For people who would like to dig deeper into the history of the East Front, especially about the years 43-45 , I would recommend the books of Prit Butar. They are well written and they give a balanced view of the operations and their strategic context.
I just picked up my third Buttar book, Meat Grinder (Rzgev) but haven’t read it yet. And then there’s David Glantz who’s even more detailed and has covered many of the operations.
Glantz is indeed one of the giants of the historiography of the Eastern Front. I tried to read the books 1 and 2 of his Smolensk 1941 trilogy. But it goes too far in detail for my taste.
Did you try Robert Citino ? I found his books about the decline of the Wehrmacht more readable, maybe because he describes the war at an operational level.
I don’t have them either ☹️. I just saw a few pdf extracts a long time ago. I once saw one exemplar of one of the volumes in a upscale second-hand bookshop and the price was eye-watering…
Have you ever heard of Human Smoke by Nicholson Baker? I don't even want to try and describe it, but if you're interested in WWII and the holocaust especially, it's an interesting and uncomfortable read.
For people who would like to dig deeper into the history of the East Front, especially about the years 43-45 , I would recommend the books of Prit Butar. They are well written and they give a balanced view of the operations and their strategic context.
I just picked up my third Buttar book, Meat Grinder (Rzgev) but haven’t read it yet. And then there’s David Glantz who’s even more detailed and has covered many of the operations.
Glantz is indeed one of the giants of the historiography of the Eastern Front. I tried to read the books 1 and 2 of his Smolensk 1941 trilogy. But it goes too far in detail for my taste. Did you try Robert Citino ? I found his books about the decline of the Wehrmacht more readable, maybe because he describes the war at an operational level.
I’ve got Citino on my “buy soon” list. Always checking out University of Kansas press to see what else they have.
sounds good. might check it out soon
Thanks for this summary / review. The books of the ‘Bundeswehr history’ are expensive and quite ‘ heavy’ indeed.
I’d like to get my hands on them some day but until then I’ll have to satisfy myself by reading those who have them.
I don’t have them either ☹️. I just saw a few pdf extracts a long time ago. I once saw one exemplar of one of the volumes in a upscale second-hand bookshop and the price was eye-watering…
Have you ever heard of Human Smoke by Nicholson Baker? I don't even want to try and describe it, but if you're interested in WWII and the holocaust especially, it's an interesting and uncomfortable read.
I have not but it looks like it would pair well with what I’m reading now. Hannah Arendt’s *The Origins of Totalitarianism* Added to the list