1. Bibliographies
2. Encyclopedias and Historical Dictionaries
3. Historiographies and Reviews
4. Research Aids
5. Print Source Materials
6. Electronic Source Materials
Gabel, Christopher R. "Books on Overlord: A Select Bibliography and Research Agenda on the Normandy Campaign, 1944." Military Affairs 48, no. 3 (Jul. 1984): 144-148.
Michel, Henri. Bibliographie critique de la Résistance. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1964.
A listing of some 1,200 Resistance items.
Nautical Brass On-Line. "Codebreaking and Secret Weapons in World War II." [http://home.earthlink.net/~nbrass1/enigma.htm]
"These articles are part of a ten-part series on codebreaking (Enigma, 'Purple', 'Magic', and the large part cryptography played in World War II) and the secret weapons of Allies and Axis (V1, V2, A-bomb, radar, etc.). The series of articles originally appeared in Nautical Brass magazine, now no longer in print, but on the Web as Nautical Brass On-Line." Includes "Annotated Bibliography. 120 references, including Enigma simulators, Web sites, movies, video tapes, books and articles. (17K)"
Sexton, Donald J.,
comp. Signals Intelligence in World War II: A Research Guide. Westport,
CT: Greenwood, 1996.
Clark comment: This work has 828 annotated bibliographic entries dealing with the role of ULTRA and MAGIC. Entries include both primary and secondary sources, and the annotations average 4-5 lines each. There are also entries on sources on the Sigint and cryptanalytic programs of the Axis and neutral powers. The brief (18 pages) introductory essay is worth reading for its general sweep across some of the main sources.
Kruh, Cryptologia 20.4, calls this a "thoughtfully organized annotated bibliography" and a "valuable contribution to the history of WW II." According to McKay, I&NS 13.2, the author "has carefully avoided riding hobby-horses and his judgements on the whole seem fair and sensible." Nevertheless, the flood of material that has come out since the bibliography's cut-off date of 1995 probably means that the work "will soon require to be updated." In addition, the reviewer finds some gaps in Sexton's coverage of older materials and of foreign language sources.
Sexton, Donald J.,
and Myron J. Smith, Jr. Electronic Intelligence in World War II: ULTRA
and MAGIC -- A Bibliography. London: Meckler, 1994.
Smith, Myron J., Jr. The Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway, 1942: A Selected Bibliography. Bibliographies of Battles and Leaders Series. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1991.
Smith, Myron J., Jr.
The Secret Wars: A Guide to Sources in English. 3 vols. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio, 1980-1981.
Vol. I, Intelligence, Propaganda and Psychological Warfare, Resistance Movements, and Secret Operations.
Vol. II, Intelligence, Propaganda and Psychological Warfare, Covert Operations, 1945-1980.
Vol. III, International Terrorism, 1969-1980.
Clark comment: Smith's bibliography totals about 10,000 entries, referenced by category and author; there are no annotations.
Constantinides views this as "one of the most complete and useful references available to researchers and scholars." Nonetheless, it still misses "important books or books on significant individuals."
For a review of this three-volume set, see Allen E. Warnke, "The Secret Wars: A Guide to Sources in English," American Journal of International Law 77 (Jul. 1983): 717-718.
Chant, Christopher.
The Encyclopedia of Code Names of World War II. London: Routledge
& Kegan Paul, 1986. New York: Methuen, 1987.
West, Nigel [Rupert Allason]. Historical Dictionary of World War II Intelligence. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2008.
Peake, Studies 52.2 (Jun. 2008), says that the author "continues his precedent of providing a fine bibliographic essay, an index he creates himself, and an absence of source notes." This is a "useful but not comprehensive treatment [that] leaves many topics for future volumes."
Baldwin, Mark. "Wartime
Codebreaking." Book & Magazine Collector, Jul. 1997, 28-39.
According to Kruh, Cryptologia 22.2, the author "provides a lively review of British books on World War II ... codebreaking, especially the work on Enigma ciphers at Bletchley Park."
Bennett, Ralph. "World
War II Intelligence: The Last 10 Years' Work Reviewed." Defense
Analysis 3, no. 2 (Jun. 1987): 103-117.
Bjorge, Gary J. Deception
Operations. Combat Studies Institute Historical Bibliography No. 5.
Ft. Leavenworth, KS: U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 1986.
