Germany Books

If you're looking to learn about Nazi Germany this book is a great introduction. Clear and easy to read without being dumbed down. Treats the subject very thoroughly, for example starting with German history in the 1800s and relating how this helped lead to the Nazis. A lot of information is covered but the treatment is lively and not dry. For the non-expert, this is highly recommended.

this is an excellent introduction to nazi germany for the novice. there are so many books on the subject that someone who wants to start learning this can be overwhelmed. well, you don't need to be! start here! this book starts off as to how germany became a country and little wars here and there. next, it carries you into world war one. then, you really get into the nazi germany information. the book carries you into world war 2 and to the downfall of the nazis. finally, it closes with the nurenberg trials. these chapters and in manageable chunks. there, you'll get a basic, overall theme of the beginnings of germany and nazi germany. plus, you get maps! unlike the idiots guide to world war 1, which is another excellent overview of that war. that is recommended as well.

Excellent and fair treatment. Shows how Hitler persecuted, imprisoned, tortured and killed not only Jews, but also Christians.

Hitler despised Christianity and Christian morals--far preferring the warlike Islam, Japan's emperor worship, and pre-Christian germanic paganism. Although he himself did not believe in any religion, he wished to utilize religion in his pograms and even tried to create a new cult with himself as the object of worship.

Atheist/Socialist/Humanist/Darwinist leaders were responsible for more deaths during the past century than all of the so-called "religious wars" of all previous centuries combined.

This is a very complete summary for anyone interested in pursuing a study in Nazi Germany. It covers a lot of ground with a small number of pages. Important dates and events are all summarized as well as major characters in history. The only problem with this book is that the levels of detail regarding really important scenes in history are only touched on briefly. However, this is understandable since the author had to cover numerous events with a small number of pages. The book serves as a solid work that gives you a complete but general idea as to what happened in Nazi Germany. Serious historians or readers are encouraged to pick up books and other references that focus on specific aspects of history mentioned briefly here. You will know after reading this book whether or not you would like to pursue your studies in this field and what specific areas you may want to focus your studies on.

This book pulls no punches in explaining the rise of Nazism, exploring German history in a compelling way. This author has no axes to grind. This is must reading for anyone who wants to understand the way Adolf Hitler and National Socialism came to power. You know the old saying -- about those who don't understand history being doomed to repeat it.

For most, Charles Dickens is the only source we've encountered regarding the awful human misery of the early industrial revolution. However, Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx reported on it, too. Indeed, most of their criticisms were far more applicable to the raw capitalism of contemporary England than their native Germany.

Engels stayed in Manchester, the premier industrial city of the time, during the early 1840's to research his book. And he produced a devastating indictment of the truly miserable and life-threatening living conditions he found. Unlike Marx, Engels had a pronounced flair for writing; he makes it a fascinating, eye-opening journey back through time.

The topics he includes cover: struggling labor movements, the denigrating effects of immigration on domestic workers (due to competing subsistence-cost labor), the ignorance and crippling of child workers, the sexual exploitation of women workers, the displacement of male heads of household by lower-cost and more pliant women/children, the unbelievable filth and subhuman housing conditions workers endured, the dangerous and unhealthy working conditions of miners/factory workers, rampant substance abuse, doping of children by babysitters, the total lack of legal redress for the poor, the displacement of labor by machinery, and the role of unbridled competition in perpetrating economic distress.

While we all know communism has failed, its rise was due to these very real and serious problems, some of which remain with many Western workers today. And most of these conditions do very much persist in emerging economies right now. So, even though the book is well over 150 years old it is still highly valid!

The main fault of course with Marx/Engels' communist philosophy is that ALL humans are greedy and lazy - it's just that the clever ones (whether they originate from 'bourgeous' or 'working' classes) will always exploit the others. And it doesn't matter whether the system is capitalist or communist - those at the top will always exploit those below for personal advantage. Probably the best response has been the progressive social reform in Western nations over the last 100 years. (Revolutions and dictatorships usually only lead to mass murder.)

