The March to Victory: A Guide to World War II Battles and Battlefields from London to the Rhine

It's too bad this book is out of print, because I don't know of any other book like it. It's not only a good introductory history of World War II in Europe, but an invaluable battlefield guide. If you're going to take a tour of WWII battlefields in western Europe, buy this book. The driving directions are superb. However, the maps are somewhat sparse and some of the route numbers have changed since the book was published, so you'll need to buy a good road atlas. I gave the book four stars because of the maps and it just covers Britain and Western Europe, but not Italy.