What are some good books either set in or about World War II, particularly about America's role in the war or life in America at home during the war? Thanks.
2006-11-18 11:19:43 · 8 answers · asked by ebillar 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
Freedom From Fear; The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945 by David M. Kennedy (Oxfor University Press).
It is lengthy, scholarly, and still a great read. You don't have to read from cover to cover, this one is good enough to pick and choose a chapter here or there. You won't be disappointed.
Kennedy may be less well know than some other historians, He a professor of history at Stanford University. The book cover pre-war developments, includes maps of the campaigns in Italy, N. Africa, China-Burma, Leyte and about 20 others. It details FDRs agony over neutrality, lots of foreign policy behind the scenes back stabbing, British war production and American Lend-Lease, BCATP, and it is all very facinating.
I was assigned it as part of a master's program in history. I have to say that it was the best that I have read on the period and I've read more than I care to count. Kennedy's discriptions are vivid and at times almost too graphic. A whole chapter plus some on the homefront.
2006-11-18 11:30:22 · answer #1 · answered by ? 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Anything by Stephen Ambrose is readable, engrossing and factually correct. His better books include Band of Brothers, Citizen Soldiers, and D-Day, June 6, 1944: the Climactic Battle of World War II
His are military histories, but if you want fiction, there is a lot out there.
2006-11-18 11:27:54 · answer #2 · answered by Bryce 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Anything by John Keegan and Sir Martin Gilbert. Time Life Books offer many good titles on the war. Look through Library Archives or on the net for past copies of Life Magazine or Time and for local newspapers, including the New York Times.
2016-05-22 01:43:03 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Home Front U.S.A.: America during World War II (Paperback)
by Allan M. Winkler
Julia's War Journal
A Fictionalized Memoir
Jane Ewing
144 pages, paperback, $9.95
ISBN 1-56474-325-X
Julia is sixteen when she marries her handsome young neighbor, Matt. Suddenly their lives are interrupted by the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and Matt leaves to serve his country. During his absence, Julia keeps a journal chronicling the day-to-day difficulties and fears of being a young bride in a world of uncertainty.
2006-11-18 11:45:30 · answer #4 · answered by redunicorn 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with the above, Shirer, Churchill and Ambrose will give you the fullest of views of the European Theatre if you read ALL of them which you should to get a good idea of the goings on from all directions, particularly the Western Front.
I also enjoy John Keegan's WWII history.
There are a number of good books based on the Pacific Theatre but none that stand out above any other that I've read. If I had to name one I'd read again it is "At Dawn We Slept".
2006-11-18 12:46:25 · answer #5 · answered by Who cares 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My favorite fiction works on WWII are Herman Wouk's _War and Remembrance_ and _Winds of War_. They do a great job of weaving together stories about what was happening on the homefront, both with families and the bigger picture, with our battles abroad.
2006-11-18 12:06:55 · answer #6 · answered by Jeff G 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Set"? You're looking for fiction? Can't help you there...
But the series Churchill wrote after the war (five or six books) was quite good.
2006-11-18 11:22:18 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
try William L. Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany" it'll knock you on your @**
2006-11-18 11:23:48 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