Second World War Books

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewModel Dads website have posted an excellent video review of this book and it's companion volume - Jan 2015.

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Book SynopsisThe Battle of Stalingrad was not only the psychological turning point of World War II: it also changed the face of modern warfare. From Antony Beevor, the internationally bestselling author of D-Day and The Battle of Arnhem.In August 1942, Hitler's huge Sixth Army reached the city that bore Stalin's name. In the five-month siege that followed, the Russians fought to hold Stalingrad at any cost; then, in an astonishing reversal, encircled and trapped their Nazi enemy. This battle for the ruins of a city cost more than a million lives. Stalingrad conveys the experience of soldiers on both sides, fighting in inhuman conditions, and of civilians trapped on an urban battlefield. Antony Beevor has itnerviewed survivors and discovered completely new material in a wide range of German and Soviet archives, including prisoner interrogations and reports of desertions and executions. As a story of cruelty, courage, and human suffering, Stalingrad

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Book SynopsisMichael Burleigh is a historian and commentator. His books include the best-selling The Third Reich: A New History, which won the 2001 Samuel Johnson Prize; Small Wars, Far Away Places, which was longlisted for the 2014 Samuel Johnson Prize and, most recently The Best of Times, The Worst of Times.He writes regularly for the The Times, Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday on international affairs and has also won a British Film Institute Award for Archival Achievement and a New York Film and Television Festival Award Bronze Medal. A Professor of Modern History, Michael was the first appointed Engelsberg Chair of History and International Relations at LSE IDEAS, which is an annual distinguished visiting professorship, delivering public lectures to LSE's foreign policy think tank. He held the post from 2019 to 2020. He lives in London.Trade Review'This is a monumental book.' Richard Overy, Sunday Telegraph 'If I had to recommend one book on the Third Reich, this would be it.' Daniel Johnson, Daily Telegraph 'It is a breathtaking achievement, at once broader and deeper than any other single volume ever published on the subject. Indeed I would go further: it is the product of authentic historical genius.' Niall Ferguson, Sunday Times 'Happily, Michael Burleigh now fills that bibliographical gap, with a readable and highly knowledgeable account of that ghastly period. You will never be bored by this extraordinary book.' Andrew Roberts, Mail on Sunday

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Book SynopsisBetween Dignity and Despair draws on the extraordinary memoirs, diaries, interviews, and letters of Jewish women and men to give us the first intimate portrait of Jewish life in Nazi Germany. Kaplan tells the story of Jews in Germany not from the hindsight of the Holocaust, nor from the vantage of the persecutors, but from the bewildered and ambiguous perspective of Jews trying to navigate their daily lives in a world that was becoming more and more insane. Answering the charge that Jews should have left earlier, Kaplan shows that far from seeming inevitable, the Holocaust was impossible to foresee precisely because Nazi repression occurred in irregular and unpredictable stepsuntil the massive violence of Novemer 1938. Then the flow of emigration turned into a torrent, only to be stopped by the war. By that time Jews had been evicted from their homes, robbed of their possessions and their livelihoods, shunned by their former friends, persecuted by their neighbors, anddriven inTrade Review"This is a devastatingly powerful book. By vividly illustrating how the Holocaust began with seemingly inconsequential acts of humiliation, Kaplan offers readers a message of contemporary relevance."--The New York Times Book Review "Fascinating....Kaplan works at the intersection of Holocaust history and women's studies."--The Philadelphia Inquirer "An exceptional Holocaust study."--Kirkus Reviews "An innovative and suggestive exploration of a surprisingly neglected piece of Jewish history."--Publishers Weekly "Kaplan's gendered approach is of considerable methodological interest. She distinguishes between the experience of Jewish women and men because, in her words, being male or female mattered. Kaplan makes an interesting distinction between the fate of Jewish men and women."--Review Essays "An excellent description of the life--and death--of Jews in the Third Reich. It is especially compelling for the period after Kristallnacht."--Marvin Schwartz, University of Massachusetts, Amherst "My students got a lot out of this book. They said that it made them understand what it felt like to be Jewish in the 1930s. The 'social history' was easy to digest, and the book is clear in its goals and objectives."--Chet Defonso, Northern Michigan University "Pioneering....Kaplan's book is provoking when she writes about women's perspectives, attitudes and feelings."--Los Angeles Times Book Review "An intimate portrait of Jewish life in Nazi Germany. Relying on a host of memoirs, letters and interviews, she paints a deeply moving picture of German Jewry. She pays particular--though not exclusive--attention to women's voices. Well aware the Holocaust history, by underemphasizing women, has transformed the male experience into the universal experience, Kaplan is intent on telling a more nuanced story....This is a devastatingly powerful book. By vividly illustrating how the Holocaust began with seemingly inconsequential acts of humiliation, Kaplan offers readers a message of contemporary relevance."--The New York Times Book Review "An intimate reconstruction, built from memoirs, letters, and interviews, of endless humiliations, from stupid to atrocious."--The New York Times Book Review, A Notable Book of 1998 "Marion A. Kaplan's Between Dignity and Despair insists on gender as an indispesable category of analysis in understanding the Holocaust....Especially fascinating is Kaplan's chapter on 'The Daily Lives of Jewish Children.' Kaplan also writes well on the pressures applied to 'mixed families,' in which Jews were married to 'Aryans.'"--The Philadelphia Inquirer "This is a significant milestone in Jewish women's history and a substantial contribution to the history of the Third Reich and the Holocaust....Kaplan...writes with enormous sensitivity and many passages...are intensely moving. This study which utilizes many original and neglected sources, fills a gap....[It] will appeal to more than an audience of historians."--Award citation for the Fraenkel Prize of the Wiener Library, London (written by Prof. David Cesarani, Director, Institute of Contemporary History and Wiener Library, London) "A gripping account of the everyday life of Jews under conditions of isolation and persecution, focusing especially on the responses of women, as gathered from memoirs and letters. An empathetic reconstruction of the ambiguities of that ever-darkening life where the end was unimaginable. A work of humane scholarship, nuanced and written with lucid restraint, free of simplistic answers, by a seasoned historian. An essential corrective to so much ignorant misinterpretation about Jewry and Nazism."--Fritz Stern, Professor Emeritus, Columbia University "Of all the descriptions of Jewish life in Germany during the Nazi era, this is probably the most complete as well as the most poignant and sensitive one. Marion Kaplan has written an outstanding book."--Saul Friedlander, Professor of History at Tel Aviv University and UCLA "Writing compassionately from a gender perspective, Kaplan provides us with an intimate account of what it meant to be a Jewish woman, man, or child forced to react to Nazi brutality. Gender roles were often reversed and even children played heroic roles in their families. Thus Kaplan investigates not the perpetrators nor the organized response of German Jewry to Nazi persecution but the inner sanctum Jewish life. In a unique way she gives us the victims eye view of Nazi barbarism, the tormenting personal feelings and the voices of Jews struggling for escape and survival as the noose tightened around them."--Monika Richarz "Exceptional...[A] major addition to Holocaust studies."--Kirkus Reviews "An innovative and suggestive exploration of a surprisingly neglected piece of Jewish history."--Publishers Weekly "In her vivid new book Marion Kaplan takes us inside the German Jewish family as the Hitler regime went about destroying their world. She shows us the surprising dynamics of Jewish life as men and women made different assessments of the urgency of their situation. Her subtle and insightful appraisal gives us a new way of examining the old and vexed question: `Why didn't they leave?' Kaplan then follows the history of those who remained, telling through their own words the bewildering and horrifying events that led to the destruction of the German Jewish community. Her recreation of those last years is unforgettable."--Peter Gay

