New Books about World War II

I just finished watching the new documentary about Adolf Hitler entitled Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial. World War II seems to be of great interest to people my age for some reason. I never tire of seeing clips of those brave guys wading onto the beaches in France. Luckily, we got to visit Normandy about 15 years ago. It truly felt like hallowed ground.

And with all the recent talk of young people not really knowing about the Holocaust! Imagine!! I will never forget fishing out an old newspaper my mother had saved in her cedar chest. It was the front section of the paper that announced Victory in Europe Day. Of course that paper had special meaning to Mother! As I eagerly read about the surrender, on about page six or seven I came across the pictures from the liberation of the concentration camps. All of that was news to me, certainly, at age 10 or 11. Discovering such raw evil was a real loss of innocence.

These two new books will appeal to readers who like history and war and strategy. They appeal to me!! Here they are:

The Strategists: Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mussolini, and Hitler–How War Made Them and How They Made War (quite the subtitle) by Philips Payson O’Brien will come out in August of this year. I could find no reviews of the book yet, but O’Brien is a well-respected historian who challenges mainstream thought. Of course, his theme is the power of leadership.

When the Sea Came Alive: An Oral History of D-Day, by Garrett M. Graff, is a book about one of the most stirring events in the history of the our country. Can more be said on the topic? Yes, according to the author and several critics. Graff uses hundreds of eye-witness accounts and includes the role that Black soldiers and women played in the battle. Ron Charles of The Washington Post says the story is “Absolutely gripping.” One reader reports that he felt as if he were actually there on the beaches.