war's end. This work was first published in 1962, three years before Captain Bulkley passed away

Death March: The Survivors of Bataan


Donald Knox - 1981
    Photographs and maps.

The SS: Hitler's Instrument of Terror


Gordon Williamson - 1994
    The definitive account of Hitler's private army from its inception in the 1920s to its demise in 1945. Every aspect of the organization is covered, including its origins, its units and battles, and key figures who led formations in the field and oversaw internal affairs within Nazi Germany.- Continuing customer fascination with the role of the "SS" in Nazis Germany- Complete history of the organizations evilAvailable Winter 2005

The Battle for Okinawa


Hiromichi Yahara - 1995
    Critical acclaim for The Battle for Okinawa"An indispensable account of the fighting and of Okinawa's role in the Japanese defense of the home islands." --The Wall Street Journal"A fascinating, highly intelligent glance behind the Japanese lines." --Kirkus Reviews"The most interesting of the 'last battle of the war' books." --The Washington Post."A fascinating insider's view of the Japanese command." --Dallas Morning NewsCOLONEL HIROMICHI YAHARA was the senior staff officer of the 32nd Japanese Army at Okinawa.A Military Book Club Main Selection

The Silver Waterfall


Kevin Miller - 2020
    Nimitz waited for him with what he had, placed exactly where he needed it.Both admirals depended on their fliers, some veterans of battle, others raw and unproven. Striking first meant decisive victory.This is the story of the men who fought the World War 2 Battle of Midway over three momentous days in June, 1942. Men uncertain, determined, fearful and courageous. Their story is one of daring and unfathomable loss."The Silver Waterfall" is a historic fiction novel of Midway told by today's master of carrier aviation fiction about those who fought in one of the most pivotal and epic naval battles in world history.

By My Mother's Hand


Henry Melnick - 2011
    Shortly after the Nazis occupied Poland in 1939, he was sent to do slave labour in the Nowy Sącz, Tarnów Ghettos and Szebnie camp. He was then transferred to Auschwitz-Birkenau, Buna, Dora-Mittelbau and Bergen-Belsen death camps. When his parents were murdered in the Belżec death camp, he became the sole survivor of his entire family. After liberation, Henry volunteered for the Israeli Army and fought for Israel’s independence. He came to Canada in 1965 with his wife Hela and their two children.His story is one of strength and courage. His survival is nothing short of a miracle.

Battleground Pacific: A Marine Rifleman's Combat Odyssey in K/3/5


Sterling Mace - 2012
    But this is ultimately a combat tale—as violent and harrowing as any that has come before. From fighting through the fiery hell that was Peleliu to the deadly battleground of Okinawa, Mace traces his path from the fear of combat to understanding that killing another human comes just as easily as staying alive. He learns that bravery often equates to stupidity, leading to the death of close friends, but also that life goes on, with death on its heels. Battleground Pacific is one of the most important and entertaining memoirs about the Pacific theater in WWII.

The Bomber Boys: Heroes Who Flew the B-17s in World War II


Travis L. Ayres - 2005
    But nothing offered more fatal choices than being inside a B-17 bomber above Nazi-occupied Europe. From the hellish storms of enemy flak and relentless strafing of Luftwaffe fighters, to mid-air collisions, mechanical failure, and simple bad luck, it?s a wonder any man would volunteer for such dangerous duty. But many did. Some paid the ultimate price. And some made it home. But in the end, all would achieve victory. Here, author Travis L. Ayres has gathered a collection of previously untold personal accounts of combat and camaraderie aboard the B-17 Bombers that flew countless sorties against the enemy, as related by the men who lived and fought in the air?and survived.

The Lions of Iwo Jima


Fred Haynes - 2008
    Marines. Combat Team 28, 4500 men strong, trained for a full year, landed on the black sands of Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945, and raised the flag atop Mount Suribachi after four days of ferocious combat. Major General Fred Haynes USMC (Ret'd), then a young captain, is the last surviving officer in CT28 intimately involved in planning and coordinating all phases of the Team's fight on Iwo Jima. Drawing on a wealth of previously untapped documents, personal narratives, and letters, in addition to more than 100 interviews with survivors, Haynes and Warren recapture in riveting detail what the Marines of Combat Team 28 experienced, placing particular emphasis on the Team's ferocious struggle to break through the main belt of the Japanese defenses to the north, and reduce the final pocket of resistance on the island in Bloody Gorge. "The Lions of Iwo Jima "offers fresh interpretations of the fight for Suribachi, the iconic flag raising photo, and the nature of the campaign as a whole, and helps to answer the essential questions: Who were these men? What accounts for their extraordinary performance in battle?

