World War I and II Non-Fiction

[booksnake]

I'm currently reading ' All Hell let loose' as previously discussed and have to say its an incredible book. It can be a little hard going to pronounce some of the Foreign names, some of which I literally give up on - polish names in particular but of course that is my ignorance and nothing to do with this brilliant book.

[vodkafan]

I think I've mentioned it before here, but Diane Atkinson's Elsie and Mairi Go To War is the story of two nurses who worked right up in the front line on the Western Front. It's an excellent read for anyone interested in an unusual human story.

 

 

Roland is that Elsie and Mairi book a true story ? I remember reading an article about a very similar pair of women, perhaps it was them. If so I would like to read this one.

[Roland Butter]

Yes, it's a true story. I first came across it on a BBC2 documentary two or three years back about the splendidly-named Elsie Knocker, and was amazed by her sheer audacity and courage - her first-aid post was just 50 yards behind the front line. Elsie and Mairi Chisholm were a couple of well brought up young ladies who met through a very unconventional (for the time) love of riding powerful motorcycles, and when the war broke out decided the best way to "do their bit" was to offer their services as nurses. Frustrated with the delays and inertia they encountered, they bypassed the "official" war machine, popped across the Channel and just started up their own field hospital. It's an amazing story.

Edited March 18, 2012 by Roland Butter

[Phil1980]

Ive just finnished Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand which I highly recommend if you life biographys, she wrote Sea Biscuit which I havn't actually read but no doubt I will now.

[Arukiyomi]

for the Pacific war you can probably do no better than the superb book by John Toland The Rising Sun.

 

For the European view of WW2, I'd second Shirer's book.

 

For WW1, I'd second the Regeneration Trilogy and add (titles linked to reviews on my blog)

The Return of the Soldier: great short story/novella depicting one tragic aspect of a soldier coming home from the front

The Riddle of the Sands: although set before the war, it had a major influence on Britain's naval strategy. Very important novel.

[vodkafan]

This is a WWII book I have just read, thought I might put my review here too as it seems pertinent. It is available on kindle

 

A Helmet For My Pillow

by Robert Leckie.

 

This was a biographical account of a US Marine who fought through some of the big island hopping battles against the Japanese in the Pacific in WWII.

It started off with his training at Parris Island . Leckie was already a writer before he joined up and there were times during the early part of the book that I wished that he wasn't; his poetic descriptions of things seemed like it was trying too hard.

But then pretty soon he was shipped over to Guadalcanal for his first taste of action, and the book got much more gritty and his writer's insights seemed more profound and worthwhile. He described two things which I have never read in any war book before. The first is of the fatalism of some soldiers (if you your time is up you are going to get it regardless, so why worry) compared to the actions of others to minimise risks and finish the war in one piece.

The second was the despair of realising they were considered "expendable" by higher command and what that concept meant compared to them voluntarily sacrificing themselves. Those bits alone were worth reading the book for.

Guadalcanal virtually broke his health and those of the others but there was still a war on (the idea of combat stress was not yet fully understood) so his unit was reformed and sent to another island where Leckie made a name for himself as a scout attached to HQ. Throughout this time he struggled with a medical condition where he would wet himself like a child during sleep, and spent some time in a mental rehabilitation unit but eventually asked to go back to his unit.

He talks about his friends in the unit, about the stupidity and petty vindictiveness of some of the officers, but he does not gloss over his own failings. He got into trouble many times for minor revolts against the discipline, once going AWOL to be with a girlfriend.

His unit made full use of a rest period in Australia where he was in trouble most of the time.

The final campaign he took part in was a short bloody battle at Peleliu. Reading between the lines, it is easy to see that by now he was at the end of his rope and did not have much mental or physical strength left to fight with. Shocked by the horror of watching his friends die within minutes of arrival on the Island, he was blown up by a near miss of an artillery shell and was found wandering shellshocked and unable to speak out in the open. He was medically evacuated .

I have another book of experiences by the same author. I look forward to reading it.