This chilling book is the real-life Oliver Twist exposed.I think Fredrick Engels wrote this book,in part to clear his conscious.And largely, to shed light on the fetid ,wretched underbelly of the 19th century industrial-age society.The nameless toilers working ten to twelve hour shifts,in a factory operation they had no vote or control over.Marx and Engels had many valid arguments for improving the workers lives.Did their end-results justify their means of social revolution? Engels would be amazed at the former textile towns,like Manchester,absorbing the large influx of Asians,Moslims and Africans today.It is still being debated,whether history has proven Engels & Marx right.This book is still a historical classic,thats presumptive findings give the modern reader,reason to pause. So,look all around you. -A Great Book !

Fabuous book. Engels wrote this when he was only 24- and what a tour de force.

The work is detailed, beautifully observed and elegantly written. Despite the depressing nature of the subject matter, the tone is always possible about a better world beyond the evils of capitalism.

Unfortunately 150 years after this masterpiece was written things dont seen to have gotten better under capitalism. Rather, the old evils of poverty, infectious diseases, starvation have been replaced by the modern evils of capitalism: obesity, alienation, mass materialism, depression, plunging fertility and marriage rates and so on...

Engels was the engine behind Karl Marx, one that gave him all the support he could, so to permit Marx to dedicate himself almost completely to the completion of his works. Judging himself many degrees bellow Marx in terms of intelect, Engels nonetheless is capable of writting a book such as this which describes all the impoverishment of the working class in the beginning of the industrialization in England, being helped by some well porputed factories labor fiscalization agents who allowed Engels to flip trough their reports. Strong terms like "the dark satanic mills" describe fully what were the working conditions of the time in a so rich country as England. An historical document lest no one forget what can happen again if the free hand of capitalism is allowed to run free of any barriers.

Friedrich Engels' classic "The Condition of the Working Class in England" was written when he was only twenty-four, and had but recently abandoned his Calvinist upbringing for a more critical, socialist, point of view. Yet this book reads as if it were written by an experienced political commentator or a radical sociologist, without actually at any point becoming melodramatic or dense.

Engels' main purpose is to confront the bourgeoisie with the reality of their mode of production and to contrast this with the rhetoric of "free choice" and "civil liberties", as well as the capitalist apologia of the political economists of his day, in particular Andrew Ure. With great insight into both the causes and effects of the capitalist system, Engels catalogues the endless want, filth, despair and misery experienced by millions of labourers every day in 19th century England. He pays attention to housing, to factory safety, to unionism, to the physical condition of the workers, to alcoholism, the state of the Irish underclass, to prostitution and disease; in short, all the ills attendant on industrialization.

What gives this book such power is that Engels on the one hand proceeds in an analytical manner, making use above all of sources from the bourgeoisie itself and from Parliamentary reports, in explaining the functioning of the capitalist system and the competition between capitalists and between labourers. On the other hand, he writes in a particularly readable manner and at no point bores the reader with the mere summing-up of statistics. On the contrary, every analytical truth is accompanied by a vivid description, taken from Engels' excursions into working-class neighbourhoods, of the terrible state of humanity that the economic laws of capitalism cause for a great number of people.

For those interested in political economy, it may come as a surprise to see how much of the functioning of capitalism Engels already understood at such an early point in the development of theory. This gives the lie to the many theorists who would later claim that it was Marx only who worked on economics and that Engels was a mere epigone; this book should be a vindication of Engels. His later sketches of the political economy and of the historical development of capitalism would lay the foundation for both the Communist Manifesto and Marx' economic works. But the core insights that would create the modern theory of socialism are for the first time fully expressed here, and in a most appealing and shockingly effective manner.

In other words, an absolute must read for every person of intelligence.

I thouroughly enjoyed this book today as much as I did when I first read it 30 years ago. In the thirty year interim I also saw the film based on this book at leasy 4 times. It was a recent TV screening of the film that prompted me to purchase the book--Das Boot. The copy I received was in excellent condition. Thank you.