Omaha Beach and Beyond: The Long March of Sergeant Bob Slaughter


John Robert Slaughter - 2007
    On June 6, 1944, on Omaha Beach, however, these proud Virginians who carried the legacy of the famed Stonewall Brigade showed the regular army and the world what true valor really was. In this moving World War II memoir, the author captures the day-to-day comings and goings of GI Joe from pre--World War II National Guard days through induction, training, deployment overseas, and more training.All leads up to D-Day and Normandy on June 6, 1944, when Sergeant Bob Slaughter came across Omaha Beach with Company D of the 116th Infantry. This was the beginning of his long march to final victory in Europe, a march that would take him and his fellow soldiers of Company D, at least those who survived, to Holland, the Bulge, and on into Germany itself.

The Battle for the Rhine 1944: Arnhem and the Ardennes, the Campaign in Europe


Robin Neillands - 2005
     The Nazis resisted fiercely at every opportunity. Nijmegen, Arnhem, the Huertgen Forest, the battles along the Channel coast and the River Scheldt, at Aachen, across the Ardennes and in the Saar - each battleground presented its own challenges and even after seventy years the controversies remain. Who was really responsible for the failure at Nijmegen, the destruction of the British 1st Airborne Division at Arnhem and the failure of Operation Market Garden? Why was Montgomery threatened with the sack when he had just retrieved Bradley's failure in the Battle of the Bulge? Was General Eisenhower's command strategy either workable or wise, and did Bradley and Patton undermine it? How much of a part did the media and politics have to play in these post-Normandy battles? In this masterly account of the 1944 post-Normandy campaign, Robin Neillands tells us what really happened in the long-drawn-out and costly struggle for the Rhine. With careful research and clear, lively accounts of the complex battles Neillands focuses on the triumphs and tribulations that faced those in command. It is one of the finest books on WWII, from one of Britain's most widely respected historians. Robin Neillands is the author of several acclaimed works on the First World War including ‘The Great War Generals on the Western Front’, ‘Attrition: The Great War on the Western Front, 1916’ and ‘The Old Contemptibles’. Praise for Robin Neillands: ‘One of Britain’s most readable historians’ – Birmingham Post ‘Immensely readable … a blast of fresh air’ – The Spectator ‘Informed and explicit, this is military history at its best’ – Western Daily Press ‘Neilland’s willingness to call a spade a spade will catch the popular imagination. His central argument is hard to fault’ – Literary Review Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.

Armageddon: The Battle for Germany, 1944-1945


Max Hastings - 2004
    Yet a series of mistakes and setbacks, including the Battle of the Bulge, drastically altered this timetable and led to eight more months of brutal fighting. With Armageddon, the eminent military historian Max Hastings gives us memorable accounts of the great battles and captures their human impact on soldiers and civilians. He tells the story of both the Eastern and Western Fronts, raising provocative questions and offering vivid portraits of the great leaders. This rousing and revelatory chronicle brings to life the crucial final months of the twentieth century’s greatest global conflict.

The Battle of the Bulge: A Graphic History of Allied Victory in the Ardennes, 1944-1945


Wayne Vansant - 2014
    Thirty-one American divisions - fully one-third of the U.S. Army raised during World War II - saw action in this battle. This battle was truly a test: could this conscript army from a pacifistic democracy defeat the best remaining men and machines that Germany's totalitarian government could produce? In Battle of the Bulge, author and artist Wayne Vansant brings readers into the frozen foxholes, haunting forests, and devastated villages of the Ardennes during that freezing cold winter. With meticulous historical accuracy and hand-drawn visuals that can tell a story in ways words alone cannot, Vansant recounts the Bulge with insightful detail, replaying the thrusts and volleys of both the combined Allied and German forces during the tumultuous battle. This is a story of panic, fear, and physical misery; a story of how a generation of draftees, National Guardsmen, and a small core of regular officers and NCOs faced those three elements as snow piled around their foxholes and the incessant drumming of artillery splintered the woods that gave them shelter. It is the story of men, frozen and hurting, far from home and holding little hope of seeing it again until the killing finally ended. Above all, TheBattle of the Bulge is a story of incredible triumph, now beautifully illustrated in graphic novel format for the first time.