I've fallen down the WWII rabbit hole

6,441 Views | 37 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by japantiger
Wildman15
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AG
Between Mark Felton YouTube videos, "Hitler's Bodyguards", and Dan Carlin's supernova in the east, all of my free time is being taken up by this era of history. Any documentaries or podcasts that you recommend?
AgRyan04
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Welcome to the club! WWII Podcast by Angus Wallace is my favorite
AgBQ-00
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Ken Burn's The War is a really good documentary. Should still be on Netflix
Cinco Ranch Aggie
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If you'd like to read, I suggest William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.
cbr
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Barbarrossa is a classic that cuts to the core of the conflict.

The big e is a great novel that follows our most famous carrier through the war

For a truly different and fascinating take try stalins war and churchhill, hitler and the unnecessary war.

I dont buy it all hook line and sinker but from the advantage of hindsight they are mostly right.

Churchhills memoirs are also a must read.
TrustTheAwesomeness
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Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

If you'd like to read, I suggest William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.


The audiobook version is good also. Over 50 hours long though.
Nagler
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The World at War is a cool documentary from the 70's with interviews from people that were actually there.

World War II in Color is also good. I think it's on Netflix.

Band of Brothers and The Pacific are a must if you haven't seen them.

Books:
Band of Brothers
An Army at Dawn
With the Old Breed
The Thrid Reich at War
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

I'm currently reading the Pacific Crucible. I really like it so far.
FTACo88-FDT24dad
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Masters of the Air about the 8th Air Force is very good.
Cinco Ranch Aggie
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Quote:

I'm currently reading the Pacific Crucible. I really like it so far.
This is a great read, first part of a trilogy. I've only read through Book 2 (forget the title); the third book is on my shelf.
Cinco Ranch Aggie
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FTACo88-FDT24dad said:

Masters of the Air about the 8th Air Force is very good.
Another great book. This will be the source for the upcoming series, I think on Apple TV, by Spielberg and Hanks.
Cinco Ranch Aggie
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Another great book to read is Shattered Sword. It is about Midway. One of the authors posts here.
Wildman15
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Thank you all for the great book recommendations. These are what I want to dive into more, as I've mainly just done documentaries and podcasts so far
danieljustin06
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World War Two on YouTube is great. Weekly videos covering what happened during the week along with specials during the week covering other topics of the conflict. Twice a month they have their war against humanity videos covering the atrocities that happened during those two weeks.
FTACo88-FDT24dad
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Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

Another great book to read is Shattered Sword. It is about Midway. One of the authors posts here.


The legendary "titan" is one of the authors. It is THE book for understanding Midway and the run up to Midway, as well as what was going on in Japan politically at the time.
Cinco Ranch Aggie
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FTACo88-FDT24dad said:

Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

Another great book to read is Shattered Sword. It is about Midway. One of the authors posts here.


The legendary "titan" is one of the authors. It is THE book for understanding Midway and the run up to Midway, as well as what was going on in Japan politically at the time.
I thought that was the poster, but wasn't 100% certain so did not want to credit the wrong person. And I agree with your assessment of the book. It is that good.
Whitehouse Road
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Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

Quote:

I'm currently reading the Pacific Crucible. I really like it so far.
This is a great read, first part of a trilogy. I've only read through Book 2 (forget the title); the third book is on my shelf.
The Conquering Tide. I have about 100 pages left in Twilight of the Gods. All three are excellent reads.

Rick Atkinson's Liberation Trilogy is also a great for the war in Europe.
aalan94
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Just now seeing this. In terms of documentaries, I absolutely recommend two series: World at War and Victory at Sea.

World at War is the best WWII documentary series out there. 26 episodes. It is, however, from a British perspective, so it's heavy, heavy on Europe and North Africa and weak on the Pacific. However, if you supplement it with the U.S.-made Victory at Sea, you will fill that gap.

