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| The following
books are highly recommended by WTJ editors for various reasons, and serve as
close seconds to the Classic titles. Most of the recommended books are
exhaustively researched secondary sources or inspired primary sources. All are
highly recommended. Titles are listed in order of importance. |
|
The Storm of Steel : From the Diary of a German Stormtroop
Officer on the Western Front, by Ernst Junger. A sobering eyewitness
account by a surviving stormtrooper who later became a well known author. His
combination of experience and writing skill offers a rare glimpse into the
dangerous world of assault troops. A key emphasis is on morale, and how front
line combat troops often maintained their own high morale - not at all like
characters portrayed in fiction by writers who had never seen combat.
Singapore 1942: Britain's Greatest Defeat, by Alan
Warren. One of the best single books covering the Malaya campaign of 1942 and
the ensuing fall of Singapore. Includes a well rounded outline of the pre-war
years and how decisions made during that period helped to inform the responses
available to Eastern Command once the war began.
The World War One Source Book, by Philip J.
Haythornthwaite. This source book is an excellent overview of the weapons,
armies and men who fought World War One. It is simply crammed full of valuable
organizational data, weapon performance information and opens with a short,
to-the-point summary of the course of the war. A must buy for anymore who isn't
already an expert... and even the experts will probably like the handy glossary
of terms!
Trench Warfare, 1914-1918 : The Live and Let Live
System, by Tony Ashworth. A fascinating study of combat formations and how
they survived in each other's proximity over long periods. Carefully neutral
and well researched and considered. Excellent reading.
Russia Against Japan, 1904-1905: A New Look at the
Russo-Japanese War, by J.N. Westwood. By one of the better authors for this
period. Mr. Westwood manages to write clear, concise narratives which are more
accurate than most other second sources. Always recommended.
The Late Roman Army, by Pat Southern & Karen Dixon.
An exhaustively researched book which tells you all you could want to know
about the Roman army down to the soldier's pay and equipment. Mostly text.
Fighting the Invasion : The German Army at D-Day, by
Gunther Blumentritt (Editor)
And excellent and much needed collection of
primary German sources relating to units which fought in the Normandy area in
June of 1944. Includes detailed maps of allied progress into the German
defenses, unit summaries and more.
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At Dawn We Slept
The Untold Story of Pearl
Harbor
The world's leading (and only) expert on the Pearl Harbor
attack, Gordon Prange interviewed virtually every available participant of the
attack. From Husband Kimmel to Mitsuo Fuchida, these post-war survivors gladly
gave
their time and in many cases, friendship to Mr. Prange,
who also exhaustively studied the volumes of reports and documents relating to
post-attack inquiries. At Dawn We Slept was condensed into book format from the
10 volumes of material collected over 35 years. Nobody before or since enjoyed
the same position of trust and familiarity with so many of the people directly
involved in the attack, and few people have presented such a generally accurate
presentation of this important event.
by Gordon Prange
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