History Cr�Help me round out my library. (WWII, specific.)

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Despite my growing slavophelia, almost all of my history texts relating to the second world war are either entirely Nazi-specific or western-front-specific. I'd like to build my library on the Soviet side.

I really prefer as close to "primary sources" as possible in general. I'd rather study Mein Kampf than a biography for the most part, though a wider-context textbook approach is appreciated as well.

Currently my only Soviet-side literature, outside of piles of Communist-specific but not-necessarily-WWII-specific material, is "The Soviet Colossus" by Michael Kort, and then a .pdf copy of Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor or whatever.

Guys, what am I missing? If you own or have read a good book on the second world war in Russia, please post it here.

Probably in entirely the wrong subforum. Fuck it.

Thanks guys.
 
my next book is going to be stuka pilot by hans rudel, most of his time was spent on the eastern front. i really dont know of too many books from the soviet side, the only one i have read was a stalin biography.
 
Koba the Dread is a great book. While a biography, it's a good look at Stalin.
 
Stalingrad by Antony Beevor
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Stalingrad-The-Fateful-Siege-1942-1943/Antony-Beevor/e/9780140284584/
edit: ^^ should've read your entire first post before i replied, you have this one.

Armageddon in Stalingrad by David Glantz
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Armageddon-in-Stalingrad/David-M-Glantz/e/9780700616640/

A Writer at War by Vasily Grossman
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/A-Writer-at-War/Vasily-Grossman/e/9780307275332/

Notes of a Russian Sniper by Vissili Zaitsev
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Notes-of-a-Russian-Sniper/Vassili-Zaitsev/e/9781848325654/

900 Days: the Siege of Leningrad by Harrison Salisbury
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/900-Days/Harrison-Salisbury/e/9780306812989/

Bloody Triangle by Victor Kamenir
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Bloody-Triangle/Victor-Kamenir/e/9780760334348/

Sniper on the Eastern Front by Geoffrey Brooks
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Sniper-on-the-Eastern-Front/Geoffrey-Brooks/e/9781844153176/

Ivan's War by Catherine Merridale
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Ivans-War/Catherine-Merridale/e/9780312426521/

A Woman in Berlin by Anonymous (later found to be Marta Hillers, a journalist and low level propagandist for the Third Reich)
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Woman-in-Berlin/Anonymous/e/9780312426118/

I've read at least bits and pieces of all but Ivan's War and Bloody Triangle.
 
i really do recommend A Woman in Berlin ... since she was a propagandist for the Reich there have been some questions as to how much of it is true, but quite a bit of it has been verified as accurate and it really gives you a good on-the-ground feel for the last days of Berlin.

for example, at one point she talks about how she wishes the Americans would take her sector of Berlin rather than the Soviets, because while they were scared to death of American bombers every single one of them was far more frightened of the Soviet infantry than the American infantry.
 
Read the review on Amazon, looks like a good one. It's now on my list of books to obtain. Thank you sir.
 
You know, I came across mention of this book a few weeks ago and wondered how useful it'd really be to me. You know, 'cause with only a brief summary, it's hard telling whether it'd address someone's personal struggles ... fascinating, I'm sure, but not what I seek ... or events on a somewhat larger scale (a la "Infidel", maybe). Seeing that it comes recommended, I'll put it toward the top of my list.



The Zaitsev book looks really interesting, particularly insofar as there's some question as to the extent to which the Soviet sniper legend (specific and in general) is based in fact (cf. Stakhanovites etc). Nonetheless it's way up on my list. I have bookmarked the rest as well and will order them as the wife decides it's alright for me to order a bunch of books. Thank you sir.
 
it's kind of a mix. the book is quite literally built out of her journal entries (kind of a German "Diary of Anne Frank"), but she's grown up and thus does provide some pretty interesting more general insights into things at an adult level. But yea, if you're looking for something that deals primarily with the larger theater of war then this book probably wouldn't be for you.






I'm a history freak and I work in a bookstore, so most of those I've read a few chapters here and there from during dead time in my shift over the years and found interesting. Ivan's War and Bloody Triangle were both recommended to me by one of our managers that is really into the WWII eastern front, but we didn't have them in store so all I've read of either is what you can read on the B&N website.
 
Well, you know, I've kind of scoured Amazon (and of course various internet resources, wiki mostly, which sucks) trying to find books that give some insight into the actions of the Soviet infantrymen once they started seeing some success, because their acts of brutality are absolutely legendary ... but it's hard to tell based on a five-line review just what slant an author takes, just how much time is spent discussing that kind of thing - when a book tells of, say, the Battle for Berlin, whether it'll discuss these mass rapes or be a statistical analysis of military casualties.

MIGHT take a gamble and try the German version. I did read a review of the book which suggests that there are certain elements that lend to both the authenticity and the power of the book which are lost in translation.

Reminds me - do you happen to know of any books which discuss the female Soviet snipers? Roza Shanina and the like ... pretty amazing story, I'd imagine, but everything I have found so far is in Russian and my Russian isn't at that level.



For some reason, it's haunting to see so deadly a woman.



That's got to be way way way better than just reading reviews online. I've definitely added those items to my to-buy list.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Soldier-Autobiography-Brasseys-Commemorative/dp/0080374379/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276467667&sr=8-2

The Forgotten Soldier

Great fucking book. Read it back in 9th grade then again a few years ago. It's a German soldier but it is on the Eastern front.
 
...By the way, if you guys happen to have any of this in .pdf format, an upload would certainly be welcome.
 
[insert Randian rant about how compromising your ethics for the sake of a value (e.g., condoning theft to get something you want) is a complete forfeiture of morality all together.]
 
I just looked. Only found one of those ... in HTML format (). The only other one that I have is an audiobook of Stalingrad.
 
Well, LOL @ HTML anyway. I wonder if putting together an easily accessible PDF library for DIAC wouldn't be an interesting project.

(I've found PDF copies of a few of the above already.)
 
HAvn't read either yet but look interesting and will probably buy these.

Death on the Black Sea: The Untold Story of the 'Struma' and World War II's Holocaust at Sea

http://www.amazon.com/Death-Black-Sea-Untold-Holocaust/dp/0066212626/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276554545&sr=8-14

The Road to Life: The Rescue Operation of Jewish Refugees on the Hungarian-Romanian Border in Transylvania, 1936-1944
http://www.amazon.com/Road-Life-Hungarian-Romanian-Transylvania-Bibliotheca/dp/088400175X/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276554586&sr=8-20

This one is kind of expensive, maybe you can find a better deal from the publisher directly
 
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