# The Most Accurate Author/Researcher



## Njaco (Oct 24, 2010)

I've been curious at who people believe is the most trusted author on military books? I've seen comments about Osprey Publishing is like Wiki but some authors appear to have done their research. So, while strolling through the book store/on-line, who would you comfortably buy a book written by?

Dr. Albert Price
Chris Shores
Uwe Feist
Eric Mombeek
Don Caldwell
Martin Caidin
John Weal

anybody else?


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## Capt. Vick (Oct 24, 2010)

Wasn't it found out that Martin Caidin took some liberties with the facts when he wrote his B-17 book?


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## vikingBerserker (Oct 24, 2010)

I would add Daniel Ford, he wrote _Flying Tigers: Claire Chennault and His American Volunteers, 1941-1942_ which ala Chris Shores put the AVG's kill rates at a more realistic number.


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## FLYBOYJ (Oct 24, 2010)

Martin Caidin sprinkled some fiction into many of his books, just to add some flavor to them.


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## Maximowitz (Oct 24, 2010)

Christer Bergstrom

Our very own John Vasco

Jochen Prien

Kurt Braatz

Dr Theo Boiten

etc.....


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## Colin1 (Oct 24, 2010)

Njaco said:


> I've been curious at who people believe is the most trusted author on military books? I've seen comments about Osprey Publishing is like Wiki but some authors appear to have done their research. So, while strolling through the book store/on-line, who would you comfortably buy a book written by?
> 
> Dr. Albert Price
> Anybody else?


His close friend, Dr Alfred Price...


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## Colin1 (Oct 24, 2010)

I would add

Roger A Freeman
Jeff Ethell incl his collaborative works with Joe Christy
Francis K Mason
Graham White
J Richard Smith Eddie J Creek in collaboration


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## Lucky13 (Oct 24, 2010)

I have couple of Vasco books on my wish list for this year....among others!


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## Njaco (Oct 24, 2010)

Colin1 said:


> His close friend, Dr Alfred Price...



and I was lookng right at his books on my shelves!!!!! dope that I am......

Those listed aren't my favorites, just a short list of some of the well known authors.


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## davebender (Oct 24, 2010)

For WWII I think David Glantz does a good job covering the most important European theater of operations.

For WWI Terence Zuber has no equal. His accounts of the fighting in Belgium during August 1914 rely mostly on historical Germany army documents and read like a military after action report. Some readability is lost to achieve this level of historical accuracy but to me that's a worthwhile tradeoff.


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## RabidAlien (Oct 25, 2010)

Steven Ambrose
Carlos D'Este
Rick Atkinson

These are three of my favorites, never heard them verified as to their accuracy, but I've really enjoyed everything I've read by them so far.


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## lesofprimus (Oct 25, 2010)

As far as researchers go, Erich Brown and Bill Marshall go far and beyond the call to get the accuracy spot on...


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## ccheese (Oct 25, 2010)

FLYBOYJ said:


> Martin Caidin sprinkled some fiction into many of his books, just to add some flavor to them.




Amen to that ! The Forked Tail Devil is a very good example of "creative licence"....

Chares


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## Njaco (Oct 26, 2010)

lesofprimus said:


> As far as researchers go, Erich Brown and Bill Marshall go far and beyond the call to get the accuracy spot on...



Nice Dan, very nice!


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## ctrian (Oct 26, 2010)

Depends on what area of ww2 ur interested in.
Eastern front? Zetterling,Mawdsley,Ziemke,Hayward.
Pacific War? Toland ,Spector,Evans Peattie,Parshall Tully
Economics? Tooze,Harisson
etc,etc,etc


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## ppopsie (Oct 26, 2010)

Mr. Ray Wagner. I like his style of writing.


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## Ferdinand Foch (Oct 27, 2010)

Well, I definitely know of one author who nobody should trust for accuracy. 

David Irving!


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## Jerry W. Loper (Oct 27, 2010)

Samuel Eliot Morison was highly regarded, especially for his 15-volume History of United States Naval Operations in World War II series. Gordon W. Prange was also highly regarded, especially for his Pearl Harbor (At Dawn We Slept) and Midway (Miracle at Midway) books, and his research into the Pearl Harbor attack.


