The best World War 2 books that I used as research for my horror novel

Why am I passionate about this?

Andrew is a long-time WWII history buff and writer who looks for any excuse to do a deep dive into his favorite history topics. For his WWII horror novel One Last Gasp, he spent over a year researching the Battle of the Bulge, from first-hand accounts of front-line soldiers to official U.S. Army documents.


I wrote...

One Last Gasp

By Andrew C. Piazza,

Book cover of One Last Gasp

What is my book about?

Near the end of World War II, during the Battle of The Bulge, a US Army unit pursues a renegade SS panzer battalion into the secluded Ardennes forest. There, hidden deep in the snow-covered pines, they find an ancient manor house containing an inhuman evil that defies any sense of reality.

Confronted with a supernatural evil inside the manor, and surrounded by enemy troops outside, the soldiers will have to unravel the mysteries of the creature called The Geist and face a nightmarish battle for body and soul if they are to survive.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest

Andrew C. Piazza Why did I love this book?

The source material for the HBO miniseries and a fantastic glimpse at a unit that had a knack for being in the middle of some of the biggest parts of World War II in Europe. Easy Company gives us a front-line soldier’s look at D-Day, The Bulge, and even post-war life as they roll into the Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s mountain refuge. If the author is a bit of a cheerleader for “our guys,” he can be forgiven, I think, considering the extraordinary courage and sacrifice we witness on the part of the men of Easy Company.

By Stephen E. Ambrose,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Band of Brothers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

They fought on Utah Beach, in Arnhem, Bastogne, the Bulge; they spearheaded the Rhine offensive and took possession of Hitler's Eagle's Nest in Berchtesgaden. Easy Company, 506th Airborne Division, U.S. Army, was as good a rifle company as any in the world. From their rigorous training in Georgia in 1942 to D-Day and victory, Ambrose tells the story of this remarkable company, which kept getting the tough assignments. Easy Company was responsible for everything from parachuting into France early D-Day morning to the capture of Hitler's Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden. BAND OF BROTHERS is the account of the men of…


Book cover of The Fall of Berlin 1945

Andrew C. Piazza Why did I love this book?

A bit dry and occasionally over-focused on rattling off official numbers and unit designations, The Fall Of Berlin is also a low-key horror novel. Surrounded on all sides by a massive Russian army hell-bent on revenge, the people of Berlin are caught between those invaders and their own leadership forcing them into a suicidal last stand. The scale of brutality is numbing; this is a battle fought without mercy by two adversaries locked in a death struggle.

By Antony Beevor,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Fall of Berlin 1945 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"A tale drenched in drama and blood, heroism and cowardice, loyalty and betrayal."-Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post

The Red Army had much to avenge when it finally reached the frontiers of the Third Reich in January 1945. Frenzied by their terrible experiences with Wehrmacht and SS brutality, they wreaked havoc-tanks crushing refugee columns, mass rape, pillage, and unimaginable destruction. Hundreds of thousands of women and children froze to death or were massacred; more than seven million fled westward from the fury of the Red Army. It was the most terrifying example of fire and sword ever known.

Antony Beevor, renowned…


Book cover of Ordinary Men

Andrew C. Piazza Why did I love this book?

A fascinating look at the men who carried out the gritty day-to-day murders of the Holocaust, particularly the early days. It’s written by a historian, so there is a lot of dry description of source documents and that sort of research-related discussion to back up everything that is discussed. For all that dryness, this book does an incredible job of shining a light on the question everyone asks about the Holocaust… how could ordinary, decent men commit such atrocity?

By Christopher R. Browning,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Ordinary Men as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The shocking account of how a unit of average middle-aged Germans became the cold-blooded murderers of tens of thousands of Jews.


Book cover of A Time for Trumpets: The Untold Story of the Battle of the Bulge

Andrew C. Piazza Why did I love this book?

A meticulous examination of the Battle of The Bulge, the largest battle ever fought by the US Army. What I found so fascinating was that, even given the massive scale of the fight, it reads more like a wide series of small engagements, scattered and disconnected from each other.  Individual units, often cut off from each other and vastly outnumbered and outgunned, still put up a stiff resistance, enough to pick away at the juggernaut advance of the Germans, each one slowing the enemy a little more and a little more and a little more, until reinforcements can finally put a stop to the enemy advance.

By Charles B. MacDonald,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked A Time for Trumpets as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

On December 16, 1944, the vanguard of three German armies, totaling half a million men, attacked U.S. forces in the Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg, achieveing what had been considered impossible -- total surprise. In the most abysmal failure of battlefield intelligence in the history of the U.S. Army, 600,000 American soldiers found themselves facing Hitler's last desperate effort of the war.

The brutal confrontation that ensued became known as the Battle of the Bulge, the greatest battle ever fought by the U.S. Army -- a triumph of American ingenuity and dedication over an egregious failure in strategic intelligence.…


Book cover of Company Commander: The Classic Infantry Memoir of World War II

Andrew C. Piazza Why did I love this book?

An infantry company commander’s first-hand account of his experiences in the European theater. His first command was to be thrust smack dab into the middle of the Battle of The Bulge, and his account is filled with surprisingly raw and honest observations not only about the war but about his reaction to it.

By Charles B. MacDonald,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Company Commander as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Fourth Printing January 1972


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Aggressor

By FX Holden,

Book cover of Aggressor

FX Holden Author Of Aggressor

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a former journalist and intelligence officer turned writer, so I seek out authenticity in my reading, especially when it comes to war stories. I look for fiction from people who have been there or know how to listen to those who have, and be their voice. When I write, I always put together a team of veterans and specialists in their fields to challenge my work and make sure I get it right, too!

FX's book list on war stories you probably haven’t read yet

What is my book about?

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan. The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced, it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run the Chinese blockade to deliver it?

Aggressor is the first novel in a gripping action series about a future war in the Pacific, seen through the eyes of soldiers, sailors, civilians, and aviators on all sides. Featuring technologies that are on the drawing board today and could be fielded in the near future, Aggressor is the page-turning military technothriller you have been waiting for!

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