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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Recommended Reads


Cpl Rootes

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Just thourght that i would like to see everyone's recommended reads (any period - military theme). I'll start, so settle down and listen to:

Rootes' Recommeded Reads:

Pre WW1:

Fact:

Caeser - Christian Meier

Fiction:

The 'Emperor' series - Conn Iggulden

The 'Sharpe' series - Bernard Cornwell

Pompeii - Robert Harris

WW1:

Fact:

World War 1 in Photographs - Paul Whittle (editor)

Great Battles of World War 1 - Anthony Livesey

A Western Front Companion 1914-1918 - John Laffin

Forgotten Voices for the Great War - Max Arthur

Tommy - Richard Holmes

Fiction:

Great First World War stories - Chancellor Press

The First Casualty - Ben Elton

Rememberance - Theresa Breslin

WW2:

Fact:

Band of Brothers - Stephen E. Ambrose

D-Day - Stephen E. Ambrose

The Victors - Stephen E. Ambrose

Pegasus Bridge - Stephen E. Ambrose

Overlord - Max Hastings

Stalingrad - Anthony Beevor

Berlin - Anthony Beevor

Campaigns of World War II Day by Day - Chris McNab, Chris Bishop

Chronicles of World War II - David G. Chandler, Colin McIntyre, Michael C. Tagg

The Desert Rats - Kevin Jones

The Normandy Landings - Derek Blizard

World War II in Photographs - Paul Whittle (editor)

Forgotten Voices of the Second World War - Max Arthur

Post WW2:

Fact:

The Royal Navy today and tomorrow - J. R. Hill

The British Army today and tomorrow - H. C. B. Rogers

The Royal Air Force today and tomorrow - R. A. Mason

Shoot to kill - Michael Asher

Fighting Forces - Richard Bennett

Fiction:

All books by Chris Ryan

All books by Andy McNab

Miscellaneous:

Fact:

20th Century Military Uniforms - Chris McNab

20th Century Artillery - Ian Hogg

Fighting Vehicles of the world - Philip Trewhitt, Chris McNab

Fighting Ships of the world - Robert Jackson, Steve Crawford

Horrible History series - Terry Deary (I know that these books are not filled with military knowlage, but they are what got me interested in history when i was very young)

Fiction:

What if - Robert Cowley (editor)*

Magazines:

Skirmish

Armourer

Soldier

*In what if military historians imagine what could have been, for example if Hitler had stopped D-Day.

Anyone else like these books? Tell me and post your own.

For a prize, guess my age :)

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welcome to the forum - an interesting list of books

Bit of an odd question to guess your age :ph34r:

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nope i'm not 12. Older. And i asked to see what people think the age of someone who reads books like these is (i apologise, this sounds very vain)

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Here is my current list. Borden Battery

Recommended Reading List on the Canadian Expeditionary Force

Marching to Armageddon - Canada and the Great War 1914-1919

Desmond Morton and J. L. Granatstein, Lester & Orpen Dennys, (1989)

A general overview book which provides a good initial overview of the conflict from a CEF perspective.

When Your Numbers Up - The Canadian Soldier in the First World War **

Desmond Morton, Random House of Canada (1993)

This book details the training and life of a typical Canadian soldier.

The Journal of Private Fraser - Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914-1918 **

CEF Books, Edited by Reginald Roy, (1998)

An excellent, observant, personal journal on one man's direct experiences which remains contemporary.

Barker VC - William Barker, Canada's Most Decorated War Hero

Wayne Ralph, Doubleday Canada (1997)

Canada tends not to honour any war hero; Barker included.

Vimy

Pierre Berton, McClelland and Steward, (1986)

A classic, easy-read of one of the pivotal battles of the Canadian Corps.

No Place to Run - The Canadian Corps and Gas Warfare in the First World War

Tim Cook, UBC Press (1999)

Well written book which documents poison gas by and on the CEF; will become a classic reference text.

Shock Army of the British Empire - The Canadian Corps in the Last 100 Days

Shane B. Schreiber, Vanwell Publishing Ltd. (2004/1997)

A well written account by a current Canadian military officer [PPCLI] of the Canadian Corps and reasons for its sustained success breaking the Hindenburg Line during the last one hundred days of the Great War.

Canada's Army, Waging War and Keeping the Peace

J. L. Granatstein, Univ. of Toronto Press (2002)

A sound overview of many conflicts including the Great War.

Paris 1919

Margaret MacMillan, Random House, (2003)

A very well written and readable book with a great deal of information packed into it.

Passchendaele - The Sacrificial Ground

Nigel Steel and Peter Hart, Cassel Military Paperbacks (2000)

An extended series of personal accounts of the true horror of this battle extended battle in Flanders.

Official History of the Canadian Army in the First World War - Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914-1919, Colonel G. W. L. Nicholson, C.D., Army Historical Section

[Note: Can be downloaded as a .pdf file and used for key-word searches. However, the pagination in the online document is different than the original document - therefore citations with page number references cannot be used.]

http://www.forces.gc.ca/hr/dhh/downloads/O...ories/CEF_e.PDF

The Canadian "Emma Gees - A History of the Canadian Machine Gun Corps

Lt.-Col. C. S. Grafton, The Canadian Machine Gun Corps Association, London, Ontario, 1938

- of specific interest to students of the Canadian Machine Gun Corps

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~b...c_contents.html

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Not WW1 but I'd heartily recommend the following:

The Operators - James Rennie

Fifty Dead Men Walking - Martin McGartland

A Bridge Too Far - Cornelius Ryan

Weekend Warrior; A Territorial Soldier's War in Iraq - Kevin Mervin

Regards,

Neil.

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He who posts the last post posts loudest :D

Audax - "the best book about the first world war"???????????????????????????? :P:lol:

Ian

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On topic - no-one should miss reasing at least one book by Dickens. "David Copperfield" is definitely my favourite.

One book on the Great War - for me, "Middle Parts of Fortune"

WW2 - dunno, but I always have a soft spot for anyhting about the Battle of Britain

Anything else - everyone should read "The Diary of a Nobody", and "The Card" (Arnold Bennett) is hilarious.

Plus, of course, the Bible and Shakespeare.

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B) Interesting, although I am not such a fan of Stephen E Ambrose, although I did like Band of Brothers,

Here are a few of my favorites;

Miscellaneous before WW1

Battle Cry of Freedom-James M Mcpherson

The American Civil War, This mighty scourge of War-Various authors

WW1

Forgotten Victory-Gary Sheffield

1914-1918-David Stevenson

To Win A War-John Terraine

Amiens to the Armistice-Niall Barr, J P Harris

Passchendaele The Untold Story- Robin Prior and Trevor Wilson

Tommy-Richard Holmes

Inter War

The Spanish Civil War-Antony Beevor

WW2

The Struggle for Europe- Chestor Wilmot

The Bomber War-Robin Neillands

Armageddon-Max Hastings (although not for his muddled arguments about the Bomber War)

Stalingrad-Antony Beevor

Miscellaneous

The Penguin History of the USA-Hugh Brogan

La Vie En Bleu-Ron Kedwood

Charles de Gaulle, The Last Great Frenchman-Charles Williams

I will post others if they come to mind,

Jon

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