Germany Books

The third in the author's trilogy on the 1813 campaign. He covers the entire period from September to December 1813, and in addition to Leipzig itself, he covers the battles leading up to it in Sept. and early Oct, the French retreat after the battle, the sieges of the fortresses incl Danzig, Glogau, Dresden, Magdeburg and numerous others, plus coverage of the Danes in December. Leipzig dashed the dreams of a French Empire when the armies of Prussia, Russia, Austria, and Sweden converged on Napoleon and his Grande Armee. It was the greatest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, so decisive it would be called "the Battle of Nations." Smaller countries like Poland and Saxony seemed to be submerged in the titanic struggle, and the battle shaped Europe for more than a century. Napoleon at Leipzig not only covers this pivotal battle, but also the maneuvers that led up to it and the retreat that followed. At Hanau, the Bavarians learned to their dismay that Napoleon was still the master of the battlefield. The book includes the campaigns of Marshal Davout in the north, and the fate of the besieged French fortresses. From glittering field marshals to ragged Cossacks, in massive battles or small skirmishes, we see the dramatic campaign unfold. George Nafziger s intensive research into the 1813 campaign shows how the finest general of all time was bought to bay. The greatest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, and the campaign that led up to it, is thoroughly studied for the first time in English in Napoleon at Leipzig
1996, hard bound in dust jacket, 7 1/2, x 10 1/2, 384 pages, numerous illus, maps, orders of battle, notes, index.

Leipzig is the greatest and biggest battle of all Napoelonic battles ever fought. This is a shame that only G. Nafziger wrote book about this epic battle. I like this book. The maps are fine, and the descriptions of the battles, including the Battle of Leipzig, are interesting. But this book is rather for Americans and Europeans, not for the British. They are interested only in Waterloo, and Peter Hofschroer. This book is also a big stuff for all wargamers.

This is part of a 3 part series on the 1813 Campaign...Mr. Nafziger has given us a detailed and well researched account of the campaign. This thoughtful book gives the best recent account of Leipzig available in English. It is unfortunate that this decisive campaign is not the subject of more books.

For those of you unfamiliar with George Nafziger's work he is meticulous in his research and detail...if he tells you a regiment is located in a certain place at a particular time you can pretty much take it to the bank. Unlike a lot of authors, Mr. Nafziger does the research and allows the facts to dictate the direction of the book...Having no axes to grind means that the information being presented will also be more balanced than you find in a lot of books as well.

Generally when I see a book by George Nafziger in the time period that I don't own; I get it...

Michael La Vean
Fellow, International Napoleonic Society

The second edition of NAZI GERMANY AND WORLD WAR II offers an articulate, balanced, comprehensive, and generously illustrated edition of the Third Reich from Hitler's birth in 1889 to the Nuremberg Trials in 1945-1946. The first six chapters deal with Hitler's rise to power and his regime's policies to the outbreak of war in 1939; the last five chapters detail the war and the Holocaust. As the title suggests, World War II, which is the logical outcome of Hitler's racial ideology and the central event of Nazi history (and of world history from 1939 to 1945) is given extensive coverage. The heart of the book is a well-told narrative that emphasizes political history and war, but there is enough interpretative and analytical material, as well as coverage of cultural, economic, intellectual, and social topics, to justify the book's description as a comprehensive survey.

The second edition, which incorporates the most current research and suggestions from students, colleagues, reviewers, and other readers, contains an extensively revised chapter on the Holocaust, highlighting recent controversial interpretations. Readers will find new material on popular support for and resistance to the regime's murderous racial policies and expanded coverage of the war, including the unprecedented massacres of soldiers and civilians on the Russian front,the deadly bombing of Germany, the Normandy invasion, the Battle of the Bulge, and the final destruction of the Third Reich. Excerpts from primary sources placed in text boxes--authentic, sometimes plaintive voices from the period, some from well-known figures but more from ordinary people, including children--are a completely new feature of the second edition.

Students and other readers, whose suggestions and enthusiastic reception of the book, have helped encourage me to write a second, and, I hope, improved edition. They reinforced my conviction that the story of Germany's descent into hell under the Hitler regime will always need to be told.

I have taken the class with Dr. Wall and the text is excellent. It covers and enormous topic in a concise and methodical way without being bogged down in infinite detail. It reads well and has a wealth of facts and data as well as a bibliography that is very thorough. Dr. Wall continues to be one of the finest teachers in the state of Colorado and an asset to his students. The finest compliment I can offer is that I kept the book after the class, adding it to my personal library of excellent works.

The second edition of NAZI GERMANY AND WORLD WAR II offers an articulate, balanced, comprehensive, and generously illustrated treatment of the Third Reich from Hitler's birth in 1889 to the Nuremberg Trials in 1945-1946. Although there is no formal division, the organization of the subject matter and the degree of coverage given each topic separate the book into two parts. The first six chapters deal with Hitler's rise to power and how his regime's policies changed German society to the outbreak of war in 1939. The last five chapters detail the war, the Holocaust, and the collapse of the "thousand year Reich." As the title suggests, World War II, which is the logical outcome of Hitler's murderous racial ideology and the central event of Nazi history (and of world history from 1939 to 1945) is given extensive coverage. The heart of the book is a well-told narrative that emphasizes political history and war, but there is enough interpretive and analytical material, as well as coverage of cultural, economic, intellectual, and social topics, to justify the book's description as a comprehensive survey.

