Your Top Five Books

Be interested in your choices.
Here's mine in no order,
1/ The Hardest Day by Alfred Price
2/ The Forgotton Soldier by Guy Sajer
3/ Domain by James Herbert
4/ Target Berlin by Jeff Ethell & Alfred Price
5/ Fatherland/Enigma by Robert Harris (ok, I cheated)

 

Y'know what Gage...
This is bloody hard.
Trying to leave out much loved Encyclopedias and stick to narrative military History.
I reserve the right to change my mind.
Cheers,
Adam.

I know, mate.
I also reserve the right to change my mind.
I wanted to put in, Battle of Britain - Then and Now.
Hmm, tricky.....:GroupHug:

 

1) The Eagle Strikes - The RIAF 1932-1950
2) America's Hundred Thousand - U.S. Production Fighters of World War II (if the tech details aren't in there then they're probably nowhere else)
3) Bloody Shambles (3 volumes) (a must for anybody interested in the Burmese air war)
4) Fighter Squadrons Of The RAF And Their Aircraft (and associated "Combat Codes" and " RAF Squadrons") (essential references for the RAF)
5) Aces High (and the next 2 volumes) (essential for details of all fighter aces of the RAF and commonealth air forces).

OK, they add up to more than 5 but I refuse to split up multi-volume sets

 

1) RAF Bomber Command Losses. WR Chorley (8 volumes)
2) RAF Coastal Command. Chris Ashworth.
3) Search Find and Kill. Norman Franks.
4) The Cinderella Service. RAF Coastal Command 1939-1945. Andrew Hendrie.
5) RAF Squadrons. CG Jefford.

And very many more.

Like Kyt I have included a multi-volume set.

 

Five!?, I have to stop at five?

The Bedford Boys, Kershaw
Parachute Infantry, Webster
Five Years, Four Fronts, Grossjohan
The Men of Company K, Leinbaugh and Campbell
Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, Hornfischer.
The German Army, 1933-1945, Cooper Oops, that's six! Oh well.

There are so many more that I could add Brute Force, All the Way to Berlin, Men of the Gambier Bay, Tank Rider, A Time for Trumpets.

It kinda leans heavily toward the US, but then, that is why I am pestering y'all in this forum, to find out what to read to learn about our allies.

 

As good as the others? I can feel an addiction building to those books...

An excellent book and for me the best one. However, 'The Blitz' and the 'Berlin' one aren't very far behind. Just a shame they are so expensive.

1) RAF Bomber Command Losses. WR Chorley (8 volumes)


Fantastic books for reference along with the fighter command losses.

 

Fantastic books for reference along with the fighter command losses.

I've got the first 2 volumes, and they are great. But they're even better once one starts annotating them with details provided by members on 12 o'clock high, and rafcommands.com

They seem to be able to fill in a lot of gaps and missing losses.

 

Into the Teeth of the Tiger - Don Lopez
Ghost Soldiers - Hampton Sides
Sigh for a Merlin - Alex Henshaw
To War in A Stringbag - Charles Lamb
Hurricanes over Burma - Bush Cotton

 

1. Seven Pillars of Wisdom - T.E. Lawrence
2. Sherman, A history of the American medium tank - Hunnicutt
3. Tank, 40 hours of battle August 1944 - Ken Tout
4. Popski's Private Army - Vladimir Peniakoff
5. Mechanised Force
The Great Tank Scandal
The Universal Tank - David Fletcher

OK I cheated too, and it will change, over and over again...

 

Be interested in your choices.
Here's mine in no order,
1/ The Hardest Day by Alfred Price
2/ The Forgotton Soldier by Guy Sajer
3/ Domain by James Herbert
4/ Target Berlin by Jeff Ethell & Alfred Price
5/ Fatherland/Enigma by Robert Harris (ok, I cheated)

1/ The Hardest Day by Alfred Price
2/ Aviation Art of Robert Taylor
3/ Fatherland/Enigma by Robert Harris
4/ The Most Dangerous Enemy by Stephen Bungay
5/ Berlin by Antony Beevor

Mine have changed and it doesn't get any easier.
The top film thread reminded me of this.

 

Ouch!! This is a bit of a hard on isnt it?

1. Red Storm on the Reich - Christopher Duffy
2. With our Backs to Berlin - Tony le Tissier
3. The Road to Stalingrad - John Erickson
4. It Never Snows in September - Robert Kershaw
5. Alamein: War without Hate - John Bierman/Colin Smith

It was hard to choose and like everyone else I reserve the right to change it at a moments notice!

 

1. No Drums and No Trumpets by Alec Le Vernoy. The first Hardback book I ever read

2. The Last Round by Mark Nicol. Because I was down the road when it happened.

3. VC's of the Second World War by John Frayn-Turner. Because I am in awe of such bravery.

4. War Letters by Andrew Carrol. Some are just heartbreaking.

5. Para (50 Years of the Parachute Regt.) by Peter Harclerode. Amazing personal accounts.

Cheers

 

1. No Drums and No Trumpets by Alec Le Vernoy. The first Hardback book I ever read

2. The Last Round by Mark Nicol. Because I was down the road when it happened.

3. VC's of the Second World War by John Frayn-Turner. Because I am in awe of such bravery.

4. War Letters by Andrew Carrol. Some are just heartbreaking.

5. Para (50 Years of the Parachute Regt.) by Peter Harclerode. Amazing personal accounts.

Cheers




Symbol of Courage: The Men Behind the Medal (Paperback)



Just got this Drew but haven't read it yet. There are some very cheap copies on Amazon (second hand).

 

I've seen that about Gage. My No.3 book has every citation inside-absolutely fascinating, I hated putting it down between reads.

Cheers

 

I totolly agree with "Gage" in his second choice.....The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer is the ultimate for me in true life novels. It is the only novel that I can read over and over again. There has been word that people have tried to discredit this book over the years for it's historical inaccuracy, but I don't believe a word of these claims as such nonsical talk will only spread disease and pestilance throughout the ranks.

I did see on "google" that a Polish ameteur company was making a film of this book, and if it ever gets finished, I would travel anywhere just to see it.

Terry (M.M)

 

It changes as the years pass, but at the minute, in no particular order...

1/ Damnation Alley - Roger Zelazny

2/ Fallen Angels - Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Stephen Barnes

3/ A Talent for War - Jack McDevitt

4/ The three original Black Company novels by Glen Cook (minor cheat)

5/ Ivanhoe - Sir Walter Scott

 

It is tough to narrow it down to only 5 titles. Since they were already mentioned, I'll leave out T.E. Lawrence and Guy Sajer and go with:

1) Caen: Anvil of Victory - Alexander McKee

2) The Regiment - Farley Mowat

3) Night Fighter - C.F. Rawnsley/Robert Wright

4) Holding Juno - Mark Zuelke

5) And No Birds Sang - Farley Mowat

If you asked me a month from now I'm sure this list could be totally different.