Here's a suggestion for readers who enjoy historical novels and also like the WWII + 70 years realtime format. I happened upon a book called “The Rising Tide,” by Jeff Shaara, which follows the course of the war from North Africa in May 1942 to Italy in 1944. The characters are all real people, from Eisenhower and Rommel to enlisted tank crewmen and paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne. Shaara presents their stories as he imagines they saw things. The chapters are divided into sections that give the dates of the events covered, thus making it convenient to follow along with these threads. Shaara also wrote some books on the Civil War, including “Gods and Generals,” which was made into a movie. I haven’t read the book or seen the movie. The only other book by Shaara I have read is the sequel to “The Rising Tide,” which covers 1944 through D-Day and the weeks that followed.
The action in “The Rising Tide” begins on May 27, 1942 with Rommel’s breakthrough at Gazala. That’s about two weeks away.
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1942/may42/f14may42.htm
Americans read Japanese plans for Midway
Thursday, May 14, 1942 www.onwar.com
In Washington... The first indications of Japanese planning for an attack on Midway Island, in the Central Pacific, reach the code breakers.