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA significant book that clearly shows the importance and vastness of the clandestine intelligence-counterintelligence war on the Eastern Front. . . . Stephan's thorough and imaginative research, and his patient analysis and interpretation of the documents and memoirs he has unearthed, set a standard that other historians working on intelligence should emulate."" - American Historical Review;""An indispensable account of this dimension of the war on the Eastern Front, and a valuable primer for all those who wish to understand how to conduct intelligence and counterintelligence operations. Needless to say this topic is of immense relevance to American forces and intelligence agencies today.""- Parameters;""Likely to remain the standard book on the subject for years to come. Professional historians, intelligence officers, and the public will find it a rewarding and informative read.""- Journal of Intelligence History;""A reasoned argument backed by extensive research that raises intelligence-counterintelligence studies to a more scholarly level. . . . A powerful view of Soviet counterintelligence efforts--the best we are likely to see for some time to come.""- Journal of Military History;""Stephan's thorough, accurate, and objective study provides unprecedented detail and keen insights on one of history's most illusive subjects. It is destined to become the standard work in this field.""- David M. Glantz, author of The Battle for Leningrad;""Stephan's book demonstrates how the Soviets adroitly manipulated both German intelligence and counter-intelligence in masterfully staged strategic deception operations. It chronicles timely lessons for contemporary intelligence professionals and should grace the libraries of today's intelligence services.""- John J. Dziak, author of Chekisty: A History of the KGB;""Should be read by anyone interested in the history of intelligence or of World War II.""--John Ferris, author of Intelligence in the Second World War""Stephan's thorough, accurate, and objective study provides unprecedented detail and keen insights on one of history's most illusive subjects. It is destined to become the standard work in this field.""- David M. Glantz, author of The Battle for Leningrad;""Stephan's book demonstrates how the Soviets adroitly manipulated both German intelligence and counter-intelligence in masterfully staged strategic deception operations. It chronicles timely lessons for contemporary intelligence professionals and should grace the libraries of today's intelligence services.""- John J. Dziak, author of Chekisty: A History of the KGB;""Should be read by anyone interested in the history of intelligence or of World War II.""- John Ferris, author of Intelligence in the Second World War

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Book SynopsisStories of real-life bravery and courage-under-fire contribute to a unique and poignant record of a club created for heroes.Trade Review‘Rayment uncovers astonishing depths of courage and resourcefulness.’ Sarah Sands, Evening Standard ‘Sean Rayment has gathered wartime experiences that have an extra resonance. For his veterans served in the Special Forces… [a] brilliant and often deeply moving book.’Sinclair McKay, Sunday Telegraph ‘An outstanding book offering a vital insight into the wartime adventures of that small community of Britain's war heroes who rarely speak publicly.’ Chris Hughes, Daily Mirror ‘A cracking read, couldn't put it down.’ Neil Chandler, Daily Star Sunday

