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.Bomber Boys: Fighting Back 1940-1945
City Travel Guides > Books > Europe
by: Patrick Bishop

May 23, 2008
This book is the best book I have read so far this year.

It describes the strategic air war against Germany by the RAF in the Second World War. That description makes it sound maybe a bit dry and academic but it is far from being either of those things! It tells the story of this chapter in the war from a very human point of view. For example, there are chapters describing the airmen's training, lives at their bases, their motivation, how they dealt with the fear of being killed whilst carrying out operation over Europe at night and many other highly interesting aspects of the lives of these remarkable men.

The book also describes the strategy behind the bombing of Germany, from the beginning to the end of the war ... Read More:
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.The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia
City Travel Guides > Books > Europe
by: Orlando Figes

October 04, 2007
In this book, Figes has diluted and refined his mastery of the art of weaving historical sources together. These family narratives which, without this book, would certainly have been lost, provide a compelling insight into the reality of Soviet Russia - the 'historical' backdrop of dates and movements takes a back seat to the gritty honesty of real people's testimony of what living through this era was actually like.
A fantastic read.
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.Churchill, Hitler and the Unnecessary War: How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World
City Travel Guides > Books > Europe
by: Patrick J. Buchanan

May 13, 2008
Buchanan argues correctly that both world wars were unnecessary, that the sainted Churchill was in fact flawed, that Britain as much as Germany provoked the wars, and that the consequence has been the decline of the West. It is refreshing to read some genuine history. He presents it well and generally argues his case convincingly.

I was a great admirer of Churchill and Roosevelt until I recognised some inconsistencies in the official histories and - horrors - to resolve them started reading contemporary accounts and declassified papers. I swiftly developed a distaste for these two charlatans, such that I now rate them about as amoral as Hitler. But after all, I must confess that I am a cynical sort - I cannot think of a single political ... Read More:
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.Italy's Sorrow: A Year of War 1944-45
City Travel Guides > Books > Europe
by: James Holland

March 03, 2008
James Holland's generosity of spirit and indefatiguable labour has created one of the best general histories I've read recently--and there's a lot of stiff competition about. As well as using writen sources, Holland personally interviewed survivors from all sides of the conflict; Germans, Poles, Canadians, Britons, Americans, Italian partisans and fascists. These accounts give a vivid picture of the heroism and brutality of war, and instil a sense of sympathy for (almost) all of the participants. Their stories are skillfully blended into the larger narrative, which explains what happened, and why the major players (Alexander, Mark Clark, Kesselring, Churchill, Roosevelt, Mussolini, etc) made crucial decisions. Holland is immenently fair-minded; the ... Read More:
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.Band of Brothers
City Travel Guides > Books > Europe
by: Stephen E. Ambrose

September 17, 2001
Having quite recently thoroughly enjoyed the HBO series of the same name, Ambrose's book comes as pleasantly familiar territory, acting to fill in gaps and flesh out characters I had encountered in the series.

The story of Easy Company is an extraordinary one and Ambrose has clearly done them a great service in delivering this history in a reasonably accessible format but before I place too much praise upon the late Ambrose, the book is somewhat flawed in places.

When I watched the Band of Brothers mini-series I found myself extremely moved by the intimate bond that these real comrades in arms build as they progress from their training at Curahee, through their battles at Normandy on D-Day, Carentan, Bastogne and others to finally ... Read More:
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.Armageddon: The Battle for Germany 1944-45
City Travel Guides > Books > Europe
by: Max Hastings

April 15, 2005
An impressive panoramic narrative of the battle for Germany, "Armageddon" combines a wide range of sources (including many veterans) with Hastings's sharp, often iconoclastic judgement. His criticism of the military folly of Operation Market Garden, the Ardennes offensive, and Zhukov's Oder crossing is hard-hitting, but frequently deserved. Hastings is no apologist for military failings, although he frequently gets moralistic: discussions of the justice of the allied cause or the tyranny of Stalin, which is perceived in downright Manichean terms, should not be part of a work of history. This is not to deny the reality of good and evil, or to say that tales of atrocity should not be included: of course they should, especially in a book that intends to provide ... Read More:
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.Berlin: The Downfall 1945
City Travel Guides > Books > Europe
by: Antony Beevor

October 04, 2007
An amazingly detailed account of the scope & horror of the event. For all the movies & documentaries about WWII they berely scratch the surface of the reality of warfare. If war's were told like this we may be more apprehensive about starting new ones. Seven million strong the Red Army had on the border of East Prussia prior to the invasion, that was the entire population of Australia at the time!
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.Fateful Choices: Ten Decisions That Changed the World, 1940-1941
City Travel Guides > Books > Europe
by: Ian Kershaw

February 28, 2008
Kershaw examines ten choices that changed the world between the spring of 1940 and the end of 1941. Each of them could have been different (though Kershaw shows that the alternatives, usually lengthily and therefore somewhat repetitively rehearsed, were not very appealing, and sometimes not even sensible), and had they been different, the history of the Second World War and of the world following it would of course have been very different, too.

The first choice Kershaw examines is that of Britain refusing to negotiate with Hitler after the fall of France. The decision to fight on alone was taken by the inner war cabinet of only five men. Among them only the Foreign Minister, Lord Halifax, argued strongly for exploring possible peace terms. ... Read More:
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.Forgotten Voices of the Secret War: An Inside History of Special Operations in the Second World War (Forgotten Voices)
City Travel Guides > Books > Europe
by: Roderick Bailey

May 01, 2008
My father was an SOE agent in the Second World War. I never knew him and had virtually no knowledge of his wartime exploits. This fascinating and carefully constructed book by Roderick Bailey, based as it is on recorded conversations held with SOE agents themselves, brings to life the experiences (from the terrifying to the hilarious) that they, and my father among them, went through. The Forgotten Voices Of The Secret War has enabled me to appreciate his bravery, and be proud of him. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in the extraordinairy courage of the men and women who put themselves forward for SOE operations.
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.Our Longest Days: A People's History of the Second World War
City Travel Guides > Books > Europe
by: The Writers of Mass Observation

March 06, 2008
Our Longest Days is a collection of excerpts from just a handful of the diarists who participated in the Mass Observation Project during the Second World War; a broad mix of housewives, conscientious objectors, students, voluntary service workers, land girls, those with army and air-force backgrounds, young and old; those who had seen the First World War, and those to whom the deprivations and horrors were altogether new. The collection covers the war from beginning to end, and each significant event of those six years is touched on by more than one diarist.

Nella Last's diary was published (and filmed) separately, and this is unsurprising when you read these excerpts next to the others... although regularly domestic in nature, her writing is intimate, ... Read More:
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