If you're looking for a recommendation for your library, post it here.
I'll start...Lately, I've been in the mood for something beefy about the first Gulf War. Does anybody have any good recommendations for a detailed reference book covering Desert Shield/Desert Storm? I'm talking about a reference type book with maps, charts, OOBs, etc.
I've done general searches on google, amazon and other commercial sources and have not found anything that appears to be the reference style I am looking for.
Thanks.
Looked through the bibliography of Atkinson's Crusade. Not sure how accessable it is but it listed Certain Victory: The American Army in the Gulf War by the US Army Special Study Group, February 1993 (draft). There is also listed The United States Navy in Desert Shield/Desert Storm by the Department of the Navy, May 1991.
Quote from: bobarossa on August 10, 2021, 09:01:39 AM
Looked through the bibliography of Atkinson's Crusade. Not sure how accessable it is but it listed Certain Victory: The American Army in the Gulf War by the US Army Special Study Group, February 1993 (draft). There is also listed The United States Navy in Desert Shield/Desert Storm by the Department of the Navy, May 1991.
Ah. Good idea to check the bibliography. I have Crusade somewhere.
Not certain on the beefiness of it, but iirc, GDW put out a Desert Shield/Desert Storm book - pretty sure (if Twilight 2k is any indication) there'd be charts, maps and all sorts of crunchy stuffs.
Downside is that you'd have to get it used, if you can even find it at all.
How about the US Army history of the Gulf War? https://history.army.mil/html/books/070/70-117-1/index.html
Can somebody recommend first-hand accounts from WW2 naval surface operations? English or German language.
For WW2 Naval Surface first hand account, it does not get better than
"Japanese Destroyer Captain" by Tameichi Hara.
https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Destroyer-Captain-Guadalcanal-Battles/dp/1591143845/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3JSR1NHGBF8FA&dchild=1&keywords=japanese+destroyer+captain&qid=1631293775&sprefix=japanese+destroy%2Caps%2C221&sr=8-1 (https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Destroyer-Captain-Guadalcanal-Battles/dp/1591143845/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3JSR1NHGBF8FA&dchild=1&keywords=japanese+destroyer+captain&qid=1631293775&sprefix=japanese+destroy%2Caps%2C221&sr=8-1)
I also enjoyed "Sea of Thunder" by Evan Thomas, that closely follows two American and two Japanese commanders
https://www.amazon.com/Sea-Thunder-Commanders-Campaign-1941-1945/dp/0743252217/ref=sr_1_34?dchild=1&keywords=samar&qid=1631294409&s=books&sr=1-34 (https://www.amazon.com/Sea-Thunder-Commanders-Campaign-1941-1945/dp/0743252217/ref=sr_1_34?dchild=1&keywords=samar&qid=1631294409&s=books&sr=1-34)
The Mammoth Book of Eyewitness Naval Battles edited by Richard Russell Lawrence
https://www.amazon.com/Mammoth-Book-Eyewitness-Naval-Battles/dp/0786712384/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=mammoth+book+of+eyewitness&qid=1631311820&s=books&sr=1-5
Covers all history. WW2 section is about 150 pages long.
Quote from: Redwolf on September 10, 2021, 11:07:39 AM
Can somebody recommend first-hand accounts from WW2 naval surface operations? English or German language.
I second AZTank's recommendation of "Japanese Destroyer Captain." It is a must-read. Also, "A History of United States Destroyer Operations in WWII" is good. This book was written in the 1950s, but is based largely on the ship operations reports, so it is effectively a first hand account of various actions, from the perspective of DE/DD sailors.
(https://www.amazon.com/United-States-Destroyer-Operations-World/dp/0870217267/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Theodore+Roscoe&qid=1631474948&sr=8-1)
Quote from: ArizonaTank on September 10, 2021, 12:22:20 PM
For WW2 Naval Surface first hand account, it does not get better than
"Japanese Destroyer Captain" by Tameichi Hara.
https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Destroyer-Captain-Guadalcanal-Battles/dp/1591143845/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3JSR1NHGBF8FA&dchild=1&keywords=japanese+destroyer+captain&qid=1631293775&sprefix=japanese+destroy%2Caps%2C221&sr=8-1 (https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Destroyer-Captain-Guadalcanal-Battles/dp/1591143845/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3JSR1NHGBF8FA&dchild=1&keywords=japanese+destroyer+captain&qid=1631293775&sprefix=japanese+destroy%2Caps%2C221&sr=8-1)
An outstanding book that I have read many times. Capt. Hara also commanded the light cruiser (Yahagi?) that sailed with the Yamato on its last sorti, which is in the book.