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## seesul (Oct 27, 2010)

I´d add Steve Birdsall and Jean-Yves Lorant.


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## drgondog (Oct 29, 2010)

lesofprimus said:


> As far as researchers go, Erich Brown and Bill Marshall go far and beyond the call to get the accuracy spot on...



I appreciate that Dan.. sure Erich does also. 

I have found that Kent Miller does a fine job considering the scope of the Fighter Units and Pilots of the 8th AF, like Freeman he has made some mistakes, but he does the detail as well as anybody. Only Frank Olynyk has a better handle on USN, USMC, USAAF and USAF Victory Credits. Shores for RAF/Commonwealth - hands down

I think Toliver did a fine job on several of his works and was the first American the former Luftwaffe Aces trusted to tell their stories... Ditto Trev Constable for Brit representation for the LW.

Caldwell, Prien, Lorant, Price 

Ethell and Fry and Birdsall come to mind after the above


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## FlexiBull (Oct 29, 2010)

Well I've read a couple of Martin Middlebrook's book and found them riveting. My Uncle was lost on the 4th of the Hamburg raids in the summer of 1943.

I can't comment on accuracy, but the book "Battle of Hamburg" tells the tragic story from all sides, British, American, Luftwaffe and the poor people of Hamburg on the receiving end.

Get a copy and see what you think.


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## renrich (Nov 1, 2010)

John Lundstrom-"The First Team" and "The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign." He is head and shoulders above most others.


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## Jabberwocky (Nov 1, 2010)

Authors that I hold in very high regard on * WW2 aviation history*: 

Christopher Shores;
John Lundstrom;
Christer Bergstrom
Roger Freeman
Francis Dean
Chris Dunning
Raymond Toliver 
Williamson Murray

*General history*
Steven Zaloga
Chester Wilmott
Carlo D’Este
David Glantz (Don’t necessarily agree with all his conclusions though)

There are several adjectives that I’d use for the work of Mr Ambrose. None of them would be ‘accurate’ however…

Atkinson is very prosaic, and a good historian, although he appears prone to some unnecessary embellishment in the name of readability.


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## renrich (Nov 5, 2010)

Did not realise that this thread was about military writers instead of exclusively writers about military aircraft.

John Keegan is, IMO, the foremost writer about militaries and war in the world today. His books are legendary.


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## renrich (Nov 5, 2010)

Did not realise that this thread was about military writers instead of exclusively writers about military aircraft.

John Keegan is, IMO, the foremost writer about militaries and war in the world today. His books are legendary.


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## Njaco (Nov 9, 2010)

No worries Ren. I was curious who people thought were very good researchers and had reliable works.


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## Crimea_River (Nov 9, 2010)

How about Antony Beevor's excellent works on Berlin, Crete, Stalingrad, and Crete.


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## renrich (Nov 10, 2010)

Another very good book by a writer of fiction, now dead, 
"The Road Past Mandalay" auto biographical by John Masters.
Masters was in the Indian Army as an officer in a Ghurka Unit. He served in the Chindits and this is his story of his service in WW2. Fascinating and very well written about the CBI, a theatre somewhat neglected. Probably out of print but if one can get his hands on a copy well worth the trouble.


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## Violator (Nov 12, 2010)

Crimea_River said:


> How about Antony Beevor's excellent works on Berlin, Crete, Stalingrad, and Crete.



I'll second Antony Beevor. Other authors whom I really think have done their homework include Eric M. Bergerud, Richard B. Frank, and Richard Overy.


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## ctrian (Nov 12, 2010)

Violator said:


> I'll second Antony Beevor. Other authors whom I really think have done their homework include Eric M. Bergerud, Richard B. Frank, and Richard Overy.



Overy's books are very bad .I have Russia's War and Why the Allies Won,theyre both garbage.Stay clear!!!


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## vikingBerserker (Nov 12, 2010)

I think when it comes to general war info, both Ian Hogg and David Mondey rank up there.


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## tomo pauk (Apr 2, 2011)

How do you people rate Warren Bodie as an author/researcher?


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## pbfoot (Apr 2, 2011)

RabidAlien said:


> Steven Ambrose
> Carlos D'Este
> Rick Atkinson
> 
> These are three of my favorites, never heard them verified as to their accuracy, but I've really enjoyed everything I've read by them so far.


