"Good WWII books for young teen?" Topic

My just turned 13 year old is very interested in WWII. Any good books for this age group? I bought him a few of the "I Survived" books and he enjoys those.

Hitler – My part in his downfall, by Spike Milligan.

Perfect for a teenager 😊

To hell and back by Audie Murphy might be suitable. It is quite tame in language and content although this is more to do with the era it was published.

I would have recommended Spike Milligan but a lot of the humour is full on UK 1940s army/culture and perhaps a bit rich for a 13 year old. 😀

Not to mention how un-PC……. 🤣

Sgt Rock. Seriously, it might inspire him!

Bolt Action Campaign books have a lot of info.

I bought this on Amazon a few years ago when my grand niece was 12. She enjoyed it.

I'd start with some older, general, light reading fare.

auction

This, and books you might find in a library withdrawn/remainder bin, was how most of us got started.

I'll second HMS Exexter. those Ballantines are cheap these days. Just long enough for a teenager with loads of pics and the history is pretty solid.

I too second HMS Exeter's recommendation of the Ballentine series. Extra Crispy highlights the positives about their books for young teenagers.

Guts & Glory World War II by Ben Thompson (also Civil War, Revolutionary War, and Vikings I believe)

Any of the 39 Volume Time Life series on WW2. Perhaps even watching the Thames TV series World at War. Battle:The Story of the Bulge by John Toland is very readable as are Band of Brothers; A Bridge Too Far and The Longest Day.

I always enjoyed the personal memoirs by pilots-- "30 Seconds Over Tokyo", "Samurai", "The Hurricane Story", and others…

"Band of Brothers" by Stephen Ambrose. Older readers of history may detest its popularity and pick it to pieces, but there's a reason it's popular. Those issues can be taken up later outside its covers, or ignored.

"Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" by Hornfischer.

"The Bravest Man" by Tuohy.

"The Battles That Changed History" by Fletcher Pratt. (Only the Midway chapter is about WWII but still, everyone should read it.)

I agree there are some great personal memoirs out there.

"Company Commander" by Charles MacDonald.

"Helmet for my Pillow" by Robert Leckie.

"With the Old Breed" by E.B. Sledge.

"To Hell And Back" by Audie Murphy is a great read, but I don't think I would recommend it to a young teen. Murphy's personality is very antisocial – he has a continuous chip on his shoulder. His ghost writer used a modern first-person narrative style, show don't tell, so very little of his feelings are explained directly. A more mature reader can see he's keeping people at arm's length because his friends keep dying, but a younger reader might not pick up on this.

khanscom I always enjoyed the personal memoirs by pilots …

Wow that takes me back. Haven't thought of these in ages, but still remember them:

"30 Seconds Over Tokyo"

"God Is My Copilot"

"Baa Baa Black Sheep"

Naval Institute press has made graphic books if that is his style. I think they released ‘Tin Can Sailors' per above in graphic novel form.

As a kid I also liked the Ballantine Books. Solid reading though we know much more now, especially regarding the Eastern Front. Wish I still had mine. Wore many of them out .

Citizen Soldiers by Stephen Ambrose might be a good choice.

Marine at War by Russell Davis
Incredible Victory by Walter Lord
Yeah, both are about Americans, and both are about the Pacific War. Incredible Victory is a bit dated but is a good start.

Pat Reid's Colditz books are great adventure stories. POW stories are a different view of the war than the more common combat narratives.

You're Stepping On My Cloak and Dagger by Roger Hall is about an OSS officer who never quite makes it into combat, and it is amusing. A lot of good stuff about the training he went through including both US and British parachute schools.

Grelber

Thanks all. I had the Time-Life books when I was a teen, as well as some of the Ballantine books. I am pretty sure my library has the Time-Life series, so I will stop by there and check it out.

For a good read

"Killing Rommel" – Steven Pressfield

If you want to inspire and interest in gaming, I recommend

"Achtung Schweinehund!: A Boy's Own Story of Imaginary Combat" – Harry Pearson

When I was that age many years ago, I used to read a lot of the Pan published books such as:- Ralph Barker's "Strike Hard, Strike Sure" and "Down in the Drink". Waldron & Gleeson "The Frogmen"
Richard Hillary "The Last Enemy"
Brian Best "The Forgotten VCs"
Popski's Private Army and various tales about the SAS especially in the desert were great reads.
Some of the classics like Reach For the Sky, The Great Escape, The Wooden Horse, The Dam Busters, etc.
Paul Lund's "Night of the U-Boats" and "PQ17 the Convoy to Hell" were fine reads.
C.S. Forester "The Good Shepherd" and "Sink the Bismark"
Alastair Maclean "HMS Ulysses"
I remember reading the Sven Hassell novels too, but don't remember much about them apart from they were set on the Russian Front.

Is he more interested in air, land, sea, or grand strategy?

He seems to like NW Europe from d-day on. We do some simple gaming with his Cobi and Lego GIs and Germans. This weekend we will play a Sherman v. assorted panzers in 1/72 with 10 or 12 tanks per side.

You might want to throw in at one point Hanna Frank's journal just to get the point of the full day to day experience. Very very different times but still a teenager's voice.

Killing Patton, by Bill OReilly. Easy reading (though I listened to the audio book)

I grew up on the olde Ballantine series of books for WWII back in the day, and then expanded from there.

They were great, and only $1.00 USD a piece, back in the day.

What is his reading level? I was reading heavy history at 13. So depending on his level, many are possible.

I read Rat Patrol….

I was heavily into Sven Hassel at 13 and I turned out ok.

Well, for the most part anyway!

I read this one when I was in 6th grade; "Marine at War"
link

Interesting and easy reading. However, beware. That book inspired me to join the Marines as a Rifleman. I'm not sure that's what you want for your kid <grin>

Wolfhag