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Book SynopsisA reissue of this classic World War II novel.Trade Review‘ Remarkable’ NEW YORK TIMES ‘There are surprisingly few ‘classic’ novels of World War II, A Midnight Clear joins the best.’ VILLAGE VOICE ‘Sad and witty, even profound.; SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE ‘It has mythic quality.’ CHICAGO TRIBUNE ‘Belonging to a class entirely of its own’ TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

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Book SynopsisJunkers Military Aircraft of World War Two

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Book SynopsisThe story of a forgotten victory.Trade Review* The story of the forgotten victory of the Second World War * 'Nicola Tyrer should be congratulated ... a model of the kind of research that had to be done ... she deserves a medal' Mail on Sunday * 'Tyrer's admiration for them [land girls] will be shared by all who read this intriguing history.' Daily Telegraph * 'Absorbing and vigorously committed' Sunday Telegraph * 'A highly readable account ... excellent' Woman and Home

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Book SynopsisPrison on Wheels is a remarkable diary kept by a young Hungarian woman, Eva Dános, during sixteen horror-filled days and nights of deportation by the Nazis in 1945. It is an eyewitness report of a 700-kilometre rail journey from Ravensbrück, north of Berlin, to Burgau, near Munich, one of the countless such operations that took place within Nazi Germany''s vast network of labour and concentration camps. What makes this account of particular interest is the fact that the author had been a member of a small, underground group in Budapest led by Gitta Mallasz, and her fellow-prisoners included some of these same comrades. Their humanity helped to sustain them.

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Book Synopsis#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE • Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more.In boyhood, Louis Zamperini was an incorrigible delinquent. As a teenager, he channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics. But when World War II began, the athlete became an airman, embarking on a journey that led to a doomed flight on a May afternoon in 1943. When his Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean, against all odds, Zamperini survived, adrift on a foundering life raft. Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.   Appearing in paperback for the first time—with twenty arresting new photos and an extensive Q&A with the author—Unbroken is an unforgettable testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit, brought vividly to life by Seabiscuit author Laura Hillenbrand.Hailed as the top nonfiction book of the year by Time magazine • Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for biography and the Indies Choice Adult Nonfiction Book of the Year award   “Extraordinarily moving . . . a powerfully drawn survival epic.”—The Wall Street Journal   “[A] one-in-a-billion story . . . designed to wrench from self-respecting critics all the blurby adjectives we normally try to avoid: It is amazing, unforgettable, gripping, harrowing, chilling, and inspiring.”—New York   “Staggering . . . mesmerizing . . . Hillenbrand’s writing is so ferociously cinematic, the events she describes so incredible, you don’t dare take your eyes off the page.”—People   “A meticulous, soaring and beautifully written account of an extraordinary life.”—The Washington Post   “Ambitious and powerful . . . a startling narrative and an inspirational book.”—The New York Times Book Review  “Magnificent . . . incredible . . . [Hillenbrand] has crafted another masterful blend of sports, history and overcoming terrific odds; this is biography taken to the nth degree, a chronicle of a remarkable life lived through extraordinary times.”—The Dallas Morning News   “An astonishing testament to the superhuman power of tenacity.”—Entertainment Weekly   “A tale of triumph and redemption . . . astonishingly detailed.”—O: The Oprah Magazine   “[A] masterfully told true story . . . nothing less than a marvel.”—Washingtonian   “[Hillenbrand tells this] story with cool elegance but at a thrilling sprinter’s pace.”—Time   “Hillenbrand [is] one of our best writers of narrative history. You don’t have to be a sports fan or a war-history buff to devour this book—you just have to love great storytelling.”—Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

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Book SynopsisA documentary and statistical foundation for Colossus Reborn. Its includes a roster of the senior command cadre during wartime, a description of the army's weaponry and equipment, and a listing of the Red Army's and NKVD's order of battle at six crucial points from June 22, 1941, through December 31, 1943.