I remember when the movie was first released, at the time I was a movie projectionist who had become a tad jaded by movies in general. This story forced me to reconsider the sterotypes that Hollywood has traditionally forced upon us, ie the evil Hun versus the heroic Commander, RN or USN. I had to find the book at that point and was impressed despite what I believed to be a choppy writing style; however, 20 years and hundreds of books later I now recognize it more for its content and uniqueness. The ability of the author to show the weariness and jaded outlook of the crew and still portray the naivity of the younger members is priceless. My only wish is that I someday I'll be able to obtain this in hardback to add to my collection. If you are interested in maritime, if you are open minded to enjoy other points of view then you should read this classic about the men of the U-boats.

If being in a war can be described as 98% sheer boredom and 2% sheer terror, than this novel can be said to be an accurate description of that. Indeed, it is a complete and thorough examination of life on a German U-Boat mission during World War II. While it is mostly compelling, there are long stretches when not a whole lot is going on--just as it was in reality, no doubt--and although the author makes a valiant effort to keep things interesting, these passages tend to drag a bit.

The story is narrated and told in the first person by the war correspondent/author of the tale, so there is very much a sense of immediacy to this. The first thing which strikes one is how unpleasant life on a submarine was. The food, after the first few weeks, was horrible. There was very little space and no privacy with everyone jammed together. Some of the men even had to share bunks. (When one is on duty, the other used it, and vice versa.) To climb out of his own bunk, the narrator usually had to ask the person seated below him to move. Just about every meal was interrupted by the necessity of having to get up when someone wanted to pass. The air was clammy and stale with the reek of unwashed humans in close quarters.

Although this is informative, it goes on for the first hundred and eighty pages or so and worse, the author exacerbates the problem by putting things in which don't add anything and slow it down even further. So we get to hear the men's jokes and stories. We get to hear the author's lengthy descriptions of the ever changing look of the sea and sky. We get to hear about the working of the submarine: its engine, the flotation tanks, the torpedoes, etc. While much of this is mildly interesting, to put it bluntly, the guy is no Melville. The reader will find himself getting antsy for something to happen.

It does. The submarine gets hit by a storm that lasts for about a month. This is pretty good as to the drastic effect it has on the men's lives, getting pitched about constantly and incapable of getting any sleep unless the sub is underwater, which it can only be for a couple of hours at a time. The men turn into a bunch of scarecrow zombies. Again, it is informative, and again, one's interest begins to peter out well before the storm does.

The most intense aspect of the novel, of course, is the battle scenes which begin shortly after the storm ends and last off and on to the end of the novel. Although they torpedo a few ships, these battle scenes mostly have to do with their trying to get away. Life on the submarine alone has frayed the men's nerves almost to the breaking point. Enduring hour after hour of bombardment from above from relentless, sonar-equipped destroyers pushes many of them beyond their limit. The author describes the wailing and sobbing he hears in the darkened boat, and he himself remains frozen in fear as the crashing, pounding, roaring explosions occur seemingly right outside of their submarine. It is a mesmerizing and terrifying account, and continues right through to the hopeless ending.

But that's about as far as it goes. Except for the stoic captain, there really isn't much in the way of interesting character development, and the writing style, while certainly adequate, rarely rises above the pedestrian. It's a solid war novel, no more, no less.

Das Boot is a must-read for anyone remotely interested in sub warfare, WWII, or--most importantly--the psychological impact of war on men. With meticulous detail and great pacing, Buchheim does a superb job transporting you to one of Dönitz's "iron coffins," where life was cramped, dirty, fearful, and usually very short. Be sure to check out the acclaimed film adaptation, too; it's one of the very best war movies.

(Note: I read this book in the original German, so I can't comment on this particular translation.)

Das Boot is one amazing book. From the grudges, toils, and rough world of sailors, Herr Buchheim has produced a novel with gut wrentching action and detailed sorrow. From the pre-cast off bar room orgies of saliors, to the maddening world of depth charge bombing, Das Boot will send you on one heck of a ride. The novel is able to capture the emotions of its reader and fully allow them to expreience the druggering perform by the U-Boat men of WW2. This book is written in a personal memoir style and will not appeal to all people. However, if one is intersted about reading the battle of the atlantic by the saliors who fought in it, then this is your book. Undoubly one of the best written descriptions of warfare that I have ever read.

