we want to learn more abt that period, especially ww2 (more as a hobby than for anything serious) but:
a) were bad at reading like, high-level/academic/dense stuff
b) most of the easy-to-read pop stuff is shit
so were looking for good works kinda in the middle, that have good or at least decent factual rigor but arent a slog to read. for a reference point, Richard Evans' 3rd reich trilogy felt easy enough to read and comprehend
not rly looking for memoirs or then-contemporary works/accounts, theres a million lists for those we can look at for suggestions
interwar stuff 100% included in scope
leftist/communist bent is good but absolutely not mandatory, but not looking for like, polemics (nothing wrong w polemics its just not very much what were looking for)
Hard to say if this quite what you're looking for, but the first thing that comes to mind is:
'The Myth of the Good War: America in the Second World War' by Jacques Pauwels
and while we're here he also wrote 'Big Business and Hitler' that I found pretty interesting
Doesnt sound exactly what were looking for, were looking for more, ig, narrative like works for lack of a better term; those 2 do sound good, we'll probably check them out
Those books also came to mind for me, also The Great Class War 1914-1918 by Jacques Pauwels covers WW1 (have not read yet so I can't say how much it is or isn't a slog)