The second edition, which incorporates the most current research and suggestions from students, colleagues, reviewers, and other readers, contains an updated bibliography and an extensively revised chapter on the Holocaust, which highlights recent controversial interpretations. Readers will find new material on popular support for and resistance to Hitler's murderous racial policies and greatly expanded coverage of the war, highlighting the unprecedented massacres of combatants and civilians on the Russian front, the deadly bombing of Germany, the Normandy invasion and the Battle of the Bulge, and the final destruction of the Third Reich. Excerpts from primary sources placed in text boxes--authentic, sometimes plaintive, voices from the period, some from well-known figures but more from ordinary people, including children--are a completely new feature of the second edition.

I was encouraged to write a second, and, I hope, improved edition by the unwavering support of the Wadsworth editorial staff and the enthusiastic reception of the first edition by students and other readers. They have reinforced my conviction that the story of Germany's descent into hell under the Hitler regime will always need to be told.

Contrary to the previous review, I think this book is full of excellent examples of how true Christians stood up to Nazi persecution. Many of these were given an opportunity by Nazi authorities to be released from the concentration camps, in return for a declaration to abandon their religion. However, most of those given this chance to escape chose to die with their beliefs rather than compromise. Additionally, there is excellent content on the silence of the Catholic church during the holocaust. This book is well worth the price.

If you are are a so called Christian, and your religion should be one of those covered by the author, with the exception of one, then a deep inward search of ones faith may be in order. Compromise, not Biblical steadfastness to written truth is the order of the day with most of those mentioned in the publication. And what did they compromise on? The absolute major teachings of the Bible, to simply save their compromizing churches. The Nazi's just loved these churches.

"The Nazi State and the New Religions: Fives Case Studies in Non-Conformity" by Christine Elizabeth King is a valuable resource for those studying how the Nazis handled minority religions. It will also be useful to those attempting to understand why some people can resist pressure and maintain their moral codes. The book describes how five smaller Christian sects handled the Nazis (Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists, Christian Scientists, the New Apostolic Church, and the Jehovah's Witnesses). Of the five, only one--the Jehovah's Witnesses--resisted the Nazis (although passively). One out of every two Witnesses was imprisoned, and one in four lost their lives. Yet, they continued promote their faith even in the camps.

The book explains how the other religions compromised to survive in the Reich, and how the Reich viewed each. King also provides useful background on organizations in the police state associated with religious oppression, and explains how international pressure and ideological interpretations affected the Nazis' behavior towards each group.

The history of the Witnesses suggests that compromises towards evil eat at the core of good ethics. The Witnesses, in contrast, would not compromise: "Witnesses, on the whole, unless they were tortured to the stage beyond which human judgment fails, were not confused, were never vacillating. They knew what was happening to them and they believed they knew why it was happening: death held no fear. Their uncompromising and unflinching attitude had brought them into the camps but it was this that sustained them, once there." (Chapter VI)

The book has an excellent end-notes section and a bibiography, as well as several useful appendices.

you would not read this book to understand nietzche's philosophy. it is not even clear to me why anyone needs to understand neitzche's philosophy. but lou salome is this crazy incredible lady. while married she become lovers with rilke and remained his intimate correspondent for all his life. she became intimate with nietsche. and later conquered freud, so to speak. so to me this book is an interesting artifact of this incredible woman's mind -- you don't read this book except as a way of knowing salome's mindfullness after rilke and nietzsche. that is, you read this book to learn something that you have to extrapolate from and fit into your life. it is not a passive reading. it is not school learning or becoming educated. it is trying to understand what sort of mind a woman would have that has done such gloriously free and courageous acts such as standing and lying toe2toe with three of the most visionary humanitarian thinkers -- it's an artifact. you read this to be your own archeologist into the human psyche. the content itself literally is of little interest if you want to become an expert in philosophical thinking in order to be a professional. this book isn't that at all. nobody would publish something like this today -- that is, without the hindsight of knowing who nietzsche and salome are now -- at the time this was published, that wasn't apparent, and without that apparentness, this book is no longer a kind of book our educated culture tolerates -- it is too subjective and does not follow any accepted rules of discourse that are recognized by our cultural canon. that is, you don't read this book for any of the reasons it was written or published. you read it because of who nietsche and salome turned out to be in terms of our intellectual flowering. of course, he was destroyed by his sister, who allowed the fascists to make shameful use of him the same way they made ill-use of evolution to justify genocide. you take nietzsche and darwin and if you are powerful enough you get 70-100 million dead without anyone believing they were not morally justified in their actions. nowadays, people seem to once again need religion to justify such pain and suffering for personal advantage. so i think everyone should buy this book and try to make sense of its author -- this is after rilke and N, but i think before freud. a snapshot of a brillian mindful woman articulating her extraordinary experiences ...

The German version of this book, published in 1894, about 108 years ago, was among the first books written about the books of Nietzsche. The photograph on the cover was taken in May, 1882 and a portion of it (as shown on p. 132) appeared in her book with the caption, "Friedrich Nietzsche, formerly professor and now a wandering fugitive" (p. ix), as Nietzsche had described himself in a letter to the third person in the picture in 1879, "referring to the severance from his ten-year position at the University of Basel." (p. ix). These people are all dead now. When she was 20, Lou wrote a poem "To Sorrow" (pp. xlviii-xlix) which praises it as "the pedestal for our soul's greatness." (p. xlix).

