Decision in Normandy by Carlo D'Este

Decision in Normandy by Carlo D'Este. A very detailed account of the planning of the invasion of Normandy, the intentions and the reality of what can be executed and how you cannot control what your enemy does. I have never read a book with more excerps from books and documents, and more footnotes and endnotes. Mostly we get a view of what the leadership was planning, how they tried and in many ways were foiled by the Germans. We get a lot of information on the leadership and their personality, and how they got along or didn't with each other. It seemed to be very back and forth, generals who worked well with each other in Africa did not see eye to eye when fighting in Normandy. In particular the very controversal Montgomery. We really can't see if he was a brilliant strategist, a giant ego, or probably both.

Spearhead by Adam Makos

Spearhead by Adam Makos, the story of the 3rd Armored Division in WW2, chronicling the battles from the Bulge to the taking of Cologne and then the battle that took the fighting in to Germany and cut off the Ruhr industrial area from the German war effort. Told through the personal stories of the personal stories of the men who fought in the tanks, with some stories of their counterpart in the German tank forces. The writing is very accessible and relies on many original sources, telling the story from the soldiers point of view, not the tactitions and generals. There are many tough stories told here, as the reality of being on the front lines comes off the page.