Recommended reading on economy

[Marcus]

The idea of this sticky is to collect recommendations on good books dealing with the economical aspects of WW2.

Please post the title, author and a short (or long) explanation as to why you feel that particular title deserves to be included.

/Marcus



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[Bronsky]

Some general reference books:

Elis - WWII Data book: has an economics and manpower section.

Harrison (ed) - The Economics of WWII: a couple of introductory chapters about the war as a whole (the general thesis being "the richest won") by Harrison, and individual essays about major belligerents: Britain, USA, Germany, Italy, Japan. Very macroeconomic approach, but good general reference for figures like manpower, defense outlay etc.

Milward wrote a book about the German occupation of Europe as well as another more general one about WWII economics. While more recent research has made refuted his theory of the German economy as having been planned around a series of short wars, the bulk of the book is still of value for its figures and general considerations.

Overy wrote a good book about the German economy. More recent works have nibbled at the edges (e.g. how instrumental were the early job creation schemes to rearmament, the exact role played by Speer) but the general narrative still stands and the figures are useful. The same author wrote "Why the Allies Won" which I absolutely hated when I first read it, the author being a little too full of himself and the book a little too full of annoying factual errors for my taste. On re-reading it more recently, I didn't find it nearly as bad as I remembered it, useful as a very readable introduction to the topic.

Tooze - "Wages of Destruction" is a good and very readable account of the German economy 1933-1945. Someone looking for a one stop book on the topic and whose eyes glaze over when reading economists' prose (like the Harrison volume) should pick this one up.

[Panzer Leader]

The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy
By Adam Tooze

[cstunts]

Hello,

Michael A. Barnhart. Japan Prepares for Total War: The Search for Economic Security, 1919-1941. Cornell University Press. 1988. 296pp.

A neglected masterpiece, IMHO. Absolutely indispensable for any serious (or not) student of Dai Toa Senso.

[Jon G.]

Hello,

Michael A. Barnhart. Japan Prepares for Total War: The Search for Economic Security, 1919-1941. Cornell University Press. 1988. 296pp.

A neglected masterpiece, IMHO. Absolutely indispensable for any serious (or not) student of Dai Toa Senso.

I just got this book in the mail. It looks *very* promising on a first read-through - almost a Tooze-an treatment of the Japanese war economy. I know little of this subject myself, but I am sure that also more dedicated students of Japanese history will learn much from this book.

[Andy H]

A bit of an old one (1986) bu 'The Audit of War (The Illusion & Reality of Britain as a Great Nation) by Correlli Barnett.

Well worth a few pence in a second hand bookshop

Regards

Andy H

[kgbudge]

I've enjoyed both Tooze and Barnhart. Tooze is particularly good for questioning some myths, such as the Speer "miracle" and the supposed ineffectiveness of strategic bombing.

Cohen's Japan's Economy in War and Reconstruction is also valuable.

[Andy H]

Hi

A rather dry read to say the least is British Budgets in Peace and War 1932-1945 by B.E.V. Sabine published in 1970 by Allen & Unwin. However dry the read may be, it helps flesh out the financial thoughts & constraints that effected the British economy. Also its brings to the fore the usual boring stuff of everyday life such as paying Income Tax, Customs duties and other taxes levied and increased during the war.

One little snippet on Pg234 dealing with the 1943 budget notes that though we gave £170millions in war aid to Russia, the greatest aid went to the USA, with spending on buildings to house troops alone topping £150millions

Regards

Andy H

[Andy H]

A fairly new publication is Professor David Egerton 'Britains War Machine (Weapons, Resources and Experts in the Second Wolrd War).

Sadly this isn't the Tooze of Britains economy and one is surely needed, but rather a good attempt at shining a light on some long held beliefs and facts concerning Britain in WW2. I haven't yet read all the book and there are some areAs that I have read that seem to be 'reaching' in terms of what there supposed or not supposed to show. Anyway its early days and I'll add more when I finally finish it.

Regards

Andy H

[stg 44]

Probably the best book series on the German war effort, specifically related to the economy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany_an ... _World_War

[Dave Bender]

GDP Data. Download the excel spreadsheet to your PC.
http://www.ggdc.net/maddison/

Ju-88 Aircraft Program.
http://www.econ.yale.edu/growth_pdf/cdp905.pdf

Prices for a variety of American and German Weapons.
http://www.panzerworld.net/prices.html

U.S. Army Air Force aircraft prices.
http://www.usaaf.net/digest/index.htm

German Warship Prices.
http://www.german-navy.de/kriegsmarine/ships/index.html

[Westwind]

Highly recommended for raw data is the British "Statistical Digest of the War", produced by the UK Central Statistics Office and edited by WK Hancock, 1951.
I got my copy through amazon.co.uk for Stg£3 plus postage in July 2011 - the current listings on http://www.bookfinder.com are unfortunately a lot dearer (around Stg£50), but it's worth keeping an eye out for one at the right price.

UPDATE: I've just found a reprint in paperback form called "Fighting with Figures: Statistical Digest of the Second World War", published by the CSO and available from amazon.co.uk for around Stg£10 second-hand. It's listed as having 250 pages, so it should contain most if not all the tables in the original.

[Marcus]

Peter Temin - Soviet and Nazi economic planning in the 1930s (in The Economic History Review, Vol XLIV, No 4)

/Marcus

[ljadw]

Keynes
Design for total war (B.Carroll)
Germany's Economic Preparations for War (B.Klein)
The Labour Party and the Economics of Rearmament (R.Toye)
Did Economics cause WWII?(R.Gordon)
The Legacy of Fortress Europe (T.Vonyo)

[ljadw]

And:
Fiscal stimulus in Germany :1933-1936
Hitler's money:the Bills of Exchange of Schacht and Rearmament in the Third Reich (G.Preparata)
Against the mainstream:Nazi privatisations in the 1930's