Lou reported a conversation about the changes in his life in which Nietzsche raised the question, "When everything has taken its course--where does one run to then?" and told her, "In any case, the circle could be more plausible than a standing still." (p. 32). She described his books as the product of "his last period of creativity, Nietzsche arrived at his mystical teaching of the eternal recurrence: the picture of a circle--eternal change in an eternal recurrence--stands like a wondrous symbol and mysterious cypher over the entrance to his work." (p. 33).

This book does not have an index, and the notes on pages 160-8 merely clarify a few things, such as the date of the letter from Nietzsche to Lou at the beginning of Part III Nietzsche's "System" on page 91 which Lou used without the final comment, "be what you must be." The possibilities might not be considered so great. "In that regard, if the sickliness of man is, so to speak, his normal condition or his specific human nature itself, and if the concepts of falling ill and of development are seen as almost identical, then we will naturally encounter again the already mentioned decadence at the culmination of a long cultural development." (p. 102). The ascetic ideal "is also a third kind of decadence which threatens to make the described illness incurable and threatens the possibility of recovery. And that form of decadence is embodied in a false interpretation of the world, an incorrect perception of life encouraged by that suffering and illness. . . . every kind of intellectualism extols thinking at the expense of life and supports the ideal of `truth' at the expense of a heightened sensation of living." (p. 103). "In respect to Nietzsche's own psychic problem, it is of less interest to determine correctly the historicity of master morality and slave morality than it is to ascertain the fact that in man's evolution he has carried these contrasts, these antitheses, within himself and that he is the consequent sufferer of this conflict of instincts, embodying double valuations." (p. 113). Ultimately, "Nietzsche's thought of the Dionysian orgy as the means for release of the emotions" (p. 127) are considered "the necessary conditions for the creative act out of which one shapes the luminous and godly." (p. 127). Nietzsche and Schopenhauer are tied to "the deeply pessimistic nature of the Greeks because their innermost life, as revealed through the orgiastic, was one of darkness, pain, and chaos." (p. 127). Art is the answer, here. "The highest or the most religious art is the tragic because within it the artist delivers beauty from the terrifying." (p. 128). Modern society can hardly be comprehended without accepting that much of what is popular is produced in the attempt to satisfy that desire for art.

To scholars and admirers of Nietzsche, Lou Andreas-Salome has always been seen as his Irene Adler, the intellectual equal who got way or was driven away, depending on one's point of view. Although their affair lasted for only a few months, it left an indelible mark on both, for it came at a turning point in Nietzsche's life where he would leave the realtively safe nests of academia and the Wagners for a peripatetic life in the Eupopean Alps.

Over the years we have heard from almost everyone who was anyone in Nietzsche's life, except Lou Salome. This makes the published reprint of her 1894 even more important for those involved in Nietzsche studies. To say that Salome brings a unique perspective to her work is a bit of an understatement, but those who simply expect this to be memoir of the man she knew will be, I think, somewhat joyfully disappointed. Instead she has written what well may be the first attempt to view the persona behind the works. After giving us an excellent analysis of Nietzsche's philosophy, she comes to the conclusion that perhaps Nietzsche's madness was the inevitable result of his philosophy. Was this, as Nietzsche's sister said, merely a fantasy of female revenge? Then simply compare the last page of her book with the events of Nietzche's last days in Turin, events which she cannot have known. Hers is a provactive and illuminating look at Nietzsche, made more powerful by the fact that she was first to the gate and that the strength of her book is the analysis, not the memories.

As with any book on Nietzsche that comes to us in a foreign language, translation is most important if we are to have not only a working understanding, but also a deeper understanding than we would ordinarily expect. That the translator should be the late Siegfried Mandel is only to the reader's advantage. His translation is crisp and clear. His excellent introduction makes it all the more clear to me that this man is, or should be at least considered, one of the formost Nietzschean scholars of his time. (For further reference, see his excellent "Nietzsche and the Jews.")

This is a book every serious student of Nietzsche should have in his or her library and a book that may contribute to a new vision of the tortured harbinger of the overman.

"Because both Nietzsche and Nazism are central to the twentieth-century experience and because both retain their symbolic explosiveness, the disputed nature of their relationship has become a defining part of the cultural and ideological landscape, one index to our perceptions of the modern world" (232). This brilliant quote provides in a nutshell the basic existential weight of Steven E. Aschheim's fascinating historiographical work concerning the many mis/uses of the work of Friedrich Nietzsche in Germany between 1890 and 1990. It has become customary - and for good reason, too - to see in Friedrich Nietzsche, the self-proclaimed "anti-Christ" of the late 19th century, a type of proto-Nazism, particularly in its glorification of aesthetics at the expense of any metaphysical notions of human dignity. Although this may - and perhaps even should - be the way that Nietzsche is thought of, Aschheim shows that it is by no means necessary that this should be the case. The book very much could have been titled "The Nietzsche Legacies in Germany 1890 - 1990".

St. Paul exhorted the early Christians to be "all things to all people". In what Nietzsche himself would likely consider a delightful twisting of Paul's words, we can truly write that Nietzsche was, after the time of his insanity (and even more so after his death), "all things to all Ubermenschen (overmen)". Briefly, Nietzsche proclaimed "the Overman" who would lead humanity to a more Dionysian (as opposed to more Christian) "humanity". He knew that some would consider him this great human-overcoming-of-humanity, but in his greatest (or at least most literate) work, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzsche denied it, painting himself as a type of proto-prophet, prophesying about the prophet who would truly point the way to the Ubermensch/Overman. This concept of the Overman - of being the Overman - seems to have caught on in Germany quite quickly.