Don`t care for Ambrose he`s far to American centric IMHO I`m reading his book on D Day and there is a whole 20 pages on Juno out of 583 or 48 pages total on Gold Juno and Sword and several hundred on Utah and Omaha glad it only cost $3.00 and bargain shop


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## paradoxguy (Sep 10, 2011)

Although his bibliography is not extensive, Peter Hinchliffe's books are well-written in a lively and engaging style and are well-researched. _The Other Battle_ is an excellent, concise, and well-written history of the WWII British night air bombing campaign against Germany. His biography of the leading Luftwaffe night fighter ace Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer, _Ace of Diamonds_, is also a worthy read.

Ken


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## parsifal (Sep 10, 2011)

All authors make mistakes, and even historians have a theme, a message, that they want to put across. So every author, regardless of reputation has to be considered as potentially wrong or misleading in their comments. 

Obviously some authors are better than others, but applying a rule of thumb the best ones are the ones that make it possible to verify their findings. This is is especially true of the ones that are attempting to make some kind of revelation or new discovery known. 

Be wary of any authors that make these claims and dont back them up....there are truckloadws of authors out their that will want to say something different and then proceed to be selective or deceptive in their message. If something new is being claimed, you have to be able to independantly verify what that guy is saying or you might end up with a lot of embarrassment.

Having said that, its all too easy to get into your comfort zone, and read stuff that is simply stroking your ego or lining up with nationalitic pre-conception. Sometimes you have to accept writers that challenge your pre-conceptions.....

Authors need to be logical and simple in the ideas and facts they want to express. They need to be intersting not cludgy and ponderous 

So whi do I like. Coming from a simulations design background, Im a little old school

James Dunnigan, Eric Goldberg, Richard Berg, Al Nofi, Paul Astill, Roger Keating, Ian Trout. Not names all that well known, but these guys have carved reputations in a field that is challenging and unforgiving at times. Harry (?) from WIF fame is a good researcher, but he has admitted to me on occasions his German bias. On the other hand Jim has admitted some allied bias as well. And yes, most of these guys I have met and known at some point.

All these guys have written books (except Keating and Trouty), but their reputations were carved in the gaming world.

Book authors that I like, though I havent met or spoken to them include Costello, Hayward, Chant, Murray, Gunston, Westermann, Barnett, Yoshida Akira, Boyd, Bartier, Trouros, Hardesty, Bergstrom, Freeman, Rohwer, Madej, Shelby Stanton and Samuel Mitcham just to name a few

Old school, if biased one is hard pressed going past Morison, Toppe, and the various official histories....always a great place to make a start. AJP Taylor is a legend, and ought not be dismissed just because hes as ancient as Methuselah

I have generally found the least accurate to be autobiographical works, as they usually contain "how I won the war " statements, and lots of innaccuracies.

If I were to name a single book in my own collection it would have to be AGS Enser : A Subject Bibliography of the Second World War (Books In English), Andre Deutsche 1977 (566 pages), Contains a very long list of books on just about every wwii subject you can think of. A somewhat smaller book concentrating on aircraft and aircraft weapons is J. M. G. Emory, Source Book Of World War II Aircraft - A Concise Directory and Bibliography Blandford Press (1986) 269 pages. 

Both these Bibliographical books are a bit old, but I have not seen anything simlar since then. They are still very useful to me, because I will go to one of these older works, and they will give me a lot of clues about newer stuff which i then migrate toward


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## Njaco (Sep 11, 2011)

Thanks parsifal. I was curious because over the years I've seen many threads and posts about some authors like William Green or Eric Brown but never about other well known guys like Dr. Alfred Price or Eric Mombeek. I was curious as to why.


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## Edgar Brooks (Sep 12, 2011)

You've missed Bruce Robertson (now deceased,) James Goulding (likewise,) Ray Sturtivant (also deceased,) Michael Bowyer, Chaz Bowyer, Danny Morris (Aces Wingmen series,) Leo McKinstry, Robert Bracken (Spitfire the Canadians,) Christopher Shores, Chris Thomas (2nd TAF series.)
Edgar


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## BombTaxi (Sep 13, 2011)

Although I'm qualified in history to postgrad level, I find David Glantz virtually unreadable. Too much info, too many minutiae, and the narrative seems to fall apart beneath the sheer number of primary sources. I'm sure he has his place, but it isn't on my bookshelf. I'm not a big fan of Stephen Ambrose either, very American-centric, and to my mind more focussed on patriotism than history at times. 

