Recommended Pre-reading and Pre-viewing

I have decided to take a new approach to my upcoming travels. Along with reviewing the standard travel guides ad nauseam I am now trying to focus all of my readings (and a lot of film viewings) on whatever area / trip is next on my list. I am not a particularly fast reader so I am trying to do research before I choose the books and have used my local library to a great extent checking out films and books on the subjects. So that you all won't have to scour through posts to find my recommendations I am setting up a new section on the left side of my blog (drop-down menu on mobile devices) which provides links to each book and movie through Amazon for you to read the synopsis / see if they strike your fancy. Ultimately, you can probably find most of my recommendations at your own library or through some streaming platform.

There isn't a completely strict criteria to my selections but more or less I am trying to read and watch things with some sort of cultural significance to the area, whether it be a movie which is filmed in the area or a book about the area (fiction or non-fiction).

Incidentally, amidst taking this approach I have been slowly but surely cleaning out the closets in my house (to get rid of things which have only gathered dust for years) and found a bunch of magazines and newspapers I inherited from my grandparents from the World War II era. Seeing that my upcoming trip to Munich in March is essentially based upon my son's desire to see World War II locations this definitely falls in line with my blog. I have posted some photos of headlines and whatnot for your viewing pleasure. At some point I hope to read the newspapers from cover to cover just to see what information was conveyed to the public while we were neck deep in the war.

I have already posted a few books I have read (and recommend) in relation to my forthcoming Munich trip (which will also include day trips to Salzburg and Nuremburg) and will continue to add to my list as I get through books and films. I also plan on adding some recommendations for past places I have visited so keep an eye out for updates. As always, I am very interested to get your thoughts on anything I post / anything I recommend.