Perhaps as with all religions - and it does indeed seem that there really was a type of Nietzschean religion (even temples dedicated to him were designed, but not built - there were as many interpretations of Nietzsche after his death as there were followers of Nietzsche. It seems that early on, he was the most popular among the avant-garde in Germany, but by first World War, he had become a household name. During the Great War, an Englishman even dubbed it the "Euro-Nietzschean War"; it appears that by this time Nietzsche was known internationally and his influence on the Germans just as much.

There is a type of subplot to this book, however, and that is the quest of certain Germans in the 20th century to subsume Nietzsche to a type of ahistoric German-ness: there were some, for instance, who would drawn a straight line from Martin Luther's longing for freedom to Friedrich Nietzsche's ultimate rejection of Christianity. The idea of a German religion and a German mysticism (which actually is at least as old Martin Luther, who polemically titled - against the Italians/Roman Catholics - a popular, anonymous, high medieval-era mystical work "The *German* Theology" - and it has been called this ever since). Thus, the book is true to its full title: this is the story of the competing legacies of Friedrich Nietzsche *in Germany*.

The Nazis do come in for treatment in the final quarter of the book; Aschheim notes the various ways in which they used a number of Nietzsche's themes while also, at the same time, found it necessary to explain away various statements in Nietzsche's writings that ran counter to their thought - especially his remarks about the stupidity of anti-Semitism. Within this hermeneutical conundrum emerged the Nazification of Nietzsche and their horrific usage of him against the Jews: by hating Christianity and seeing it as the product of Judaism, the Nazis claimed that they really were fulfilling Nietzsche's dreams of a world without the Church by first annihilating the Jews. Such logic - which only feels like a small stretch - causes one to wonder whether or not a text is not just the totality of its variations, but the totality of its readings as well. Can Nietzsche be blamed - at least in part - for the Holocaust?

But the book ends in cryptically Nietzschean mode, the man with his doppleganger, the light with its shadows: the question is unanswered. If any sense is to be made of it - a subtle sense, no doubt, nuanced and refined through repeated examinations - this is a fine place to start. The various types of Nietzscheanism discussed throughout the book are likely to leave many readers perplexed, for they could be as bewildering as they were socially and politically charged. But, speaking and writing are never neutral - and Nietzsche never intended to be, either.

I would like to maintain an absolute neutrality concerning the book, THE NIETZSCHE LEGACY IN GERMANY 1890-1990 by Steven E. Aschheim, Associate Professor of History at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1992, when this book was published. I would only wish to comment on a tiny point which concerns me greatly. The book provides a scholarly look at the manifold positions taken by those who have read Nietzsche and have expressed opinions regarding German nationalism, particularly regarding Zarathustra in the trenches in World War I, the Third Reich, National Socialism, and Nazism. Notes are at the bottom of each page, but many names and a few topics can be located in the book by using the index on pages 331-337. The index has three minor entries for music. In this season, I am concerned about music as a form of artistic expression which allows someone to communicate a message that surpasses logical forms. Overall, Nietzsche might be associated with a form of transcendental irony that throws in comments about music whenever philosophy seems to be missing the boat on which he would like to embark. A quick look in the index of THE BIRTH OF TRAGEDY establishes that Nietzsche wrote about German music and German songs in sections 19, 23, and 24 in the first edition of 1872, and even more aptly in sections 6 and 7 of the "Attempt at a Self-Criticism" added at the beginning of that book (BT) in 1886.

"But let the liar and the hypocrite beware of German music: for amid all our culture it is really the only genuine, pure, and purifying fire-spirit from which and toward which, as in the teaching of the great Heraclitus of Ephesus, all things move in a double orbit: all that we now call culture, education, civilization, must some day appear before the unerring judge, Dionysus." (BT, section 19, Tr. by Walter Kaufmann, p. 120).

Nietzsche thought the key to culture was in its highest form, "if only it can learn constantly from one people--the Greeks, from whom to be able to learn at all is itself a high honor and a rare distinction." (BT, p. 121).

In 1918, Ernst Bertram's NIETZSCHE: AN ATTEMPT AT A MYTHOLOGY appeared in Germany. In it, Nietzsche's analysis of German spirit as a link to the primitive spiritual power which Nietzsche expected music to express, seriously opposes a pallid form of civilization:

"The identity of music and Germanism which the young Nietzsche sensed everywhere enabled him to perceive this Germanism as the most serious and eternal opponent of everything that was mere civilization. ... (The idea of the polarization between civilization and culture is as typically Nietzschean as it is typically German.)" (Aschheim, p. 150).

As an American, I am more likely to associate rock 'n' roll with an ability to assert ultimate values, but the need for an intellectual analysis of the difference between rock's potential and the dominance of commercial forms acceptable within modern society seems to be the same as Nietzsche's preference for Dionysian ideals "at a time when the German spirit, which not long before had still had the will to dominate Europe and the strength to lead Europe, was just making its testament and abdicating forever, making its transition, under the pompous pretense of founding a Reich, to a leveling mediocrity, democracy, and `modern ideas'!" (BT, SC section 6, p. 25).

My inability to derive any larger message from THE NIETZSCHE LEGACY IN GERMANY 1890-1990 is probably due to the intellectual seriousness of this book, in which countless thinkers find themselves in a political situation which suffers from great shifts almost yearly, if Thomas Mann, DIARIES 1918-1939, as quoted on page 149 of this book, is a good indication. I would prefer to picture the German people being led more dimly, subject to a vast fraud, constantly trying to do the impossible, orchestrated from on high by someone more powerful than Richard Wagner. But in my book, instead of being serious politics, it would be a joke, like reading `The Onion' or watching news on the Comedy Channel.

