If anyone has any suggestions on good books on North Africa just post them up here. I have ready quiet a few and am always looking for more. Most recent was one on Rommel.
Hi Penderel, A few suggestions: The Battle for North Africa Author: Major-General Sir William Jackson Publisher: Mason/Charter Publishers Inc. Copyright: 1975, 500 pp. Although much of the book is about the 8th Army, the role that 1st Army played in achieving final victory is well covered. The NIH receives an honourable mention! The Path to Victory Author: Douglas Porch Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York Copyright: 2004, 799 pp. War Without Hate Authors: John Bierman & Colin Smith Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd., London Copyright: 2004, 478 pp. Reprint of 2002 edition entitled The Battle of Alamein Fighting the Desert Fox Author: John Delaney Publisher: Cassell & Co., London Copyright: 1998, 160 pp. A Noble Crusade Author: Richard Doherty Publisher: Sarpedon, Rockville Centre, New York Copyright: 1999, 368 pp. Kasserine Pass Author: Martin Blumenson Publisher: Cooper Square Press, New York Copyright: 2000, 341 pp. The Bloody Road to Tunis Author: David Rolf Publisher: Greenhill Books, London Copyright: 2001, 320 pp. An Army at Dawn Author: Rick Atkinson Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, New York Copyright: 2002, 681 pp. Brazen Chariots Author: Major Robert Crisp Publisher: Bantam War Books, New York Copyright: 1959, 233 pp. Stirling's Desert Raiders Author: Virginia Cowles Publisher: Bantam War Books, New York Copyright: 1958, 306 pp. The War in the Desert Author: Richard Collier and the Editors of Time-Life Books Publisher: Time-Life Books, Alexandria, Virginia. Copyright: 1977, pp.208 Well illustrated and, despite the title, covers the campaign in Tunisia. Cheers, Gerry
War Without Hate Authors: John Bierman & Colin Smith Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd., London Copyright: 2004, 478 pp. Reprint of 2002 edition entitled The Battle of Alamein I second this one, a very 'readable' book.
'The Foxes Of The Desert - The Story Of The Afrika Korps' by 'Paul Carell' ( Macdonald, 1960 and reprinted in paperback and by Schiffer since ). It is of course biased, but it gives some interesting first-hand accounts from the German combatants point-of-view.
Tank Combat in North Africa, the opening rounds by Thomas L. Jentz (1998) With Pennants Flying, the immortal deeds of the Royal Armoured Corps by David Masters (1943) Tanks Across the Desert, the War Diary of Jake Wardrop ed. George Forty (1981,2003) Desert Rats at War by George Forty (1975, 1977) ...does anyone notice a theme developing?
After finally getting a really overdue salary raise, I embarked myself on an Amazon shopping spree, trying to increase my rather small war-book collection, and am now looking for a really good work on the Western Desert. Some years ago I got hold of Wolf Heckmann's "Rommel's War in Africa", and the way it covers the whole deal between El-Agheila and "Tunisgrad" through the use of personal accounts and anecdotes, set an standard for me on the way I want to read about the African struggle; the closer to the front-line, the better. Any recommendations on something that would do the trick, but from the Allied point-of-view? I already have an eye on "War Without Hate", by John Bierman; "Battle for North Africa", by John Strawson (Pen & Sword); and "Desert War", by Allan Moorehead, but, will any of these work? Thanks in advance, inhabitants of the nuthouse
Warlord from the Canadian "Nuthouse" - you have a great book of Strawsons there - BUT the very best of all that I have read are the three volumes of Barrie Pitt - "The Crucible of War" - I have his orginal big book but also have his newer three volumes in which he covers each of the three Commands of Wavell - Auchinlek and Monty - long before Rommell made his entrance after Beda Fomm - never tire of reading them as they are in great detail of all the battles from the first move by 11th Hussars to the Wire as the Italians started to move towards Egypt, December 1940 through to Tunis in May 1943.....the coverage of "Totensontag" and "Tobruk" spells out the deficiencies in our tactics and the very bad Armoured lack of thought and tactics - until Mareth when we finally came up with the British Blitzkrieg - they STILL accuse Monty of being slow ....! They should look at Lumsden's leadership - or lack of same ! Pitt's coverage of Sidi Rezigh and Jock Campbell's V.C. actions are classic as is his death accidently by Roy Farran - the action which gave Rommell his second bloody nose at Alam El halpha is also well worth the few Pounds/Dollars you might spend on the trilogy - I can't recommend it high enough.....as the Telegraph notes - ""Masterly and lucid in its descriptions not only of the fighting and strategy, but of the political machinations"" - meaning the interference of both Churchill and Eden ! Rommell had no chance after Gazala - he just thought he did and as for his excuse that he had no fuel - according to his boss Kesselring - with tongue in cheek -"he produced a miracle in getting his Afrika Corps back as far as Medenine" - where he was finally beaten to a pulp and was fired ! Everyone should buy these as it cuts out all arguements... Cheers
"War Without Hate" I was going to say you can have mine but then I remembered you're not in the UK. It's on my bookshelf, read it once. Can have it if you like.
