@Demjansk1942 Asked about Erickson's "Road to Stalingrad" which I have but forgot to talk about in the video. Erickson was good when he came out, but is sadly out of date now. Could be a nice alternative to Beevor or Craig as a starter, but again, you can't read him alone; you'd have to follow up with Glantz.
I watched a Col. Douglas McGregor video where he described how oil was being shipped from the N. American west coast to Vladivostok on Russian flagged vessels, so the Japanese wouldn't attack them. It meant Case Blue was doomed from the start, since even IF the Germans had taken the Caucasus oil fields AND Stalingrad the Russians would never run out of oil or food. Their only hope of defeating Russia would have been strict American neutrality.
@@chrishoff402 Hitler and the High Command had the same expectations with the USSR as they did with France and the rest of Europe. They thought they could bully them to the negotiation table.
@@insideoutsideupsidedown2218 No they thought the campaign with the the USSR would take 6 to 8 weeks, well beore the onst of winter and they would have captured Moscow and any Soviet resistence would be east of the Urals.
TIK, I was one of the proofreaders and editors for Jason Mark's "Island of Fire." I was also the driving force behind publishing "Turning Point" in English. How "Turning Point" was published is quite fascinating. Basically, it was the Stalingrad Museum's book of recollections published just after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The book quickly sold out and was lost forever. In 2005, I visited Stalingrad and met one of the authors, Col. Anatoly Kozlov (pictured on the back cover). Col. Kozlov told me about the book and gave me his own dog eared copy. I had it translated and Jason Mark published it through his publishing house (hence, the fantastic quality of the book). With regard to the organization, we made the decision to not reorganize the original work and publish it exactly as it had been published in its original Russian. I went back to Stalingrad in 2007 with Jason to present Col. Kozlov with the English translation of his book. I have spent several weeks in Stalingrad taking photos of just about everywhere in Stalingrad you have spoken about . . . including some of the interior shots of the Grain Elevator (when we managed to secure a very rare private tour). I am happy to DropBox them all to you if you want. Just reply to his message.
You should put these pics in a google drive for everyone who wants to see some sights mentioned in this series to shots in Russia on location from the ground
@thatcampingmann9543 @michaelhawash492 Word. I'd be really interested in seeing such photos, seeing as how it's unlikely Americans will be able to get into Volgograd anytime soon.
You seem much more relaxed and laid back in this video. Seems like a less demanding format. Honestly loving the book reviews, maybe it's something you could revisit
Yes, it was a lot less demanding than normal videos. No script, just totally off my chest, and I'd already done all the prep (I'd already read the books). The video hasn't done so well performance-wise, but it's definitely something I'd like to do again in the future when (just like this week) I haven't got time to prepare a full video.
@@TheImperatorKnight I'd love it if you'd do one on all the memoir and diaries you have read regarding other battles. Not that we need to know how dreadful Mannerheim's is LOL
There's no doubt your material will be used by future historians on Stalingrad..... We know you're finding it tough to get to the end, but your work is very much appreciated.
Animated maps certainly help everyone visualise the battle, including historians. There are flaws in my series, so maybe a future historian or two can come along and improve upon it. I've given them the foundations. But yes, historians should be using both primary and secondary sources. If they're ignoring one or the other, they're not doing history right. History lies in the heart of the debate, and you can't have a debate if you don't engage with the secondary sources.
The maps are incredible and help greatly with understanding. Reading Glantz I used my own maps or google earth in conjunction with his limited ones to get an idea. Maps are the foundation of military plans and manoeuvre at all levels from squad to Army. History is filled with instances of where map errors caused significant complications and sometimes disasters. Look at most histories written for a military audience and they normally have a litany of maps.
You should stick some affiliate links to these books in the video description - a lot of people are going to buy books based on this video and you honestly deserve to get some revenue coming your way. As long as you're genuine and transparent about it there's nothing wrong with it, you work hard enough on this content to have earned legitimacy in your recommendations among your audience.
