World War II Biographies - Ten Essential Books

[@waldorfstatler3129]

General Omar Bradley's A Soldier's Story is brilliant and gripping. The sections on North Africa, D-Day, Normandy and Market Garden are some of the best and most detailed I've ever read. He also is quite candid about the interactions between the generals and politicians.

[@codycarlsonph.d.5591]

Indeed. This list considers biographies. I should do memoirs at some point.

[@HistoryTeacherSteve]

Thanks for the recs, my Goodreads has been updated! You said you disagreed with decisions Eisenhower made. Can you expand on that?

[@codycarlsonph.d.5591]

My dissertation was about a lot of the personnel decisions that Eisenhower and Marshall made in WWII. For instance, they both had a blind spot for Courtney Hodges, who was in my opinion one of the worst American generals of the war. He should have been relieved after his failures in the Hurtgen and at the Bulge. Also, Bradley should have been censured, if not relieved himself, after the Falaise Gap fiasco and his bad judgement at the Bulge. Further - and this is quite controversial for a variety of reasons - I think he should have favored Patton's thrust into Germany over Montgomery's.

[@mikkoveijalainen7430]

Oh yes, D'Este's Patton biography is one of my favourites.

[@keithr9640]

I need to get that Speer book. I was unaware of it. I’ve always felt Marshall is one of the most unappreciated figures in the 30th century.

[@codycarlsonph.d.5591]

Marshall is a great man.

[@janeadams9392]

GREAT LIST OF BOOKS CODY.

[@codycarlsonph.d.5591]

Thanks.

[@3rdmillenniumfuture607]

Thanks for another great list. Only one hit, Ian Kershaw, and I agree it transformed my understanding of how Germany functioned under his rule. I'll read all these at some point, first will be your final choice. Growing up in the UK in the 60s/70s I was surprised by how easy a ride Speer was given compared to his fellows. I remember him being interviewed on TV and it was more like he was a witness rather than a protagonist. This was a great nudge to find out more. One suggestion for another list complementing this one would be essential autobiographies or other first hand accounts.

[@codycarlsonph.d.5591]

Martin. Thank you, sir. Yes, I'm contemplating just such a list for the future. Thanks a ton!

[@matthiatt5002]

Love the reading lists!

[@codycarlsonph.d.5591]

Thank you.

[@ShawnMM]

My interest on WW II is focused more on the Pacific side. I really enjoyed the biographies on Admiral Halsey & Nimitz by E. B. Potter. Also thought Walter R. Borneman gave a good overview on US Navies four Five Star admirals with "The Admirals: Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy, and King--The Five-Star Admirals Who Won the War at Sea." I would like to find some good biographies on the IJN Admirals but have not had much luck.

[@codycarlsonph.d.5591]

I've read some of Borneman's book (I really enjoyed his War of 1812 book and his Polk bio - and I read some of his book on Alaska). For me, I was always much more interested in the European theater. However, one of the battles I wrote about in my dissertation was Okinawa. Absolutely fascinating.

[@entwiner1]

Have enjoyed these videos very much. Still hoping for "World War II: Pacific Theatre - Ten Essential Books" and, especially, "World War II: China, Burma, India - Ten Essential Books". Keep sharing your knowledge!

[@codycarlsonph.d.5591]

Thank you, sir. Maybe somewhere down the line.

[@daywilliamt]

Cody, I've been watching your board game review channel for years and it's been exciting to hear you talk about your Ph.D.; thanks for making this content too. I was curious if you've read American Caesar by William Manchester on MacArthur ans if so what you thought of it, if you have any other MacArthur suggestions, or what you think of ol' Dugout Doug in general. Thanks!

[@codycarlsonph.d.5591]

Hi William. I gave "graduate school" reading of Manchester while working on my PhD. From what I saw it was an excellent biography. However, it was not an especially good work of military history - a little too reductive as I recall. One of the best books I've read that featured McArthur prominently is James Scott's "Rampage," about the battle of Manilla in 1945. I've ready at least 50+ books on the Holocaust, but this book was probably the hardest book I've ever read considering its content. The Japanese viciousness during the war and that battle in particular defy belief. I think McArthur had some truly inspired moments. Some of his island hopping campaigns in the Pacific were truly brilliant. The high point of his career militarily was almost certainly the Inchon Invasion in Korea in September 1950. However, he was his own worst enemy. His staff was filled with Yes-Men and MacArthur promoters. As great as Inchon was, he screwed up big time in his approach to the Yalu River. So, long story short (too late) I think MacArthur is kind of a mixed bag.

