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Books

My Top Ten…

So this page is all about highlighting good (to me anyway) books on WWII. This top ten list contains fiction, non-fiction, and memoirs and are far from traditional kinds of fare. Honestly, there are a million and one books out there on this subject. I just thought I’d throw a few out there worth considering (in no particular order).

1. Wartime by Paul Fussell (non-fiction)–There is much to admire about this book, as it approaches the period from various angles, as I noted in a review of the text: “This means the examination of books (both fiction & non-fiction), poetry, magazine and news articles, advertisements, movies, music, propaganda posters, and more. You name the media of the day, and it makes an appearance in this book.” That review is here. Check the book. You won’t be disappointed.

2. Doing Battle by Paul Fussell (memoir)–Thinking about what to write here, I went over to my review of the book here. So I’ll quote ME! I said: “This is the exploration of a life, an autobiography, and if you read it, expect to learn about Fussell’s family, his experiences in the war as an Army infantry officer, his post-war experiences studying to be an English professor, his academic and publishing career, but most importantly his critical views on post-war ‘American’ culture.” Enough said.

3. Slaughterhouse 5 by (the great) Kurt Vonnegut (fiction)–There are few works of fiction as good as this. My review is here. This book follows a unique path, as I wrote in review: “The construction of Slaughterhouse 5 is especially unique and Vonnegut uses a deft touch in avoiding any heavy-handed, collective ‘we shouldn’t have done this or that’ rhetoric. Instead, he told the story through one witness, who later in life met up with time traveling aliens. This unusual device allowed Vonnegut to twist the way he told the story and not be bound to any one timeline, and it allowed Billy, the main character, to relive certain moments in the first person: for instance, his capture by the Germans, and later, the bombing of Dresden (and its aftermath) while sheltered in a slaughterhouse basement.” Genius.

4. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller (fiction)–What to say about a book that has made me openly laugh in public places more times than I can count? Yet there is a deep rooted irony and insanity behind it all. A must read, especially if you are a fan of WWII aviation.

5. Parachute Infantry by David Kenyon Webster (memoir)–Okay, I admit it. I’m a Webster fanboy. His memoir is more literary than just about any I’ve read from the period and a most compelling read. No wonder Ambrose used it as extensively as he did in writing Band of Brothers. A must for 101st A/B students. There is art (his sketches from overseas) and a sampling of letters to his parents that are most revealing. My review is here.

6. With the Old Breed by Eugene Sledge (memoir)–This memoir remains one of the more widely read texts on Pacific theatre action. In my review here, I wrote this: “His descriptions of fat blow flies feasting on the corpses is particularly disgusting, as is his admission of being ordered to dig a fox hole in a particular spot on Okinawa, right where a Japanese soldier happened to be buried. Sledge made the discovery as he dug THROUGH the corpse, and was ordered to continue digging, until finally relieved of the task. And there are many more examples of similar awfulness [there is no other way to put this], and Sledge does a remarkable job of detailing what he saw. There is no glorification of combat here. Just the facts.” The text will also be at the center of the upcoming HBO Pacific War mini-series slated for release in 2009. This is a must read.

7. The Last Battle by Cornelius Ryan (non-fiction)–Most know Ryan from his wildly popular text A Bridge too Far (and the movie, too). But this lesser known book has all the same polish, research, and Ryan “flair.” In his work, I admire the skill he brings to bear in using the stories of the “everyman” and fitting it all into a larger whole. This text shows that.

8. The Thin Red Line by James Jones (fiction)–If you hated the movie (and many do, according to various film forums), don’t hold that fact against the book. There is character development, romance (in unlikely places), and action. While I don’t admire this book as much as Catch-22, or Slaughterhouse 5, still it seeks to tell a story about the war. It just does so a bit more soberly than the other works listed here.

9. Goodbye Darkness by William Manchester (memoir)–You can’t go wrong with a book that describes war as a seductive whore (a paraphrase). Manchester brings history, his experience, and personal visits to Pacific islands as a means of ordering this text. He doesn’t hold much back, including a rather controversial final commentary on military institutions and the way they prepare men mentally to fight.

10.  Battleground Pacific: A Marine Rifleman’s Combat Odyssey in K/3/5 by Sterling Mace and Nick Allen–This is a recent addition (from 2012).  Mace wrote this book to “set the record straight” regarding popular perceptions of the Pacific War.  He pulls no punches.