Why would you direct people to a giant evil corporation that wants to destroy you for a few extra pence. I agree he should post links to independent book stores with the correct books though.
Can't wait until the next Stalingrad episode. I discovered it about 30 episodes in and ended up watching two or three episodes a night until I caught up. I've enjoyed every moment. Great work.
I envy your book collection, and I will always respect you for highlighting the sources you utilize for your videos. You are one of the VERY few historians on RU-vid that actually knows what he is talking about.
The reason you might want to read a "liar" in his memoir is to get a sense of what was important to them at the time and later on while they were writing. You can compare with official or primary documents. As long as you know the context, you won't get sucked into the writers tunnel vision/axe grinding fabrications.
In regards to Soviet memoirs, I'd suggest 'Red Road from Stalingrad'. The author arrived at the front in early December and took part in the fighting to destroy the pocket and the mopping up operations afterwards. Not sure how accurate it is as it was only published in the 1990s but I thought it was worth a mention. Either way, really enjoying the series so far, keep up the good work!
I would say you can add your name to the all time great historians on the field. This format of detailed maps and giving information on each unit has been great. Putting all the information from glantz, war diaries of generals, and other sources in 1 spot has been great for history.
Hey TIK, Jason Mark here. Thanks very much for the glowing review of my books and methodology. I have some interesting Stalingrad projects in the works, including "Panzerkrieg Volume 2", which is due for release in a couple of months (August 2024). It focuses solely on Panzer-Regiment 2 (16.Pz.Div.) from formation until destruction at Stalingrad. I'm sure we can arrange some sort of preview or advanced copy, if you're interested.
Fascinating to hear you talking about books on the battle stalingrad. Very useful pro's and cons of which books to read and which one's to pass. Job well done :)
TIK I also have to say doing a video review on multiple books was a phenomenal video idea I really enjoyed hearing what you had to say about each book and you can certainly bet I’ll be back to this this video to remember makes I think I would like!!!!
I love this setup, I remember commenting a few years ago saying could you do a video talking about which is your books and why they've helped your view on crucial historical details. Perfect.
I love the concept behind this video- what makes your videos so special are the sources that you pull from. It’s nice to hear how you used them to draw conclusions attached with your recommendations for us to read them too. More history-related channels should so this- maybe all should? As always- thanks Tik!
"Panzer Operations" by Erhard Raus was literally my main source for a college research paper I did on Operation Barbarossa 10+ years ago. I got an A+ and the professor said I did a great job for using primary sources (memoirs). At the time I believed everything Raus was saying 😂😂😂😭😭😭
Thanks for the series Battlestorm Stalingrad once more. I really love these book reviews and you can really see how much effort goes into researching any particular topic and you are connecting it all for the whole Stalingrad series. I respect what you do and keep it up sir!
Thanks, TIK. Because of your series, I can honestly say my Stalingrad shelves very much resemble yours. All of your book recommendations have been excellent. The lesser or poor books? You're spot on in your analysis of bias and accuracy. Sadly, we share a similar number of duds. Adding to books not to buy (good to borrow and read from a library) are: 'Survivors of Stalingrad' by Reinhold Busch; 'After Stalingrad' by Adelbert Holl. The latter is a memoir of capture and POW survival post Stalingrad. For researchers: good glossary of WW2 German military / Period-specific words, Phrases and Abbreviations is Thomas Houlihan's 'Kriegsprache'.
I was really hoping you would do a video along these lines, talking about each individual book and how they stack up against each other and in what way they are good useful sources (where they actually are). This is really good stuff.
Back in the late seventies there was a quote from William Craig's book, I think in the rulebook for Squad Leader (Avalon Hill war game). I wanted to read the book but couldn't find it. When the film came along I knew it was my opportunity, because surely they will reprint the book. I'm happy that you didn't say it was junk. The older some books become, the more they are themselves a part of history.
