Mr. Neal W. O'Connor's series "Aviation Awards of Imperial Germany in World War I and the Men Who Earned Them" (6 volumes published so far) is without a doubt the best that has been written on this subject in many, many, years.

The books are extraordinarily well written and contain hundreds of photographs, many of them published for the first time. From his extensive research in Germany and from the files of prominent collectors, the author presents an unparalleled wealth of information, most of which was previously unavailable to the general public.

If, for any reason, I were allowed to keep only few books in my life, I would definitely choose to keep Mr. O'Connor's series. If you are serious about WWI German Aviation, then get these books as soon as you can

Volume 2 of O'Connor's multi-volume work on Aviation Awards of Imperial Germany, deals with awards of the Kingdom of Prussia. As the premier state within the German Empire, Prussia made many of its orders and medals available throughout "Germany." The most famous awards, such as the Iron Cross and the Pour le Merite (Blue Max) are such high-profile awards, that Vol 2's histories of these awards, and biographies of many of the recipients, makes this book an excellent general history and reference for anyone's WWI book collection. O'Connor has included photographs of the various awards, and where possible photos of many of the recipients. In the case of the Blue Max recipients, their brief biographies often contain details of the deeds that 'won' them the coveted award. The book's appendices contain much statistical data as well.

This guide to Germany continues the Baedeker tradition and covers the country in depth from the North Sea and Baltic Coasts to the Bavarian Alps, guiding you through such cosmopolitan cities as Berlin, Bonn, Frankfurt and Munich, the historic towns of Worms and Ulm, the scenic calleys of Europe's great rivers, the Rhine, Main and Moselle, the islands of East Frisia, the picturesque Black Forest region and much, much more. Full color photos and maps. Facts and figures on history, art and language. A to Z coverage of places to visit and sights to see.

I have "Baedeker's Southern Germany" dated 1907 it is in excellent condition and has many folded maps within the book a great collectors addition.

As with all of Mr. Ludvigsen's works, "Battle for the Beetle" is expertly researched and elegantly written.

The book is notable for its collection of historic photographs, detailing not only the evolution of the Beetle itself, but also many other rear-engined automobile development efforts from the same time period. While Mr. Ludvigsen certainly delivers on the political intrigue promised by his book's title, he also does a wonderful job of helping us understand the societal context which caused the rear-engine movement to come into being; in this way the Beetle as a technological artifact is placed into its proper intellectual ecosystem, a more interesting viewpoint than the more common "design genius" mythology build up around its creator, Professor Porsche.

In fact, this is no mere buff book, but an important work in the study of society and technology and how complex technological artifacts come into being.

But don't get me wrong -- if you love cars, and especially if you love Beetles, read this book!

An outstanding account of the history of the Beetle, from the time of it's inception as the People's Car, to the decissions on what to do with the car and the plant which produced it. Mr. Ludvigsen provides an incredibly detailed account of the Beetle and the automobile of the '20s and '30s that influenced it and the world. A must read for history buffs and fans of the auto industry.

Martin Middlebrook's series of books is a must for anyone interested in the strategic bombing campaign over Germany in World War II. Although most of his books cover raids that did not go well for the Allies (Nuremberg, Schweinfurt-Regensburg, and the Battle of Berlin), this book covers one of RAF Bomber Commands biggest successes (the US Eigth Air Force also carried out daylight raids as part of the Battle of Hamburg but they were not so successful). Middlebrook explains how "everything came together" for the RAF, most especially the introduction of "Window" which rendered the German defenders' radar useless; and the weather which made the incendiary bombs particularly effective in starting massive fires which lead to the horrific firestorm that caused so many fatalities. Middlebrook not only describes the attacking force, but also the defensive measures taken on the ground by the Germans and the experiences of the civilian population caught up in this nightmarish experience.
The author points out that regarding the bomb-load mix in this raid, the ratio of incendiaries to high-explosive bombs was no different than usual and it was the combination of circumstances that lead to the massive destruction (incidentally-he also points out that the Germans used incendiaries in their bombing raids on London and Coventry in 1940 and 1941 so the RAF can not be blamed for starting this type of warfare)
This book, like his others, is highly recommended.

