Military History Book Shop

Here we offer a selection of our favourite books on military history. Some are the books we have used as sources for this site, some are good introductions to their subjects and others are interesting oddities.

We also have a selection of 552 longer book reviews.

All links on this site go straight to the relevant Amazon web site (currently we link to the UK, US and Canadian sites), where you can place orders for any of the books listed here.

Recent Reviews

Click for full list of recent reviews

Under the Devil's Eye, Alan Wakefield and Simon Moody. An account of the British involvement in the campaign in Macedonia during the First World War, a sideshow that began with an attempt to help the Serbs but developed into a stalemate with British, French and Serbian forces facing the Bulgarians and their German allies. [read full review]

Panzers on the Eastern Front, Erhard Raus, ed. Peter Tsouras. A series of accounts of German successes on the Eastern Front written for the US military by General Erhard Raus during the 1950s. A very valuable historical source, well presented by the editor, and of great value for anyone with an interest in the fighting on the Eastern Front. [read full review]

Through all the Changing Scenes of Life, ed Susan Harrison. The memories of William Edward Jones, a career Navy man who joined up in 1899 and served during the First World War. An interesting account of life in a navy that still had some old 'three deckers' (mainly as training ships) operating alongside turbine driven destroyers and the great dreadnoughts. [read full review]

When shall their Glory Fade? The Stories of the Thirty-Eight Battle Honours of the Army Commandos, James Dunning. Examines those Commando operations that were considered significant enough to be recognised as a battle honour, including some large scale single actions (St. Nazaire or Dieppe) and some longer campaigns and their individual actions (Italy, North Africa, Burma). Written by a former Army Commando who took part in some of the earlier raids before becoming an instructor. [read full review]

The Persian Invasions of Greece, Arthur Keaveney. Fairly short but informative account of the famous campaigns of Darius and Xersex, written by an expert on ancient Persia and so with a rather different tone and emphasis than most books on this subject. Also covers the Ionian revolt and the build-up to the war in more detail than is often the case. [read full review]

Hitler: Dictator or Puppet? Andrew Norman. An attempt to analyse Hitler's mental health using the evidence of his actions, known beliefs, quotes and eyewitness accounts of his behaviour. Includes some good material on the sources of Hitler's ideas, and the way they were put into effect during the Second World War. [read full review]

De Ruyter, Dutch Admiral, ed Jaap R. Bruijn, Ronald Prud'homme van Reine and Rolof van Hövell tot Westerflier. A collection of interesting essays written by Dutch historians and that examines different aspects of de Ruyter’s life and the wider world of the Dutch Republic. This is a valuable piece of work that helps explain the important of de Ruyter as a European figure (not just as a commander during the Anglo-Dutch Wars). [read full review]

Letters from my Son: A Texas Boy's Journey to the RAF, Dolcie Suggs Ehlinger & Karen Guelfo Ehlinger. Biography of Early Willson Jr, an American volunteer in the RAF, told through his letters to his parents stretching over a fifteen year period, and ending just before his tragic death in a flying accident in Wales in 1941. [read full review]

Artillery in the Great War, Paul Strong and Sanders Marble. An examination of the way in which artillery was used during the First World War, tracing the development of artillery tactics, starting with the early clashes of 1914, in which different pre-war doctrines were tested in combat, before following the way that artillery tactics evolved during the conflict to produce the highly effective British artillery of 1918. [read full review]