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Book SynopsisThe culmination of decades of research by premier military historians, this is the first comprehensive, single-volume account of how and why World War II evolved as it did. Moving between the war room and the battlefield, we see how strategies were crafted and revised, and how the multitudes of combat troops struggled to discharge their orders.Trade ReviewTheir book, full of measured and incisive judgment…is a major contribution to the vast literature of World War II. -- Gabriel Schoenfeld * Wall Street Journal *Compulsively readable… It supersedes all previous one-volume histories of the war and is likely to remain the standard account for years to come. A War To Be Won could hardly be more timely, more welcome, or indeed more essential. -- Andrew J. Bacevich * Strategic Review *The West’s eventual triumph is the subject of A War To Be Won, a comprehensive and highly readable history by two eminent and prolific military historians. Williamson Murray and Allan Millett focus on operations but range far and wide into politics, strategy, military doctrines (why armies fight the way they do), weapons, science and tactics, from the bumbling politics of the ’30s to the Cold War… This is edgy, though expert, history. The ordeal of the Soviet war against Germany is dramatically and vividly told, as is the pillage and rape that Red Army soldiers inflicted on prisoners and civilians within reach… This is not written to be history from the soldier’s point of view, but it becomes the story of the soldiers’ war, and of the world they saved. -- Robert Killebrew * Washington Post *[Murray and Millett] are military historians but take an extraordinarily broad view of the conflict [of World War II]—its political and economic origins, its diplomatic maneuvering, its strategic designs and its human toll, but above all its combat. In 600-plus pages, they zero in on the troops who did the fighting and the commanders who led—and sometimes misled—them… The writing is brisk and lively, the revelations sometimes startling, and the selection of photographs generous and revealing. This is as masterful and readable a one-volume history of the Second World War as anyone is likely to write. -- Herbert Kupferberg * Parade Magazine *This is the one we have been waiting for… This work is so richly textured that every reader will find in it a box of delights… The authors omit no important dimension of the war. -- Colin Gray * Naval War College Review *In A War To Be Won: Fighting the Second World War, Williamson Murray and Allan Millett have…eschewed grand strategy for what they describe as operational history. They have plugged a large gap… Their organization is exemplary; they combine firm and fresh judgments with common humanity; and they achieve balance not only between the theaters of war but also between themselves. Murray knows about Germany, Britain and air power, Millett about the United States and its armed forces. If they divided their subject matter accordingly, the seams are never evident. This is an outstanding history of the war. -- Hew Strachan * Times Literary Supplement *Most recent single-volume histories of the Second World War have been disappointing. It is a Herculean task to cover such a vast canvas of time and space. Authors wilt visibly under the strain. Here, however, is a work of exceptional quality from two distinguished American military historians… This book makes an important contribution to understanding both the military context and the nature of this vast global conflict. -- Max Hastings * Evening Standard *The best synthesis of all of [the] new scholarship on WWII is, in my opinion, Williamson Murray and Allan Millett’s superb comprehensive history of the war… There are a number of rather surprising assessments of individual commanders in the war… Anyone interested in this deadliest of all wars should consult this marvelous book. -- Louis Ray Sadler * Albuquerque Journal *An outstanding single-volume history of [a] central moment… [The authors] write in a brisk, confident and knowledgeable style, often sprinkling their analyses with pithy irony, sardonic wit and sharp insights… Murray and Millett have produced a magnificent volume, one that will fascinate and enlighten both expert and layman alike. A War To Be Won now takes its place as the core volume in any library on the history of the Second World War, and it will likely remain so for years to come. -- Calvin L. Christman * Dallas Morning News *Military historians Williamson Murray and Allan R. Millett dissect tactics and operations of the war’s major players in A War To Be Won… Unlike other volumes on WWII, many of which examine the soldiers’ day-to-day life in the trenches, A War To Be Won focuses on the overall picture, the strategic successes and failures of the warring nations. -- Dick Kreck * Denver Post *World War II is fast slipping from memory. So it takes a book, such as A War To Be Won…to make one realize the horror of that conflict… In this comprehensive history of the military aspect of World War II…[the authors] provide a broad view of the two-hemisphere tragedy. -- Fred Slater * St. Joseph News-Press *Thousands of books have been published about World War II, but very few have possessed the level of scholarly perspective, encompassing scale, and insightful detail to be found in this one. With its penetrating view of operational strategy on all sides during the war, it is among the finest of WWII studies and the best one-volume account of the military conflict I’ve ever read. -- William W. Starr * The State (Columbia, SC) *While…several volumes present admirably comprehensive panoramas of the second world war, the very nature of this approach precludes close operational analysis as opposed to general operational narrative. This is the gap that A War To Be Won fills—an operational history of the 1939–1945 war focusing on military operations, with dispassionate discussion of military effectiveness whether involving the Allies or the Axis… A War To Be Won, confined within a single volume, is a remarkable achievement deserving of the many plaudits it has received. It has a narrative deftness that will attract the general reader, operational analysis incisive and original enough to engage the specialist, technical evaluation and tactical appraisal of military effectiveness in abundance, though not without controversial, even acerbic comment where appropriate. -- John Erickson * Times Higher Education Supplement *Two highly accomplished historians…collaborated to produce this magnificent one-volume history of World War II. While they do not neglect political or economic factors, what truly sets this work apart is their focus on ‘the conduct of operations by the military organizations that waged the war.’… This is a riveting book that stimulates as much as it informs—and is a must read for any student of World War II or military professional. -- Richard B. Frank * Naval History *It is the most complete, balanced, and well-informed history of military operations now available. -- James J. Sheehan * Political Science Quarterly *A magisterial, hypnotically detailed tactical narrative of WWII, with competing military, political, and social histories of the maelstrom writ large—yet comprehensibly presented… Coauthors Murray and Millett spent decades on their research, and the result is an essential plurality of understanding that allows them to consider the military strategies (and underlying realities) of the various Allied and Axis nations. Intentionally or otherwise, this book covers ground distinct from Stephen Ambrose’s popular books, in that they focus much less on the personalized experiences of the soldier and more on the significant strategies, decisions, and movements of governments and generals (and the corresponding actions of the many individual naval, combat, and bomber units, and sundry partisan and espionage triumphs) that taken together, form the artificial patchwork of industrialized devastation we think of as the war. Surprisingly, this ‘globalized’ perspective does produce abstract or diffuse results, but allows the authors to present a nuanced panorama of scarce information and unique interpretation… Strongly written with the stern clarity of senior historians, this is a spellbinding history: the reader will hear the whine of the bombers and see the guttering lights of Europe, and find this rich assemblage of horror and destiny hard to set down. * Kirkus Reviews *Scholarship and insight place this book in the front rank of military history written in the 20th century’s final decade. The authors…make no secret of their convictions on personal, institutional and operational issues, but are nevertheless remarkably successful at avoiding the armchair debunking that mars so many histories of the period. * Publishers Weekly *Without question A War To Be Won is the most compelling single-volume history of the Second World War ever written. Murray and Millett are superb historians imbued with a trenchant gift for analysis, detachment, and synthesis. A noble, grand, and sweeping achievement. -- Douglas Brinkley, Director, The Eisenhower Center, University of New OrleansAn excellent history of the Second World War, which offers a new and deeply illuminating view of why the major operations were launched and of the effectiveness with which they were conducted. The story is enriched by an original analysis of the ideas, ideological aims, technology, social consequences and international impact of the most intense conflict that the world has seen. A comprehensive, well-founded and enlightening single volume history. -- Robert O’Neill, Chichele Professor of the History of War, All Souls College, OxfordMurray and Millett have done an enormous service by providing a wonderful, one-volume history of the fighting of World War II. Those of us who fought the war must applaud them. It is a book for everyone, not just for the military history buff. I plan to tell my grandchildren that to understand World War II, the defining event of the Twentieth Century, and the generation that fought it, they must read this book. -- General John W. Vessey, U.S. Army (Ret.) and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of StaffAmid the immense literature on the Second World War, it is remarkable that one niche has not hitherto been filled: a one-volume history focusing on military operations. This book remedies that omission and does so superbly, with accuracy and interpretive flair. There is nothing else quite like it. -- Russell F. Weigley, author of The American Way of War: A History of United States Military Strategy and Policy