Like the battle for the body of Patroclus, conflicting interpretations of Nietzsche are strewn across the twentieth century, leaving few proofs of a triumph of the will. Between the irrationalism indicted by Lukacs and the vigorous liberal depicted by Kaufmann, we are still in search of Nietzsche. The work of Kaufmann,especially, was a critical first step to any reevaluation of this legacy. Yet its perspective fails to completely account for the record and the shadow behind the man, now too often exempted of the implications of his own savage eloquence. This work is a corrective and traces the whole history of the question from the 1890's onward, and resummons the grim stages of Nietzsche's appropriation by preposterous figures of all hues. From the not-so-discrete Nietzscheanism of the avant-garde to the Zarathustra in the trenches of World War I to the phantom of the opera during the Third Reich the horrific travesties seem too recurrent to release their author from all complicity, even as they leave the deeper Nietzsche intact. It is difficult not to swing between extremes of interpretation here, and the book carefully constructs the middle ground, as we pass on and say goodbye to all that.
The book details that several hundred thousand copies of Zarathustra were printed for distribution to the soldiers in the trenches during Great War. One can begin to deduce the rest from that.

I read this book with intensity, and believe me I don't read very much. I never understood the complexity or the intensity of WWII until I read this book.
I am a navy sailor and I have spent most of my time not realizing what that ment. I read this book after 9/11 and it helped me understand the sevarity of war and how tragic it is.
And even though it might be thought that I have a biased opinion towards my father's book, this is one that you will not put down!

Some books of this type are tedious and rehash the same stories of an awful time in our recent history. I began this reading with reservations, but immediately found it not only an easy read but a page turner. Being written in the first person gives life and excitement to what could have been just another story. This book puts you there. You feel their anxiety. You experience their near hopelessness and rejoice in their triumph. This is a must read for anyone.

David's story starts on the day the German army attacked Poland at the beginning of World War II. It chronicles one man's struggle to save his family from the Nazis and the heroic efforts he made to save hundreds of other people in the process. David never stopped believing in life and he never stopped believing in God. Through every twist and turn first, while hiding from the Nazis then in the Warsaw Ghetto and finally in Bergen Belsen his quick thinking kept his family safe.

You will not put this book down until David's final liberation. This book is a tribute to his zest for life. Through all the death and destruction David never lost his faith.

David Gilbert is a true hero. His story makes personal what now seems so far removed. It should be read by all those who want to learn from the inhumanity of the Nazi era. This book should be required high school reading. David's story is about life and one man's triumph over incredible odds.

The glorious work of Leni Riefenstahl (admit it: love her or hate her, she is incredibly gifted as a photographic artist!!) is shown off on the printed pages of this impressive edition. Fans of her films will love it...sports fans will love it...anyone impressed by the beauty of the human form will love it. You must fall into at least one of those categories, eh? A treasure for your library!

I read "Olympia", so to speak, with greatest pleasure--for this is really a picture-book of the most exquisite kind and, like the best of them, one that can be enjoyed by adults as well as children. It is made of stills from the film "Olympia" directed by the German woman Helene (Leni) Riefenstahl, which is of course about the 1936 Berlin Olympiad. As well as being a filmaker, Leni was a dancer, mountaineer, skier, and actress, all of which gave her a great understanding of the primary subject-matter shown in "Olympia"--the art of the moving human body. Though this artist has been much slandered by many a critic, her film is a festival of beauty and nations, lauding the aesthetics, athletics, and daring of mankind no matter the race, religion, or creed. I have seen the film, and can attest that this book gives a fine and thorough overview thereof, doing justice not only to one of the finest films ever made, but also to art, life, and humanity

In the 1937 preface to the first edition of this book, Leni Riefenstahl remarked 'it is the timeless document of a great idea -- a hymn to beauty and competetive endeavour.' Sixty-five years later, the graceful images of athletes competing in the 1936 Berlin games has more than withstood the test of time and validated Riefenstahl's original estimation of this work's ground-breaking importance, not only as a document, but as an exercise in the aesthetics of the idealised beauty of the human body in movement.

Leni Riefenstahl was something of a Renaissance woman: Photographer, motion picture director, editor, dancer, skier, and all-around athlete, no one could have been a better match for documenting the 1936 Olympics on film, from which stills were culled to create this volume. True to the spirit of Ancient Greece, it is fitting that it was captured on silver nitrate by this gifted cinematographer christened Helene (her birth name, for which 'Leni' is a German nickname).

Actually, the term 'stills' does injustice to the photographs contained with -- so alive are they, capturing the essence of athleticism and motive power.

The beginning of the book is devoted to Ancient Greece, and documenting the ruins which monumentalise her greatness: The Parthenon, Myron's discus thrower, the gods, such as Apollo and Achilles. Riefenstahl has brought many of the famous statues of athletes alive, as she photographs naked men and women engaged in the ancient sports, such as the javelin throw, the shot put, eurythmics, dance and the discus throw. Her athletes epitomise the grace, sensuousness and taut, muscular efficiency of the male and female bodies.

Another striking sequence is of the young Greek torch bearer, who ignites the torch at Athens and delivers it on his long route through Thermopaylae, the Grecian shore, Delphi and Corinth. The poise and determination in the runner's body and eyes convey the Olympic spirit with the same glowing certitude as the eternal flame, which the runner holds aloft like a beacon in the night.