Heading to Germany for the Football (Soccer) World Cup in June 2006? Take a detour to Berlin and be amazed by the vibrancy and architecture of this new/old city. Reading Ruth Baja Williams' "Detour Berlin" is an excellent introduction to your visit, giving the city a unique flavour from the perspective of a 20-year-long visitor. The former East Berlin is currently being transformed with renovated apartment buildings, stunning new high rises, and everywhere there are trees and parks to soften the built environment. As you wander around Alexanderplatz recall Ruth's experiences there, imagine the life she describes of her friends residing on the `other' side of the Berlin Wall. Visit cosmopolitan department stores, putting yourself in the position of a long suffering 1960 -70s East Berliner attempting to purchase scarce, very basic products. Picture yourself living in West Berlin, separated from family and friends by a forbidding wall. Allow Ruth, through her warm, yet incisive observations, to take you on a journey that will make your own visit so much more meaningful and appreciative of a lifestyle often taken for granted. Ruth's prose is vividly accessible as she generously shares the daily lives of her family and friends in a way that brings a European city into the realm of understanding of a non-European. Do detour!

Ruth Baja Williams memoirs of post-wall pre-unification Berlin are hard to put down. Buy this book and you're guaranteed to be caught up in her vivid storytelling abilities and compelling gifts for observation. In a way, her book also serves as a mini-biography of her husband Charles Williams, one of America's most gifted and creative singers and teachers (he created the role of Sporting Life at the Metropolitan Opera's premier performances of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess in 1985).

What a read! Ruth took me to Berlin, placed me in her family, and brought me a rich, honest encounter with a place I knew little about. Thank you Ruth (and Charles) for letting me share your wonderful detour to Berlin.

Ruth has witnessed a period of our modern history which is too little known and understood by much of the supposedly educated Western world - and written so well and thoughtfully about her experiences. We share her disappointments, admire her achievements with the German language, freeze with her, are inspired by the stoicism and even good humour of individuals who have suffered so much in war, feel the warmth of her German friends, can imagine the hassle and frustration of crossing into East Berlin and appreciate the fascination Ruth and Charles had with the events, culture, history, politics and customs of Berlin.

This 20 year detour by an interracial American couple in Cold War Berlin is an interesting, compulsive read which also permits valuable insights into personal interactions within the culturally diverse international community.

A compelling account of a 20th-century love story set in Cold War Berlin. Ruth Baja, a girl from an upper class Philippine background, marries Charles Williams, a black American singer, against her family's wishes. They find themselves in Berlin--temporarily they think--soon after the Wall divides the city. They stay and raise a family while Charles pursues a European career. This is a voyage of political, cultural and personal discovery, told with wit, poignance and grace. You'll fall in love with Ruth and Charles, and with Berlin too.

Upon starting this book I knew very little about Bonhoeffer; I had read some of Ethics and I knew of his murder by the Gestapo. Thus, there was something new on every page for me, and despite the book's length it never seemed oppressive in detail. In fact if the author can be faulted for one thing it is his lack of information about Bonhoeffer's courtship and engagement; which is discussed almost as an aside. On every other point though, the author did a wonderful job. His explanations of Bonhoeffer's theology are clear and understandable. Considering that much of what Bonhoeffer took for granted, theologically speaking, is alien to the American intellectual tradition that is a great accomplishment. The book is also a welcome antidote to the conception of 1930's and 1940's Germany as synonymous with Hitler and National Socialism. For even under the totalitarian state there were still men like Bonhoeffer who stood up against the regime

Eberhard Bethge was Dietrich Bonhoeffer's closest friend and the lifelong editor and interpreter of his life and writings. For the first time we now have the completely unabridged biography in a revised and updated English translation. This is not only a classic of twentieth century biography; it also addresses key issues not only of German and European history, World War II, and the Holocaust but also, through Bonhoeffer's theology, the church and modernity. It sharply poses the question of authentic Christian life. A big book and a challenging read!

