Lost Honour, Betrayed Loyalty: The Memoir of a Waffen-SS Soldier on the...
Herbert Maeger's "Lost Honour, Betrayed Loyalty" documents his experiences as a soldier in what would become the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler Division. I have little question about the authenticity...
View ArticleChurchill and Stalin: Comrades-in-Arms during the Second World War by Martin...
"Churchill and Stalin" offers a limited but enlightening look at the relationship between the leaders of the British Empire and the Soviet Union during the Second World War. The initial 70 pages...
View ArticleI Somehow Survived: Eyewitness Accounts from World War II by Klaus G Förg
As the years pass there are fewer and fewer veterans and survivors we can turn to in order to better understand the lived experience of the Second World War. In "I Somehow Survived" readers are...
View ArticleHitler's Fortresses in the East: The Sieges of Ternopol', Kovel', Poznan and...
Alexey Isaev is a well-known Russian military historian who has published a wide range of books on the Eastern Front. He's usually meticulous when it comes to documentation and utilizes a variety of...
View ArticleDrunk on Genocide: Alcohol and Mass Murder in Nazi Germany by Edward B....
Those who are interested in the Second World War and/or the Holocaust will undoubtedly have run across accounts that detail many of the mass executions that occurred on the Eastern Front or the...
View ArticleAir Battle for Moscow 1941–1942 by Dmitry Degtev and Dmitry Zubov
In many ways this volume is a missed opportunity. The authors are certainly knowledgeable and have access to numerous archives to help with understanding the dynamics of the air war for Moscow, but...
View ArticleDeath March Through Russia: The Memoir of Lothar Herrmann by Klaus Willmann
In most memoirs I am usually able to find something of value and worth. There are usually little details or facts that many might overlook but which can supplement better known popular histories and...
View ArticleGirl With A Sniper Rifle: An Eastern Front Memoir by Yulia Zhukova
Like most first-hand accounts of the war on the Eastern Front, readers will usually find something worthwhile in a memoir about the Second World War. "Girl with a Sniper Rifle" is no different in that...
View ArticleRadio Operator on the Eastern Front: An Illustrated Memoir, 1940-1949 by...
I always like to think that every first-hand account is worth reading as there will inevitably be interesting scenes/scenarios/eye-witness accounts worth familiarizing oneself with. It's rare that...
View ArticleThe Tank Battles of Marshal Rokossovsky: 1943-1945 by Kamen Nevenkin
This is a good introduction to a variety of topics, ranging from Marshal of the Soviet Union Konstantin Rokossovsky's wartime career, to the evolution of the Red Army throughout the Second World War,...
View ArticleMyths and Legends of the Eastern Front: Reassessing the Great Patriotic War...
Sadly this book is a waste of time and effort. Undoubtedly there are myths and legends when it comes to the Eastern Front and any of them have been addressed and continue to be researched and...
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...
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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...
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