Post by Dieter "Iceman" Rentz on May 19, 2009 18:48:55 GMT
Latest reads: Rommel in North Africa is mostly about Erwin Rommel and his decisions in the North African campaign, but also has interesting tidbits of information concerning the Afrika Korps in general, how they fought and what kind of difficulties they had to face in the harsh conditions of the desert. Accompanied with plenty of good pictures, this is a nice and quick read about Afrika Korps (and Rommel) in general.
21st Panzer Division: Rommel's Afrika Korps Spearhead is another short book and contains information about the tactics of Afrika Korps, accompanied with plenty of maps of different battles. It's very much "nuts and bolts" of Afrika Korps and concentrates on how each battle was fought. Also contains a short chapter on insignia and markings of DAK and the key people involved with the 21st Panzer Division.
Post by Werner von Maybach on May 20, 2009 9:14:24 GMT
I read the Rommel book a while back, good one.
At the moment, my read is this:
English title is: "Stalingrad - Dogs, do you want to live forever?" Quiet a thick book with over 500 pages but it's really worth it. Unfortunately it's very rare to get, so if you should ever see it anywhere, don't hesitate a single second.
"Sweat saves blood, blood saves lives, and brains saves both."
Post by Dieter "Iceman" Rentz on Jun 1, 2009 10:54:35 GMT
I just finished reading Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck. Von Luck was through many of the major theatres of Second World War, including Africa and the eastern front, which interest me the most. He worked with Rommel on many occasions, so the book gives some insight to the legendary Desert Fox, also. Von Luck does not only tell of the horrors of war, but also of the occasions of gentlemanly behaviour between enemies.
I think I will be reading a memoir by the more common soldier next, though. Von Luck does mention that the infantry was the group that suffered from difficult circumstances the most, but does not go into detail how things actually were for them. Still, it is a very fascinating and enjoyable read and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in the thoughts and experiences of a Wehrmacht officer.
I read this mostly over the weekend while outside and also got sunburned nicely in the process. ;D
I am just beginning a novel about world war 2. It is The Book Thief and so far it is a nice read and is pushing me towards making a neutral character...
I have just started to read The Book Thief. It's a really good book, and I read the first two parts in one night. One of the really interesting things about it is that it is narrated by Death [Almost like the Grim Reaper].
3 Dec 09, 06:54 IO: Goodnight, Owen. 3 Dec 09, 05:27 Owen: There, I finished that. Goodnight IO.
Owen, come back! -JT I did -Owen Yeah, but you left again! -JT And then came back again! - Owen You should come back a third time, I've heard it's a charm! -JT
Post by ∬: Felix Odegaard on Jul 15, 2009 2:36:59 GMT
I know it's not WWII or related to it, but I am just finishing up The Lost World by Micheal Crichton.
It's somewhat of a cautionary Bioengineering tale. The Lost World is the sequel to Jurassic Park, another Crichton book. It's about a multimillionaire company that manages to clone dinosaurs, but fails when they escape and wreak havoc on an unsuspecting world.
Crichton manages to make an extremely unbelievable topic seem extremely plausible, and tops it off with enough gore and badass dinosaurs that makes it sit on the border between thriller and bioengineering fiction.
Post by Daniel Brennan on Jul 15, 2009 8:55:19 GMT
Ah, I loved those books! Especially The Lost World. I watched the films long before I read the books, and I was like 'yeah'... Anything that has people getting eaten by dinosaurs has to be a good film. But when I read the books a few years ago I found I liked them for reasons other than the people getting killed.
Post by Stephen Colly on Jul 15, 2009 17:43:16 GMT
I just finished reading Eclipse....*Twilight ewwSuper Eww! Got bored of it tho....* and now reading Of Mice and Men for English and then going to tead The Book Thief....!
"Only the seeds that in life we have sown, these will pass onwards when we are forgotten, only remembered for what we have done" - Only Remembered - War Horse
Post by ∬: Felix Odegaard on Jul 19, 2009 4:12:20 GMT
I'm about a quarter of a way through the book Elephant Run.
It's about this 13-year-old boy living in London gets sent to his divorced father's teak plantation in Burma to escape the Blitz. The Burmese situation isn't much better, for the Japanese should arrive to take the small country any day. After getting beaten up by a timber elephant, the kid witnesses his father's capture by the advancing Japanese army and is then captured himself by the kindly Sergeant Sonjii.
Overall, it's turning out to be a solid book, but not exactly "My Type", if you know what I mean.
Post by ⊕ Owen Pearson on Jul 19, 2009 5:32:40 GMT
I just finished a book about Columbine. It was a very well written book. I'll find the Author's Name later for you all. I think it was one of the best non-fiction books I have read.
And, look there is another person listening to me!
I have a few ideas for what I will read next, but There are bigger fish for me to fry right now.
3 Dec 09, 06:54 IO: Goodnight, Owen. 3 Dec 09, 05:27 Owen: There, I finished that. Goodnight IO.
Owen, come back! -JT I did -Owen Yeah, but you left again! -JT And then came back again! - Owen You should come back a third time, I've heard it's a charm! -JT
Post by Dieter "Iceman" Rentz on Sept 7, 2009 21:24:22 GMT
Over the summer I went through several books, most of them revolving around a certain subject... Had a very Nazi summer, I guess?
Gestapo: The Truth Behind an Evil Legend by Rupert Butler: It was mostly just a timeline of events and although it did tell about Gestapo, it could have just as well generally told about the SS, too. There were some interesting tidbits in it, though, but there are better books on the subject out there.
The SS: Alibi of a Nation, 1922-1945 by Gerald Reitlinger: A general book about the SS, nothing too spectacular. Again mostly just a timeline of events, which after you have read about the same things in other books, does grow somewhat tiresome.
The Good Old Days by Ernst Klee: This book collects together interviews, letters, photos and documents which in one way or another relate to the Holocaust. The title of the book is ironic, since the book is named after the photo album of Kurt Franz, the commandant of the Treblinka camp. In his album he collected photos of the smiling soldiers who guarded the camp, so there is an certain irony to the name. A very eye-opening and interesting book if you can get your hands on it.
Nazi Terror: The Gestapo, Jews, and Ordinary Germans by Eric Johnson: This book was very interesting to me, providing many details about the Gestapo and how they worked. Different chapters for the Gestapo itself, how they treated the "ordinary" Germans, how the persecution of the Jews escalated and what happened during the war years. I read this one really fast even though it's a pretty thick book.
The Master Plan: Himmler's Scholars and the Holocaust by Heather Pringle: This one I read just some time ago and it made me realize how insane Himmler actually was with his zany ideas. Very interesting accounts of the research and journeys made by the Ahnenerbe. I would highly recommend this if you want to know more about how the Nazis were trying to prove the existence of the master race... and how they were ready to battle any proof that spoke against this.