We read a lot this year! The only criteria for this list are that a) one of us read the book in 2025 and b) it's about WWII. Here are the books from this year that we recommend most highly, in no particular order.
A Bridge Too Far - Cornelius Ryan
This is the book about Operation Market Garden for a reason. It's 600 pages that doesn't remotely feel like 600 pages, and it makes everything make sense. Our episode is here.
2. Their Finest - Lissa Evans
A fun read that nevertheless doesn't shy away from the realities of being human in the keep-calm-and-carry-on era. Our episode is here.
3. Agent Zo: The Untold Story of Fearless WW2 Resistance Fighter Elżbieta Zawacka - Clare Mulley
Against the backdrop of Poland's struggle against two occupiers, one formidable woman did extraordinary things for her country. Our episode is here.
4. The Big Show / Le Grand Cirque - Pierre Clostermann
A funny, poignant war memoir by one of France's most famous fighter pilots. It'll remind you how young these guys were, and how aware they were of how short their lives might be. Our episode is here.
5. Sonny Boy / The Boy Between Worlds - Annejet van der Zijl
You rarely come across a biography that reads like a novel, or like a love letter to someone who wasn't famous - who lived one of millions of ordinary and simultaneously extraordinary lives during WWII. Our episode is here.
6. Munich - Robert Harris
A novel that makes the halls and meeting rooms of the Munich conference of 1938 feel like there's still time to avert the calamity that's coming. Our episode is here.
7. A Wing and a Prayer - Harry Crosby
A top five war memoir for both of us, Crosby is self-effacing, funny, and articulate about what it was like to be a Group Navigator in the Bloody 100th. We talked about Masters of the Air here.
8. Angel of Arnhem: Memories of Sept. '44 - Kate ter Horst
An incredible story about how everyday people sometimes step up and make all the difference. Kate took wounded Allied paratroopers into her home at great personal risk during Operation Market Garden. We talk about her story here.
9. The Longest Day - Cornelius Ryan
If you're like, "why does Cornelius Ryan appear twice on this list?" it's because he's the GOAT. A breathless but thorough account of June 6th, 1944. We don't have an episode yet, but it's coming.
10. And No Birds Sang - Farley Mowat
Canadian novelist Farley Mowat landed on Sicily during Operation Husky and fought through the Italian campaign. This is the work of a gifted writer who is not afraid to be honest about fear. We don't have an episode about this, but maybe one day we'll hit our top war memoirs, or Hollywood will make the movie.
Ep 63 – Clare Mulley on the Women Who Fought – Polish Paratroopers, Nazi Test Pilots & Churchill's Favourite Spy
This week on Rosie:
Author Clare Mulley swung by the podcast to talk fearless women, forbidden archives, and real-life espionage drama. From Polish paratrooper Elżbieta Zawacka (Agent Zo) to Nazi test pilot–turned–resistance insider Melitta von Stauffenberg and SOE legend Christine Granville — this ep is stacked with courage and a commando knife or two. 🔥
We also get into:
– how to write serious history that reads like a thriller
- what it's like to hear the heroin you're writing about on tape
– why Poland’s resistance story still isn’t told nearly enough
– why women keep getting sidelined in war stories — and why we’re done with that
Here's the trailer:
🎧 Listen now and tell us: which WWII woman deserves the movie treatment next?