Once in Berlin, the bulk of this volume is dedicated to the athletes themselves. Leni's cameramen captured all the events, and some of the images are just astounding for their sense of motion and eloquent simplicity of composition. Among my favourites are: p. 60, the Flame from Greece, which shows a German youth standing before the crowd of athletes, holding the flame erect before lighting the stadium torch; p.62, Start of the 80 meter hurdles, as seen from the timekeeper's point-of-view, the lines demarcating the oval track's lanes sweep into a bird's eye view of the pensive hurdlers as they await the starter's gun; p. 68, Jesse Owens in the starting blocks, the great athlete is the very embodiment of concentration; pp. 98, 99, German Gisela Mauermayer, discus thrower, shows the female athlete in motion, and in joyous release on her way to the gold medal; p. 137, shadows of marathon runners, which convey the fleeting rush of the events; p. 247, finale, which shows the Berlin Olympicstadion encircled by pillars of searchlights just before the flame is extinguished.

'Olympia' is, to me, the greatest expression of graceful motion ever captured by a photographer. A tone poem for camera, these images better convey the concept of motion than 99% of the movies today, which are motion pictures in name only.

This is a very inspirational book of faith in action. Maria the mother is so concerned for her 4 children and husband as WWII breaks out in Germany. The family are Christian and they are against the NAZI party views. They continue to resisit joining even though it would make like easier as in more food etc.

This is a family who pray together each day and believe that God indeed hears and answers their prayers. Her worst fears start to come true as her husband is called to duty to serve the "Fatherland". With much prayer he is thankfully assigned to the Red Cross Hospital in their own town and he drives an ambulance. Much safer than a front line assignment.

Their oldest son Reinhold is drafted at the age of 17 and sent to training. He is then immediately sent to the infantry. He had at times during his life adopted some NAZI views as he and his brother Kurt were required to attend Hitler Youth. Things change along the way which I will not tell you all the details.

This family lives thru almost total destruction of the town. There are injuries along the way but God was faithful to protect them during the entire war.

The story is told by Helmut the youngest boy. His sister Ruth brother Kurt helped fill in the places and events before his birth.

I highly recommend this book. Although it takes place at one of the worst times in history it leaves you with a deeper faith and trust in God.

This vivid story of life in Germany during the worst part of its history is told by one who lived through it. Memories of that awful period in human history are fading fast as those who experienced it are dying. This page in human history should not be forgotten. The book is especially timely in the light of the war in Iraq. This is not a story of battles but of the day-to-day life of a Christian family during the time when Hitler and his minions ruled Germany. The Ziefle family held fast to their Christian faith in the face of danger and ridicule. The book recounts their walk of faith day by day. They suffered both physically and emotionally, especially during the five years Reinhold, the eldest son, was a prisoner of war despised for being part of Hitler's army. It is a reminder of how to live one's faith in the midst of opposition and threats. Sharing this family's experience is helpful in thinking about what is going on and will go on in Iraq as the people there learn to live with the effects of war.
Georg and Maria Ziefle had four children, Reinhold. Kurt, Ruth, and Helmut.
Both Reinhold and Kurt served in the German army. Ruth under took many daring adventures to care for the family and its needs. Georg was not forced into the army because of his work for the Red Cross and the fact that he was disabled from World War I. Maria and she narrowly escaped being forced into service of the German war machine. Their faith was tested many times but they all survived the war and lived productive lives after the war. Helmut, who wrote the account from his memories and with the help of his siblings, spent many years as a professor at Wheaton College.

This is a timely book for today. Maria Ziefle was a strong Christian woman, and was very concerned about the Nazi influence on her family. As they dealt with the Hitler Youth, Nazi neighbors, the draft, horrors of war, pressures from "the Party", the heartache of seeing so much wickedness, and so much more, Maria prayed that their family would remain alive and faithful to God.

Today in America we do not live with the horrors the Ziefle family faced. But as our culture becomes more Godless, our children can innocently be drawn into it, just as Kurt was attracted to the Hitler Youth. Parents must be vigilant in prayer and in teaching their children what is good and right and honoring to God. This woman's story will be an encouragement for many parents. Especially as the book was written by her son.

Everything was not ideal in the Ziefle family. Georg was not the family's spiritual leader; his wife was. Everyone may not agree with certain stands they chose to make, but ideal families exist only in fiction, and to agree with everything in a book, we must write it ourselves.

Many photographs are included throughout the book of the people and places described. The story unfolds in an easy way, although the events make for less than easy thoughts as we comfortably read about the Ziefle's struggles. The war is not the focus, but rather the experiences of a Christian German family who did not support the Nazis. Readers of all ages will enjoy this biography, but parents in particular will be blessed by the account of a woman who fought for her family.

Where was the most successful amphibious operation of World War I? Was it in Turkey, German East Africa, or maybe Estonia?

In the first amphibious assault of the war (1914), a large British Indian Army attempted a landing at Tanga, German East Africa that ended in disaster. Winston Churchill's Gallipoli Campaign (1915) is regarded as a symbol of military incompetence and calamity resulting in 141,113 Allied casualties.
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Author Michael B. Barrett's "Operation Albion: The German Conquest of the Baltic Islands" brings to light an amazing, completely overlooked campaign so completely atypical to the ubiquitous World War I trench war narrative we are so accustomed to.

"In October 1917, an invasion force of some twenty-five thousand soldiers of the German XXIII Reserve Corps, accompanied by a flotilla of 10 dreadnaughts, 350 other vessels, a half-dozen zeppelins, and 80 aircraft" set out for the Gulf of Riga.