Barrie Pitt's "crucible" has this strange reputation nowadays of being "dated", in some way old-fashioned....but I've never found it so! Particualrly Wavell's Command as a study of events 1940-41 in the Eastern Med. Apart from anything else - he's very readable! Which is always an advantage with history. For instance, I've never liked Beevor's writing style, and James Lucas writes his sentences as if they're little soundbites. You can have just too much "short and pithy" inside a single paragraph...
Warlord from the Caanadian "Nuthouse" - you have a great book of Strawsons there - BUT the very best of all that I have read are the three volumes of Barrie Pitt - "The Crucible of War" - Cheers What´s exactly the scope of vol. 2? Sorry, but I´m not exactly an expert on the Western Desert... "War Without Hate" Does it fit into the "lots of personal accounts and anecdotes" category?
Does it fit into the "lots of personal accounts and anecdotes" category? er can't remember , few years ago I read it. Suggested by someone on here. read it then forgot it all.
Warlord - Volume two is all about when Auckinlek took over from Wavel - all the way through to the day Monty took over in August of '42 after the Gazala Gallop- I'll send you a page and you can make up your own mind...later... Owen - "The War without hate" thingi - I half read and gave it to our local Library - I think thay put it outy of it's misery ! Phylo - it's probably got a bad reputation as it does dwell of Monty's success -and we musn't have any heroes to-day now must we ...? .....like too many more - I am always astonished that Nelson is still on that pillar- look at the fuss over Dowding - Harris et al - and sheeesh - how about Enoch Powell ? His work for 8th Army intelligence sorted out a lot of problems - not to mention his famous Birmingham speech ....he was right - it would appear ??? - I Have true copy of that one ! Cheers
Warlord - having trouble sending a page for you ---- BUT--- if Phylo still has the Auchinlek volume II - I would ask him to send you pages 84-85 about the Sidi di Rezigh battle and Jock Campbell's actions... Cheers
Tom, sadly not - I was only ever lent II and III for reading after picking up Wavell's Command for myself in a 2nd hand bookshop
Warlord - having trouble sending a page for you ---- BUT--- if Phylo still has the Auchinlek volume II - I would ask him to send you pages 84-85 about the Sidi di Rezigh battle and Jock Campbell's actions... Cheers Tom, sadly not - I was only ever lent II and III for reading after picking up Wavell's Command for myself in a 2nd hand bookshop Mates, I just found in Amazon a different edition of this "Crucible" series, made up of 2 books instead of 3: "The Crucible of War: Western Desert, 1941" and "TCoW: Year of El Alamein, 1942" Both of which are (so it looks to my pocket ) very appealling bargains at less than US$7 each, so unless someone comes up pronto with a Western Desert-book panacea, I´ll stick with your advice.
Warlord - you have - as you say - done very well to get three books into two for less than $7o........however....what we have here is not a failure to communicate but an Americanised method of communication - as in actual fact - the "1942" version is all about" Monty's Command" whereas the one entitled "Auchinlek and Montgomery" is - again in actual fact the "Auchinlek Command" - IF you look further down the Amazon list you will find - amongst many crucibles of war items - that of Barrie Pitt's "Wavell's Command" - and THAT is the one which you really should buy and start reading FIRST in order to fully comprehend the North African Desert battles - for another $7o- as opposed to the other end of Africa where the American II corps was involved which is dealt with in the "War without Hatred" which is perhaps yet another $7o... So good reading Cheers
I Agree with Tom the Crucible of war is a must, so is the Desert Generals by Correlli Barnett others are Together we Stand by James Holland covers both sides of the allied war from torch & Alamein to the conclusion. For an overview try S Bungay's Alamein, also Strawson's book is a good read.
Warlord - you have - as you say - done very well to get three books into two for less than $7o........however....what we have here is not a failure to communicate but an Americanised method of communication - as in actual fact - the "1942" version is all about" Monty's Command" whereas the one entitled "Auchinlek and Montgomery" is - again in actual fact the "Auchinlek Command" - IF you look further down the Amazon list you will find - amongst many crucibles of war items - that of Barrie Pitt's "Wavell's Command" - and THAT is the one which you really should buy and start reading FIRST in order to fully comprehend the North African Desert battles - for another $7o- as opposed to the other end of Africa where the American II corps was involved which is dealt with in the "War without Hatred" which is perhaps yet another $7o... So good reading Cheers I already read "Beda Fomm", by Kenneth Macksey, already ordered (actually on its way to my P.O. Box in Miami ) "An Army at Dawn", by Rick Atkinson, and am downloading "From Bardia to Enfidaville", from the New Zealand Electronic Text Centre, so with your help - and Philo's, and Oldman´s, and Owen's - I will get to fill the gap. Thanks a lot.