Start there, and you cannot go wrong.
Wildman15
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Just posted on the "what are you reading" thread, but snagged this book from the Admiral Nimitz museum today in Fredericksburg. Looking forward to diving into it

FTACo88-FDT24dad
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Finished Masters of the Air. Solid 93/100 IMHO. It's a little "thin" in a few places but it's definitely a must for those who like WWIi history and also just military history in general as it does a pretty good job showing the ethical issues faced by the Americans and the Brits and the impact of their decisions.

Smeghead4761
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I highly recommend Tower of Skulls by Richard Frank. It covers the war in Asia and the Pacific from the start of the war between China and Japan through the surrender of Corregidor on May 6, 1942. (Aggie Muster of 1942 on that same island was not mentioned.)

Lots of good stuff about the beginning stages of the war on mainland Asia that I never really thought about. Basically, Chang's main goal from 1937 onward was simply to hang on until someone else, someone who could actually defeat Japan came into the war. On the flip side, after about 1939, Japan really, really wanted to get out of China, but in such a way that it let them hold onto what they had gained through a puppet regime similar to what they had in Manchuria.

And something I never really put together, because the timeline gets kind of disconnected in most histories. Correigedor surrendered on 6 May, 1942.

The opening moves of the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first significant check on Japan's advances, actually occurred on 4 May, 1942, with the last day of the battle on 8 May. The Battle of Midway occurred less than a month later.

Also Islands of Destiny by John Prados, about the Solomons campaign. Prados makes a very good argument that while Midway stopped Japan's advance, it left the initiative in the Pacific hanging up for grabs. Prados argues that it was the battle of attrition of the Solomons campaign, especially Guadalcanal, where the United States decisively seized the initiative. The Solomons fatally ground down the IJN air arm, costing them experienced pilots that they couldn't replace. (It was also brutal for the USN, costing 2 carriers sunk and a third badly damaged and out for repairs for months. After Guadalcanal, for a time the USN had on the USS Enterprise operational in the Pacific, and she had been damaged to some extent as well.)
fasthorse05
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I've been hooked on WWII history since I was 12.

I have a theory that everything you need to know about humans, war, and governments, happened between 1914 and 1945. Every form of government (which we seem to have forgotten), and the very worst and very best of human nature during both wars and the Great Depression.

So many men sacrificed themselves for their platoon or company, and occasionally their country. Their heroism is astounding.
fasthorse05
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aalan94 said:

Just now seeing this. In terms of documentaries, I absolutely recommend two series: World at War and Victory at Sea.

World at War is the best WWII documentary series out there. 26 episodes. It is, however, from a British perspective, so it's heavy, heavy on Europe and North Africa and weak on the Pacific. However, if you supplement it with the U.S.-made Victory at Sea, you will fill that gap.

Start there, and you cannot go wrong.
I was quite a bit older (40 or so) when I learned about Earnest Evans, the destroyer captain who took on the Japanese battle ships at Leyte Gulf while Bull Halsey was chasing a decoy fleet to the north. One of the most heroic actions I've ever seen in any battle. Evans DEFINTELY deserved the MOH.
FTACo88-FDT24dad
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Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors
AggieAL1
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Wildman15 said:

Thank you all for the great book recommendations. These are what I want to dive into more, as I've mainly just done documentaries and podcasts so far
I would suggest you try to round up a copy of "War Maps" of World War II by Simon Goodenough (c1982). It has more than 230 maps depicting every major action in the war from Sept. 1939 to Aug. 1945, many in color.

It also holds photographs, illustrations and short text to describe each of the maps, which include unit names and deployments from all participants as well as battle fronts and lines as they existed on various dates. Great read by itself and a real help as a reference when reading other works.
chimpanzee
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The Second World War by Martin Gilbert is a good day by day rundown of what was happening from beginning to end (he did a similar approach in The First World War). It's more British centric, but I liked the different perspective versus what you picked up by exposure as a more casual American reader.

