War From the Inside--Personal Viewpoints.

Occasionally, in the publishing business--at intervals that I have never been able to measure--there is a spate of books written in the "I-was-there" perspective. Perhaps it is the season.

"Beyond Valor: World War II's Ranger and Airborne Veterans," by Patrick K O'Donnell, published by Free Press, of New York. Cost: $25.50. The voices of America's World War II rangers and airborne troops reveal personal stories that, over the years, have never been told.

With that generation slipping away, the author interviewed more than 600 veterans over a nine-year period, to preserve their experiences and memories. Much of this is also available from an unusual Web site called The Drop Zone (www.thedropzone.org) that leads to a unique oral "e-history" that allows you to expand the boundaries of this book

Each story has been verified by the author for authenticity. The stories appear as a seamless narrative of the ETO (European Theater of Operations). The book probes the depths of personal emotions--fear, sacrifice, courage and even cruelty. A unique perspective is that of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion (Triple Nickel), with the African-American Experimental Test Platoon and its struggle against racism and segregation.

If you are one of the commuters with time "in travel," BDD Audio has the book in abridged form (four cassettes, six hours, $25.95), narrated by Ron McLarty, #BDDAP 1136.

"The Sky Men: A Parachute Rifle Company's Story of the Battle of the Bulge and the Jump Across the Rhine," by Kirk B. Ross. This book was published by Schiffer Military History, in Atglen, Pa., selling for $35 per copy. The story is a personal view of men of the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 17th Airborne Division. The 513th was the school regiment of the parachute academy, comprised of select volunteers--the best of the best.

The unit's first taste of combat was the Battle of the Bulge, west of Bastogne, in Belgium. Throughout the book, you are part and parcel of F Company. The tactical commitments of this elite group during the battle--and the resulting high casualties--are surprising revelations in a battle that was crucial to the final defeat of the enemy in Europe.

Operation Varsity, in March of 1945, sends F Company parachuting over the Rhine for the final battle of the war. This operation seems to have had limited goals and never really supported the amphibious assault of which it was meant to be a part.

This book seems to go hand in hand with stories of "The Greatest Generation Speaks: Letters and Reflections" by Tom Brokaw. Random House Audio Books, of New York, publishes an abridged version, read by the author. It comes in three Cassettes, with four hours of playing time, at a cost of $25.

One recent book tackles a subject that the military services need to address--"The Jewish Threat: Anti-Semitic Politics of the U.S. Army," by Joseph W. Bendersky. Published by Basic Books, of New York City, at $30 per copy, this book sheds new, well-documented light on the attitudes of America's military officers toward Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, the Holocaust and Jewish refugees.

Broad archival research has revealed a long shadow cast throughout the highest levels of U.S. military leadership by the association of Jews with communism. Letters, diary entries and transcripts of actual dialogue reveal that many key military leaders were convinced of the racial, physical, intellectual and moral inferiority of Jews.

Officers of the U.S. military "warned" of the Jewish conspiracy from Jewish world finance, Zionism and Jewish-supported communism that they said threatened American culture, the gene pool, government and military interests. This took place not just in the period before and during World War II, but well into the 1970's and '80's. Some went so far as to treat Henry Kissenger as a KGB spy and tool of Zionism.

This volume is obviously very controversial, raising more questions than it answers. Army Gen. George Patton's views--always colorful and forceful--reflect a prejudice that one hopes has disappeared or at least dissipated. But the author of this book fears that it has just gone underground, out of sight, but not out of mind.

"The Road to Victory: The Untold Story of Race and World War II's Red Ball Express," by David P. Colley, is published in paperback by Brassey's, of Dulles, Va. This book examines that unique invention--the Red Ball Express--that kept the allies moving in the critical days after Normandy, transporting a tidal wave of fuel, ammunition, troops and equipment.

African-American soldiers comprised three-quarters of the Red Ball personnel. Personal interviews with veterans of the Red Ball add a unique level to the eyewitness stories coming out of the war, struggling to overcome racism and accomplish their mission. This story is not about a routine trucking operation, but a chronicle of a crucial military event that contributed significantly to the Allied victory--a salute to the men that made it possible.

Personal stories of wartime events lost in the flurry of monumental battles are epitomized in two new, paperback books from The Lyons Press, both by the same author--David Howarth (who wrote "We Die Alone," a saga of survival against impossible odds). "The Sledge Patrol" is the story of a handful of hunters and trappers who vowed to keep the Nazis from invading Greenland in 1943. "The Shetland Bus" is the story of a small fleet of fishing boats that ran secret missions for the Allies during the German occupation of Scandinavia. I equate this book to the story of the brave Norwegian resistance fighters who helped destroy the Norsk Hydro project, curtailing the Nazi production of heavy water. Remember that great movie, with Kirk Douglas, "The Heroes of Telemark?" Both books provide easy, enjoyable reading. Each is available for $14.94.

On the other side of the war, Da Capo Press, of Cambridge, Mass., recently printed a paper-back version of Erich Raeder's "The Grand Admiral: The Personal Memoir of the Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy." Selling for $18.50, this is the story of the man who spearheaded the rebuilding of the German Navy after World War I, broke with Hitler over tactical disagreements in 1943, and was charged with war crimes at Nuremberg.

To your reading list, add "The Bunker," by James P. O'Donnell, another paperback from Da Capo Press at the same price. Since the original printing, the author has added new facts to the last days of the Third Reich in the Fuhrer Bunker. What is most revealing is that 90 percent of the people in the bunker survived its fall, and more than 50 years later, described events that were previously unknown to the public. Some of the new revelations came from recently opened Russian archives, others from personal interviews of the men and women who were part of this Faustian drama.

Dr. David LL. Silbergeld is a member of the Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict Division of the National Defense Industrial Association.