In late July and early August 1943 Bomber Command, with the cooperation of the USAAF, launched a series of heavy raids against the German city of Hamburg. The objective was to paralyse the city and demoralize its inhabitatants so that its role in the war effort would be diminished, if not nullified. The Battle is best remembered for the Firestorm that engulfed much of the eastern section of the city (after the second RAF raid) and resulted in the death of approximately 40,000 people, mostly civilians. For hundreds of thousands of survivors, the raids made the true horror of modern war a reality, and the city's industries in many cases were temporarily disrupted. But in the end, the raid was only a partial success in that the will of the German people was not broken and the city did continue (although to a lesser degree) play its vital role in the German war-effort. The Firestorm has since become a controversial subject, but it must be understood that it had not been the intended outcome, as has been suggested. While many of the bombers did drop incindiaries on the city, the proportion in relation to high explosive bombs was not much different from previous raids.

The Battle of Hamburg is what one expects from Middlebrook; extensively researched and relatively objective, it is written in a manner that allows the reader to get a fair sense of what the Battle had been like for the various participants and witnesses. It is a fascinating read and a truly important study of a pivotal phase in the Allied bombing campaign against the Third Reich.

This story of the Allied bombing of Hamburg, Germany begins 30 years before the actual attack with a description of the origin of stategic bombing. The book narrates the development of the technology that culminated in that nightmare of firestorm and destruction. It is also the story of the Allies's attempt to end the war by annihilating certain German cities.

On the night of July 28, 1943, a firestorm occurred, the result of the British "area bombing" method used in the attack on the city. The center of the storm, which covered a 4-square-mile area, is estimated to have reached a temperature of 800 degrees Centigrade. Survivors said the storm sounded "like the Devil laughing."

Middlebrook includes eyewitness accounts.American and British flyers described what they saw, heard and felt. German survivors describe the horrors they endured.

The author is a conscientious researcher and compassionate historian. He confronts issues that affect the political relationships of the USA, Britain and Germany; the bitterness that some Germans still harbor because of the bombing of residential areas, and the anger that victims of the Reich still have against the Germans. This book studies all viewpoints.

Books like THE BATTLE OF HAMBURG add valuable pieces to the puzzle of historical perpsective that we all need when we make political decisions at the ballot box.

Martin Middlebrook does his usual thorough research job, which includes excellent Order of Battle information, planning and operational details. Excellent diagrams for each raid shows where each aircraft was downed and where bombs were dropped. This is the story of four RAF and two USAF bomber raids on Hamburg between 25 July-3August 1943, in the first example of "round the clock bombing". This is also a useful case study to examine the British concept of night area bombing versus American daylight precision bombing. A total of 100 British aircraft were lost, as well as 552 airmen killed and 65 captured. The USAF lost 17 bombers in Hamburg raids, with 46 killed and 114 captured. The RAF dropped about 8,300 tons of bombs on Hamburg, the Americans about 300 tons.

These raids were unique in several respects. The first British raid used "Window" to successfully disrupt the German night-fighter defense. The second British raid created a firestorm that killed over 40,000 civilians in Hamburg. The two American raids were hampered by cloud cover and inflicted only minor damage on the U-Boat construction yards in the city. The Luftwaffe lost more than 13 aircraft defending the city and the defenses improved considerably in the course of just one week. Although the raids failed to disrupt U-Boat construction or erode German morale, Middlebrook feels that the raids did help to "grind" Germany down and force them to devote more resources to the defense of their cities. I find that Middlebrook's claims for the RAF bombing campaign somewhat exaggerated; they rarely bombed within 3 miles of their target and their bombers were shot down fairly easily (with few survivors).

There is a tremendous amount of detail in this volume which makes it well worth reading, even if aviation history is not one's primary interest. The full, ugly face of aerial bombing is also revealed, probably in more stark contrast than other works, since Middlebrook spends as much time describing civilians faced with firestorms as bomber crews going down. At the end, Middlebrook asks whether area bombing - specifically targetting civilian housing - was justified. His answer, that it was consistent with the mores and circumstances of the Second World War are somewhat questionable.

I loved the layout of the steins throughout the book. I wish there was much more color photos, to display the exemplary color and brillance of these collectibles. I hope there will be an updated catalog (which is a very detailed, several hundred paged, hardcover book) very soon. I admire the craftsmanship that dates back hundreds of years.