About 20 years ago, I read an older translation of this biography. Then, as now, a reader cannot help but be impressed by the thorough and meticulous scholarship that went into its preparation. Because of its size and scope (900+ pages), it may be somewhat daunting to new readers who may be just now encountering Bonhoeffer. However, given the nature of his literary output (Bonheoffer was still a young man when he died, and many of his ideas exist only in limited or underdeveloped forms), this in-depth look at the man and his motivations by the individual who probably knew him best is essential to an informed understanding of his work. For Bonhoeffer admirers, it doesn't get any better than this.

Bethge was Bonhoeffer's closest friend and colleague.He devoted his life to bringing Bonhoeffer to the world's attention. This expanded volume, in remarkable ways, weaves together Bonhoeffer's life and his theological insights. In this 100th anniversary of the birth of this 39 year old martyr, this long book deserves careful reading, even my those who have read Bethge's somewhat shorter version published a number of years ago.

An outstanding, detailed and gripping story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Christian fortitude. Eberhard Bethge's exquisitely detailed knowledge and references about Bonhoeffer's life, from beginning to end is a wonderful tribute to Bonhoeffer. The reader asks the question what possessed Bonhoeffer to pursue the dream of a restive German society with Christianity abounding. Unless one has lived under a dictatorship perhaps this makes one restless. This book provides clear and concise answers.

I can't say enough good things about Ana Lomba's materials! As a Spanish teacher to children ages 2 to 6, I love that her materials are always bilingual, so that parents are not lost when they read with their child at home. She also reads the book for you in Spanish on the CD provided (English reading is on the CD as well). The illustrations are delightful and engaging. My daughter, who is growing up biligual (English/Spanish), enjoys this book a lot. In fact, when I first bought it, she asked me to read it at least once a day, and half of the time twice a day for about a week and a half when she began speaking three times as much Spanish as she had before! I can't tell you how exciting that was! Reading is magical! If you want to increase your Spanish language gains for you and your child, read LOTS of great books like Ana's in Spanish together, at least 15-30 minutes a day! You'll be pleasantly surprised by the results!

I really enjoy all of Ms. Lomba's products, and this is no different. My three to five year old class enjoys hearing this, and I recommend it to parents when they ask what they can do at home to supplement learning. I usually teach the words first (which are nicely laid out with colorful pictures on a single page) and then read the story. A lot of the words are already familiar to my students, but I think this could be a good introduction to a child as well.

We often do hands-on activities in my classes and in my curriculum, so it's nice for the student to have some down time and just listen and look at the pictures as they absorb an already familiar story. Great job on the CD too!

Sra. Gose
Author of Flip Flop Spanish: Ages 3-5: Level 1 & Flip Flop Spanish: Ages 3-5: Level 2

I loved this book because the Spanish is Latin American Spanish. My nephew loved the story (specially the wolf). I specially loved how the book ended "Colorin Colorado este cuento se ha acabado" because my mother always ended every story w/that phrase.

I am a non-Spanish speaking mother of a five year old daughter and two year old son. I want my children to be bilingual. I bought "Play and Learn Spanish" first and have purchased everything else this author has produced. All Ana Lomba's materails are A++++++++

Another fun and interactive learning tool and Another must have if you want to teach and learn Spanish.

P.S. My Children love the different voices, especially the wolf!

This book is wonderful, my kids read it both in english and spanish and the cd is just an added bonus. I wish their were more books like this and for all age levels.

This is story of a simple and devoted Carmelite nun. It is a wonderful story that not only gives biographical information it also incorporates a lot of Edith Stein's (Saint Teresa Benedicta a Cruce (Latin)personal philosophy and her feelings on femininism in society. It also shares her exceptional faith and devotion to God, even in the face of death. The book tells of her life, her entry into the Carmelite cloister and then her death in the Nazi camp, Auschwitz, Poland. It is a truly inspiraional and beautifully written book of one woman's courage and devotion.

I really like how this author has woven a story out of the several strands - of Edith's own writings - of others who have written about her - of the history of the Jews in Germany - and of the life and times of Adolf Hitler as it affected Edith's life and that of millions of Jews and Christians. The author has braided together some wonderful connections that set Edith's life in the context of her times and of our times. I found special joy in these connections because I have read almost all of the sources - primary and secondary - separately - and it is good to see them woven together with spiritual meanings. This book now holds a place of prominece on my Edith Stein shelf of books.