Great video. Amazing how you can describe every book on your shelf by heart. I hope you do more of these ww2 military book recommendations/ reviews on other theaters of war
TIK, I’ve used your videos before in classes before to cover content; but I have to say this will be one of the most useful to history students as a guide on how address reliability and usefulness statements about sources. Great critical breakdown of the sources you’ve used in the series. Keep up the excellent work mate!
I used to be an avid reader, but i havent read a book in over a decade. You've inspired me to order a couple of your recommendations here. I'm excited to get them and get back into reading. Thanks TIK :)
I still remember watching PBS late 1970s and as a 10 yo being fascinated with the stalingrad episode of World at War, the grain elevator, the ticking clock of a German soldier dying every few seconds. Thank you for the details that old World of War documentary didn't and couldn't have when BBC made the series
That video was a lot more enjoyable and interesting than I thought it would be. It condensed just how much was going on at Stalingrad - and how many different peoples/and perspectives there were - into a very small and digestable chunk. A bit like a highlights review of the whole story. For once just a little bit of detail before moving onto the next bit was a refreshing way to juxtapose it all. This particular supposed 'drop in quality output' has paid dividends. It also helps us visualize just HOW MUCH reading you've had to do as well.
TIK your content and specifically your content on the battle of Stalingrad is quite simply unmatched. I’ve said this numerous times on your channel but I’ll say it again. I don’t think there’s anyone else on RU-vid that’s putting in the work on and outside of RU-vid that you do from the books to the battlestorm series to the videos on ideology and eta I really don’t think there’s anyone else covering the third reich or at least the philosophy of it the way you do. You really dive down to the last possible good source and give intellectual thought on the matter. I think everyone here appreciates that. Overall I’ll always support whatever decision you make as your my favorite ww2 historian/RU-vidr as of right now. I think more people in the world need to hear your stances and facts especially on hitler and who he really was and what he really believed along with what actually happened. God Speed TIK!
I was just searching your latest battlestorm Stalingrad series vid. As soon as I finish it, you upload a new vid. Mmmmmmmmm😂 Love your stuff, TIK. Been a follower for a few years now. Glantz is spectacular. You are completely making your moneys worth by citing your sources. Something a legitimate RU-vid historian does, and aside from you there aren’t many.
I can second Anton Joly's series "Stalingrad Battle Atlas." I have it and it is an amazing achievement. I can lose entire afternoons every time I open one of the volumes!
Excellent! Thanks for cutting a path through the jungle of Stalingrad books. It's a big help in choosing the right books. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Congratulations TIK, I have always wanted to see reviews of the books you use for your videos. If I may give you a suggestion, next time, if you could show a bit of the internal pages (or at least the table of contents), it would be perfect. Congratulations again for your work.
Glantz is most definitely on my list! I've read Beevor and it was the first Stalingrad book I've read, quite simply, as you stated yourself, I thought it would be a good "introductory" book to get an idea for the grand scope of the battle before going into the nitty gritty.
Why would I need any book on Stalingrad after watching and rewatching every episode you have produced on the subject. Unimaginable depth!!!! Greatest thx
After watching about a dozen of your Stalingrad videos, I went and bought the four books by Glantz and House last year. I haven’t bought the appendices. I have been using them as a guide to follow your videos. Reading around the events you cover. I found them easy to get in Australia, but they cost a lot. Which is fine - if the authors actually get a fair amount for their massive labours. But now I ‘need’ a couple of the others your recommend. It is an addition.. reading & learning…. And watching TIKhistory
Hi Tik. I just finished reading Lighthouse of Stalingrad by MacGregor. I liked it but I was expecting more details about the battle for the house itself. I found the book gives a good overview of the whole battle more than I expected. I found myself skipping over stuff I already knew in some parts.
Awesome reviews. Unfortunately, I bought the Raus, Manstein and Guderian books long ago. But on the plus side I have 3-5 Glantz/House books, plus the one volume version.
The most important thing you've taught us, TIK, is that ameture historians (not only formal academics) can study history and present new perspctives. My Dad turned me onto history starting with the American Heritage series on WWI & WWII. All of the details you've shared with us is astounding. I have a degree in Physics and geek-out on Physics and Mathematics videos as well. There is a ton of material by people who are not professors, generally, and use the medium of RU-vid videos to convey great information both visually and in narrative.
