The Germans Bombed Our Chippy » Book Reviews

War reading list: Kurt Vonnegut

Rob — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:15:39 +0000

War is often the backdrop for some of the very best art and literature produced. Many writers choose to try and get across anti-war messages in their work and few have done that with such incredible effect as Kurt Vonnegut.

Kurt Vonnegut’s 1969 novel Slaughterhouse Five has as its main subject the bombing of Dresden in the Second World War. The story focuses on the plight of solider Billy Pilgrim and is told with a nonlinear narrative that also takes in time-travel and alien abduction.

The novel is a true classic and is one that anyone with an interest in war should have on their bookshelf.

Essential Reading : Josef Stalin

Rob — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:42:50 +0000

Explaining the internal workings of a dictator and a mass murderer is nigh on impossible. Yet, the following texts have given historians the greatest insight in to the man who killed more of his own people than anyone else in history.

1. Young Stalin - Simon Sebag Montefiore

2. Stalin: Triumph and Tragedy- D.A. Volkogonov and H. Shukman

3. Lenin, Stalin and Hitler: The Age of Social Catastrophe - Robert Gellately

4. Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives - Alan Bullock, Baron Bullock

5. Stalin: A Biography – Robert Service

6. Stalin in Power: The Revolution from Above, 1929-41 – Robert C. Tucker

7. Stalin: Breaker of Nations – Robert Conquest

Essential Reading - The Russian Revolutions

Rob — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 19:15:06 +0000

Essential Reading : The Russian Revolutions.

The following texts are essential reading for anybody hoping to understand the reasons for, execution of and the aftermath of the Russian Revolutions of 1917.

Much of the political theory and objectives of groups opposed to Tsarism are complex, and at times contradictory – these texts help to clarify these and fully explore the role of a multitude of opposition factions, documenting how their actions and inactions paved the way for the Bolsheviks to seize power without the support of the Russian people.

1. A People’s Tragedy – The Russian Revolution 1891-1924

2. The Russian Revolution, 1917-21 (Sources in History) - Ronald I. Kowalski

3. The Russian Revolution, 1917 (New Approaches to European History) - by Rex A. Wade

4. A Concise History of the Russian Revolution - Richard Pipes

5. The History of the Russian Revolution – L Trotsky

6. Lenin – Robert Service

7. Essential Works – V I Lenin

Essential Reading : Nazi Germany

Rob — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 21:37:00 +0000

In addition to providing theoretical analysis on the events which shaped world history between 1870-1945, we also aim to provide you with an indepth historiography of the period.

As a general introduction we have compiled an some essential reading lists which are well regarded as authoratitive texts.

Our first offering centres on Nazi Germany. There have been many thousand of books written on the Nazis, and no doubt thousands nmore will follow, but here are the seven texts we would advise you to read before all others.

1.Hitler 1889-1936 Hubris – Ian Kershaw

2. Hitler 1936-1945 Nemeis – Ian Kershaw

3. Nazism and War – Richard Bessel

4. Hitler and Stalin – Parallel lives – Alan Bullock

5. The Coming of the Third Reich – Richard J Evans

6. Backing Hotler – Consent and coercion in Nazi Germany – Robert Gellately

7. The German Dictatorship – Karl D Bracher