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewFeatured in Flypast magazine, March 2016 - British army veteran and author Phil Froom takes a close look at these remarkable inventions and the ways in which they helped downed airmen make it home.Featured in 'The Globe and Laurel' - the Royal Marines magazine - April 2016."What a book! Packed full of colour illustrations, maps and photos, it portrays every conceivable type of escape equipment, explaining who used them, how, why, when and where. It also explains their manufacture in top-secret locations together with how the cunning gadgets fooled the enemy. A huge volume, it deserves a place on the shelf of all historians." - This England, Autumn 2016The first page I opened of this beautifully produced book featured the Caterpillar Club. As my father in law was a member, having bailed out of his burning plane over Denmark, I was immediately hooked. With over 700 unique images of immensely rare devices, this is a fascinating book which covers the evolution, formation and role of the secret wartime organisation known as MI9 and its US mirror organisation MIS-X. These two organisations were responsible for the invention, production and distribution of a huge variety of ingenious evasion and escape devices issued to allied air crew and Special Operations personnel to enable them to evade capture after being forced down, or cut off behind enemy lines in occupied Europe, hopefully to evade and safely return to their Squadrons and Regiments to continue the struggle against Axis powers. The escape items featured include pens, pencils, razors, shaving brushes, tooth brushes, combs, cigarette lighters, books, mirrors, games, sporting goods, dart boards and numerous other everyday items, all constructed with escape devices concealed inside. - Antiques Diary May 2016"A lavishly illustrated, glossy and impressive publication which proved to be a thoroughly good read." - Armourer, issue 133 2016The Mail Online featured an article: "Revealed: The real-life James Bond gadgets invented by MI9 spies in WWII including compasses in dice and daggers in pens that were smuggled into PoW camps inside board games" which includes several illustrations of the intriguing gadgets in this book - take a look at the link below!