You get a feel for how meticulous the job of a historian can be, but it does come off as a recitation at times.
mamatrio
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I have enjoyed America's Forgotten Heroes podcast by The Daily Wire. So far I have learned more about Joshua Chamberlain, Jimmy Doolittle, John Paul Jones, Booker T. Washington, and just finished Ernest Evans.

Informative and a reminder of the inner strength of humanity.

Also recently read "Glory for Me" by Mackinlay Kantor about PTSD before the term was coined. The 1945 movie , "The Best Years of Our Lives" was loosely based on this book.

aalan94
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Second Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors. Best Naval book on WWII I have read.
Spyderman
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Wanna go down the real rabbit hole?
Grab some popcorn...why the ongoing cover-up? The Phenomenon: FF to 1:22:35 https://tubitv.com/movies/632920/the-phenomenon

An est. 68 MILLION Americans, including 19 MILLION Black Children, have been killed in the WOMB since 1973-act, pray and vote accordingly.

TAMU purpose statement: To develop leaders of character dedicated to serving the greater good. Team entrance song at KYLE FIELD is laced with profanity including THE Nword..
The greater good?
HollywoodBQ
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fasthorse05 said:

I've been hooked on WWII history since I was 12.
I made my first trip to West Germany and Amsterdam when I was 7.
I toured the Anne Frank House.
The next year when I was 8, we went to Stuttgart and saw my dad's old Army barracks from the Cold War which was still in full swing.

So I was aware but didn't know much.

At the Armor School when I was a 2LT, I learned about the Hurtgen Forest and finally understood what Turney W. Leonard had been through.

When I was 47, I finally got to go to Bastogne, Belgium. That was eye opening. If you ever get the chance to go, I highly recommend it.

I followed that up with the next day going to the US and German cemeteries in Luxembourg which I also recommend.

There's a lot to know about WWII in the European Theater, never mind how much there is to know about the Pacific where my grandfather fought.
Jaydoug
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Just finished The Rifle. We're on the tail end of WW2 vets being around. Andrew Biggio interviewed a bunch and had them sign his M1 Garand. Great story and book.

https://thewwiirifle.com/


Eliminatus
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Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

If you'd like to read, I suggest William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.
Just picked up The Nightmare Years, his follow up to Rise and Fall. I didn't even know it existed until I came across it.

My TBR list is ridiculous right now though so might be a bit before I get to it though.
Eliminatus
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Wildman15 said:

Between Mark Felton YouTube videos, "Hitler's Bodyguards", and Dan Carlin's supernova in the east, all of my free time is being taken up by this era of history. Any documentaries or podcasts that you recommend?
Hitler's Circle of Evil on Netflix is one that I enjoyed. Definitely opened my eyes to some things I didn't know about the men whom Hitler surrounded himself with.
Matsui
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Junction71
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If you remember the original movie "Midway" there was 1 survivor of Torpedo Squadron 8--the first squadron to go in against the Japanese ships. George Gay was the survivor and he was an A&M grad. He was depicted in the movie floating in the Pacific with a ringside seat of the action all around him. He wrote a book entitled "Sole Survivor" and I looked for it on used book sites for years. And then 1 day about 5 years ago I found the book on ABE books on-line. I immediately ordered and received the book. The book was in mint condition and signed by George Gay!
Eliminatus
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Junction71 said:

If you remember the original movie "Midway" there was 1 survivor of Torpedo Squadron 8--the first squadron to go in against the Japanese ships. George Gay was the survivor and he was an A&M grad. He was depicted in the movie floating in the Pacific with a ringside seat of the action all around him. He wrote a book entitled "Sole Survivor" and I looked for it on used book sites for years. And then 1 day about 5 years ago I found the book on ABE books on-line. I immediately ordered and received the book. The book was in mint condition and signed by George Gay!


Nice get! I'm always on the lookout for such gems myself.
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