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The Patton Papers 1940-1945

These two volumes delve into Patton's thoughts and actions and help the reader to understand him. Blumenson's excellent notes place Patton's words in perspective.

 

Lightning Joe: An Autobiography

General Collins is considered one of the greatest U.S. Army division and corps commanders of World War II. This autobiography ably describes his military career from West Point and his early Army service to his tenure as chief of staff during the Korean War. The chapters on World War II are particularly valuable for providing a commander's perspective.

 

Decision in Normandy

The author, a retired lieutenant colonel, provides a carefully researched and detailed description of the World War II Normandy campaign. D'Este is critical of General Montgomery for not admitting that he changed his original plan.

 

The Seeds of Disaster: The Development of French Army Doctrine, 1919-1939

This prize-winning study of French military doctrine by the chairman of the West Point History Department illustrates the difficulty of formulating an effective doctrine and the vital role doctrine plays in modern armies. Doughty shows that France was defeated in the early days of World War II more by its own historical experience, geography, and political and military institutions than by German military excellence.

 

War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War

A study of race hate and the conduct of World War II in Asia, this imaginative book looks at the war through both Western and Japanese eyes. - Dower acknowledges that, in the course of the war in Asia, racism, dehumanization, technological change, and exterminationist policies became interlocked in unprecedented ways.

 

The Thousand-Mile War: World War II in Alaska and the Aleutians

The only campaign of World War II fought on the United States' own North American soil took place amid the harsh climatic conditions of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands chain in 1942-43. The battles for Dutch Harbor, Kiska, and Attu involved extensive joint operations. This highly readable history of the campaign describes both Japanese and American commanders and actions.

 

Command Decisions

Many of the authors of the "green books," the U.S. Army's official history of World War II, contributed to this study of twenty-one key military operational and strategic decisions of World War II. The essays cover all the vital military decisions, including the Germany-first strategy, Overlord versus the Mediterranean, the ninety-division gamble, the launching of Operation Market-Garden, and the use of the atomic bomb.

 

Monty: The Making of a General : 1887-1942

 

Master of the Battlefield: Monty's War Years 1942-1944

 

Monty: Final Years of the Field-Marshal, 1944-1976

You do not have to admire Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery of El Alamein to appreciate this monumental work, which is the authorized biography of Britain's most famous World War II general Hamilton provides a wealth of information about Montgomery's military career and personal life, in which Monty emerges as a master trainer of men, a great and controversial man, and an eccentric person. In assessing Montgomery's planning and execution of Operations Anvil and Market-Garden, Hamilton is not objective, for he sees no failings by Montgomery! Still, these volumes are a valuable source for understanding the British way of war in World War II.

 

Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy

Hastings gives an accurate, readable, and current account of D day.

 

Catch 22

No author better portrays the irony of war and the frustrations of military bureaucracy than Heller as he describes the anti-heroics of members of the World War II Army Air Forces. The title earned a place in the dictionary and our vocabulary. The anniversary of Catch 22's first publication was recently commemorated with a symposium at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

 

Double-Edged Secrets: U.S. Naval Intelligence Operations in the Pacific During World War II

Captain Holmes of the Combat Intelligence Unit gives an exciting and informative firsthand account of Ultra naval intelligence gathering in the Pacific during World War II.

To Lose a Battle: France 1940

This is a fascinating analysis of the French defeat at the beginning of World War II.

 

The Years of Macarthur, 1880-1941

 

The Years of Macarthur 1941-1945

 

The Years of Macarthur: Triumph and Disaster 1945-1964

Forget William Manchester's popular account; this is the biography of MacArthur.

 

The Men of Company K: The Autobiography of a World War II Rifle Company

In this easily read paperback, these two officers tell the story of the men and actions of Company K which landed on Omaha Beach with the 84th Division on 2 November 1944 and fought to the Elbe. Written from today's perspective, this book, which is essential reading for future combat leaders, shows the influence World War II had on a few American soldiers and the realities of war.

