HTA (history teachers assoc.) is fantastic for modern as an overview...for individual topics ie- indochina- sutherland and harpur are interesting (harpur does the HTA lectures in syd). For germany, McCallum is good for flow charts etc....umm as a source for wider reading, shirer's the rise and fall of the third reich is very interesting and great to reference for historiography purposes..
For leni riefenstahl, i read a biography by steven bach which i found easy to read/remember. for ww1 i used a McAndrew text, it wasn't really that flash hot but i havent been able to get a hold of much better
for english i strongly recommend NOT getting Top notes books as they are full of gramatical errors, are hastily put together, and very unsophisticated. I dont think its a great idea to get any textbooks for english because the markers look for originality, and the bttom half of the students are likely to regurgitate the ideas out of the books....just sayin