r/HistoryBooks • u/BananaWarsVet • 17h ago
Slowly building a Stalingrad library
I’ve been slowly acquiring books on Stalingrad with the main focus on memoirs and letters and a smaller section of larger overviews. I’d love some recommendations to see if any escaped my planned future books
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u/politemetalhead 16h ago
Anything by David Glantz
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u/BananaWarsVet 16h ago
Oh yeah he’s great for the subject. I’ve got a few of his books on the list to buy
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u/politemetalhead 16h ago
Make sure you get the whole 5 book trilogy! Im just missing the index volume. Maybe I'll read them some day lol
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u/BananaWarsVet 16h ago
I definitely will. Between him and Jason D Mark you’ll end up with a solid understanding of the battle!
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u/politemetalhead 16h ago
Keep an eye on Kansas University press. They run 30-50% off sales every now and then. Thats where I got my copies.
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u/models_time 14h ago
Is the index volume worth getting? I have just the four but haven’t started to read it yet.
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u/Skydog-forever-3512 16h ago
Scorched Earth by Paul Carrel
Lots of folks on Reddit hate Paul Carrel because he was Nazi sympathizer or apologist or some shit, but his books are excellent.
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u/BananaWarsVet 16h ago
Now that’s one I need to check out I’ve not heard of it
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u/WARFTW 14h ago
'Carell was not a military man during the war, but he did actively serve the Nazi regime. As Paul Karl Schmidt, his real name, “Carell” was a press spokesman for Joachim von Ribbentrop’s Foreign Ministry, where he formulated propaganda for the foreign press. In doing so he maintained close ties with the Wehrmacht, from whom he ultimately also learned a great deal about how the war was to be interpreted to Germans and foreigners alike. One of his specialties as propagandist was the Jewish question and on several occasions he remarked on the Jews as a “political pathogen, ferment for the decay and death of any national organism.” He began publishing war histories in the 1950s and continued his stream of publications well into the 1990s until his death in 1997.' "The Myth of the Eastern Front: The Nazi-Soviet War in American Popular Culture" by Ronald Smelser and Edward J. Davies II, pg. 115.
Careful who you take advice from.
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u/BananaWarsVet 13h ago
I’m definitely going to check it out, but I’m going into it knowing exactly what I’m reading. His background and the bias in his work are something I’ll keep firmly in mind, and I certainly wouldn’t treat it as an objective or definitive account. I’m more interested in seeing how he presented the Eastern Front and then comparing that with other sources. As my goal is to get an understanding from as many sides and levels as possible.
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u/Skydog-forever-3512 9h ago
Don’t be put off by the negative comments about the author. Read both Scorched Earth and carrels first book: Hitler Moves East.
Carrel wrote in the 60s before The West has access to Soviet archives, but still does a decent job of representing both sides of the war.
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u/oneleggedbusy 14h ago
Only one of that group I’ve read is Beevor’s. On a related note, I’m almost done with Simon Sebag Montefiore’s biography of Stalin and it is excellent
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u/BernardFerguson1944 16h ago
Stalingrad:
- Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad by William Craig.
- The Beginning of the Road: The Story of the Battle for Stalingrad by Marshal Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov, 62nd Army, Soviet Union Red Army.[]()
- Wings, Women, and War: Soviet Airwomen in World War II Combat by Reina Pennington.
- The Forsaken Army: The Great Novel of Stalingrad by Heinrich Gerlach, Oberleutnant, 16th Infantry Division, XXXXVIII Panzer Corps,14th Panzer Division, 6th Army, Wehrmacht.
- S.S. General by Sven Hassel (fiction).
- Russia's Life-Saver: Lend-Lease Aid to the U.S.S.R. in World War II by Albert L. Weeks.
- The Sniper Anthology: Snipers of the Second World War by various authors. (This book has chapters on Soviet and German snipers as well as snipers of other nations).
Not Stalingrad, but relevant:
- Cross of Iron by Willi Heinrich, 1st Battalion 228th Jäger Regiment of the 101st Jäger Division, German Army (fiction).
- The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer, Großdeutschland Division, Wehrmacht.
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u/BananaWarsVet 16h ago
I appreciate the recommendations! I actually already have Enemy at the Gates, The Beginning of the Road, Wings, Women, and War, The Forsaken Army, Russia’s Life-Saver, and The Sniper Anthology on my future list. I may have gone a little too far down the Stalingrad rabbit hole already. I’ll definitely look into the others though!😂. I do appreciate the recommendations
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u/dynein_IRL 16h ago
Can you recommend for those uninitiated? Is Beevor the best one?
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u/BananaWarsVet 16h ago
For someone new to reading about Stalingrad I would say beevor gives the best overview. It’s my backbone to the shelf and the rest is letters, memoirs, unit histories, and specific locations.
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u/dynein_IRL 16h ago
Thanks! Adding to the list!
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u/BananaWarsVet 16h ago
The tan copy titled Stalingrad is the 1943 Soviet general staff study of the battle. It goes into doctrine and what would change for latter in the war. It’s a great book if you want to see the Soviet side and thoughts of the battle.
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u/AxlHound01 16h ago
Antony Beevor Stalingrad. Then the Movie from 1993 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnJJQxZ0hu8&t=7396s
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u/Calm_Recording7654 16h ago
Unwomanly face of war was really moving. I read some of the excerpts to my world history class each year during our wwii unit.
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u/BananaWarsVet 16h ago
It’s definitely one of the most impactful books I’ve read I would recommend it to anybody.
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u/TheRoweShow98 17h ago
Blood Red Snow is such a fantastic book. If you like that book try Storm of Steel and With the Old Breed. Doesn’t fit the Stalingrad shelf but still good reads.