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.Mosquito Victory (Bomber Crews)
City Travel Guides > Books > Europe
by: Jack Currie

2004-02
I thought that the author's "Lancaster Pilot" was one of the best books about air in the war that i have read.This is the third book in the trilogy.Whilst it is a very good read it is not quite as good as the other 2 and that is because despite his protestations he was not returned to active duty after his tour finished,He became an instructor,then a glider pilot and finally flew Mosquitos on weather trips,virtually unopposed over enemy territory.So that insecurity which permeates the first 2 books is not there.In fact life became slightly routine for him.So although not quite up to the standard of the first 2 this is still an absorbing study of the RAF in the last year of the war
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.Wartime Scrapbook: From Blitz to Victory 1939-1945
City Travel Guides > Books > Europe
by: Robert Opie

October 15, 2004
When I saw this book, I knew I was going to love it. It includes page after page of nostalgic and evocative images of over 1000 items that shaped the Second World War.
They range from a photo of a Wartime larder, to photos of genuine wartime sweets and chocolate to photos of some of the newspapers that brandish many of the headlines that act as turning points that changed the whole course of the War.
Along side each page of vivid images, is an informative yet interesting explanation about the items on the page which gives you a true unterstanding of them.
If all this wasn't enough, then there is also a useful wartime timeline at the end of the book.
If you are interested by history of any kind, then this great book will ... Read More:
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.Caen 1944: Montgomery's Breakout Attempt (Campaign)
City Travel Guides > Books > Europe
by: Ken Ford

August 27, 2004
Let's begin by saying that it is really not a piece of cake to write a good AND interesting book on the battle like this one. The battle of Caen was basically an excruciating pushing and shoving match, an attrition battle that lasted months, which in principle is not something very glamourous to write about. Well, Ken Ford did it and he did it REALLY well. I was myself surprised that this book actually wouldn't let me go before I finished it.
The description of the battle is very well structured, clear and precise, with every next development and the reasons behind it very well explained. The maps and illustrations are good, the colour plates are gorgeous!
One minor remark, to the Osprey editing team - according to the text the picture ... Read More:
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.The Day the Devils Dropped in: The 9th Parachute Battalion in Normandy D-Day to D+6: Merville Battery to the Chateau St Come
City Travel Guides > Books > Europe
by: Neil Barber

July 22, 2003
I recently visited the Merville Battery - very well preserved, and a worthwhile place to visit if in the area. The book, though, really brought it to life, with the recollections and photographs of those who were there - hugely interesting and moving to see the site (which includes video recollections by some of the participants) with the opportunity to overlay that with these personal recollections. A fantastic read in its own right, but indispensable if planning to visit the battery.
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.How We Lived Then: A History of Everyday Life During the Second World War
City Travel Guides > Books > Europe
by: Norman Longmate

July 04, 2002
before in books about civilians in WW2. The accounts supplied by ordinary people are so poignant I cannot read them aloud to my husband without crying. I was born in 1949 and have always felt I had missed something when people spoke about it. Now I can "experience" it for myself. I have read 3 chapters, and already told my sister about it. She won't want to wait until I have finished it, she is getting one of her own.
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.The Wildest Province: SOE in the Land of the Eagle
City Travel Guides > Books > Europe
by: Roderick Bailey

February 07, 2008
This excellent and gripping book is a must buy for anyone serious about understanding the Second World War and its aftermath, as well as for anyone serious about cracking good reads. On almost every page there is a fascinating fact - not least legendary British actor Anthony Quayle's involvement in SOE - and they are all woven into a skillful whole that will by the end give the reader a new perspective on Europe and the perils of messing about in other people's countries. By turns breathtaking, funny, tragic and sometimes horrifying, the book is an indictment of the human spirit and what it is capable of: courage, determination, betrayal and dreadful violence. The best kind of modern history writing.
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.Third Reich Victorious: Alternate Decisions of World War II
City Travel Guides > Books > Europe
from: Presidio Press

March 15, 2008
It used to be that historians looked down upon anybody who dared to write a 'what if' scenario for the public. They thought this was a mere parlour game; the domain of journalists and other hacks who'd failed (in their eyes) to become 'proper' academic scholars.

Now of course the boot is on the other foot, and such counter-factual writings (to give their posh title) or 'what ifs' are very much in vogue.

Third Reich Victorious is nice romp through World War 2 (mainly the European theatre of operations) with separate chapters on a whole range of battles and campaigns, and how things might have turned out differently. What I liked about this book is that the scenarios were not too outlandish, and the authors stuck to what would ... Read More:
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.The Cretan Runner: His Story of the German Occupation
City Travel Guides > Books > Europe
by: George Psychoundakis

March 26, 1998
I read this novel on our first vist to Crete 5 yrs ago and when we revisited the Island 4 yrs a go we actually got to meet Mr Psychoundakis.
He was most a most gracious man who was attending a reunion at Souda Bay Cemetary. All very moving ! The Cretans are so brave, kind hearted and genuine even though as a race they have endured so much hardship under invading forces over the years. This novel is a must read for all who are interested in the islands life and history.We are going back next year and I for one cannot wait.
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.The Somme (Cassell Military Paperbacks)
City Travel Guides > Books > Europe
by: Peter Hart

June 15, 2006
'The Somme'. To many people these few words have come to be bywords for murder, mayhem and pointless slaughter. They conjure up views of Chateau Generals and poor Tommy Atkins living in fetid trenches waiting to die in a hail of machine gun bullets.

At long last we have a book which challenges this often heard view of the battle of the Somme. For nearly 90 years many eminent military historians have helped to colour the views of our nation with the same old bigoted, jaundiced and ill informed view of this great but tragic battle.

In this work Peter Hart looks at the battle in a logical and orderly manner. The book starts by giving the reasons why Douglas Haig was forced into fighting on the chalk downlands of the Somme. Once the political ... Read More:
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.Imperial War Museum's Victory in Europe Experience: From D-day to the Destruction of the Third Reich (Imperial War Museum)
City Travel Guides > Books > Europe
by: Julian Thompson

March 07, 2005
This review was written for another book in this remarkable series but the comments hold true here

This is a remarkable and exceptionally good summary of the latter stages of the Second World War. It combines a concise narrative with a range of multimedia materials including a CD, facsimiles of original documents and maps to produce, as the title suggests, an ‘experience’. I would also recommend in the strongest terms other books associated with the Imperial War Museum series including “The Victory in Europe Experience”, “The Cold War Experience” and, perhaps most poignant as we lose a generation, “The Verdun and the Somme Experience”. As a professional historian and an IT expert I have rarely seen such ... Read More:
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