RtW2 Reading List

[admdavis]

So, I thought I'd start a thread for book recommendations! I love to read up on time periods that I game in. I know that a lot of folks have read the two Massie books (I'm reading Dreadnought now, and I have Castles of Steel out from the library). 

But if you're interested in the post World War One period, there's a really neat book "Military Innovation in the Interwar Period" edited by Murray and Millett, which is collection of essays on the evolution equipment. While it's got some other stuff in there, there's chapters on amphibious warfare, submarines and carriers, as well as one on radar which I haven't read, but might touch on naval uses, I don't really know. 

I just thought some folks might find it as interesting as I did, especially now that RtW2 models that period more accurately. 

[spartyon]

Warships After Washington by John Jordan and War Plan Orange Edward S. Miller are great for interwar ship design and naval planning.

Neptune's Inferno by James Hornfischer is fantastic to understand how the tech changes (especially radar) was used and not used early in WWII naval engagements. I also recommend the Ian Toll series for a full Pacific naval war perspective. Finally Fleets of World War II by Richard Worth gives a great summary of the strengths and weaknesses of every ship class in WWII. I could go on but those are my top picks for the new RTW2 era.

[Antediluvian Monster]

Brown's Warrior to Dreadnought, the Grand Fleet and Nelson to Vanguard are invaluable to understanding why ships were designed like they were.