City Travel Guides > Books > World War II 1939-1945

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.Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland
City Travel Guides > Books > World War II 1939-1945
by: Christopher R. Browning

June 28, 2001
Amongst historians this book has quickly reached the status of a classic. But it deserves to have a much broader readership as the subject it tackles - that of how 'ordinary men' can end up doing morally repugnant deeds - has implications that go far beyond its historical context. There is a human tendency to categorise and blame groups of people because it is easier than facing the possibility that anyone is capable of horror. An example would be the claim that 'religion causes wars' - it places the burden on an external agency, on the 'other' rather than the fact that anyone can commit an atrocity.

This is what Browning's book illustrates beautifully; the gradual steps these ordinary men take on the path to atrocity. Browning ... Read More:
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.Birmingham Blitz
City Travel Guides > Books > World War II 1939-1945
by: Annie Murray

July 10, 1998
A story of a family of women trying to cope and survive during the blitz in Birmingham,it made me thankful that I haven't had to face the hardships of families being split. Loved ones parted, husbands and children seperated. The story was a little bit of a tear jerker towards the end. A very good read, again like all of Annie Murray's books I could not put it down till I had finished reading it even though I had read it twice before. What I find with all the Author's book, she certainly must carry out a lot of research, her books are full of little snippits of information that take you back in time and reminds you of the things you forgot about when you were young, expecially as most of her books are all set in the area of Birmingham and the ... Read More:
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.Nine Lives
City Travel Guides > Books > World War II 1939-1945
from: Goodall Publications Ltd

1999-07
Nine Lives is a book that once you pick it up you dont want to put it down because you realy get a feel as to what it must of been like during air combat. The excitement,concentration and the fear. I found Alan Deere to be a very likeable character who not only shows immense courage but humility too. If your an aviation buff and want something thats not too detailed then I'm sure you will find this book an enjoyable read.
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.Spreading My Wings: One of Britain's Top Women Pilots Tells Her Remarkable Story from Pre-War Flying to Breaking the Sound Barrier
City Travel Guides > Books > World War II 1939-1945
by: Diana Barnato Walker

June 10, 2008
Having read this book, I had the great priviledge of meeting Diana Banarto Walker. The sparkling and sometimes mischievous wit contained in this, to my taste, well-written book, was totally evident in meeting this grand lady. This is a story that delicately blends humour, determination, tragedy and triumph. It's well worth a read by anyone, but, if like me you have a passion for things aeronautical, then it's a must!
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.First Blitz
City Travel Guides > Books > World War II 1939-1945
by: Neil Hanson

May 19, 2008
The following review appears in the July 2008 edition of Navy News:

HISTORY invariably falls into two categories: academic and narrative.
The former is usually detailed, offers unique insights and can be as dry as the Sahara in a drought.
The latter normally rattles on at a cracking pace but rarely skims the surface of serious research.
To marry the two is a rare art - and it is an art Neil Hanson has mastered.
After first-rate histories of the Spanish Armada and the Great Fire of London, Hanson has turned his attention to the Great War in the Air in First Blitz.
There is a smattering of books on the `first Blitz' as it became known (only after `The Blitz' Blitz a generation later) - but ... Read More:
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.Major and Mrs Holt's Battlefield Guide to the Somme (Battleground Europe)
City Travel Guides > Books > World War II 1939-1945
by: Tonie Holt, Valmai Holt

April 25, 1994
Put quite simply, if you're visiting The Somme, please take this book with you. My visit was made all the better thanks to this little gem. It won't allow you to miss a thing and gives teriffic background on the places you'll visit.
While standing in Cemeteries containing over 5,000 graves you'll certainly shed a tear or two so take plenty of tissues! The whole Somme region is a huge burial ground and cemeteries and memorials appear from nowhere everywhere you look. When you come across one simply stop your car, take out this book, and you'll be able to read all about the memorial that stands before you.
My wife and I will certainly visit this very moving area of France again and this superb book will accompany us again as we ... Read More:
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.Anne Frank (Famous People Famous Lives)
City Travel Guides > Books > World War II 1939-1945
by: H CASTOR

September 13, 2001
From the popular Famous People/Famous Lives series of books: No. 2 - ANNE FRANK.

'When Anne Frank is given a diary, she starts to write to her made-up friend, Kitty. Soon, Anne and her family are forced to hide from the Nazi Germans. Anne continues to write her diary.'

48 high quality pages in a clear, easy-to-read text and appealing black and white illustrations, finishing with a useful timeline, details just enough information to keep the attention of the younger child and make a lasting impression.

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.Sand In My Shoes: Coming of Age in the Second World War: A WAAF's Diary
City Travel Guides > Books > World War II 1939-1945
by: Joan Rice

July 02, 2007
I really liked this book.

It's the published diaries of a girl who was 19 when the Second World War began. It must be fairly unique of its type because apparently members of the forces weren't supposed to record their experiences during war time so the author kept her diary secretly and at the end of the war no one was interested in it because everyone was fed up with hearing about the war. Now it is a piece of social history and fascinating to read.

The book is pleasingly unaffected and informative, even down to what they ate (not very healthily by today's standards).

I read the last part of the book when I was travelling to work on the train and it really struck me how, despite the war and the difficulties ... Read More:
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.Forgotten Voices of the Second World War: A New History of the Second World War and the Men and Women Who Were There (Forgotten Voices World War 2)
City Travel Guides > Books > World War II 1939-1945
by: Max Arthur

May 05, 2005
I have read a few books on WWII. This book will draw you into the lifes of the men and women who were there. It covers the start of the war right upto the War with Japan and VE Day. What I found interesting about this book is that it covers hundreds of different accounts from the different people who experienced the war. This book was difficult to put down. If you like WWII then this is a must read !!
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.We Are at War: The Diaries of Five Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times
City Travel Guides > Books > World War II 1939-1945
by: Simon Garfield

March 02, 2006
Continuing the thread begun in Hidden Lives, Simon Garfield offers selections from the Mass-Observation Project diaries of five people caught up in the preparations and then the beginning of the infamous Blitz. The uncertainty, the anger, the fear; it's all here and it leaps off of the pages in a way that keeps you turning them.

Sometimes the diarists are not particularly likeable - you encounter racism and defeatist attitudes at certain points. But that is something that makes this volume particularly interesting. Knowing that these pages are going to be read by others, the diarists are still painfully honest in their fears and their prejudices. Very enlightening, and highly recommended, especially as a companion volume to Hidden Lives.
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