Moral Combat: A History of World War II (1 Viewer)

[jazzeum]

I just happened to come across this book this morning by Michael Burleigh, a British historian, who has written some interesting books about Nazi Germany.

His latest is Moral Combat, which I have ordered. See here for a review that appeared in the Daily Telegraph in the UK.

The book is not yet available in the US, but can be ordered from Amazon UK.

 

[PolarBear]

I just happened to come across this book this morning by Michael Burleigh, a British historian, who has written some interesting books about Nazi Germany.

His latest is Moral Combat, which I have ordered. See here for a review that appeared in the Daily Telegraph in the UK.

The book is not yet available in the US, but can be ordered from Amazon UK.

I recently watched the PBS documentary Victory in the Pacific and it gave me pause that on the exact day I was being born, over 100,000 Japanese civilians in Tokyo died in the firebombing of the city. Ironically years later one of Curtis LeMay's relatives was one of my art history students. In the 1980s I was researching Margaret Bourke-White's WWII documents at Syracuse University and discovered that she had become friends with Paul Tibbetts while he was stationed in England flying a B-17 with the 97th BG against targets in France. In her WWII 1942-3 notes in the SU files she mentions that this young man (Tibbetts) from Florida who wanted to be a doctor might some day become famous in the field of heavy bombing. I later had a chance to talk to Tibbetts about his memories of Bourke-White.

 

[blaster]

Thanks for highlighting this book. Looks like a delicious read.

Just looking at the review of it, I chanced to notice a couple of points and my immediate comments to each follows:-

the savagery of the Russians in WWII when they moved West - contrast this analysis with a recent book released by Dominic Lievens on the good behaviour of the Russian forces when they fought Napoleon (reviewed in The Economist 17 Apr 2010 "Russia against Napoleon").

the proposed bombing of Auschwitz by the Russians? - besides a moral dilemma, what about the sheer logistics and priorities of the Russians, which may differ from that of the Western Allies?

For me, WWII was the last great war fought on clear moral grounds. The good guys won.

Rgds Victor

 

[unglesbeemj]

Brad,
Thanks for highlighting this book, raises some very interesting questions. May be a good follow on to my current read, The Third Reich at War, since I am asking myself some of these questions as I go through the book.

Mike

 

[jazzeum]

Mike,

I found the Third Reich at War a tough read, not bacause Evans is not a great writer, but because of the subject matter.

 

[unglesbeemj]

You said it! I have been down all week.

I picked it up as a refresher on WW2, and its been awhile since I have read a broad history of the entire war. While it has informed me in greater detail on certain aspects I had not found in other works, i.e. production, economics, the level of details on the darker aspects has been overwelming.

My previous readings on WW2 from an early age were always focused on battles/leaders/equipment/units. I am well into 1943 now so I am going to try and get through it.

Next was to be "The Last Battle", but maybe that would be a bit too much after reading this book! I had wanted to read this prior to my trip to Berlin last fall, but never got around to it.

Mike

 

[jazzeum]

His first book, the Coming of the Third Reich, is really good and one of the best treatments I've read on the subject. Blows everything else away.

 

[damian]

He wrote another book about terrorism. The title escapes me but he was less sure footed than when writing about the Third Reich
You know lumping all terrorist/guerilla movements together over the last 50 years seemed like he was stretching a point a bit.
I will wait to get his new book off a second hand book shop linked to Amazon.

 

[jazzeum]

You know lumping all terrorist/guerilla movements together over the last 50 years seemed like he was stretching a point a bit.

One's man guerrilla movement is another man's freedom fighter

 

[unglesbeemj]

His first book, the Coming of the Third Reich, is really good and one of the best treatments I've read on the subject. Blows everything else away.

I also picked up that one up with Third Reich at War, maybe should have read it first. Glad to hear its going to be a good study

 

[unglesbeemj]

His first book, the Coming of the Third Reich, is really good and one of the best treatments I've read on the subject. Blows everything else away.

Brad, what other books can you recommend on the how and why WW2 happened? Perhaps more insight on the years between the wars, or underlying conditions/attitudes that explain what happened next? I imagine Richard Evens' trilogy might cover most of what I am looking to better understand in enough detail.

Mike

 

[jazzeum]

Mike,

I always found the why interesting and the Evans books, volumes 1 and 2, are the best recent books on the subject. Ian Kershaw's bio on Hitler is quite good. Also William Shirer's book, although not well regarded, as it once used to be, is still interesting. I will take a look at Evans' Coming book bibliography to see what might leap out at me.

 

[unglesbeemj]

Mike,

I always found the why interesting and the Evans books, volumes 1 and 2, are the best recent books on the subject. Ian Kershaw's bio on Hitler is quite good. Also William Shirer's book, although not well regarded, as it once used to be, is still interesting. I will take a look at Evans' Coming book bibliography to see what might leap out at me.

I skipped volume 2 on my recent order, no reason, but probably makes sense to read all three volumes. I have read Kershaw's bio and Shirer's book, they are currently packed in a box with all my other books [I just returned from a tour in Afghanistan].

I may be showing my age here, but in college one of the first books I remember reading on the subject was Liddell Hart's History of the Second World War, followed by The German Generals Talk and The Rommel Papers. Later, I found John Keegan's books to be superb, his Face of Battle remains one of my all time favorites.

Mike

 

[jazzeum]

Evans has generally good things to say about Shirer although it's not a perfect book in his opinion. He also likes Burleigh's book.

Books that I liked from when I was a kid in the 60s and fascinated by his rise to power are

Alan Bullock Hitler: A Study in Tryanny
Hitler by Joachim Fest (most anything by him is good)
A.J.P. Taylor The Course of German History (a classic)

Not exactly on the whys but I liked Trevor-Roper's the Last Days of Hitler.

The book The Wehrmacht: History, Myth Reality by Wolfram Wette is also required reading on the behavior of the Germany Army in the Eastern War. It shows how complicit they were in the atrocities and race cleansing.

 

[unglesbeemj]

Evans has generally good things to say about Shirer although it's not a perfect book in his opinion. He also likes Burleigh's book.

Books that I liked from when I was a kid in the 60s and fascinated by his rise to power are

Alan Bullock Hitler: A Study in Tryanny
Hitler by Joachim Fest (most anything by him is good)
A.J.P. Taylor The Course of German History (a classic)

Not exactly on the whys but I liked Trevor-Roper's the Last Days of Hitler.

The book The Wehrmacht: History, Myth Reality by Wolfram Wette is also required reading on the behavior of the Germany Army in the Eastern War. It shows how complicit they were in the atrocities and race cleansing.

Thanks for these recommendations Brad.

Some of these I will have to check out. Burleigh's book is The Third Reich, A New History, correct? I have seen it, have you read it? Worth a read?

Looking at some of Burleigh's other works, Blood & Rage, and Sacred Causes, also look like they explore some very interesting & relevant themes.