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Battle of the Generals: The Untold Story of the Falaise Pocket, Martin Blumenson
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This sounds interesting. In a WWII history class I just finished, we read a chapter from Victor Davis Hanson's "The Soul of Battle" ...I enjoy Hanson in that he makes these bold, provocative arguments...Surely he overstated his case, but in the chapter we read, he basically argued that if they hadn't reigned Patton in, and instead had let him close the Falaise gap, they could have defeated germany in just a couple months. It was interesting to ponder, and whetted my appetite to read more about that.
I'll hawk another book we used in the course, Michael Bess'
Choices Under Fire: Moral Dimensions of World War II ...it provided a really even-handed analysis of many aspects of WWII, and by far one of the best analysis/breakdowns of the decision to drop the Atomic bomb that I've ever read. He breaks it down into 12 basic questions and analyses it on a point-by-point basis...12 questions:
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1. Was it necessary to drop the bomb in order to get the Japanese to surrender?
2. Was this weapon qualitatively different from all the other weapons used during the war?
3. Did the use of the bomb speed up the Japanese surrender?
4. Were there plausible alternatives for achieving surrender without invading Japan or dropping the bomb?
5. Did the atomic bombing of Japan, by shortening the war, result in a net saving of lives?
6. Was the Nagasaki bomb necessary?
7. Was there a plausible alternative for achieving surrender with a lower loss of life, by using the bomb differently than the United States actually did?
8. Did the United States drop the bomb to intimidate the Soviet Union?
9. Did U.S. leaders rush to drop the bomb, in the hope of bringing about Japanese surrender before the Soviets could enter the Pacific War?
10. Was the bomb used out of racism?
11. Did the use of this weapon violate the basic principles of a just war?
12. Was the dropping of the atomic bomb justified? How to judge the morality of this act?
Bess, Michael (2009-03-10). Choices Under Fire: Moral Dimensions of World War II (p. 200). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
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IMHO that chapter alone was worth the price of admission. As kindle editions go, $14 is a little on the steep side, but regradless, it's an excellent book if you want to look at WWII from a bit of a more analytical standpoint. Easy read, yet highly informative.