Books like L' étrange défaite by Marc Bloch

John Keegan’s sweeping study traces warfare from prehistoric times to the present, exploring tactics, technology, logistics, and the cultural dimensions that shape conflict.

In this magisterial and wide-ranging survey of political leadership over the past hundred years, Archie Brown challenges the widespread belief that strong leaders - those who dominate their colleagues and the policy-making process - are the most successful and admirable. Within democracies a collegial style of leadership is too often characterized as weakness and its advantages overlooked. Even in authoritarian regimes, a more collective leadership is a lesser evil compared with personal dictatorship where cultivation of the myth of the strong leader is often a prelude to oppression and carnage. 'Strong leaders' in democratic countries can do less harm, but here too the idea that one leader knows best and is entitled to take the big decisions is dangerous, even though overweening leaders in democracies are seldom as strong or independent as they purport to be. In reality, only a minority of political leaders make a big difference, by challenging assumptions about the politically possible or setting in motion systemic change. Yet in a democracy that is rare. It is especially when enlightened leaders acquire power in an authoritarian system that the opportunity for radical transformation occurs.

Marguerite Duras’ 1944 memoir, first published in 1985, portrays her wartime experience in Nazi‑occupied Paris, detailing her role in the Resistance, caring for her husband from Belsen, and encounters with Gestapo officers.