Alex Kershaw Books in Order

How to Read Alex Kershaw's Books

Alex Kershaw has established himself as one of the preeminent voices in narrative military history and biography. His books read like fast-paced novels but are grounded in meticulous historical research and real-world interviews. Because Kershaw writes standalone historical accounts rather than continuous fictional series, there is no single "mandatory" reading path. However, readers generally get the most out of his bibliography by grouping his works either chronologically by the events of World War II or by specific thematic campaigns.

The Recommended Starting Points

If you are new to Alex Kershaw, we recommend starting with one of these three entry points based on your primary interests:

• For the ultimate WWII ground combat story: Start with The Liberator (2012). This book follows the incredible 500-day journey of Felix Sparks from the invasion of Sicily to the liberation of Dachau, offering a comprehensive look at the European theater. It was also adapted into a highly acclaimed animated miniseries on Netflix.
• For D-Day history: Start with The Bedford Boys (2003). It is a deeply emotional, localized look at how the D-Day landings devastated a single small town in Virginia. It serves as the perfect companion to his later, broader D-Day book, The First Wave (2019).
• For literary and artistic biography: Start with Blood and Champagne: The Life and Times of Robert Capa (2002), which chronicles the daring adventures of the legendary war photographer.

Alex Kershaw Books in Chronological Order of Events

For history enthusiasts who want to follow the timeline of World War II from the early resistance and air battles to the final Allied victory and liberation, reading the books chronologically provides a seamless narrative of the war. Here is how Kershaw's WWII books line up chronologically:

1. The Few (2006)
   Setting: 1940. Focuses on the Battle of Britain and the group of American pilot volunteers who joined the Royal Air Force to fight the Luftwaffe before the United States officially entered the war.
2. The First Wave: The D-Day Warriors Who Led the Way to Victory in World War II (2019)
   Setting: June 6, 1944. Captures the very beginning of the Allied invasion of Normandy, highlighting the first soldiers, commandos, and scouts who landed on the beaches.
3. The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-day Sacrifice (2003)
   Setting: June 6, 1944. Focuses specifically on the soldiers from Bedford, Virginia, who served in Company A of the 116th Infantry Regiment and suffered catastrophic losses during the first wave at Omaha Beach.
4. Escape from the Deep: The Epic Story of a Legendary Submarine and Her Courageous Crew (2008)
   Setting: 1944. The story of the USS Tang, the most successful American submarine of the war, and the crew's struggle to survive after its final, fateful patrol in the Pacific.
5. The Envoy: The Epic Rescue of the Last Jews of Europe (2010)
   Setting: 1944–1945. Centers on Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who risked everything in Budapest to save tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews from Nazi death camps.
6. The General: William Levine, Citizen Soldier and Liberator (2016)
   Setting: 1942–1945. Co-authored with Richard Ernsberger Jr., this illustrated biography traces the military career of William Levine, a Jewish U.S. Army intelligence officer who helped liberate Dachau.
7. The Liberator: One World War II Soldier's 500-Day Odyssey (2012)
   Setting: 1943–1945. Follows U.S. Army officer Felix Sparks and the 157th Infantry Regiment from the Allied landings in Italy, through the invasion of Southern France, into the Vosges Mountains, and finally to Germany.
8. Against All Odds: A True Story of Ultimate Courage and Survival in World War II (2022)
   Setting: 1943–1945. Tells the stories of four of the most decorated U.S. soldiers of the war—including Audie Murphy and Maurice Britt—as they fought their way through Italy, France, and Germany.
9. The Longest Winter: The Battle of the Bulge (2004)
   Setting: December 1944. Focuses on the Intelligence and Reconnaissance platoon of the 394th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division, which held off a massive German advance during the opening hours of the Battle of the Bulge.
10. Patton's Prayer: A True Story of Courage, Faith, and Victory in World War II (2024)
    Setting: December 1944. Explores the legendary Battle of the Bulge, focusing on General George S. Patton's Third Army and the famous prayer for clear weather that turned the tide of the Allied counteroffensive.
11. Avenue of Spies: A True Story of Terror, Espionage, and One American Family's Heroic Resistance in Nazi-Occupied Paris (2015)
    Setting: 1940–1944. Documents the life of Dr. Sumner Jackson and his family, who lived on the prestigious Avenue Foch in Paris and operated an escape line for Allied pilots right under the noses of the Gestapo.

Publication Order of Alex Kershaw's Books

If you prefer to see how Kershaw developed as a writer and researcher, reading his books in order of publication is a highly rewarding path. His early career focused on individual character studies before shifting heavily into WWII group biographies.

• Jack London: A Life (1997)
• Blood and Champagne: The Life and Times of Robert Capa (2002)
• The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-day Sacrifice (2003)
• The Longest Winter: The Battle of the Bulge and the Epic Story of World War II's Most Decorated Platoon (2004)
• The Few: The American "Knights of the Air" Who Risked Everything to Fight in the Battle of Britain (2006)
• Escape from the Deep: The Epic Story of a Legendary Submarine and Her Courageous Crew (2008)
• The Envoy: The Epic Rescue of the Last Jews of Europe in the Desperate Closing Months of World War II (2010)
• The Liberator: One World War II Soldier's 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau (2012)
• Avenue of Spies: A True Story of Terror, Espionage, and One American Family's Heroic Resistance in Nazi-Occupied Paris (2015)
• The General: William Levine, Citizen Soldier and Liberator (2016)
• The First Wave: The D-Day Warriors Who Led the Way to Victory in World War II (2019)
• Against All Odds: A True Story of Ultimate Courage and Survival in World War II (2022)
• Patton's Prayer: A True Story of Courage, Faith, and Victory in World War II (2024)

What to Know Before You Start

Alex Kershaw's work sits comfortably in the "narrative non-fiction" genre. He utilizes personal letters, diaries, official military records, and direct interviews with survivors or their descendants to construct a story that flows with the pacing of a thriller. Because of this, his books are highly accessible to casual history buffs and seasoned scholars alike. Readers should note that while most of his catalog centers on the European Theater of World War II, Escape from the Deep takes place in the Pacific Theater, providing a look at submarine warfare. Additionally, his first two books, Jack London and Blood and Champagne, are traditional biographies of historic figures outside of military campaigns, though Capa's career was defined by war photography.