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Book SynopsisExamines anthropologists' little-known contributions to the Second World War. This book looks at the role played by the two primary US anthropological organizations, the American Anthropological Association and the Society for Applied Anthropology, in facilitating the application of anthropological methods to the problems of war.Trade Review“Anthropological Intelligence is written with vigor. Its author, David Price, is the foremost authority on the way anthropology was transformed by the Cold War and World War II. . . . There are no heroes or villains in this detailed study and this is a testament to Price’s scholarship, careful documentation, and command of the subject matter.” - William J. Peace, Comparative Studies in Society and History"A work of immense scholarship, historical importance and, like all his work in this field, courageous. . . .The publication of Anthropological Intelligence is timely, coming as it does when many anthropologists are concerned about the militarisation of their subject through the use of ‘embedded ethnographers’ and the US military's Human Terrain Programme (HTP), which teams social scientists with military units in Iraq and Afghanistan to help soldiers better understand the local culture." - Jeremy Keenan, Times Higher Education Supplement“David H. Price’s book adds substantially to a historical understanding of social scientists’ service to government and the military during World War II, and it raises troubling questions about the social and institutional roles of knowledge professionals that transcend the temporal conditions of total war. . . . [A] fascinating and important study. . . .” - David Paul Haney, American Historical Review“[A] provocative thesis that deserves to be scrutinized in current debates about the proper role of intellectuals in the societies and polities of which they are members and citizens — and it should be discussed for the sake of clearing away ‘specifically intellectual obstacles to commensuration, communication, and comprehension.’ . . . Anthropological Intelligence assembles a wealth of detailed information, much of it drawn from previously hidden and unusual government archives. . . .” - Richard A. Shweder, Common Knowledge“One of this book’s great merits is the combination of meticulous documentation with lucid analysis. . . . Although we may not agree with him on all analytical conclusions he draws, the scholarly community still has to be grateful for this impressive scholarly achievement. After all, it provides for the very first time a solid basis for a debate which has been long overdue. In all likelihood, this volume will remain the standard reference book for the years to come. It is an indispensable source of insights not only for anthropologists, who will gain a thoroughly new understanding about their own field’s historical contexts of reemergence after 1945.” - Andre Gingrich, Left History“David H. Price is, without any doubt, our foremost authority on the ways in which anthropologists were used in World War II and the Cold War and on the ways in which those wars changed anthropology. Price knows how to use the Freedom of Information Act like no other anthropologist, and he has succeeded in unearthing a wealth of fascinating information about the military uses of anthropology in World War II. Anthropological Intelligence is at once a fascinating and entertaining source of trivia on anthropology’s ancestors and a keenly argued lament for what war has done to a humane discipline. Showing an encyclopedic command of the facts, Price writes with urbane elegance and a strikingly judicious compassion toward those whom he critiques. Anthropological Intelligence could not be more timely. At a moment when war is once more on anthropologists’ minds, it will become the canonical book on anthropology and the ‘good war’ while raising troubling questions for those in the age of the ‘war on terror’ who would like, once more, to mobilize anthropology for war.”—Hugh Gusterson, author of People of the Bomb: Portraits of America’s Nuclear Complex“In this objective and scrupulous account, David H. Price performs an invaluable service by raising a central ethical question: To what extent should social scientists lend their skills to national tasks, even if the goals are not those with which they are in agreement? By carefully documenting what American anthropologists did to help win World War II, he illuminates that murky ethical space that lies between patriotism and the tasks of science.”—Sidney W. Mintz, Johns Hopkins University“Anthropological Intelligence is written with vigor. Its author, David Price, is the foremost authority on the way anthropology was transformed by the Cold War and World War II. . . . There are no heroes or villains in this detailed study and this is a testament to Price’s scholarship, careful documentation, and command of the subject matter.” -- William J. Peace * Comparative Studies in Society and History *“[A] provocative thesis that deserves to be scrutinized in current debates about the proper role of intellectuals in the societies and polities of which they are members and citizens — and it should be discussed for the sake of clearing away ‘specifically intellectual obstacles to commensuration, communication, and comprehension.’ . . . Anthropological Intelligence assembles a wealth of detailed information, much of it drawn from previously hidden and unusual government archives. . . .” -- Richard A. Shweder * Common Knowledge *“David H. Price’s book adds substantially to a historical understanding of social scientists’ service to government and the military during World War II, and it raises troubling questions about the social and institutional roles of knowledge professionals that transcend the temporal conditions of total war. . . . [A] fascinating and important study. . . .” -- David Paul Haney * American Historical Review *“One of this book’s great merits is the combination of meticulous documentation with lucid analysis. . . . Although we may not agree with him on all analytical conclusions he draws, the scholarly community still has to be grateful for this impressive scholarly achievement. After all, it provides for the very first time a solid basis for a debate which has been long overdue. In all likelihood, this volume will remain the standard reference book for the years to come. It is an indispensable source of insights not only for anthropologists, who will gain a thoroughly new understanding about their own field’s historical contexts of reemergence after 1945.” -- Andre Gingrich * Left History *"A work of immense scholarship, historical importance and, like all his work in this field, courageous. . . .The publication of Anthropological Intelligence is timely, coming as it does when many anthropologists are concerned about the militarisation of their subject through the use of ‘embedded ethnographers’ and the US military's Human Terrain Programme (HTP), which teams social scientists with military units in Iraq and Afghanistan to help soldiers better understand the local culture." -- Jeremy Keenan * Times Higher Education *Table of ContentsPreface ix Abbreviations xxi 1. American Anthropology and the War to End All Wars 1 2. Professional Associations and the Scope of American Anthropology's Wartime Applications 18 3. Allied and Axis Anthropologies 53 4. The War on Campus 74 5. American Anthropologists Join the Wartime Brain Trust 91 6. Anthropologists and White House War Projects 117 7. Internment Fieldwork: Anthropologists and the War Relocation Authority 143 8. Anthropology and Nihonjinron at the Office of War Information 171 9. Archaeology and J. Edgar Hoover's Special Intelligence Service 200 10. Culture at War: Weaponizing Anthropology at the OSS 220 11. Postwar Ambiguities: Looking Back at the War 262 Notes 283 Bibliography 317 Index 353

