The small things...

I'm currently reading 19 Weeks by Norman Moss. It's a book about "America, Britain, and the Fateful summer of 1940". Althought the writing isn't top notch, it's a good read full of facts, history, and great insights.

For example, Moss says:

As it happens, an event occured in May 1940 that had as powerful an effect on Japan's trade in the long run as any government measure could have. The first nylon stockings went on sale. The previous year, American women alone had bought 580 million pairs of silk stockings, most made with Japanese silk. Now the great era of silk was coming to an end.

The point he's making is that because of the change in technology and materials, he Japanese economy was put into a weaker position, possibly pushing them further towards war than they might have otherwise been. It's an interesting thing to think about.

One of the other things he talks about is how quickly the Germans moved and how differently they used their tanks and armored vehicles. Hitler did things that we emulate today; there are striking similarities to how he used armor to spearhead an invasion after using aircraft to soften up defenses and what we just did in the war in Iraq.

So far, this has been a good read. Can anyone recomment other books about World War One and Two or more specifically about F.D.R.?