It looks like that I own an English Stalingrad book that you do not have: - *_The Secret Of Stalingrad_* by Walter Kerr (1978 - playboy press mass market paperback). I read this about 36 years ago and still have it! From my very vague memory of it it is similar to Beevor's, but with other first hand quotes that I have not seen elsewhere. I will have to re-read this again shortly. BTW, I finally read - *_Island Of Fire_* - last December, and it is everything everybody says it is. An absolute must read.
I have a long list of books and not enough space in my room (and probably not enough funding), but I wanted those books. Thanks for guide here and advice on this mate. I've appreciated and enjoyed your documentaries on Stalingrad and it got me interested in Stalingrad more than before I found your channel. Since my space is limited. I think I need to start with Glantz, but i'll be coming back to this video to work out where to go next as I go. Thanks TIK.
Very helpful. You seemed to really enjoy taking us through your comprehensive English language Stalingrad library; of which I've read but a few (two of which you recommend and another I can appreciate why you don't) Thanks Tik
So read Beevor to see if you like the taste. If you do, you go on to they all you can read Glantz buffet? What I like about Tik is his attempt to teach people how to study history.
Great video. Marks' books are the best, "Island of Fire" is the best of all. Thing about his stuff is that they're insanely expensive and really hard to get ahold of. I read "Into Oblivion" in Swedish which was ok, but not quite ths same...the Glamtz books are esential reading, but they're real hard work...
Man, thank you for all your work on the topic. Thanks to you I regained interest in reading about Second World War, I little hobby I left behind 15 years ago or so. By the way, greetings from Barcelona!
Well done TIK. Your Stalingrad series is awesome. Jason D Mark IS the world expert on Stalingrad. David Glantz in my opinion has an encyclopedic knowledge of the Eastern Campaign. His books are for the most part written about division/corps/army level operations. Jason’s books are extremely well written, highly detailed books about the actual block by block fighting in Stalingrad.
Oh yes, this was a massive learning curve for me. there's a fair number of mistakes, times where I was rushed and the quality wasn't where I'd like it to be. I actually converted from doing everything in Premiere Pro to doing almost everything in Blender during the first 10 or so episodes, so I wish I'd used Blender from the beginning. I've also learnt that I can show, not tell. So in the early videos I was saying "this division, this division, and this division advanced to unpronounceable location", whereas now I just say "the Soviets advanced" and then show which divisions advance and where they advance to... And I think if I'd dome this again, I would have bought copies of the 6th Army's maps (it's like $400 for the collection), but I didn't realise they even existed in book form until recently.
I'm interested to hear your thoughts on Blood Red Snow as a memoir - Jason D. Mark quotes one of the passages in his book. The book has its issues: it was written long after the events took place, though based on notes and a diary kept at the time; the translation work is horrible (they use the word "Kalashnikov" repeatedly when the original author did not), and the author was clearly influenced by Nazi propaganda of the time. But his recounting of events from arriving in Stalingrad to being wounded in the Chir area are very compelling. His description of events matches up exactly with where they should be, and the details of life on the ground is a riveting contrast to the "higher level view" - it makes it feel more real. Anyway, it feels like it's a better memoir than others when looking specifically at Stalingrad so I'm curious to hear if there's any merit to that.
TIK, I just wanted to add my comment to the others and say that I love your content and appreciate your hard work. Also, just a suggestion, I would not have minded if you had split your book review into two, or even three parts. Not a criticism, just a suggestion to make your life a little easier. As already stated, love your videos and channel.👍🙂
Really informative TIK, great clip. After your amazing Battlestorm series, is it still worth reading these books? I think you’ve given us everything in your series..