Beautiful illustrations throughout, price range included for all steins listed. Well worth the price. If you love steins, you can spend hours reading this book and you will refer to it often if you're a collector.

If you must have only one book on Berlin, this is it. Few cities have experienced the massive upheaval that Berlin has, and trying to compare and understand the pre-World War II city with that of today is often a frustrating labyrinth. Mark McGee's book offers clarity. While other books have a similar before/after format, McGee does it with greater clarity, superior images, and with a lively and informative text. I like that individual buildings are given a distinct section, as opposed to being scattered throughout. McGee's text offers plenty of pertinent information, as well as trenchant architectural criticism, and odd asides that are greatly enjoyable (commenting on the Potsdam rail station, McGee notes that the old graveyard in front of the station was paved over after the lease on the last grave expired). Yes, this book is a must for any reader interested in the architecture and urban planning of a unique city. All that is missing is a map highlighting the location of buildings detailed.

Mark R. McGee has assembled an impressive collection of photographs to demonstrate the changes that have occurred in twentieth-century Berlin. Any student of history will be interested to see the minute details captured in these images. The texts included with each sequence of photographs flesh out the history of this fascinating city.

I found this book very interesting from the point of view of this is what the German solder was reading and it helps to understand some of what they must have felt like going from being on top of the world to fighting to keep numerous armies out of their home land. What is interesting to do is to look through a volume such as this and then compare it to similar UK or US volumes; you will find many of the same topics and themes just with different titles. If you can find a copy I would suggest picking it up.

During the Second World War, each country had it's propaganda machine running in high gear. The purpose of which was to de-Humanize the enemy while reminding everyone of the good things about their own country. The United States had "Look" and "Life" magazines. The Germans had "Signal".

This book, and the others in this series of collections of Signal magazine articles, is an idealized view into the picture of German life painted by the ministers of propaganda. No serious collection of World War Two literature would be complete without at least some of the excellent S.L. Mayer books. I was so impressed with the books, I have donated two to the college library where I teach.

This is a very good read. The book tells the story as to how the press in the USA covered the Holocaust. In doing so it explodes a lot of myths concerning the alleged lack of knowledge about what was happening to the Jews. Newspaper after newspaper from The New York Times on down had articles about the persecutions and murders. Yet they were never emphasized properly and were often relegated to the back pages. Rarely did they ever make the front pages. It was almost as if the nation preferred not to know. Many factors contributed to this; anit-Semitism, isolationism, American skepticism. The American government also contributed to down playing the news. The three most prominent villains in this were: Assistant Secretary of State Breckinridge Long ( anativist), Assistant Secrteary of War John J. McCloy (who said that if the USA bombed Auschwitz the nazis would be "even more vindictive") and Congressman Sol F. Bloom who headed the House Foreign Affairs Committee (and was referred to by Stephen Wise as "the State Departments House Jew"). There were reporters who did their jobs well who constantly emphasized that anti-Semitism was a "raison d'etre" of National Socialism however they were in the minority. This book along with David S. Wyman's "The Abandonment of the Jews" are the two best books on the subject. William D. Rubinstein's "The Myth of Rescue" is a poorly written book that contradicts itself over and over again and is a book for peopel who think that FDR could do no wrong.

This book gives great insight into the way in which the American press treated the holocaust. While often overlooked, the press handled the holocaust in a manner that many Americans would be ashamed of today. This book is unique in that no other book i know of has delved as deeply into this area. In addition, Dr. Lipstadt is a truely unique and knowledgable expert on the holocaust.

if youre a Bf-109 fan, buy it. Good color drawings and great info.

This book details the Units like JGs 51,52 and 54 which flew the Messerschmitt fighter from the "Emil" to the final "Gustav" variants in combat against the Soviets from the massive Russian slaughter in Barbarossa 1941 to the Defeat of the Third Reich in 1945. The book details the aces of Gunther Rall(275 kills), Gerhard Barkhorn(301 kills) and Erich Hartmann(352 Kills). Who all scored the bulk of their amazing tallyings against the Red Air Forces. The last of four volumes in the Aces series on the Messerschmitt BF 109 in Luftwaffe service, this title includes all the high-scoring aces, and explains how the pilots achieved such overwhelimng scores.