Maria Scaperlanda's book on Edith Stein provides those unfamilar with this fascinating, modern Saint with a great introduction to her life and thought. The reader will be able to follow Edith Stein on her passionate life journey, sustained by her desire to find truth, first pursued in philosophy and finally completed in her embrace of Catholicism and life as a contemplative, Carmelite religious. Although there are various books about Edith Stein on the market, Maria Scaperlanda's work is the best work to provide the reader with an introduction to Edith Stein and guide the reader on to further works on the Saint with an excellent bibliography. Edith Stein's life and work should be studied by all those who seek meaning and truth (not only Catholics), especially in our current post-modern, relativistic culture that so vehemently denies absolute truth. This book is also an excellent choice as spiritual reading for Christians desiring to study the life of a contemporary Saint.

This book is a wonderful introduction to the life of Catholic and Jewish martyr, philosopher, professor, nun, feminist, and saint who died in the gas chambers at Auschwitz. Scaperlanda does a great job of introducing the reader to her philosophy, personality, background, and amazing faith. If you enjoy this book, I reccomend "Knowledge and Faith" and "Life in a Jewish Family", both by Edith Stein.

This is an easy to read beginners biography on Edith Stein: St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. It tells her life story and how she freely offered herself for the conversion of others. She grew up Jewish and became Catholic after searching for the truth, and then finally coming across the truth, when she read St. Teresa of Avila's Autobiography. You will truly come to know Edith Stein and feel close to her after reading this book.

Vincent P. O'Hara's "The German Fleet at War" is an impressively researched and highly informative look at a subject little known to American and British World War II buffs. Even serious students of the war believe that after the sinkings of the "Graf Spee" and "Bismarck," Germany's naval war switched almost exclusively to it U-boats. O'Hara demonstrates that not only is this untrue, but that German surface forces continued to battle the Allies until only weeks before the 1945 Nazi surrender. CounterclockwiseEvery Shape, Every Shadow: A Novel of Guadalcanalder.

Roger L. Conlee
Author of "Every Shape, Every Shadow" and "Counterclockwise"

If you are interested in reading a well-researched, single-volume study of the German Navy in the Second World War, this is definitely the book for you. In addition to being a highly readable work, it is a fine piece of scholarship. My compliments to the author.

As a fan of the little recorded small unit naval actions, it has been a frustrating experience watching book after book come out on Kriegsmarine captial ships (which spent most of the war at anchor) or endless, repetitive coverage on U-boats. The Destroyers, torpedo boats, minesweepers and escorts that actually fought regular surface actions have been little covered, and the reports written by the Allied sources often give a one-sided and often inaccurate account of many actions.

In this account Mr. O'Hara has produced a balanced, well researched record of specific surface actions from the battles involving the Bismarck to the sharp actions of German minesweepers off the Channel Islands and the encounters between US destroyers and German corvettes and destroyers in the Mediterranean. As an example of his research, Mr. O'Hara checked primary sources (both USN and German) to determine that the USS Gleaves and three destroyers of the 10th Torpedoboote Flottille actually traded shots one night late in 1944. The Gleaves' history describes an action with German merchant ships while the history of the German flotilla describes encountering a "large French destroyer." Neither side recorded the actual opponent correctly and recent publications still show these as two separate battles! His piecing together the puzzle here helps better define one of the rare encounters between German and US warships and is a tribute to his effort.

This book is well worth the price and is unlike any book I have read before of the Kriegsmarine.

Finally! Mr. O'Hara is to be lauded for the magnificent effort of showing that Kriegsmarine was not only the U-boats, the Bismarck, Tirpitz, and the Graf Spee, but a lot more, and that German sailors, just like their Allied counterparts, fought the numbing war of small skirmishes, ill defined night actions, endless watches, and fought with determination and courage. This is a well researched book, based on both Allied and OKM sources, filled with a plethora of convincingly presented facts which, for many readers, will provide astonishing insights. Those with more professional interest, will find the book simply a very good read, worth an evening or two, and also quite illuminating.

