This page is for book recommendations from us all. Here are links to a few of my favorites. –Mike Whicker
[*Note from webmaster. Disclaimer: Mr. Whicker receives no reimbursement for recommended reading. The list below is simply a few books he has chosen to recommend for entertainment or research purposes. If a website link accesses an Internet bookseller it is only because that title has no independent website, and the link is used for informational purposes only--Whicker does not endorse any particular Internet bookseller. There are many reputable Internet booksellers: Amazon.com; bn.com (Barnes & Noble); Borders.com and many others. Readers who wish to purchase any title online and are looking for the best price should shop around. Also, many of these books can be checked out for free from any well-stocked public library --webmaster]
Fiction:
Nuremberg: The Reckoning by William F. Buckley Jr. (engrossing historical fiction about the famous war crimes trial from one of the 20th century’s top thinkers)
Enigma by Robert Harris (intriguing story dealing with the British codebreakers working to crack the German Enigma code; another book I have enjoyed by this author is Fatherland – a detective story set in Berlin in 1960 (the Nazis won the war and Hitler is still chancelor). Both books have been made into motion pictures, but read the book first then you’ll have fun comparing the similarities and differences.
JAGC-Off by Jonathan P. Tomes (fascinating insight into the military justice system and very humorous. I laughed out loud several times. Also available on Kindle)
The Miracle of Stalag 8A (important history presented in an historical fiction novel; tells the true story of Olivier Messiaen who, during WW II, composed The Quartet for the End of Time while a prisoner in a Nazi stalag.
Non-fiction:
Rudder’s Rangers by Ronald L. Lane (fantastic book detailing the D-Day landings, and the first Americans ashore that day)
Adolf Hitler by John Toland (I have read numerous Hitler biographies; this one is, by far, the definitive one in my opinion)
The Women Who Lived for Danger by Marcus Binney (very informative book about the training and missions of the brave women of the British SOE who served as secret agents in Nazi occupied France during WW II)
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (my favorite autobiography; if you can stand to read an entire book on a computer screen you can do so at this link; otherwise, you can find it in any library, most bookstores, and at online booksellers like Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, etc.)
The Nazi Impact on a German Village by Walter Rinderle and Bernard Norling (if you want to read about what it was like for the average German citizen living in the Third Reich, this is the book)
#1 by Savannah Hulin on November 21, 2009 - 3:25 am
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I like Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. Its more science fiction, but I’ve read it over and over again. The picture painted by OSC is really good and definitely calls for use of your imagination.
#2 by Josh Whicker on November 21, 2009 - 11:06 am
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Coyotes by Ted Conover
–Conover writes about his travels across the border with illegal immigrants
Boys Will Be Boys by Jeff Pearlman
–Hilarious story of the 90s Dallas Cowboys
Fire From the Mountain by Omar Cabezas
–True story of a Sandinista guerilla during Nicaragua’s revolution
#3 by Patrick Hulin on November 23, 2009 - 11:18 am
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Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
-Unbelievable incite into life as a child during the Taliban rule of Afghanistan
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
-Science Fiction but worthy of the imagination
American Soldier by General Tommy Franks
-Easy reading that allows you to live vicariously through the life of a Decorated American Hero
#4 by Kathy Pfettscher on November 23, 2009 - 12:47 pm
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Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts. While the men were off thinking grand thoughts on how to establish a new country, their wives were home running farms, businesses, households and caring for children and old people and fending off the British. Amazingly researched book.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows. A story told through letters about how the residents of Guernsey in the Channel Islands coped with the occupation of the Germans during the war.
1776 by David McCullough. After reading this book, I still shake my head at the miracle of our independence! Incredible.
#5 by Cookie Barrow on November 23, 2009 - 5:37 pm
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A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity by Bill O’Reilly
I have read most of Bill O’Reilly’s books, but this was by far the best! I could relate to his upbringing since mine also involved parochial schools with catholic nuns. His mischief was only surpassed by my older siblings of that era. Hard work and discipline was a norm in our German household. It was a great and easy read.
#6 by Darrell Davis on November 25, 2009 - 10:16 am
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Man is Wolf to Man – Surviving the Gulag by Janusz Bardach
- true story of one man’s struggle to survive in Stalin’s Gulag system.
Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley
- the story of the six flagraisers at Iwo Jima, written by the son of one of the flagraisers.
North and South by John Jakes
- fictional story of two family dynasties brought together by friendship but torn apart by a war that divided the nation.
And the Sea Will Tell by Vincent Bugliosi
- non-fictional account of murder and the aftermath on a deserted South Pacific island.
Sleepers by Lorenzo Carcaterra
- a story of the coming of age of 4 friends in Hells Kitchen (NYC), the horrors they experienced at the Wilkinson Home for Boys in upstate New York, and their revenge. It was made into a motion picture of the same title, starring Robert DeNiro and Brad Pitt.
The Oath by Frank Peretti
- fictional story of people being brutally killed in the mountains out west. The authorities initially think it is a grizzly. It turns out to be something much worse than a grizzly….
#7 by Marge Schellhase on December 2, 2009 - 1:11 pm
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A Midnight Clear by William Wharton
After my first introduction to this, I’ve read this book each Christmas. Imagining what it must have been like for my father during the Battle of the Bulge and thankful that he came home.
#8 by Ian Jones on July 28, 2011 - 9:22 am
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I’ll second the recommendation for ‘The Kite Runner’; I couldn’t put it down and thoroughly enjoyed it. I haven’t managed to catch the film adaptation but I hear that that’s also worth a watch. One of my all time favourite books had to be ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’ by Mark Hadden. It’s one of those novels that straddles the boundary between adult and children’s literature and has real universal appeal. Hadden establishes his characters in a way that no other author does and manages to convey powerful emotion in his writing. For anyone that hasn’t read it, I’d strongly recommend doing so!