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Book SynopsisUsing diaries and letters as evidence, Fritzsche argues that the essence of Nazism’s ideological grip lay in the Volksgemeinschaft—a “people’s community” that appealed to Germans to be part of a great project to redress the wrongs of the Versailles treaty, revitalize the country, and cleanse the body politic.Trade ReviewA provocative revisionist view of the Third Reich and the complex relationship of Germans to it. This book, more than any other I know, conveys the complex nature of day-to-day life in Nazi Germany from the perspective of its political leaders, German citizens, and Jewish victims. In many ways, Fritzsche's interpretation of National Socialism and its supporters is far more unnerving than a view of a terrorized, hypnotized populace. The book offers not only an admirable analytic clarity but also passages of such human pathos that they leave the reader quaking. -- Thomas Childers, author of In the Shadows of WarWhat makes this thoroughly engrossing account of everyday life in Nazi Germany so important is Fritzsche's ability to show how the ideology of racism enveloped not only the public but also the private sphere and eventually informed all thought and action in this empire of death. This is a major achievement. -- Modris Eksteins, University of TorontoFritzsche has written an extraordinary book--a short, compelling, and yet comprehensive history of the Third Reich. It unfolds a masterful narrative of a regime that set out to restore a nation and in the process turned Europe into a killing field. This history familiarizes the reader with the key events as they unfolded and with contemporary reflections on them in diaries and letters. We come to the quite shocking recognition that these ruminations capture a conversation, for good and evil, that continues to the present day. -- Michael Geyer, University of ChicagoWith remarkable vision and poise, Fritzsche guides us through the interior of the Third Reich's racial imaginary to explore the terrible effectiveness of the efforts required of Germans in thinking themselves into the morally coercive world of the Volksgemeinschaft. Commanding the vast literatures on Nazism with enviable facility, he seamlessly combines major themes with a keen eye for the telling detail. This is one of the most illuminating reflections on the popular history of the Third Reich in many years. -- Geoff Eley, University of MichiganFritzsche effectively takes up one of the key controversies surrounding the Third Reich: to what extent were the German people accomplices of the regime?...Others have argued that the German people were either manipulated and deceived by, or converted to, Nazism. Fritzsche provides a more nuanced argument that the Nazis were quite successful in winning the people's support, but it took time and effort...Fritzsche mines diaries and letters written by the famous and well-placed as well as the unknown, to show that the prospects of German grandeur and unity resonated deeply with many people, even when it meant a hugely destructive war and the genocide of the Jews. Fritzsche offers a significant interpretation of Nazism and the German people, and writes with a vibrancy that is not often found in studies of the Third Reich. * Publishers Weekly *[A] fascinating book...Fritzsche's book demolishes the myth of contemporary ignorance about the Shoah and the artificial divide between the apolitical Wehrmacht and the evil SS. As the aerial bombing campaign destroyed German cities, the citizenry transformed their status as perpetrators and beneficiaries of Nazi policy into that of victims, thereby quelling postwar confrontation with reality for more than a generation. Fritzsche's book demonstrates that there are still numerous areas of the Nazi era in which historians may delve. -- Frederic Krome * Library Journal (starred review) *Peter Fritzsche's book is one that will undoubtedly court controversy. His aim is to show that "more Germans were Nazis" and that Germans were "more National Socialist" than had been previously accepted...This book combines a compelling historical narrative with a thought-provoking analysis. -- Lisa Pine * Times Higher Education Supplement *Fritzsche writes with his customary flair and verve, and packs an enormous amount into a relatively short volume...His immensely readable and intelligent book makes superb use of letters and diaries to communicate the experience of ordinary people under Nazism in a way that few other historians have been able to do. -- Richard J. Evans * New York Review of Books *What Peter Fritzsche does so well in his new book, Life and Death in the Third Reich, is show the systematic breakdown and reshaping of a society...Fritzsche paints such a nuanced and exhaustively researched portrait of German National Socialism that in the end it just doesn't suffice simply to call the Nazis architects of death. They were, of course, but the political wave they rode in on was something of a phenomenon. So adroit were the Nazis at all-consuming manipulation that they were able to essentially recast the entire destiny of a country in such a way as to make the Holocaust actually seem to make sense, at least in the context of their own barbaric political framework. -- Jeffrey White * PopMatters.com *Fritzsche combines the most recent research with his own investigation of primary sources to create an important synthesis of National Socialist goals and ideology among the ordinary citizenry of the Third Reich. -- J. Kleiman * Choice *Table of Contents* Preface * Introduction *1. Reviving the Nation *"Heil Hitler!" * How Far Did Germans Support the Nazis? *Volksgemeinschaft, or the People's Community * Consuming the Nation *Unter Uns, or Nazism's Audiovisual Space *2. Racial Grooming * Aryan Passports * Biology and the National Revolution * Seeing like an Aryan * The Camp * Unworthy Life * The Assault on German Jews *3. Empire of Destruction * Writing Letters * The Imperial Project * The Expansion of the German Empire * Final Solutions to the "Jewish Problem" * The Deportation of German Jews * The Holocaust *4. Intimate Knowledge * Train Station * Jewish Witnesses * German Witnesses * Perpetrators and Victims * Imagining the End of the War * Reading Catastrophe * Notes * Index

