The Books of 2024: History & War

Books Read: Five

Average Rating: 4.1 stars

Doctors from Hell: The Horrific Account of Nazi Experiments on Humans by Vivien Spitz – 4 stars

“In a crime there is always a perpetrator and a victim. If you look the other way, do not get involved, stay neutral, or remain silent, you will always help the perpetrator and never the victim.”

Primarily transcripts from the Nuremberg Trials, it tells of the horrific experiments done by the Nazis during WWII. Spitz was one of the only female court reporters at the trials and was only twenty-one at the time.

“The past is prologue—and why are the lessons not being learned?”

Mission at Nuremberg: An American Army Chaplain and the Trial of the Nazis by Tim Townsend – 4 stars

This biography was fascinating, especially after reading Doctors from Hell. Henry Gerecke was a Lutheran minister who was recruited to minister to the Nazi leaders awaiting trial in Nuremburg.

The struggle for Gerecke to preach to and care for men who committed such horrific crimes, and to not see them as monsters, but as men lost and in need of a savior. Gerecke is an inspiration.

The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler by Robert Payne – 4 stars

Overall, this was a good biography about Hitler’s life. I learned a lot about the man as well as the events that led to his power, and WWII in general. It was a bit dry in places, and some of the information is outdated. But I appreciate that Payne doesn’t speculate about this or that aspect of his life.

Killing the Rising Sun: How America Vanquished World War II Japan by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard – 4 stars

My interest in World War II has been focused primarily on Europe, so I don’t know all that much about what happened in America and Japan. This was a good, though brief, look at the final few months before the end of the war. It focused primarily on the atomic bomb and the events that led to Japan’s surrender.

It was written in present tense, which took a bit to get used to and was rather confusing. But once I got past that, it was engaging and well-paced.

The Civil War: An Illustrated History by Geoffrey C. Ward – 4.5 stars

“Who would not pass on as they did, dead for their country’s life, and lighted to burial by the meteors splendor of their native sky.”

I’d never taken much of an interest in the history of US wars, but after our visit to Virginia, I thought I should learn more. This was a great introduction to the Civil War and it piqued my interest! It has many photographs and paintings from the time period as well as excerpts from journals, letters, and newspaper clippings. It gave an excellent overview of the war.