OTOH, Beevor is highly readable and well-researched. Lynn MacDonald is excellent for WWI, telling the story through oral history and using the narrative only to link the accounts and provide an overview that the soldiers could not have had. I'm currently reading Edward Lengel's work on the Meuse-Argonne and that seems to have detail and readability in the right balance. Outside our period, but still fascinating, N.A.M Rodger is perhaps the best naval historian of recent times, and his work on the Royal Navy is exhaustive and highly readable. I would also rate Martin Bowman, only read one of his books but was very impressed.


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## Njaco (Sep 13, 2011)

I agree with Bowman. Have his "Battles With the Luftwaffe" with Theo Boiten - very good.


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## razor1uk (Sep 13, 2011)

I'd say Airlife book could be pretty well researched - I only have the one, by Anthoney L. Kay. 
To me it seems from an engineering point of view, very well researched and put together, but in a techy way - which I understand, and so obviously does he.


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## Capt. Vick (Sep 14, 2011)

Honestly I can't say much for David Myra. They seem to have based some of the National Geographic "Hiltler's Stealth Plane" program on some of his "imaginitive" musings. Like when he says the Luftwaffe actually tested The H0 IX/Go 229 against the Me 262 in a dogfight senario. Ah, what can you expect from an author whose book deal mostly with Luftwaffe '46 aircraft. Shame on you Nat. Geo. for not fact checking better!


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## stona (Sep 14, 2011)

I've been watching this with interest. Most of my books are aviation related. I'm glad someone mentioned Chris Thomas but there are so many. Off the top of my head I would add Peter Schmoll (Nest of Eagles), Robert Forsyth (Mistel). On slightly more specialist topics Gunther Sengfelder (German Aircraft Landing Gear) or Sinisa Sestanovic for his lovely little book on Jagdwaffe emblems.
More generally noone mentioned John Manrho and Ron Putz or authors like Ken Merrick,Jerry Crandall and Michael Ullmann. These guys do some serious research.
What about Rodeicke's mighty tome on the Fw190? Then there is Patrick Loreau's superb 'Condor' which tells you just about all you need to know about the Luftwaffe in Spain.
I could go on,what about the late Eric Lager and the rest of the JaPo team? For every one I've mentioned I've left out another ten hard working researchers and authors. I'm glad that they put in the effort to produce this sometimes esoteric material for me and others who share my interests.
Cheers
Steve


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## Njaco (Sep 14, 2011)

I may be showing my ignorance here but isn't Jerry Crandall a graphic artist? I understand the research that goes into those profiles but is he an author as well?


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## stona (Sep 15, 2011)

Njaco said:


> I may be showing my ignorance here but isn't Jerry Crandall a graphic artist? I understand the research that goes into those profiles but is he an author as well?



He is both which means,I suppose,that he can do his own profiles 

His two volumes on the Fw190D are superb. A vital investment (cheap they are not!) for anyone with an interest in the 'Dora'. They are both on my bookshelves along with the JaPo volumes.

Cheers
Steve


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## Njaco (Sep 16, 2011)

Thanks!


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## nuuumannn (Oct 22, 2011)

Some of my favourites

On aircraft research I would put my money on Philip Jarrett; a real gent. He hasn't written many books, but is a tireless researcher who does the best to get complete accuracy where possible, but beware; Phil doesn't suffer fools gladly.

On the RNZAF and aircraft operated in New Zealand, no finer than the eccentric but fiercely knowledgeable David Duxbury and on RNZAF personnel, the understated and genuinely kind Errol Martyn.

The dead list: The late Ray Sturtivant, another fine chap, specialised on Royal Navy aviation. Also the late Jack Bruce, former aircraft curator at the RAF Museum (although he concentrated on WW1 stuff, he was one of the most thorough researchers.) The late Peter Grosz, again specialising on WW1, but the best on German military subjects.