 

Ultra Goes to War: The First Account of World War II's Greatest Secret Based on Official Documents

In this overview of Ultra, Lewin tells a fascinating story of the most secret World War II intelligence-gathering operation.

 

A Time for Trumpets : The Untold Story of the Battle of the Bulge

This book provides a detailed account of the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944, written by a veteran of the battle and an excellent historian. MacDonald features small-unit actions as well as descriptions of events on the strategic level. The section on eliminating the bulge is not as complete as other portions of the book.

 

Panzer Battles : A Study of the Employment of Armor in the Second World War

German Major General von Mellenthin, who commanded armored forces in Poland, France, the Balkans, North Africa, Russia, and the Western Front, provides considerable tactical information in his postwar account of his actions in World War II. Keep in mind that this volume was compiled after the war and, in part, was designed to please Western admirers of the German General Staff.

 

Once an Eagle

Here is one man's saga and the story of an officer's life in the U.S. Army from

World War I, through World War II, and up to the Indochina conflict. This entertaining, well-written, lengthy novel is informative about the contradictions of officership in the interwar and World War II Army.

 

The Crucible of War: Wavell's Command: The Definitive History of the Desert War - Volume 1

 

The Crucible of War: Auchinleck's Command: The Definitive History of the Desert War - Volume 2

 

The Crucible of War: Montgomery and Alamein: The Definitive History of the Desert War - Volume 3

Originally issued in 1980 in a hardbound two-volume set, this complete history of the desert war from 1939 to 1942 has been reissued in a three-volume paperbound version titled Wavell's Command, Auchinleck's Command, and Montgomery and Alamein. All major military operations, battles, and commanders are covered in depth.

 

George C Marshall: Education of a General, 1889-1939

George C Marshall: Ordeal and Hope, 1939-1943

 

George C. Marshall: Statesman, 1945-1959

 

George C. Marshall Interviews and Reminiscences for Forrest C. Pogue

Pogue knew and interviewed Marshall for this comprehensive, complete, and coherent biography of twentieth century America's greatest soldier and patriot.

 

At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor

This long, but eminently readable, volume published after a lifetime of research by the author is the complete story of the Japanese surprise attack at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Especially fascinating are descriptions of Japanese training, planning, and preparations for the raid.

 

Bridge Too Far

This highly readable and gripping account of Operation Market-Garden, the greatest airborne operation in history, covers all levels of war. The book was the basis for the movie. Other books by Ryan are The Longest Day. June 6, 1944 (1959) and The Last Battle (1975).

 

The Forgotten Soldier

A soldier who served in the German Army on the Eastern Front provides a chilling description of warfare.

 

Defeat Into Victory

Of utmost value to officers and highly praised by U.S. Army Command and General Staff College students, this book is Field Marshal Slim's personal account of the fight against Japan in Burma during World War II.

 

Eagle Against the Sun: The American War With Japan

Spector's is an excellent, readable, well-researched account of the war in the Pacific. Stokesbury, James L. A Short History of World War II. New York: Morrow, 1980. This is the best and most readable one-volume account of the war, and it contains a good bibliography.

 

Men at Arms

 

Officers and Gentlemen

 

The End of the Battle

These three humorous and symbolic novels by a famous British author depict military life during World War II as seen through the activities and thoughts of the hero, Guy Crouchback. He sees in war the hope of personal revitalization. If you like British fiction, you will want to read and reread these classic works.

 

Eisenhower's Lieutenants

Professor Weigley's thesis in this book is that the U.S. Army fighting in Europe during World War II was an army of mobility not designed to generate the sustained combat power called for by its strategy. Weigley evaluates U.S. strategy, operations, and tactics from the Normandy invasion to the halt at the Elbe River. He concludes that the U.S. Army was victorious because it had enough material resources to exhaust the enemy without fighting either a decisive battle of annihilation or exploiting its mobility to support an indirect approach.