O'Hara has written a valuable reference for World War II enthusiasts. I've long had an interest in the Kriegsmarine and was pleased to add "The German Fleet at War" to my library. I look forward to future books from this author.

This book is meant to be a military analysis of the World War II axis however it comes off as an excellent diplomatic history. It shows that Germany has never been able to grasp the concepts of coalition warfare and its do it alone strategy was always going to be its undoing. The first part of the book looks at the history of German warfare before World War II. The analysis with regards to Operation Barbarossa is deeply flawed. The assertion that Russia was the primary target of Germany's desires is wrong. The evidence shows a greater tendency towards Britain than Russia. Also the analysis of Japan's role in the coalition is something that deserves further looking into. I think the author dismisses it too quickly.
Despite those flaws this really does provide a comprehensive look at how the Axis functioned and especially the role of the minor powers like Romania and Hungary. It is very easy to see that while Germany nominally had control each of these Axis powers was able to contribute in their own way. The end of the Axis comes with the battle of Stalingrad and the demolition of the Axis forces as well as the failures in North Africa. The lack of Axis supplies was a tremendous problem and one that was not going to be overcome without early strategic victories. When these were not made the loss became inevitable. This book is a very clear military analysis and accomplishes a lot in 200 pages. Despite the few flaws mentioned I highly recommend the book.

Having followed the career of this distinquished historian, this work has tremendous value. DiNardo's thought process is quite organized and very cerebral. It is obvious the research balances his writing considering that today's fact-finding is often shortchanged or erroneous from over use of the internet. The author did his homework.

Although I don't have much interest in German history during this period, I found the book engaging. This is certainly a work that should belong on private library shelves of each World War historian. Excellent!!

Germany And The Axis Powers: From Coalition To Collapse by Richard L. Dinaro (Professor for National Security Affairs at the U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College) is an introductory work of impressive scholarship focused upon the intricate probabilities that the Axis coalition was little more then an ignorant grouping of claimed Hitler followers. Incorporating newly recovered facts of the battles fought from the Eastern Front to the Balkans, Mediterranean, and North Africa, Germany And The Axis Powers unveils an entirely different history than previously perceived by military historians. A seminal work recommended for professional and academic 20th Century Military History reference collections, Germany And The Axis Powers is highly recommended for its profoundly educational and informative content to all World War II historians and students of the era.

"Germany and the Axis Powers" is an in-depth analysis of the ability of the Axis powers to conduct coalition warfare. This book is excellent for anyone wanting to go beyond the "History Channel" level of knowledge on World War II. Using original source material, the author provides rich details to describe his thesis. The quality of the historical research is along the lines of Gerhard L. Weinberg's epic "A World at Arms". While the author uses a chronological framework to scope his thoughts, he avoids telling the entire history of World War II. Instead he remains focused on the key events that framed German attempts at coalition warfare. The work requires a good general knowledge of World War II history, which most readers of this book will already have.

While Germany's alliance with Italy is well known, I found the chapters on Germany's attempts at coalition warfare with Hungary, Finland, and Romania to be the most interesting, since these countries are rarely discussed in most accounts of World War II. DiNardo correctly describes the differences between coalition warfare and parallel warfare, a key component to understanding World War II coalitions. Breaking out the different levels of coalition warfare conducted by the German Army, Navy, and Air Force set the book apart from more basic accounts. Dinardo also avoids "wehrmacht envy" which taints many books on the Germany military. He provides an accurate and balanced view of German military capabilities, without falling in love with the subject.

I recommend this book to any serious student of World War II military history who really wants to get to heart of the German way of war.

This well-written and extremely interesting book breaks new ground in its examination of Nazi Germany's inability to effectively wage coalition warfare with its allies - Italy, Romania, Hungary and Finland.

Author Richard L. DiNardo shows that the Third Reich's partners followed Germany because they hoped to benefit from Hitler's New Order, rather than from either a common ideological adherence to Fascism or a common commitment to save Europe from Bolshevism. Hitler and his generals, however, were reluctant to fully incorporate their allies into their wartime command structure or strategy. Dinardo shows that this reluctance was a legacy from the First World War, when, for the most part, Imperial Germany refused to take its allies seriously.

