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WWII books for my father

My father loves books on WWII. Not overly detailed and dry ones and not simplistic ones. He loves ones with good detail but backed up with pictures/diagrams. An example would be a good one on D-Day that he has read many times. It does not have to be aviation but inevitably, there will almost always be some aviation involved.

Any suggestions on what I should order for his birthday.

Thanks

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By: dhfan - 21st November 2021 at 02:12

As an aside, the programme was also very good. Personally, I quite like Clarkson anyway, but even if you don’t his documentaries are excellent. St. Nazaire, the Arctic Convoys and Brunel are the ones I know about and have seen.

 

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By: FarlamAirframes - 17th November 2021 at 17:15

A book I enjoyed was return via Dunkirk by Gun Buster – a first hand account of the BEF in 1940. Apparently there were three other books from the same author ( a pseudonym).

I also have the Greatest Raid of All by CE Lucas Phillips- the one that Mr. Clarkson made a programme about on the St. Nazaire raid. The book is good. 

 

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By: John Green - 17th November 2021 at 10:55

BB

For a ‘nuts and bolts’ overview it’s hard to better David Edgerton’s ‘Britains War Machine’,  ISBN:  978-0-14102-610-7 or, same author, ‘England and the Aeroplane’,  ISBN: 978-0-14197-516-0

Best wishes to your dad ! 

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By: trumper - 15th November 2021 at 11:37

Tom Neils  books are very readable   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Neil  ,

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By: buzzbeurling - 14th November 2021 at 16:45

Thanks for the recommendations. It is much appreciated.

I ordered all the books listed above and my father has read about 2/3 so far(except The Lost Continent which is book about the Euro crisis and is being read by me).

Therefore, I was wondering if anybody has any other recommendations. This is more for high quality general overview books f the war instead of detailed airplane books(which is what I tend to read).

Thanks

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By: GFR - 15th August 2021 at 08:44

My suggestions are :

Sigh for a Merlin – Alex Henshaw

Malta Convoy – Peter Shankland (as part of 3 Great War Stories – Malta Convoy; Tinkerbelle & Unbroken)

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By: John Green - 22nd June 2021 at 18:07

Try any of these:

War in the West  –  James Holland

Never Surrender  –  Robert Kershaw

Most Dangerous Enemy  –  Stephen Bungay  ***

The War for the Seas  –  Evan Maudsley

The Storm of War  –  Andrew Roberts

Operation Pedestal  –  Max Hastings

Normandy 44  –  James Holland

Nemesis  –  Max Hastings

Sicily 43  –  James Holland

The Lost Continent  –  Gavin Hewitt

 

All, excellent accounts.

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