These books are a collection of essays by WWII historians like Stephen E. Ambrose. Some of the essays are extended excerpts from books by the authors and others are original essays highlighting some little-known or little-reported aspects about the war. If you're a history or WWII fan, I highly recommend these.

Among the most interesting are a re-printing of a diary of a Japanese kamikaze pilot who survived his attack and was captured. The profile of General Edwin P. King, who surrendered the largest U.S. force in history, was also great. A couple of the essays are from the little-reported viewpoints of the Japanese--kind of like Letters from Iwo Jima.

Volume 2 has an interesting essay about Operation Peppermint and the Allied fears that Nazi Germany had an atomic weapon. On D-Day several soldiers were assigned to discretely record radiation levels on the beach and observe any strange signs of radiation sickness. There was also a covert operation to destroy the Nazi's heavy water facility in Norway, and other operations to determine the extent of Germany's atomic knowledge. In Germany, Nazis inspected bomb craters with Geiger counters to see if the Allies were using atomic weapons.

There's also the story of a previously unknown Nazi landing in North America-- when Germany set up a weather station in Greenland.

Good stuff, five stars out of five. If you have to choose between one of the two sets, choose Volume 1. ( )

This is a collection of short stories of World War II. The stories are from personal journals or personal accounts, and provide a different glimpse into different aspects of the war. One of the stories is of a Kamikazi pilot who was shot down and survived. There is one each from the German and Japanese perspectives of their end of the war, a story of a B17 and B52 bomber pilot, a German perspective on the invasion of Poland, and others. Each provides a unique view of the event and the people portrayed. The stories are well written and cohesive. I found it an enjoyable read. ( )