DiNardo discusses Hitler's own attitudes toward his allies (he prefered bilater over multilateral arrangements) and then examines the performances of the Italy, Romania, Hungary and Finland in North Africa, the Balkans, and Russia. Some, such as the Italians in North Africa, performed much better than is generally recognized in the west. Most were hampered by a shortage of modern equipment, especially tanks, fighter aircraft, and bombers. All, however, collapsed relatively early in the war. Indeed, according to DiNardo: "The twin German disasters of Stalingrad and North Africa effectively destroyed the Axis as a military alliance."

The ability to wage effective coalition warfare differed among the various services of the Wehrmacht. The German Navy was probably the most successful, although due to differences in doctrine and technology, the cooperation between German and Italian submarines was not as effective as it could have been. Next came the Luftwaffe, although it failed miserably in the sharing of technology, particulary aircraft and aircraft engines, with its allies. Finally, came the army, which, DiNardo notes, cleary took the prize when it came to failure in coalition warfare. The major exception to this was Rommel's conduct of coalition warfare in North Africa.

The German War Ministry too was of little help with its extortive practices, which ensured that the Romanian, Hungarian, Italian and Finnsh armies remained hopelessly outclassed in terms of weapons and equipment against their Soviet opponent.

Foruntately for the Western Allies, the inability of Hitler and his generals to build a functional and effective basis for coalition warfare contributed significantly to the downfall of the Third Reich. Indeed, as the Allies knocked knocked one Axis power after another out of the war, the Germans were forced to come to their rescue, burdening the already debilitated German war industry and armed forces.

"Germany and the Axis Powers" thus contributes to a better understanding of the defeat of Nazi Germany and the valuable contributions of Italy, Romania, Hungary and Finland during World War II to the Axis - and the Allies!

For anyone with an interest in the TIGER 1 this book is an invaluable asset.The major part of the book covers the various changes in design throughout the production life of the vehicle accompanied by drawings and photographs.
Anyone wishing to produce an accurate model of a particular Tiger from a particular time in its history will find the book essential.The book also contains a number of excellent scale drawings documenting the major changes in design.

This is purely a technical volume on the development of the Tiger I, but it is extreme in its detail and analysis. This took an extraordinary amount of research and effort. If you're into Tiger tanks, all three of Jentz's books in this series MUST be in your library.

Typical of Mr. Jentz's work, the book is derived only from original sources, so he avoids repeating old errors that have percolated from book to book over the last 55 years. Hilary Louis Doyle does his usual superb job on the 1/35th scale drawings which cover all major production variants of the standard gun tank, as well as the prototypes (for a history of the failed Porsche prototype, see the same authors' book now available from Panzer Tracts). This is the first set of published drawings that accurately depicts the asymmetrical shape of the Tiger I turret (it bulges out slightly on the left, so the gun is mounted off-center in the mantlet to bring it back to the centerline of the turret). This is one volume of a three-volume series, the other titles covering the development of the Tiger II and the operations of the Tiger battalions. Jentz's book concentrates on the vehicle's general interior and exterior layout, but doesn't go into the technical depth of Walter Spielberger's books (most readers don't plan to actually rebuild a Tiger transmission anytime soon).

This book is very much about the technical aspects of the tank. It includes a comprehensive list of the physical changes made to the vehicle during its production run, with every change dated and explained in detail. This list was painstakingly compiled from original German sources only.
The 7 sets of multi-view drawings of complete vehicles (including the underneath views) were prepared by Hilary Doyle from thorough surveys of surviving Tigers, and they correct the numerous small errors in all previous work. They are complemented by many original German technical drawings of parts of the tank, often unpublished before.
This book has a narrow focus, but in its field it is definitely the leader.

This is about previous Tiger I tanks from official information. The book needs more wide information about the aspects than it study but includes a lot of tables, informataion and detailed pics about the Tiger I. It's not about operations or battles; only about production and design works. So, it's very good for people than keen on the Tiger and need more information than the "traditional", so don't expect for fighting.