David Glantz acts and looks like the biggest history nerd...and it'd be great to hang out and listen to him recite obscure minutiae on the Eastern Front war.
He's written several books since this lecture (linked below) was published 12 years ago. This gives you a sense of the depth of his research and he acknowledges that newly available materials and archives are changing some long held perceptions of the war on the Eastern Front:
The Soviet-German War 1941-1945: Myths & Realities: A Survey Essay. This 100+ page pdf file can't do more than paint the broader picture, but it is an excellent primer. I thought so.
I just re-read the "When Titans Clashed" he co-wrote with (someone?) and while it reads like a history text and I would have loved some more maps....the appendices are probably a fifth of the book and give some excellent details. Haven't read his Stalingrad series, however. Three volumes, I think, and if so that level of detail is a little intimidating for all but the hardest core history buffs.
Derek