Here's a few I would be wary of in terms of accuracy, although I don't want to outright rubbish their efforts since as authors they all work hard, pumping out books like there's no tomorrow: Chris Chant, David Mondey, Richard Townshend Bickers, Richard Franks - his book on 75 Squadron, "Forever Strong" is known round the traps as "Forever Wrong".

For broad histories of WW2 subjects, look no further than Max Hastings. His book "Nemesis" is one of the best about the end of the war in the Pacific, also "Armageddon" about the fall of Germany is up there too. He also penned perhaps the finest biography of RAF Bomber Command, simply called "Bomber Command".

Australian Stewart Wilson produced a great series of books on RAAF and RAN types, but at times his accuracy is questionable; he edits his own aviation magazine now.

American Barrett Tillman on US naval aviation, Tom Crouch of the National Air and Space Museum writes a mean aviation history.

Biil Gunston, Tim Laming, Alfred Price, Yefim Gordon on Russian subjects; now I'm just rattling off names on my book shelf...


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## Njaco (Oct 22, 2011)

I will agree with Chant and Mondey. What I have is really just shelf dressing.

But being a LW nut, I have numerous books by Price. He writes very well with not too much opinion included.


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## nuuumannn (Oct 23, 2011)

Another great military historian who also covers WW2 and a personal favourite of mine, Mr A.J.P. Taylor; author of "The Origins of the Second World War" among others. His specialty is war leaders.


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## DBII (Oct 24, 2011)

I am a little late finding this thread. Gordan Rottman has written several books for Osprey. His work is focused on equipment and OOB data. Two of his early works was US Army Air Force vol 1 and 2. I had the honor of working with him for 9 years. Great guy and author. For light reading try and find his first novel called Target Texas. The Soviet army attacked Ft Hood. 

DBII


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## krieghund (Oct 31, 2011)

To mention some more....Han Peter Dabrowski Francis Dean Heinz Nowarra Paul Wilkinson Alec Harvey-Bailey Robert Forsyth Eddie Creek Manfred Griehl Uwe Feist 


OMG!!! Njaco it just dawned on me what your Halloween pumpkin is!!! Please don't turn it around!!


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## Njaco (Nov 1, 2011)

hehehehehehehe.


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## acerus (Nov 1, 2011)

I wonder what you Guys think about Antony Beevor? I just finished his Book "D-Day" and was pretty satisfied with it (just ordered "Stalingrad" from the same Author). Not that i have a wealth of knowledge about Authors (as i am just started collecting and reading Books about WW2).

Edited: Sorry Guys, i don´t wanted to disrupt this Thread with my silly Question. Go on with it and have Fun!


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## oldcrowcv63 (Apr 18, 2012)

William Bartsch's series on early USAAF fighter ops in the PI and Java appears well researched. 

Richerd B. Frank on the Guadacanal Campaign is encyclopedic on all facets of the campaign but, as far as I can tell, not as detailed as Lundstrom on fighter and general air ops. 

I thought Hornfischer's* Neptune's Inferno *was better in most instances in his coverage of the sea battles with very compelling and moving accounts. The Naval Battle of Guadacanal with USN BB Washington vs IJN BB Kirishima, on November 14th, 1942, is an exception where I appreciated Frank's somewhat drier approach. Hornfischer's Savo Island, Cape Esperance and November 13th Cruiser action descriptions are simply outstanding.


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## vikingBerserker (May 27, 2012)

I have to add _J. Richard Smith _ and _Eddie J. Creek _to the list.


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## Trilisser (Jul 9, 2012)

Anthony Beevor is pure s**t. A well known US writer, also mentioned in this thread, described Beevor's Stalingrad book as "1970s social history, not military history".

Someone asked about Warren Bodie. Suffice it to say that he accused me of accusing him of being a liar when I asked why didn't he provide references in his P-47 book. When his claim that the P-47's weight of fire was greater than that of the Tempest was shown wrong he started personal insults. And finally, Truman was a coward for not "nuking those stinking Chinese" during the Korean War.


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## Maximowitz (Jul 9, 2012)

Beevor uses a lot of secondary sources - and he doesn't do his own research. His books have a few errors in them.

