What is everyone reading on WW2?

[Mark in Cleveland, Tn.]

This week going to scan over all these hardback editions,getting ready to rid myself of them

[Hans1906]

Mark,

what is this set of 13 books posted in your topic #3015 ?


Hans

[Mark in Cleveland, Tn.]

Mark,

what is this set of 13 books posted in your topic #3015 ?


Hans

Was published in the late 60's early 70's by Ferni Publishing House, Geneva on the Holocaust.Most were authored by Christian Beradac, and the publishing house had added two new books to make the complete set of 15. Have now after years bought the laST 2 TO complete the set.Very graphic and quite detailed

https://discover.hubpages.com/education ... -of-Geneva

The article has many wrong names, but all in all says it all. She mispells the House, and the statement about 16 editions is all wrong as well

[Hans1906]

Thanks Mark,

this work was unknown to me until now, did you miss something, if you have not read these books, that would be my question ?


Hans

[Tamari]

After finishing Patrick Beesly's book "Very Special Intelligence" about Britain's Naval Intelligence I started reading "Air Spy - The story of photo intelligence in World War II" by Constance Babington Smith (published by Harpers & Brothers New York in 1957).

While I'm generally interested in aerial reconnaissance and Photo Reconnaissance and ELINT airplanes like U-2, SR-71, EE CANBERRA/ RB-57, Il-20 COOT and possesing both books of Harald Rabeder about the "Knullenkopf-" and the "Adler mit dem Scherenfernrohr"-Staffel of Fernaufklärungsgruppe 123 (http://www.fernaufklaerer.com/buecher/ ) the specific reason for purchasing Babington Smith's book was the article by Joseph W. Caddell Jr. "Seeing things differently: contrasting narratives of British and German photographic intelligence during the Second World War".

Although Cadell Jr. does not really disagree that the Allied Photographic Reconnaissance (PR)/ Photographic Intelligence (PI) efforts were superior in comparison with Germany's PR/ PI conducts Caddell argues that Babington Smith's and other former members of the allied PR/ PI community's harsh critic is biased and to some extent unfair.

Caddell Jr. shows that the political-military environment in Germany was far different than in the Western Allied Camp (tactical support for Blitzkrieg vs. support for strategic bombing campaigns) and that you cannot judge PR/ PI only through the prism of success against destroyed targets: German airforce had photographed the Normandy beachheads with Ar-234 jetplane and also the Soviet industries far behind enemy lines but lack the bombers to engage this well-documented targets.

Also the use of of experienced NCO or privates in Germany does not necessarily means that the British British officers were per se superior.

I'm looking forward to learn how the Allies developed their PR/ PI production during the war and to learn about the details of Babington Smith's assessment regarding Germany's aerial reconnaissance.

My next book will be as well about aerial reconnaissance but then from the German perspective:

Dr. Norbert Rohde "Die fliegenden Augen des Oberst Rowehl"


Best regards
Robert

[thorwald77]

Just started reading Kalkulierte Morde by Christian Gerlach

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r3_qKfO1sQ&t=823s[/youtube]

[Jan-Hendrik]

Lost time...

Jan-Hendrik

[Attrition]

The German Air Force 1933-1945: An Anatomy of Failure by Matthew Cooper (1981) Quite useful on air defence agaisnt Bomber Command 1942-1943.

[Cult Icon]

Recently finished Rudel's Stuka Pilot memoir. Definitely one of the most eyebrow-lifting memoirs ever.

[TimR]

Thunder in the East by Evan Mawdsley. Very good overview of the Eastern Front conflict. Mainly a strategic-minded narrative with insightful analysis. How much more can you squeeze into a one-volume history of this momentous war? The author makes a noble attempt to illustrate both the Soviet and German events of the time. His past writings are Soviet-centric however.

[Hans1906]

Got the 1934 book "Die Hitlerjugend - Idee und Gestalt" by Baldur von Schirach a few days ago.

ZVAB https://www.zvab.com/erstausgabe/Hitler ... 4298418/bd

For free, the old lady in the neighborhood remembered my passion for antique books. (A former BDM member)
Even the original dust jacket in perfect condition, the stuff is still almost all over, you just have to ask...


Reprint from the year 1979: https://www.zvab.com/buch-suchen/titel/ ... gottfried/


Hans

[JeroenPollentier]

I'm reading Kaiserdämmerung (I guess it can be translated as "twilight of the emperor(s)", although there's no official English translation of the book yet), by Rainer F. Schmidt.

It's a history of Wilhelmine Germany and of the leadup to the First World War. I've only read 160 pages or so of a total of about 1000. The scope of the book is similar to "Das Ruhelose Reich" by Michael Stürmer and "Die Nervöse Großmacht" by Volker Ullrich.

However, the author follows Christopher Clark in that he claims the outbreak of war was caused, on the one hand, by France (and Russia) isolating Germany and working towards a new war to avenge 1871, and on the other hand, by Germany reacting very clumsily to this deliberate "Einkreisung" and failing to win Britain as an ally.

So the book is similar to Clark's "Sleepwalkers", although the present book is much more to the point and very, very readable, being subdivided into small chapters.

I can certainly recommend "Kaiserdämmerung" of which an English translation is to follow shortly, I suppose.

[Westphalia1812]

Cheongcheon 1950 - Wende im Koreakrieg
https://www.amazon.de/Cheongcheon-1950- ... 3506704311
Oliver Heyn

[OpanaPointer]

140 Days to Hiroshima (2020), David Dean Barrett.

I focus on the start and the end of the "Great Pacific War". This book is all most people will need to read about the endgame.

[Wally]

Sicily 43 by James Holland