What I am Reading…

I have several books that I am either in the process of reading or just finishing up and want to share them with you briefly.

Tales from Spandau: Nazi Criminals and the Cold War
Norman J. W. Goda
Ohio University, Athens
Hardback
(ISBN-13: 9780521867207)

“Drawing on long-secret records from four countries, Norman J. W. Goda provides an exciting new perspective on the terrifying shadow thrown by Nazi Germany on the Cold War years, and how that shadow helped to influence the Cold War itself.”

Provides a completely new perspective on Nuremberg’s political legacy – Spandau was the only truly international war crimes prison

Based on tens of thousands of pages of newly available sources never before used by historians or journalists

First documented account of the Spandau prisoners and the contentious politics and memories surrounding their releases

By far the most interesting is Norman J. W. Coda’s Tales from Spandau: Nazi Criminals and the Cold War. It’s a unique look at post World War II diplomatic and political relations between the U.S.S.R. and the United States led NATO. His vehicle for this analysis is his study of the handling of the Nazi war criminals held in the prison (located in West Berlin), which was jointly managed by both the Soviets and the American/British controlled West Berlin government. This prison held Rudolf Hess, Albert Speer, Karl Donitz, Eric Raeder and others.

Everything from how the inmates daily lives were structured to what was to become of them once they died was debated between the former Allied Powers. Often ending in dispute, suspicion, and fear. Coda’s book is an interesting and clever look at not just an interesting subject (Spandau), but of the Cold War itself. The themes of suspicion and distrust that filled the dealings between the Superpowers over the handling of Spandau, mirror those of the Cold War itself and therefore presented a fine opportunity for a unique look at the Post World War II political environment.

Adopted Son
Written by David A. Clary
Bantam Hardcover

David A. Clary’s Adopted Son: Washington, Lafayette, and the Friendship That Saved the Revolution is an excellent book that I am about halfway through. Clary’s in-depth study of one of the most important political relationship of these United States is thus far a Tour de Force. His research is exhaustive, having mined the archives for personal letters and other historical documents. I was not aware of the breadth and depth of Washington and Lafayette’s relationship.

I picked up a signed copy of R.L. Murry’s “Letters from Gettysburg: New York Soldiers Correspondences from the Battlefield” mainly because I was hoping to find letters from my ancestor’s regiment, the Orange Blossoms (124th). I was disappointed that only one letter was found in this short book. For a low budget production the book is fine. It is missing significant historical editing (Murray rarely offers much insight or analysis) and an index, but the selection of letters is fairly good.

Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954-1965
Mark Moyar
Marine Corps University
Hardback

• Overturns most of the dominant interpretations of the Vietnam War
• Shows that the United States could have won the war
• Makes extensive use of previously untapped Vietnamese Communist sources

Last but not least, Mark Moyar’s Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954-1965. This is volume one in a two part series. Moyar seeks “new interpretations and challenges many orthodox interpretations that have hitherto gone unchallenged. It’s an ambitious work that I hope to report on in more detail sometime soon.