Comments on: AN EXCELLENT QUESTION!

By: MikeB

MikeB — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:07:30 +0000

Currahee! by Don Burgett. Best WWII book, a well-deserved classic.

By: Brian

Brian — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:00:18 +0000

When I saw Pressfield’s “Gates of Fire” on your list, I felt excited enough to chime in.

Richard Overy “Why the Allies Won” A look at the culminating causes of allied victory in WWII. Includes some interesting considerations about men, material, and morale. It considers perspectives in America, Russia, and Britain. (I still hate Stalin, but respect the Russian people for what they accomplished at Stalingrad after reading this book.)

Jared Diamond “Guns, Germs, and Steel” Sets out to answer the question, why did the Western Europe colonize America (and Africa, etc)instead of the other way around? Wonderfull derivation of how civilization arises and how it advances. I don’t agree with every conclusion, but it is thought provoking.

M Stanton Evans “The Theme is Freedom: Religion, Politics, and the American Tradition” Wonderful exploration on the basis of the American concept of freedom. It establishes that the founding fathers were not radicals seeking to break into new and uncharted territory. Rather, they were conservatives committed to the principles of self governance that arose, developed, flourished, and prevailed in the English tradition.

By: Merlin8047

Merlin8047 — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:58:41 +0000

“With the Old Breed” by Eugene Sledge. A genuine WW2 Iwo Jima Marine friend says this is the only book ever written that accurately describes the way it was in the Pacific.

Keep it up, Bill. Only those of us who have educated ourselves really know any history.

By: Delphis

Delphis — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:18:01 +0000

Bill,

If you enjoyed “Flyboys”, I would suggest “Navy Wings of Gold”…real pilot accounts of the Pacific Theatre, a great collection of stories!

Cheers and safe flying!

By: Patrick Of Atlantis

Patrick Of Atlantis — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 12:59:08 +0000

A correction to #44
‘Why does a second shot to the head not …..’
should read, ‘Why does a second shot, the one to the head, not …’

By: Patrick Of Atlantis

Patrick Of Atlantis — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 06:54:07 +0000

‘The Last Hundred Days’
The suicide in the bunker story seems as bogus and hackneyed as the last book and a half of ‘The Odyssey’, everything after Odysseus and Penelope go off to the bedroom.
In other words it strikes me as spurious.
‘Case Closed’
All one needs, to know how the assassination of JFK went down, is the Zapruder Film and a familiarity with the lay of the crime scene, and a trust in ones own eyes over the “narrative”. If the bullets were fired by Oswald from the book depository, how does the
first shot exit JFK trachea without traversing the cervical vertebrae and hitting Gov. Connally in a vital area and mortally wounding him? Why does the second shot to the head not throw his head forward, splatter brain matter forward and hit Gov. Connally, again in a vital area?
This story too, is spurious.
P.S. Here are a couple of books, that if you read them, you will thank me for recommending.
That is if you haven’t read them already.
Mr. Archer U.S.A. as told to R.H. Platt and
The Wanderings Of An Elephant Hunter by W.D.M. Bell.

By: Spencer de Vere

Spencer de Vere — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:16:56 +0000

Hello Bill,

I agree about Toland’s ’100 Days”. Anything by Toland is great. Ditto Posner’s ‘Case Closed’. His ‘Killing the Dream’ – The Assassination of Martin Luther King – is just as convincing, though not as compulsively readable.

As an Australian, I have tended more toward British historians on WW2….and can recommend John Keegan most highly. Particularly, ‘The Face of Battle’ & ‘The Mask of Command’. His book on war in North America, ‘Fields of Battle’ (also published as ‘Warpaths’) is also quite engrossing.

I have read all Bruce Catton’s works on the US Civil War & Foote’s trilogy. The best though, is Douglas Southall Freeman. His Lee’s Lieutenants (trilogy) is the best work i’ve read on the CW. The best current writer on the CW is Stephen Sears.

I found your site through it being mentioned on PJ TV.

Thanks for being so strong & consistent for individual liberty & Capitalism, the economic system consistent with individual freedom. It takes a lot of mental strength and character to publicly battle the collectivist sludge and irrationality out there.

Are you aware of Andrew Bolt – here in Australia ?

He is the most steadfast and persistent champion for individual liberty ‘down-under’. His blog link is below:

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/

By: SShiell

SShiell — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:32:08 +0000

First I would like to commend BW for starting this thread.

Second, my personal favorite has already been plugged: “Gates of Fire” by Steven Presssfield. But I would like to put a plug on his other fine books documenting war in the Ancient world.

As previously mentioned, Barbara Tuchman’s “Guns of August” does a masterful job of putting the first confusing month of the World War One into focus. And William Shirer’s chilling “Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” should be near the top of any list.

Paul Carel’s “Hitler Moves East” and “Scorched Earth” are the two best I have ever read concerning the Russo-German Conflict in WWII. Similarly I would also recommend his “Foxes of the Desert” for North Africa and “Invasion, They’re Coming” for Normandy from the germen perspective.

Lastly I would like to recommend one book not mentioned by anyone in the comments because rather than a history, it is a parody of history: “George Washington Slept Here” by Dave Barry. Trust me you will never read another history without thinking of this book.

By: Tom B in Annapolis

Tom B in Annapolis — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 02:47:16 +0000

Nice to see we have similar literary tastes. I’ve read a surprisingly large number of your suggestions. Might I recommend more of John Toland’s work. His “Rising Sun” was the reason I joined the Navy. Oddly, it was the history of the experience of the Japanese soldiers on Guadalcanal. After months of fighting, death, disease, death, starvation, death, fighting, death, etc. – the remaining survivors were evacuated on destroyers at night. Their decimated ranks sat in the passageways as they sailed away. Then a sailor comes down the passageway and starts handing out food. Good, clean, warm, cooked food (rice balls with fish in this instance). A soldier makes a mental pact with himself – “I’m telling my son to join the Navy. At least they eat well until they die.”

May sound like a silly reason to choose a service, but it made sense to me.

By: Audrey in Texas

Audrey in Texas — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:01:23 +0000

For first hand contemporary accounts of Communism in America and living in Nazi Germany, both “Witness” by Whittaker Chambers and “I Will Bear Witness” by Victor Klemperer are hard to beat.

“John Adams” and “1776″ by David McCullough are both popular and engaging histories of our founding. I was especially impressed with the level of commitment of our founding fathers and their perseverance through incredible challenges to give us this country we love.

“Gulag” by Anne Applebaum is a good look at the dark underbelly of Soviet Communism. (Well, actually all of Soviet Communism was pretty dark.)

“Ghost Soldiers” by Hampton Sides tells the story of the Bataan Death March, the survivors and their rescue from a Japanese concentration camp.

I’m looking forward to reading all your suggestions, Bill. Your incredible writing and grasp of historical context are why I registered at PJTV.