Partisan Song: A Holocaust Story of Resilience, Resistance, and Revenge by...
Having read, easily, over a dozen memoirs of Jewish partisans on the Eastern Front, as well as numerous general histories of the partisan movement, I wasn't expecting anything special with this volume....
View ArticleSword Beach: D-Day Baptism by Fire by Max Hastings
The history of D-Day in the west is usually dominated by a US-centric narrative that concentrates on Omaha Beach, at times even to the detriment of Utah. So questions about what happened on the other...
View ArticleRetribution: A Former US Marine's Harrowing Journey from Wrongful...
Trevor Reed's "Retribution" is a fascinating look at the life of a young American Marine who found himself in a situation few could have predicted. The book is broken down into a few sections, but the...
View ArticleVolga Blues: A Journey into the Heart of Russia by Marzio G. Mian
"Volga Blues" offers readers a surprisingly poignant trek along the Volga River interspersed with interviews with locals and various forays into Russian/Soviet history to add context to the stream of...
View ArticleWorld Enemy No. 1: Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, and the Fate of the Jews by...
Jochen Hellbeck's first major foray into the Second World War was his book on Stalingrad. "World Enemy No. 1" marks a more definitive entrenchment into WWII with a specific focus on the Eastern Front....
View ArticleMotherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy...
Julia Ioffe is a well-known journalist originally from the former Soviet Union and who has spent years reporting on Russia, including living there and making a variety of connections from various...
View ArticleOpening the Gates of Hell: Operation Barbarossa, June - July 1941 by Richard...
Richard Hargreaves is not new to the Second World War or the Eastern Front as this is his fourth monograph on this period of history. As someone with an intimate understanding of this particular period...
View ArticleWhile Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the...
It's been over a year now since the events of October 7, 2023, and books are finally starting to come out about the events that happened that day, the lead up to the terrorist actions that resulted in...
View ArticleMy Russia by Jill Dougherty
Jill Dougherty's 'My Russia' is part memoir, and part dive into episodes of Russian and Soviet history and current events. It's a mix of history, political science, and reporting/journalism. There are...
View ArticleJapan's Holocaust by Bryan Mark Rigg
Bryan Mark Rigg's "Japan's Holocaust" is a bit of a conundrum. This is a historian who initially wrote about "Hitler's Jewish Soldiers" and has recently seemingly altered his interests, focus, and...
View ArticleStalin's Plans for Capturing Germany by Bogdan Musial
I'm not exactly sure what the point of this book was aside from trying to cash in on the usual conspiracy theories surrounding Stalin's purported invasion plans when it came to Germany during the...
View ArticleFascism in America: Past and Present by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld and Janet Ward
Without a doubt this is a timely and needed volume that looks at the intersection of US history and fascism. Numerous experts in a variety of fields offer a collection of chapters that explore...
View ArticleInvasion On!: D-Day, the Press, and the Making of an American Narrative by...
In 'Invasion On!' Stephen Rusiecki offers a look at how wartime media (specifically radio and newspapers) were able to come together to help craft a memorable and myth-laden narrative of the Allied...
View ArticleBlood, Dust and Snow: Diaries of a Panzer Commander in Germany and on the...
While I'm always of the opinion that every primary source account has in it something of value, it's rare that a memoir or diary leaves a lasting impression on me after having read so many. There are...
View ArticleVoices of Russian Snipers: Eyewitness Red Army Accounts From World War II by...
There are quite a few sniper accounts from the Second World War when it comes to the Eastern Front. From the Red Army we have both men and women who served as snipers during the war and both have been...
View ArticleHow the West Brought War to Ukraine by Benjamin Abelow
This is a slim volume that tries to offer some nuance and additional perspective with respect to Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine. The author doesn't necessarily break new ground but he...
View ArticleThe Soviet Army's High Commands in War and Peace, 1941–1992 by Richard W....
I was very much looking forward to this volume but the approach is somewhat limited and the end result leaves something to be desired. Richard Harrison has produced some excellent monographs in the...
View ArticleOn the Eastern Front at Seventeen: The Memoirs of a Red Army Soldier, 1942-1944
Sergey Drobyazko's 'On the Eastern Front at Seventeen' is a memoir that does well in presenting its title literally. The original memoirs were simply entitled "A Soldier's Path: In Battle from the...
View ArticleKursk 1943: The Greatest Battle of the Second World War by Roman Toeppel
Numerous volumes have been published on the Battle of Kursk and yet there are still numerous myths and legends associated with this clash of men, armor, and planes in the summer of 1943 on the Eastern...
View ArticleThe Lighthouse of Stalingrad by Iain MacGregor
Overall, this volume is an interesting mix of well-known information and some new, original research coming mainly from first person accounts from both the German and Soviet side. The first half of the...
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