I wouldn't go as far as to say he's sh*t though - he's notoriously litigious. 

I've never quite worked out who is audience is - if you're interested in say Stalingrad or the fall of Berlin there are a lot of better books out there than his.


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## Oreo (Jul 17, 2012)

Several people have mentione Bill Gunston. I have to say I like him as an author, but find his work seems to lack accuracy sometimes, especially the technical data he gives is usually either "the same old junk that everybody else says" or sometimes he is the only one who gives a piece of data, and everyone else disagrees with him, but there is no explanation why. Now-- I do not have instant access to all the "true" data, so I can't always tell when he is right and wrong. He was definitely one of the people who mentioned the P-38 "shooting down an Fw 200C near Iceland within hours (or was it minutes?) of the declaration of war". I have posted a thread asking about this and am quite well convinced now, as I had pretty well concluded already, that the Dec. '41 Fw 200C shootdown was total bunk. Having said that, I would like more opinions from others about his accuracy, as he is somewhat of a mixed bag for me. David Donald's American Warplanes of World War II repeats the December shootdown myth, and also states that P-38E's fought in combat. Hmm.

I tend to have a lot of cheaper, more mass-marketed books around my house, more's the pity, and fewer of the higher quality ones. But I would like your opinions on the following authors, some of which I have heard mentioned, and some not. There's the obvious one, Angelucci. Many of his books seem to be compendiums of quick-reference, but some of them have a lot of info, like The American Fighter, published with Consultant Peter Bowers. This book I have enjoyed over the years as a wealth of information on all the US fighter types up to the date of its last research, but I have noticed glaring mistakes in the technical data and illustrations. I have not found glaring mistakes in his text, but then a lot of it I have no good way of varifying. He does give the Iceland shootdown as occuring in August '42, however, which at least puts him in the camp of accuracy on that count. . . .

I have Combat Aircraft of World War Two by Elke Weal. Though I don't always know how accurate it is, I have rarely found it to be too far off base, and it is my one book that has nearly all the exhaustive WWII types between two covers in quick reference format.

I have three of the WW2 Aircraft Fact Files books by William Green and Gordon Swanborough. I would like your opinions about them. Two of the ones I have are for the Soviet Air Force Fighters, parts 1 and 2. They have a lot of info I just don't have in front of me most other places. How are they for accuracy?

Another author I'm curious about. My dad has the book Pursue and Destroy, by fighter ace Leonard "Kit" Carson. This autobiography in coffee-table format has a lot of great photos in it, many seemingly not published elsewhere (especially the ones of Carson and his squadron). He also says a lot of things that are either hard to verify, or else seem to be contradicted elsewhere. Anybody ever see this book, and what do you think of it? Carson claims to know a thing or two about engineering, and, on his own terms, he dissects the Mustang, as well as Bf 109 and Fw 190. He says one thing I have never found verified anywhere else, that will either raise or lower him in my estimation if I ever do find out the total truth about it. He said that when Messerschmitt redesigned the Bf 109F (or maybe G, but he meant inclusive of the G as well if he said the F), that in the process of installing the new engine, they made a mistake in the cg, and once they discovered it, instead of fixing the problem in an equitable fashion, they installed a 60 lb. counterweight in the tail of the Bf 109. He chastised Willy M and/or his design team for such a foolish thing-- a 60 lb. lump of dead weight in what was supposed to be a lean mean fighting machine. Anybody know about this assertion by the notably successful ace Leonard "Kit" Carson?


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## Oreo (Jul 17, 2012)

Also, not sure if anybody mentioned Martin Caidin. Opinions on him?

edit:
Whoops, I see he was already discussed and the majority say he's not as accurate as could be. i think I only have one of his. "Zero Fighter".

As far as that goes, how about Saburo Sakai's "Samurai"? Any thoughts on him? Some other names I would question their ability to be unbiased and totally accurate include Galland and Boyington. I'm sure nearly everything in their accounts took place as they describe it, but sometimes. . . . ya just have to wonder. As someone said above, the autobiographies you sometimes have to take with a grain of salt. (my paraphrase of what was said). Maybe I should start a thread about which aces' autobiographies do you think are the most accurate?


