Book List - WWII Summer Holiday Reading

In researching the magazine graphics and book proposal I have come across a fair few books on WWII. Below are some that do not contain some of the exact detail featured in the graphics but do paint different pictures of the war.

I have not included some of the better known books - John Keegan's are all excellent, especially 'Soldiers' - as are Anthony Beevor's 'Stalingrad' and 'Berlin'. A bigger list will appear at a later date.

Anyway,I have read these and they are excellent books. I have listed them in no particular order - although the first one reads most like a story:

The Forgotten Soldier
Guy Sajer
Sajer's journey takes him from basic training to the Russian front and back. This view of the war from a German soldier is beautifully written by someone in all the worst places at all the wrong times. (longish read)

The Boys' Crusade
Paul Fussell
Fussell was a soldier too, but this book is broader than a memoir. He is critical of much of the way the war was fought and shows us the undersides of stones often left uncovered by military history books on this subject. (shortish read)

The Battle of Hamburg
Martin Middlebrook
The perfect balance between military logistic detail and personal stories of all involved. Fantastic detail on bombing raids, air defence etc. He explains how this controversial episode came to pass and what it was like to experience it from all sides. (longish read)

Guns, Germs and Steel
Jared Diamond
Not about WWII - instead about Pissarro's conquest of the Incas. A fantastic account of how technologies come to being and their evolution and implications. Chapter 13 is the best writing on technology I have ever read.(longish read) Certainly read this if you work with technology.

Leave a comment of there is something you think I should read.