Good Comprehensive book on WWII?

[foxtrot19]

hello all,

IM looking for a good, thorough account of the entire 2nd world war, preferably something that isnt bogged down in academic jargon and easily readable. THanks for your help

[Alfacentori]

Theres about a million or so on the topic, I suggest you try here 1st

Alfa

[Hutz]

Try History of the Second World War by B.H. Liddell Hart (a little dated) or The Second World War by John Keegan.

[Johnny_H02]

My Recommendations

The Coming of the Third Reich, The Third Reich in Power - Richard J. Evans
Europe at War - Norman Davies

Start with those.

[Lokos]

Keegan's book is fine, Davies' book is fine.

As soon as possible thereafter, however (having set up a context), read David Glantz's 'When Titans Clashed' - which will further clarify the war on the Eastern Front. You should have a good, general understanding of the war in Europe, thereafter.

L.

[foxtrot19]

thanks for the replies all! I was wondering if there was a book that focused on the sort of "ground up" experience , by that I mean explaining the training, logistics in detail sort of how AMbrose did in his D-Day book where he devoted a entire chapter to training and the materiel aspects of combat.

[Photographic]

I was about to post a thread but then noticed this one, I hope it's O.K. if I hijack it a bit I'm looking for a good introductionary read on the Eastern front (41-45), I bought Evan Mawdsley's "Thunder in the East" and was quite disappointed. He makes a big deal about his being the first book to "cover the middle ground" and not take a Russian or German point of view, but strangely enough I found it quite biased and also riddled with factual errors. It was also rather brief when describing battles, operations and advances etc, is my only hope to seek out books about specific battles/operations to get a basic understanding about the war? I'm thinking I won't appreciate Glantz either if Mawdsley ruined the fun for me, or is he worth a try?

[Carib]

The War: An Intimate History, 1941-1945 (Hardcover)

by Geoffrey C. Ward (Author), Ken Burns (Author)

[Alfacentori]

Try this one too if you want some detail on the wars day to day events

http://www.worldwartwobooks.com/prod...cond-world-war

Alfa

[IDF_TANKER]

The War: An Intimate History, 1941-1945 (Hardcover)

by Geoffrey C. Ward (Author), Ken Burns (Author)

I came across this one. I was wondering though - is this a comprehensive history book or just a light read with cool pictures. Admittedly, I'm looking for a book combining these two.

[IDF_TANKER]

The books I came across are:
The Second World War by John Keegan,
History Of The Second World War by Liddell Hart,
The Second World War: A Complete History by Martin Gilbert.

Would be nice to hear an opinion from someone who read them.

[Lokos]

I'm thinking I won't appreciate Glantz either if Mawdsley ruined the fun for me, or is he worth a try?

If you want to learn about the Eastern Front there's David Glantz, there's John Erickson and Ziemke. They're the authoritative giants on that front.

Glantz, 'When Titans Clashed' aside (which is an incredible ~250 page volume covering the entire front from 1941-1945), also has excellent, detailed examinations of particular periods of the war. Highlights include 'The Siege of Leningrad', 'The Battle of Kursk', 'The Battle for White Russia', 'Stumbling Colossus', 'August Storm' etc. etc.

John Erickson's two volume opus is highly recommended. The two volumes are called 'The Road to Stalingrad' and 'The Road to Berlin', I believe. He delves into all manner of political, diplomatic and social issues, whereas Glantz sticks to the military. Training is covered somewhat in both pieces, though not extensively. 'Why the Allies Won' and 'Russia's War' by Richard Overy are also both highly readable and very informative.

I'm not sure what you have against Mawdsley's book - it's not that bad, actually.

If you're looking for introductory reads, stick to the introductory materials. These general volumes won't spend dozens of pages on a single battle.

L.

[Jacknola]

By far the most comprehensive book about the entirety of MILITARY operations in WWII is within The West Point Atlas of American Wars, Volume II, Chief Editor Brigadier General Vincent J. Exposito, Compiled by the Departmentof Military Art and Engineering The United States Military Academy West Point; Praeger Publishers - New York - Washington - London, 1958, sixth printing 1978,

My edition, the sixth printing, 1978, has the following codes...

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 59-7452

ISBN, 0-275-20080-9

The format is a comprehensive map on one side of a 15"x12" sized book with text explaining the map on the other side. Vol II covers 1900-1953 including all of WWI, WWII and Korea. This Vol II covers all of WWII including all fronts and both Pacific and European etc theaters and includes 168 individual map pages with many other insets...and of course 168 pages of text on WWII alone. It also includes 71 pages of maps for WWI and 15 pages for Korea.

Vol 1 covers up to 1689 - 1900, with the War Between the States sections being particularly outstanding.

This set is not very expensive now on Abe Books, I saw a complete 2 vol set for under $25 including binder....but there seems to me a cloth bound version published more recently. And the name also seems to have been used for other, smaller books probably portions of the original. Look for the 2 vol. set with a forward by General Dwight Eisenhower.

This is the single greatest book for understanding American wars (WWI included) I've found, and I've been looking for 60 years. By the way, just because it is titled "...American Wars" does not mean it neglects the pre-Ameican portions of the World Wars. On the contrary...it is totally comprehensive, and worth every penny.

[Rynnäkkökivääri]

I came across this one. I was wondering though - is this a comprehensive history book or just a light read with cool pictures. Admittedly, I'm looking for a book combining these two.

You could read it, or just look at the pics, it's got both great writing and combat photography. It covers the whole American aspect of the war, both on the frontlines and back home.

[IDF_TANKER]

You could read it, or just look at the pics, it's got both great writing and combat photography. It covers the whole American aspect of the war, both on the frontlines and back home.

Thanks!
........