It is still worth it because the devil's in the details. A lot of information was in the series, but a lot was missed out, and your reading of the sources might be different to mine, so yes I'd say it's worth it
TIK, I started to follow you way back, I have not regreted subscribing to thru this siteYT. I look at other WWII history sites and find them below par. You have spoilt many of us to wait for better more detailed information and unfortunately it is not happening. You are in my opinion one the best and why you have not submitted your work for Phd is unfortunate. Your work stands alone as outstanding. I will be following to end.!!!
The german Stalingrad-book that you can see at 37:47 is not a monography. It has texts of different authors regarding different aspects of the battle. It has chapters regarding the field post, the supply and other topics. It is not an overview of the battle. What you can find here is a worm`s eye view of the battle of Stalingrad, from the German and Russian side.
I've read Beevor's book a couple of years ago and thought it was a mind blowing read so if Glantz's book is even better I can't wait to read it! Thanks for the recommendation.
It's a much different style, by comparison dry and detailed. I can suggest 3 must reads .btw The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer is EPIC. A slaughtersaga
Thank you TIK. I have at least 36 books on Stalingrad. It's so fortunate to know your not the only one who has a vast collection of books on just on Battle on the Eastern Front my favorite book on the Battle of Stalingrad is ' STALINGRAD ' The Infernal Cauldron', by Stephen Walsh.
A book I missed in this and for anyone interested in the air operations, To save an army - The Stalingrad airlift by Robert Forsyth. I have most of the books you mention, including the German one about Paulus. The books by Glantz I don't like, his books about the eastern front are probably the best, concerning facts and data. But I find his style of writing boring, I have several books by him but I have never been able to finish one of them. What are your thoughts about the books by Prit Buttar (f.e. On a Knife's Edge: The Ukraine, November 1942-March 1943), his books sometimes contain errors, which I find annoying like f.e. in Between Giants, where he confuses the german general Sigfrid Henrici, with the Gotthard Heinrici).
When talking about narrative, and obviously not specifically focusing on Stalingrad, but Alan Clark's 1960s boook 'Barbarossa' was the source for much of the 'World at War's' Stalingrad episode with the infamous Hoffmann diary entries being much quoted and with much other (probably) made-up stuff, albeit dramatically presented and of course very emotive.
Lewis, i would love to see an interview with yourself and Col. Glantz, The Colonel does spots on Littlewarstv (a tabletop war gaming channel, which i enjoy and think you may as well), the Colonel did a brief explanation of the lousy tank county Bakhmut is during the recent battle in that area. A loose free form interview after he had a chance to see the series would be really insightful and fun.
Loved this video. I'm glad to see that you can fit in some videos that are easier to make. Two things: First, get some affiliate links if you feel so inclined. I'm totally fine with using them so long as they are clearly marked. I see in another comment that you said this video isn't doing as well, and I hope affiliate links can offset the "loss" of views. Second, I want more of these annotated bibliographies. Even if they are shorter, using these as a review of the sources you used helps me guide my (ever-expanding) reading list. Perhaps it would be useful to have them either at the end of a single video or short series (like BankWars, which I will forever be patiently waiting for episode 5) or every X number of episodes of your longer series. Whatever you decide to do, I'll still keep watching one of, if not the, best history channels on RU-vid.
I just found this video after watching the FINALE of your Stalingrad series of videos. Your review of Beevor's STALINGRAD save me emailing you to ask what you thought of that book. I just got it used for a dollar. Thanks again for such a superb series on the Stalingrad Campaign and related videos.
Thanks for the excellent video TIK. I have some of the books you have referenced. I don't have any of Professor Glantz' Stalingrad books, although I have some others. Truthfully, I find his writing a bit difficult at times. It is very detailed and thorough. You mentioned Robert Forczyk; I have the trilogy from Osprey Publishing he wrote on the Stalingrad. battle. I actually quite like Professor Erickson's two volume history of the Eastern Front, and re-read it every few years. My favourite author on the Eastern Front is Prit Buttar. One of his more recent works, "On A Knife's Edge: The Ukraine November 1942 - March 1943 is a good addendum to the actual fighting at Stalingrad. Cheers and thanks again fro your informative and excellent work.
