good books

[Dune]

I'd have to add:

Herky! by Herschel Green
A triple ace with the 325th FG "Checkertails".  He scored kills in P-40's, P-47's and P-51's.  Great story-teller and gives you a look at life in the Med theater.  This is an often over-looked area of USAAF combat.

Helmut Lipfert's War Diary by Helmut Lipfert
Lipfert scored over 200 kills flying with JG 52 and 53 on the Eastern Front.  Deals strictly with accounts of his kills and sorties.  Amazing reading.  He was shot down at least 5 times but always managed to do it over German lines.

A Bridge Too Far by Cornilius Ryan
On of the best WW2 books I've ever read.  

Hell in a Very Small Place by Bernard Fall
Not a WW2 book.  Deals with the French Foreign Legion Para's and the siege of Dien Bien Phu.  A truly chilling book.  Every military historian should read this book.  Reading how the Para's would volunteer to jump into the siege, just to be there for their comrades, even though they knew they were going to lose is incredible.

------------------
Lt Col Dune
X.O. 352nd Fighter Group
"The Blue Nosed Bastards of Bodney"

"Credo quia absurdum est." (I believe it because it is unreasonable)
- The motto of the Republic of Baja Arizona

[sourkraut]

re: 3)Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe (Schiffer Military/Aviation History) by Raymond F. Toliver, Trevor J. Constable

Didn't particularly like this. Supposedly discussed tactics - but wasn't much there. Not very enthralling story either.
Don't spend more than $2 on.

Sour

[Jack55]

It's not aviation, but I notice some other people recommended non-aviation books.  I usually am not interested in books covering infantry operations, but this one attracted me because it tells the story of Oliver Stone's infantry company from the view point of the company commander who is also the author. Most people in the book are given aliases including Spec. 4 Stone.  The only mention of Stone is in the Forward and Epiloge.  It's not a personal attack.  I found the day to day operations, planning, and combat very interesting.  The dominance of artillary and air support is clear, and the diminished role of armor are no surprise even for a person like me who has little detail knowledge of combat in Vietnam.  What was surprising was the professionalism, dedication, and effectiveness of the American infantry units that were portrayed so disgracefully in Stone's movie and many other Hollywood productions. The other side of the coin perhaps.  Anyway, it's a good read!  

Platoon Bravo Company
by
Robert Hemphill

[LJKkratz]

Thunderbolt! by Robert Johnson.

Great read - you can blast through it as you blast through it in one sitting.


hehehehe... figure that one out.

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LJK Kratzer
Geschwader Kommodore, LuftJägerKorps

www.luftjagerkorps.com

[-ammo-]

just read "THUNDERBOLT"! awesome read.

I appreciate all the responses guys.    I think i have made up my mind-- i will by several of them

[Dune]

Ammo and everyone else;

Let me recommend Paul Gaudette Bookstore in Tucson, AZ.  They have an amazing collection of signed works and they are great to work with.  I have bought several signed books from them.  Their addy:  http://www3.imagiconline.com/events/slite/litehome.html

Here is just a sample of what they have:

THE JOLLY ROGERS: The 90th Bombardment Group in the Southwest Pacific 1942-1944
Atglen
Schiffer Military
1997
Reprint
112 pages
Profuse photos
D.J.
11 1/4 x 8 3/4
Account of the Jolly Rogers, who flew B-24 Liberators in the Southwest Pacific.

Signed by B-24 pilots Perrin, Rehart, Haggerty and Pearson
50.00

THE 56TH FIGHTER GROUP IN WORLD WAR II
Washington, D.C.
Washington Infantry Journal
1948
First
222 pages
Photos

8 1/2 x 11 1/4
A memorandum of some of the operational incidents connected with the 56th Fighter Group while in England and over the
continent during World War II.
Signed by Zemke, Mahurin and 3 other 56th F.G. Aces
350.00