Sexton calls this brief paper (12 pages) an "excellent bibliographic introduction to the literature on deception."
Blumenson, Martin.
"Intelligence and World War II: Will 'Ultra' Rewrite History?"
Army 28 (Aug. 1978): 42-48.
Bundy, William P. "From
the Depths to the Heights." Cryptologia 6, no. 1 (Jan. 1982):
65-74.
Bundy commanded the U.S. Signal Corps contingent at Bletchley Park.
Petersen: "Review of several important books on Ultra."
Buruma, Ian. "Ghosts
of Pearl Harbor." New York Review of Books, 19 Dec. 1991, 9-10.
Sexton notes that this article reviews five books on the antecedents of the Pacific War. The reviews include Rusbridger and Nave's Betrayal at Pearl Harbor. The author's "limited knowledge of MAGIC and Anglo-American Intelligence undermines his critique."
Carlson, J.R. "Undercover
Guide to the War." Saturday Review of Literature 28 (25 Aug.
1945): 13. [Petersen]
Cochran, Alexander S., Jr.
"'Magic,' 'Ultra,' and the Second World War: Literature, Sources, and
Outlook." Military Affairs 46, no. 2 (Apr. 1982): 88-92.
Lee, Loyd E., ed. World
War II in Europe, Africa, and the Americas, with General Sources: A Handbook
of Literature and Research. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1997.
Kruh, Cryptologia 22.1, notes that in this "extensive reference work ... authorities in the main areas of scholarly and popular interest" in the history of World War II discuss "the best and most enduring literature related to the [war's] major topics and themes." Part IV is entitled "The War Between the Lines," and includes chapters on "Intelligence: Code Breaking, Espionage, Deception, and Special Operations" and "Resistance Movements in Europe." The individual chapters "describe the state of knowledge" for each topic, "point out needed areas of research," and "provide a select bibliography."
Murray, Williamson.
"Ultra: Some Thoughts on Its Impact on the Second World War."
Air University Review 35 (Jul.-Aug. 1984): 52-64. [http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usamhi/ RefBibs/intell/ww2/ultra.htm]
Spiller, Roger J. "Assessing
Ultra." Military Review 59 (Aug. 1979): 13-23.
http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usamhi/RefBibs/intell/ww2/ultra.htm: "Cautionary note about Ultra's role" in operations and revising WWII history.
Syrett, David. "The
Secret War and the Historians." Armed Forces and Society 9 (Winter
1983): 293-328.
Cochran, Alexander
S., Jr. The Magic Diplomatic Summaries: A Chronological Finding Aid.
New York: Garland, 1983.
Sexton notes that this work indexes more than 1,300 Magic documents, and present a brief summary of each.
Drea, Edward J. "Ultra
and the American War Against Japan: A Note on Sources." Intelligence
and National Security 3, no. 1 (Jan. 1988): 195-204.
The sources here are primarily the various Sigint documents of Record Group 457 in the National Archives. Sexton calls this article a "valuable introduction to a key document collection."
Mendelsohn, John, comp.
Covert Warfare: Intelligence, Counter-intelligence and Military Deception
During the World War II Era. 18 vols. New York: Garland, 1988.
This multivolume work consists of photo reproductions of documents from the National Archives.
Vol. 1: ULTRA, MAGIC and the Allies.
Sexton terms this an "invaluable collection."
Vol. 6: German Radio Intelligence and the Soldatsender.
According to Sexton, this volume "includes the War Diary of the Morale Operations Branch of the OSS in London, which describes OSS black propaganda operations aimed at German forces."
Records of the Office of Strategic Services (Record Group 226) at http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/226.html.
This is an on-line guide to the National Archive's holdings on the OSS.
"World War II on the Web": http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/2691/links.htm.
Contains a large collection of World War II links.
"WWII Resources" at http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/.
This site is the single best place to begin an electronic search for World War II-related materials. The site's description is accurate: "Primary source materials on the Web. Original documents regarding all aspects of the war."
Materials available include
1. The "Color Books": "French [Yellow] and British [Blue] collections of documents regarding the diplomatic prelude to WWII."
2. The Pearl Harbor attack hearings (and other material relating to Pearl Harbor).
3. Studies on the use of "Ultra"-supplied military intelligence.
The site also provides a link to the "World War Two Web Site Consortium."
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