I’m definitely not alone in finding the second world war fascinating. Here are some books about WW2 that I’ve really enjoyed.

Band of Brothers

Band of Brothers is the book behind the HBO TV series of the same name. A fan of the series, I wasn’t surprised to enjoy the book too.

What the book definitely conveys much better than the series is how phenomenally well trained the air-borne troops on D-day were. I’d say the book is worth it just for the first third which describes just how hard thier training was.

Fighter

Fighter, by Len Deighton, combines descriptions of logistical challenges and technological descriptions with tales of derring-do and bravery. The personal story of Air Chief Marshal Dowding was a particular favourite of mine.

You can’t really write a book about the battle of britain without capturing at least some of the fear and excitement that must have been present in Britain at the time. And Fighter does this very well indeed.

Das Boot (The Boat)

Das Boot, by Lothar Gunther Buchheim, is another book that went on to achieve screen success, this time as both a film, and a TV miniseries.

As with Fighter, Das Boot combines the human stories with technical observations to convey the terror and difficulty of the jobs done by the men in the U-boat fleet.

Stalingrad

Prior to reading Stalingrad, most of my knowledge of this critical turning point of the second world war came from the film Enemy At the Gates. Thankfully this book did a good job of filling in the one or two blanks left by Hollywood.

This hefty book doesn’t shirk on detail, covering the build up to the battle, it’s aftermath and all the horror and terror in between.