World War 2 books

If you are an Atlantic subscriber (or have access to Academic Search Premeir) , be sure to read Stalin's Gift in the May 2007 issue. In it Benjamin Schwarz's review of a few World War 2 books, in particular Norman Davies' Europe At War 1939-1945 and Stalin's Wars by Geoffrey Roberts. Both books point out that World War 2 was won by the Red Army and both argue that Stalin did not hold back his generals, but truly became a master strategist over the years. The great irony that the authors and Schwarz point out is that Stalin's gift was making the world safe for democracy.

In the same review he calls out Thunder in the East as the new standard history for the Eastern front. Looks like I need that one. He also tips his hat to the insanely prolific David Glantz.

On the World War 2 side, I am reading the wonderful Fire in the Sky by Eric Bergerud. It is a history of the air war in the South Pacific from 1942 to 1944. Unlike other military histories, which tend to narrate progress and focus on individual battles, Bergerud is interesting in analyzing why the war turned out like he did. So he starts by talking about the geography and how both sides chose and developed bases. He then talks about how they operated and how they designed their planes. Then he goes into the analysis of the planes themselves. It's so dense, but in a very good way.

This sort of thing is not for those who want a diverting narrative, but for those looking to understand the underlying causes for the direction of the war, this is flat out excellent.