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## Oreo (Jul 17, 2012)

I do like Toliver and Constable, too. Blonde Knight I found riveting. And, I assume, very accurate.


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## Njaco (Jul 18, 2012)

I, too, have many Barnes Noble Bargin bin cast-offs with very few in-depth books. I do have Don Caldwell's both books on JG 26 - very good.

I also have Gunston's "Hitler's Luftwaffe" and 2 books by D. David which I found all 3 to be ok but I don't really have anything to gauge against.

WARNING: Do NOT buy "Great Battles of WWII: Military Encounters that Defined the Future". This book is complete trash. There really is no author (Editor is a Dr. Chris Mann) and I should start a thread on bad or poor books - this one takes the cake. Bad research, poor maps (no scale or locations on them) and the worst are the battles they reference. Understand, these are supposed to be battles that 'defined' the future: So how does the Battle for Narvik or the Warsaw Uprising fit in? Sorry, important events but not defining. And many debunked myths are repeated here. Its as if they grabbed every war book from 1950 and just reprinted the stories. Thank God I only paid about $2.99 for it at Barnes Noble and even that was overpriced.


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## Bernhart (Jul 18, 2012)

how about Cornelius Ryan? or for world war one Tim Cook? or George Blackburn's Guns series?


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## davebender (Aug 10, 2012)

If you want to understand U.S. foreign policy during WWI this is the place to start. Most / all of the historical documents should be available in various national archives but this 4 volume set has them nicely arranged in chronological order along with brief explanations containing background information.


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## AARP Hurricane (Aug 12, 2012)

Luftwaffe authors only in my list.

Not in any order, they are all very good:

Jochen Prien
Eric Mombeek
Paul Stipdonk
Michael Mayer
Christopher Shores
Christer Bergstrom
Barry Rosch
KA Merrick
John Vasco 
Sinisa Sestanovic
David Wadman
Peter Petrick
Denes Bernad
Theo Boiten
Robert Forsyth
Nick Beale
Jean-Louis Roba
J. Richard Smith
Eddie Creek
Peter Rodieke
Douglas Stankey
Harry L de Zeng IV
Gerhard Stemmer
Walter Weiss
Andrew Arty
Morton Jessen
Don Caldwell
Shigeru Nohara
Chris Goss
Jean-Yves Lorant
Richard Goyat
Eric Larger
Tomas Poruba
John Manrho
Stephn Ramsom
Fredrik Geust (Finnish AF)
Kari Stenman
Kalevi Keskinen
Sven Carlson
Dan O'Connell
Peter Cornwell
Frederico D'Amico
Peter C Smith

Any of these guys you can give the keys of your house, wallet, daughter (not sure on this one) and you'd be safe.

Looking forward to add Larry Hickey and the EoE team to this list!

'Greats' from the 1960, 70 and 80's whose work has now been largely superceded:
Karl Ries
Werner Held
Karl Kossler
Per Cohauz
Hans Ring
Werner Girbig
Norman Franks
Manfred Griehl 
H J Nowarra


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## syscom3 (Aug 12, 2012)

For unit histories, Lawrence J. Hickey has set the gold standard for what an author should do. His sources are from the archived unit reports and from the actual participants. Double checked for accuracy, and the quality of his efforts are plainly seen by anyone who has one of the three books he has published.


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## MiTasol (Jul 20, 2013)

For technical I like Rene J. Francillon, Robert Mikesh and Dan Hagedorn. I have worked on many of the aircraft they write about and have yet to find an error in their work.
Books edited by Leslie E Neville are also on the top of my list of accurate resources tho some WWII stuff must contain deliberately inaccurate information

Em nau

Mi Tasol


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## Maximowitz (Jul 22, 2013)

Ferdinand Foch said:


> Well, I definitely know of one author who nobody should trust for accuracy.
> 
> David Irving!



Quite!

However his biographies of Milch and Goring still have yet to be beaten. He was actually quite good before he went barking mad.


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## vikingBerserker (Jul 22, 2013)

Maximowitz said:


> He was actually quite good before he went barking mad.



I so want that on my tombstone.


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## Crimea_River (Jul 22, 2013)

Just finished "Battleground Prussia" by Pritt Buttar. Fantastic, detailed account of the final months of the war with lots of personal accounts.


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