[@daywilliamt]

@@codycarlsonph.d.5591 Cody, thank you for such a thoughtful and detailed reply. I will definitely check out Rampage. I really like the way you put that, both the part about Manchester's biography, and MacArthur himself: American Caesar is a great story about the man, but a less than ideal source for the details of history. And MacArthur seems like such a complex mixed bag, both as a person and as a military leader. Thank you for the content you make. I can't wait to read your thesis!

[@ShawnMM]

@@codycarlsonph.d.5591 what I appreciated about American Caesar was that it forced me to reexamine MacArthur as a person and not just through the lens of my personal bias.

[@codycarlsonph.d.5591]

@@ShawnMM That's the mark of any good biography. I think any biographer has to have a measure of sympathy for their subject, and effectively communicate it - their subject's humanity.

[@stevenkeen3481]

Wonderful book review, really appreciated and enjoyed! Thank you!

[@codycarlsonph.d.5591]

Thank you, sir.

[@davidsigler9690]

Reading the "Patton" biography, great so far.....read the bio on Rommel, fairly good......Church bio I have read, also good but then again he is a personal hero, he was a complex man all too human in many ways....have "Gudarian" autobiography but have not read it yet.....No MacArthur?.....lol.....read Spears "Inside The Third Reich.".....

[@codycarlsonph.d.5591]

Inside The Third Reich is great, but it is an autobiography - and thus not included with in this list.

[@jsnim]

Hey Cody, you should check out Hitler: A global biography. In my opinion after reading 30 or so Hitler biographies, its the best. Kershaw, I think, is actually one of my least favourite biographies, perhaps because of its numerous historical problems or inaccuracies that are bound to appear with its age.

[@codycarlsonph.d.5591]

Who wrote that one?

[@jsnim]

@@codycarlsonph.d.5591 Brendan Simms

[@notimebusy8384]

Do you have a recommendation on a general WWII history? Been looking at Inferno (Hastings), The Second World War (Beevor), Winston Churchill's mammoth series. What do you think?

[@codycarlsonph.d.5591]

I’ve got a copy of Hastings’ book, but haven’t read it yet. Currently reading Beevor’s and really enjoying it. Andrew Roberts’ The Storm of War was amazing. Churchill is a delight to read, but it is heavily biased (as memoirs are) and I wouldn’t recommend it if you are looking for historical interpretation. Hope this helps!

[@stevenpage9269]

Thanks Doc. Keep 'em coming. Do you happen to know a good book on the Winter War? I'd like to learn more about that if there is a good work out there devoted to it

[@codycarlsonph.d.5591]

I briefly read through this one while working on my MA thesis. As I recall it was the only English language study that I could find at the time: Trotter, William, R., A Frozen Hell, The Russo-Finnish War of 1939-40, Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 1991.

[@bergsteiger09]

Any recommendations on bios of any nation's admirals? Russian generals? Japanese military leaders?

[@codycarlsonph.d.5591]

Harold Shukman's "Stalin's Generals" is a good collective bio of the major Soviet generals/admirals. I can't say that I've read any specific bios about Red generals or Japanese generals, however. James Scott's "Rampage" goes into a bit of detail about Yamashita. "At Dawn We Slept" and "Miracle at Midway" highlight a lot of American and Japanese naval leaders as well. You might want to check out Philip Payson O'Brien's "The Second Most Powerful Man in the World," about Admiral William Leahy - the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff. Hope that helps.

[@bergsteiger09]

Thank you!

[@PaulMazzoni]

Found this through your game videos. :) I'll be honest, I am more a casual reader dividing my time between fiction and nonfiction (many subjects). WWII is a subject I haven't read much. I looked at the length at some of these and wonder if they would hold my interest. Of the ones recommended, which do you think come in at a level where you think might be for someone with not a lot of experience reading up on WWII? Or do you have others you can recommend?

[@codycarlsonph.d.5591]

The Guderian book is not very long, as I recall. You might enjoy Richard Overy's "Why the Allies Won," or his "Russia' War," neither is too long. Also, John Luckacs "Five Days in May" and "The Duel" are likewise fairly concise looks at Churchill and Hitler during the war. Also check out Norman Stone's "WWII: A Short History."

[@PaulMazzoni]

This is fantastic. Thanks for all the info. I know at some point I will be looking into the Mussolini book as I find I really don’t know much about his role in the war, other than very basic info.