Anderson, Clarence E. 'Bud' with Joseph P. Hamelin
TO FLY AND FIGHT
N.Y.
St. Martin's Press
1990
First
302 pages
Photos
Anderson's memoirs of being a triple ace and the wingman of Gen. Chuck Yeager.
Special Leatherbound edition.
Signed by Anderson and Yeager
90.00

Barbas, Bernd
AIRCRAFT OF THE LUFTWAFFE FIGHTER ACES I
Atglen, Pa.
Schiffer Military
1996
Reprint
263 pages
Profuse photos
D.J.
8 1/2 x 11
Volume I covers: JG 1 Oesau, JG 2 Richthofen, JG 3 Udet, JG 4, JG 5 Eismeer, JG 6 Horst Wessel, JG 7 Nowotny, JG 11
JG 26 Schlageter, JG 27, JV 44, JG 51 Molders and JG 52.
Signed plate by Gunther Rall and Walter Wolfrum (176 victories)
80.00

Boyce, Col. J. Ward, editor
AMERICAN FIGHTER ACES ALBUM
Mesa, Az.
American Fighters Assoc.
1996
Second
550 pages
Profuse photos
9 1/4 x 12 1/4
Signed inside the front cover by 52 American fighter aces.
400.00

- as you can see they have some expensive titles, but they also have signed books for as low as $30.00.

------------------
Lt Col Dune
X.O. 352nd Fighter Group
"The Blue Nosed Bastards of Bodney"

"Credo quia absurdum est." (I believe it because it is unreasonable)
- The motto of the Republic of Baja Arizona

[This message has been edited by Dune (edited 09-25-2000).]

[-ammo-]

THX Dune! never even considered getting signed copies.  will look at them.

ammo

[LJKkratz]

If ya just read thunderbolt that would explain why every P47 that shoots me down is YOU, ammo... heheh...

I'm the easiest target out there, so you jug-jockeys should line up!

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LJK Kratzer
Geschwader Kommodore, LuftJägerKorps

www.luftjagerkorps.com

[Ripsnort]

An interesting, if not controversial book, is called "The Good War", very interesting perspective of the last "good war" that the US was involved in...

[Ripsnort]

Hmm, this gets me thinking, anyone want to do a 'Book Exchange" program of some sorts?  We could do something like list 10 books that we'd be willing to loan out...then the person interested in reading it would  pay for the UPS postage both ways, I assume it would still be cheaper than the original book itself in some cases...just rambling thoughts here...

[LJKkratz]

I've got one called "The Best War Ever" that I have glanced at, but haven't read yet... it seems like a new perspective... more of an academic thesis than a rippin' good tale though!

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LJK Kratzer
Geschwader Kommodore, LuftJägerKorps

www.luftjagerkorps.com

[jmccaul]

I would reccomend

Fly for your life : the story of Robert Stanford Tuck by Larry Foresster(sp?)


War in a Stringbag by Charles Lamb

P.S. I quite liked the first and the last but at times it was a little dry and also galland seemed to rationalize with hindsight and gives the impression the LW would have swept all before it but for Goering (which i am sure has an element of truth but not to the extent he suggests)

[Ripsnort]

 

Originally posted by jmccaul:
.. and the last but at times it was a little dry and also galland seemed to rationalize with hindsight and gives the impression the LW would have swept all before it but for Goering (which i am sure has an element of truth but not to the extent he suggests)

Agree with your review, although the LW  would have been more efficient without Goering, it appears someone forgot to tell Galland that the US industrial muscles and unlimited resources would have still prevailed...

[Gunthr]

I read and recommend the books by Hienz Knoke, Eric Hartmman and Saburo Sakai.

Another really good one in a slightly different genre is "Black Thursday" by Martin Cadin (sp?). This thick paperback tells the story of the raids on the ball-bearing factories in Schwienfurt, Germany. Sixty B-17s were shot down by hordes of German fighters.

While telling the story of this raid, it also tells all about the B-17, and what it was like to be a crewmember. After reading this one (years ago) I went out and bought a large plastic model of the G.

Very well written by a respected researcher...and you can find it in librarys....    Gunthr