I was looking for books "like Game of Thrones" and came across a recommendation for a series called The Accursed Kings by Maurice Druon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SRJSVG7?searchxofy=true&binding=kindle_edition&ref_=dbs_s_aps_series_rwt_tkin&qid=1639000169&sr=8-1
Have any of you read any of this series, and if so would you recommend it?
I read the first three or so. Used interlibrary loan for them. Never bothered to finish the series. Didn't think that much of the quality of the writing. Ended up disliking all of the characters. It IS Game of Thrones like though. Lots of bloodshed and double dealing. I'd say give it a try. If you like the first one, the rest are more of the same.
Alright, this is a seemingly easy one.
I'm looking for a book that covers the European Theater of WW2. No Pacific Theater, just European.
I have Atkinson's 3-volume trilogy, but I'm looking for something more from the German perspective, or something less U.S.-centric.
I also have Churchill's memoirs, but haven't read past the first volume; if that's a proper choice let me know that, too.
Bump!
You all disappoint me, this one's a layup.
Robert M. Citino maybe? Specifically, his three volumes on Wehrmacht campaigns, 1942, 1943 and 1944-45.
The Rise of Germany, 1939–1941: The War in the West and The Allies Strike Back, 1941–1943 (War in the West part II) by James Holland
https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Germany-1939-1941-War-West-ebook/dp/B00XAQ1P46/
https://www.amazon.com/Allies-Strike-Back-1941-1943-West-ebook/dp/B01N0SMIHR/
The Struggle for Europe by Chester Wilmot
https://www.amazon.com/Struggle-Europe-Chester-Wilmot/dp/1568525257
Why Germany Nearly Won: A New History of the Second World War in Europe by Steven Mercatante and Dr. Robert M. Citino (who matt3916 mentioned)
https://www.amazon.com/Why-Germany-Nearly-Won-Technology-ebook/dp/B008MBQM42/
Anyone know any good "Cold War Hot" novels with a significant. relatively accurate naval element beyond Red Storm Rising?
One of our own Grogheads (nicknamed "Airborne Rifes") wrote such a good AAR on Bart Gavin's epic Northern Fury module for (the now kind of defunct) Command: Modern Air/Naval Operations from Matrix, that they partnered up to produce a novel series for Matrix!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07R7BVQ31?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420
I haven't read them myself yet (too many shiny things to keep track of), but seemed relevant.
Quote from: Toonces on February 01, 2022, 08:04:44 PMAlright, this is a seemingly easy one.
I'm looking for a book that covers the European Theater of WW2. No Pacific Theater, just European.
I have Atkinson's 3-volume trilogy, but I'm looking for something more from the German perspective, or something less U.S.-centric.
I also have Churchill's memoirs, but haven't read past the first volume; if that's a proper choice let me know that, too.
Well, you'll know by now whether you like Churchill's reporting and narrative style or not. It's certainly not from the German perspective, of course. And it isn't centric to Europe, although you can just sort of skip over other theaters (Pacific, East Front which he didn't know much about, Middle East, North Africa). I'm finishing up his final volume on WW2 this week! -- about to start his final chapter! (I started a year or two ago with the first volume of
History of the English-Speaking Peoples. It has been a ride...)
I've had to kind of hot-patch together ETO accounts from the German perspective, and even that often combines Allied information. I'll see what I can come up with when I'm back at the house eventually. Shirer's classic
Rise and Fall has interesting information but of course it's mostly not about the ETO (considered in proportion to its size).
They aren't first-person accounts, but I'll put in a glowing recommendation for Neptune's Inferno, by James Hornfischer. While he's better known for Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, his observations of the US and Japanese Navy's conduct throughout the Guadalcanal campaign makes for an interesting historical arc.
There is a very strong emphasis on the US perspective.