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I have always been fascinated with WWII military history, and no research into that would be complete without a lot of attention on one of the most interesting Generals in US history: General George S. Patton. No research into Patton is complete without this book. In it are a selection of the General’s letters to his wife Bea, and some other selected writings on military matters. It provides an interesting insight into the man behind the legend (and not altogether accurate movie portrayal that most people are familiar with).

A word of warning though, this is not a flowing narrative of WWII, it is a series of letters often devoid of context. Patton knew his wife was following the war in the media along with the rest of the world and often wrote her to supplement what she already knew about recent events with his perspective. I would not read this book until you read a few other Patton biographies or at least a good comprehensive WWII history book to get a sense of what is going on outside of the letters.

This is a great narrative of the Doolittle raid which was our first offensive in WWII. If you saw the movie Pearl Harbor, you know what this is (and you have my sympathies). If not, this was a daring bombing raid deep into the heart of Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The story of the raid is interesting in itself, but what really makes this book is the explanation of what happened afterward. Low fuel, combined with some bad navigation and other unforeseen circumstances led to many of them ending up behind enemy lines. The story of their escape (or in some cases death and or capture) is truly what makes this book interesting.