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Book SynopsisThis book is a profound reexamination of the role of the German army, the Wehrmacht, in World War II. Until recently, the standard story avowed that the ordinary German soldier in World War II was a good soldier and not an accomplice to massacres of civilians. Wette explodes this myth of a clean Wehrmacht with devastating clarity.Trade ReviewThis is a powerful book, provocative, enlightening, disturbing. Based on three decades of solid research, Wette debunks the myth, created by former Wehrmacht officers and continued by their Allied counterparts, that the German military fought a "clean" war in the East 1941-45. He strips away the layers of obfuscation and cover-up to set the record straight: Wehrmacht and SS hand-in hand conducted a campaign of racial extermination in the USSR. The book is a must read. -- Holger H. Herwig, University of CalgaryA badly needed analysis of how the German World War II military came to descend into mass murder, how this descent originated, how it was systematically obscured by a legend of "clean" warfare, and how that legend is finally being demolished. A fine piece of important research presented in very clear -- and well translated -- prose." -- Gerhard L. Weinberg, University of North CarolinaThe conventional wisdom that the German army in WWII fought a relatively clean fight, unsullied by the atrocities committed by the Nazi SS, has recently been challenged and largely demolished. This probing study explores the rise and fall of that myth in the light of scholarship debunking it...Wette's hard-hitting indictment also emphasizes the broad culpability of German society for the crimes of the Third Reich. * Publisher's Weekly *This is one of those modestly sized books on a large subject that succeeds in being definitive...The Wehrmacht is an important contribution to current German historiography. It seeks an answer to the question that rages in German intellectual circles: Was Nazism an aberration in German history, a sickness that came upon a formerly healthy and civilized nation, or was it a natural outgrowth of traits well-entrenched in the national psyche? It is clear from the outset which side of this controversy Professor Wolfram Wette is on, but it is equally apparent what a thoughtful, well-informed historian he is...The Wehrmacht is as filled with all manner of details--surprising as well as predictable--as it is with passion and insight. Perhaps this is what makes it such a pleasure to read, for Wette never simply asserts, he always proves. Facts, statistics, instances are plentiful, but they never simply lie there on the page; you feel the author's outrage, sometimes his incredulity, even as you trust his veracity and integrity. -- Martin Rubin * San Francisco Chronicle *In the history of WWII, the German army too often has been regarded as an unwilling tool of Adolf Hitler. Wette destroys that myth in his book, an indictment of the German army for its involvement in atrocities against Jews and people in eastern Europe. -- K. Eubank * Choice *Over the last twenty years various scholars, from the pioneering work of Omer Bartov to the more recent work of Ben Shepherd and a host of American and German scholars, have demonstrated that the view of a Wehrmacht with "clean hands" is entirely mistaken. These studies have shown that "average" German soldiers were completely capable of and willing to commit the worst atrocities imaginable. This book is another contribution to that corpus. Thus far the focus has been on explaining how and why the typical Landser became capable of mass murder, but this book is not about the average soldier's descent into barbarism. It is rather a study of the path trod by the commanding officers: the field marshals, generals, and colonels who formulate policy and created an environment in which mass murder could occur. As such, this book complements earlier studies by focusing on the highest levels of the Wehrmacht. Wette demonstrates that this level of command not only knew about and approved of mass murder but, after the war, successfully created the myth that the Wehrmacht had played no role in the crimes committed during the war. -- Lee Baker * Journal of Military History *[Wette’s] arguments will provide a powerful corrective to the outdated view that Wehrmacht leaders were dragged unwillingly into complicity in Nazi-mandated crimes...Attacking the myth of the “clean” Wehrmacht, as Wette reminds us, has been neither easy nor particularly successful in changing popular perceptions. Only through continued research and the writing of critical histories will the complex reality emerge. Wette’s monograph constitutes a key contribution to this effort. -- Stephen G. Fritz * Holocaust and Genocide Studies *Wolfram Wette has synthesized a large body of scholarly studies written by critical military historians in the past thirty years and makes them accessible to a nonspecialist audience...This book is an important contribution to the recent historical literature that reveals the much resisted and painful process by which Germans learned to deal honestly with the unmasterable past. -- Derek S. Linton * The Historian *Table of ContentsPreface to the English-Language Edition by Peter Fritzsche Foreword by Manfred Messerschmidt List of Abbreviations 1. Perceptions of Russia, the Soviet Union, and Bolshevism as Enemies German Perceptions of Russia in the Twentieth Century National Socialists' Perceptions of Russia: "Jewish Bolshevism" Perceptions of Russia among the Wehrmacht Generals 2. Anti-Semitism in the German Military From Anti-Semitism to the Holocaust? Germany under the Kaiser and the First World War The Revolutionary Era of 1918-19 The Postwar Period: War Continued by Different Means The Weimar Republic The National Socialist Era up to 1939 3. The Wehrmacht and the Murder of Jews Issuing Orders and Propaganda in the Wehrmacht Some Theaters of War Anti-Semitism as a Soldier's Duty 4. Generals and Enlisted Men The Military Elites in the Grip of a War Ideology Hitler and the Generals The "Little Guy" in Uniform Soldiers of the Wehrmacht in Light of Recent Research The Will to Survive in the War's Final Phase 5. The Legend of the Wehrmacht's "Clean Hands" The Birth of a Legend The War Crimes Trials Writing History from the Wehrmacht's Point of View The Cold War Begins Wehrmacht Crimes, the Justice System, and the Statute of Limitations 6. A Taboo Shatters Historical Research Perceptions of the Wehrmacht in the Bundeswehr After Fifty Years a Taboo Is Broken 7. Conclusion Notes Index

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