Operation Albion's objective was the capture of Russian controlled Baltic Islands, near Riga, and uncomfortably close to Russia's capital, St. Petersburg. Why were the Baltic Islands an attractive target for Germany? Dr. Barrett reveals, "The Germans hoped their seizure would be the final blow to a Russian seething with revolutionary discontent, and even if the loss of the islands did not lead to immediate capitulation, capturing them would breach the Russian defenses and doom St. Petersburg."

Dr. Barrett's meticulously researched and finely written book draws on new material recently made available from Russian archives.

This well- constructed narrative lets the reader eavesdrop on meetings as the Germans carefully planned their invasion of the Baltic Islands. "What is astonishing," cites the author, "is that Operation Albion was conducted by military forces with no experience in either amphibious or joint warfare."

The author takes us inside the "kriegsspiel" where the commanders carry out their final war game rehearsal of Operation Albion. Dr. Barrett does a fine job presenting the myriad issues German planners faced.

The success of the invasion depended on careful coordination of landings, bombardments and timely seizure of key positions. Much of the German time- table hinged on Russia's slow initial reaction and, always, there was the incessant threat of mines. Naval planners agonized over how minesweepers would quickly carry out their vital work without detection.

German battleships were assigned the bombardment of fortifications and shore batteries. Quickly, assault troops were to be ferried ashore in torpedo boats and motor launches. Local artillery support for the landings was to be supplied by 88mm and 105mm guns aboard the torpedo boats.

In good weather, aircraft based from a seaplane tender would provide air cover and reconnaissance.

Among the planners, there was much apprehension about possible interference from a squadron of British submarines known to be operating from the nearby Finland coast.

The bulk of the chosen German infantry were bicycle troops. Their speed would be critical in cutting off Russian troops attempting to retreat off Osel island's west causeway and escape to the Estonian mainland.

As Dr. Barrett's book makes clear, the command structure for such a complex, unique joint services operation was difficult to resolve. Differing army and navy officers, government officials, and royalty contended for the prestigious leadership positions. When even the Kaiser's brother, Prince Henry, sought the assignment, the Head of the Navy Cabinet, embarrassed the Kaiser by stating the "Prince did not possess the necessary qualifications."

Dr. Barrett systematically details the Russian's defensive plan on each island, pointing out unit strengths, fortifications, trench lines, road- blocks, and the disposition of artillery pieces as well. The author discloses, the Russian ground commander, Rear Admiral Sveshnikov, intended to concentrate troops at the few landing zones, then conduct a delaying action by taking advantage of dense forests and bogs, and mainly defending road junctions and choke points.

The Russian naval defenses featured two pre-dreadnaughts and two cruisers along with many smaller warships. It was hoped that carefully positioned minefields would keep German battleships from coming close enough to bombard the fortifications. Long- range shore batteries protected the minefields from German minesweepers.

Historian Paul Halpern described the defensive naval plan Russia implemented as "a form of naval trench warfare, with the ships sheltering behind the minefields and coordinating their fire with the powerful coastal batteries."

The author insightfully notes, that the Russians had long expected a German attack on the Baltic Islands. Russian spies quickly detected the frenzied marshalling of forces taking place in the assembly ports. They evidently had expected the attack almost 20 days before hand. "Exhausted by the constant vigilance, however, the Russians finally lowered their guard." Dr. Barrett explains. At that point, the Germans launched their last military operation in the East during the First World War.

In Chapter Five, the author skillfully narrates the fight for Osel, Moon, and Dago Islands. Quickly moving German bicycle troops raced to take key positions before panicky Russian army units could effectively react. The two fleets engaged in cat-and-mouse naval actions in the shallow, mine-filled, surrounding waters.

To what extent did Russian submarines, minefields, and surface units seriously disrupt the German naval operations?

Did Russian officers rally their mutinous troops to throw back the German invasion?

Would the German Navy's zeppelins and powerful battleships corner and annihilate the Russian fleet?

Could trapped Russian army units -- backed up by heavy artillery and armored cars -- brush aside the lightly armed German bicycle troops blocking the strategic Osel causeway and escape to the Estonian mainland?

Ultimately the reader will find out if the Germans were able to deliver "a crushing blow" that would knock Russia out of the war.

"Operation Albion: The German Conquest of the Baltic Islands" contained 9 excellent indispensable maps and 37 interesting photographs (including 6 of rare naval actions). This solid and authoritative book will appeal to anyone interested in World War I, naval operations and military history.


About the author

Michael B. Barrett is Professor of History at the Citadel and Brigadier General (retired), U.S. Army Reserve. Prof. Barrett graduated from The Citadel in 1968 with honors and a degree in Modern Languages (German). He was also a Distinguished Military Graduate. He did his M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Massachusetts and had a Fulbright Scholarship to Germany for dissertation research.

His most recent publication is a book titled "Operation Albion: The German Conquest of the Baltic Islands", from Indiana University Press. He is currently working on a history of the Austro-German Campaign in Romania, 1916. He lives in Charleston, South Carolina.

Iy is an out standing history of one of the most unknown but sucessful amphibious operations of World War I. The author did a fantastic job of making it interesting reading. Highly recommended to any person who is interested in World War I.

I may be wrong, but I believe this is the ONLY book-length work in English that contains more than a passing mention of the German conquest of the Baltic Islands. It is certainly the definitive work as all other works devoted to this operation are reasonably short articles in journals. A very great bonus to this obvious reason for reading this book is that it is very well written, accompanied by maps that materially assist in following the campaign, and structured so that the reader's questions are usually answered before they are formulated.

I will not attempt to revisit the ground covered by the lengthly review by ML Shakespeare, but wish to note that this work could not have been written until after 1990 when the Soviet/Russian primary sources began to become available. The author has made superb use of those sources, marrying them up with the German naval sources, and delivering an outstanding work.

An additional point is that the availability of this book in 1941 might have materially aided the US Navy and Marines in constructing an effective tactical doctrine for amphibious invasions of hostile territory. Instead, the US planners studied the failed Gallipoli campaign and attempted to construct plans to avoid Hamilton's mistakes. The African assault was ignored as irrelevant and adding nothing beyond what could be learned from Gallipoli. Unfortunately, there was much to be learned from the German Albion operation, but US planners were almost totally devoid of information concerning its details.

If the reader is interested in amphibious operations, the number of contested assault landings in history that were successful before World War II can be counted on one hand. Albion is by far the most relevant and should be seen as the direct forerunner to the Marine landing at Guadacanal (unopposed) and the Torch landings in North Africa.

In short, this is a seminal and definitive historical work on a previously ignored and almost unknown military campaign. I recommend that all interested parties reading this review BUY and READ this book.

Luigi Albertini's magnificent history of the origins of World War I ought to be required reading for anyone wishing to debate this fascinating subject intelligently. Enigma (whoever they are) has performed a stellar service in publishing a paperback edition this year. Used copies were going for over $1000.

The three volumes are each over 700 pages, but make for riveting reading. The question of the responsibility for the outbreak of this disastrous war is probably the greatest whodunit in European history. I don't think I'm giving anything away to say that two and a half decades before Fritz Fischer, Albertini fingered the Germans. His evidence, in the end, is overwhelming. (Different responses by England and Russia could have altered the course of events in July, naturally.)

Albertini was an influential Italian newspaper editor and senator until ousted by Mussolini. He observed events in 1914 as a political insider, knew many of the protagonists, and was able to interview a number of them after the war. He had another advantage: by the time he completed the book, the diplomatic papers of each of the combatants had been published in their entirety, the memoirs had been written, the charges and counter-charges issued and disputed, etc. There is naturally more coverage of the Italian role in the crisis than in other studies, but the book is so well written (in Isabella Massey's splendid translation) that even readers not interested in Italy's response to its allies' machinations are likely to find these chapters engrossing.

The re-publication of this book is especially valuable because of the curious persistence of revisionist myths from the 1920s. The idea of collective guilt--that the nations of Europe "slithered into war," in Lloyd George's phrase--is not only attractive to ideologues on both the Left and Right, for various reasons, but continues to appeal to people wishing to think of themselves as compassionate and non-judgmental. Unfortunately, it was not abstractions like imperialism, militarism, nationalism, capitalism, or "secret diplomacy" that were responsible for the conflict, but the decisions of a few individuals in Germany who either wished to wage a preventative war or were willing to risk war to achieve a diplomatic coup.

Albertini does not spare the other parties to the conflict, however. He exposes the incompetence, myopia, and malfeasance in all the European capitals deftly and pitilessly.

Grey, the British Foreign Secretary, and Bethmann Hollweg, the German Chancellor, are sometimes depicted as the tragic figures of the crisis. Albertini will have none of this; he is quite critical of each. Some of the more sympathetic characters are actually the German ambassadors to the Entente countries, particularly Lichnowski in London-humane and civilized men appalled at the instructions they were receiving from Berlin. One of the things the book does so well is to expose the rivalries and animosities within the governments of the countries involved in the crisis.

Though I've not yet had a chance to look at this edition, I'm sure Samuel Williamson's introduction is illuminating.

Like other WW I history buffs, I had long searched for Albertini's legendary work. Used copies of the three volume set I found on the net were both incomplete and too expensive. It was with great pleasure that I saw the Enigma Press reissuance of this work offered through the History Book Club for only $45.00. To my great disappointment, the newly released work was riddled with typographical errors of the most disconcerting kind: sentences running together for lack of periods; numbers inserted into words; incorrect spacing withing words and between words in sentences; incomprehensible symbols for times and dates. Every page of this work is riddled with incomprehensible errors. This new and updated version is also an example of false advertising since there is no new information or interpretation of Albertini's research or his own role during the war. Because my search for any usable copy of this book was so extensive and frustrating, I have decided to hold on to this wretched reissuance rather than use it to wrap dead fish.

This work has been out-of-print too long. It is THE work on the origins of WWI, and a must for the serious bookshelf. I first read this some years ago from the library, and have been searching for it since at reasonable cost -- and here it is.

It's long, it's detailed. But I know of no other book, and there are a number of admirable ones, that provides as complete a picture of this subject. Some examples. Frequently overlooked is the factor of Italy, it's drive for territory in N. Africa, and it's conflict w. Turkey over Greek islands immediately preceding WWI. From this we can see that much of this policy carried over into the inter-war era and was not entirely a creation of Mussolini. Albertini's long-running discussion of Austria's possible drive to the Black Sea, and it's attempts to block Serbia from the Adriatic through Montenegro are enlightening as a backdrop for conditions in the Balkans today. And the recent, and continuing, conflicts in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Serb relations with Montenegro and Albania are all pre-figured here beginning in the 19th century. And then there's the Sanjak of Novibazar -- too much to detail here.

There are few books I could as highly recommend.