New book by Marc Rikmenspoel

[Mark C Yerger]

Saw in a forum comment Marc has a new book out. If he or anyone else can comment as to content/topic details, size, pg count, cost, where available, cover illustration, etc. am sure would be of interest to all.

While there is a review section for books on the forum, I'm sure all in this area would welcome notice of any new SS books or added editions of texts in new languages. Also those to be published in the near future or in the research stage.

Best
Mark

[Jason Pipes]

I agree 100% with Mark! This is a great place to post mention of upcoming SS related books, research projects, newly spotted titles, etc. Heck, even mention of rare finds on the used market would be neat as well. I'm always interested to know what's about to be published and what already has been published long ago.

[Marc Rikmenspoel]

My new book was published in late July by the Military Book Club, and is available "only" from them. In reality, I have seen copies on e-bay, and a friend in Australia found some copies on the ABE site (or whatever it is called, the site that combines the inventory of hundreds of stores).
The book is titled "Waffen-SS : The Encyclopedia" and came about because Aegis/Aberjona made an arrangement with the Military Book Club to provide them with several original, unpublished titles. Aegis then contracted me to write the book, which tye edited with my cooperation, and typeset. The club then printed and distributed the books. Because I was never in direct contact with the club, I have yet to see even a single copy of my book! I may have to buy some from the sources I mentioned above...
The encyclopedia consists of a detailed OOB which is as accurate as I could make it down to regimental/separate abteilung level, an examination of how the Waffen-SS came into being and subsequently grew, tables of organization combined with typical weapon allotments, a very detailed study of the Germanic Waffen-SS (more comprehensive and far more accurate than what has previously appeared in English), a less detailed look at the non-German/Germanic Waffen-SS, short biographies of leading personalities, and a lengthy annotated bibliography. In sum, the book is designed to provide the novice with a source of accurate introductory information. I included the detailed Germanic section, the annotations to the bibliography, and many rare photos, to make the book also of value to more experienced students of the Waffen-SS.
For anyone who has seen the book, here are a few additions. John Nelson was kind enough to supply copies of some SS-FHA documents from March 1945 that he uncovered. These indicate that SS-Werfer Abteilungen 1 & 12 were detached that month from their parent divisions (LAH and HJ) and instead put "at the disposal of the Reichsführer-SS." They were retitled SS-Werfer Abteilungen 501 & 512, but in practice, I believe they remained with the divisions to the end of the war. The documents also confirm the elusive question of an honor title for SS-Gebirgs Regiment 14. By March 1945 it DID indeed possess the honor title "Skanderbeg" passed down from the disbanded 21. Waffen-Gebirgs Division.
I welcome questions and comments about the book, thanks Mark for brining this topic up (and don't worry, I have good things to say about your books in the bibliography).

[Mark C Yerger]

I believe the site you refer to is http://www.abebooks.com for possibly finding the book. If anyone has other sources to buy, or info on the Book Club to obtain it from them, let all know.

Must admit I only buy a single edition of most books and then never see new editions if a language change. The book's info, with regards to SS-FHA data and other facets, sounds outside what is available printed in German texts I have. For English readers sounds like a "sleeper" none of us knew about and should have.

Are the Orders of Battle for personnel, Feldpost, or a combination ? If anyone in the Mil Book Club has price, format, pg/photo count, etc info let us know. To Marc: if you get any copies for sale, post it here first rather than the for sale area due to the general difficulty in getting copies.

Mark

[Michael Avanzini]

I am a member of the Military History Book Club. They are selling Marc's book for $21.99 an I have a copy of it on order. The book is HC with 284 pages and includes 136 photos and illustrations.

If there is an interest I suppose I could order people copies but be aware the club charges a bit in shipping and handling cost and could wind up costing me $27-$28 dollars each.

Michael

[Mark C Yerger]

Michael:

Please e-mail me with address info and your costs once known. Would appreciate helping obtain a copy. Thanks for your consideration and offer to assist.

Best
Mark

[Marc Rikmenspoel]

Hi Mark and the other members, I can tell you all right now that you can get information on the book club at http://www.militarybookclub.com A search for the title or my name should bring up the book.

As to the OOB details, they are simply lists of the corps with directly subordinate units (signal, heavy tank, etc.), followed by lists of divisions in which the division is sublisted into separate regiments and battalions. The commanders for the corps and divisions are given by name, rank, and date in position. Below this, I simply list known separate regiments and battalions, without additional information (since this was supposed to be introductory, we had to draw a line somewhere).

The weapons section has organigrams, and I believe it lists the numbers and sorts of weapons found in several typical "types" of divisions and their sub-units (for example, in a 1944 model Panzer Division with a battalion each of PzIV and Panther in the Panzer Regiment, and with one SPW PG battalion). I contributed raw data to Aegis, who supplemented it with tables of organization and strength returns they located in the National Archives. They then edited this into a (hopefully) seamless whole, and created the organigrams. I only saw one sample organigram, to proof the style, so this is the section which changed the most from my basic notes to published form, and I am unable to comment further (yet).

I can state now that NO feldpost # are found, but I believe personnel strength is included. You won't find the common clumsy mistakes of assuming all Panzergrenadiere rode in SPW, or that every division had Tigers. Aegis wanted this section to be a resource so that those unfamiliar with the Waffen-SS could check, for example, precisely how many batteries of self-propelled artillery were actually found in a so-called "Panzer-Artillerie Regiment."

I'm editing this later on, to add one more addition, which was only discovered months after the book was finished. John Moore's Waffen-SS officer CD has made public the information that Hans Havik was born in Groningen, the Netherlands. This need not be important, as other Knight's Cross winners were German citizens, but were born in neighboring countries while their family was engaged in business, or similar activities (for example, Karl Keck and Emil Seibold were both born in Switzerland, but were Reichsdeutsche). However, Yvo Janssens from http://www.soldbuch.com investigated records in Groningen, located Havik's widow (no date of death given yet), and established that Havik was indeed a Dutchman. Thus the previous assetions that there were three Dutch Knight's Cross winners is incorrect, there were at least four. (The nationality of Karl Picus remains to be determined. He was born in Germany, but attended the 1. Lehrgang für germanische Offiziere at the SS-JS Bad Tölz, which indicates that he was not a Reichsdeutsche, and had leadership experience with a foreign army).

[Mark C Yerger]

Marc

Thanks for helping us all with the order info. Michael, thanks for your kind offer but looks like we can save you the effort. However, THIS is the mutual cooperation type thing that should be done more often.

Thanks to both of you
Mark

[pimberg]

Although living in far off Australia I managed to obtain a copy of Marc's book a few weeks ago. I certainly was not disappointed. Any serious student not only on the W-SS and German Armed Forces but, in general, the Second World War should have this book on their bookshelf.
The topics/subjects within the book are varied and the information is detailed. The fact that the W-SS is such a complex, controversial and interesting subject would make it possible for Marc to write another 10 volumes in the same format as this book. Anyone who reads Marcs posts on 'Feldgrau' would have to agree Marc's knowledge on his subject is second to none.
One particular item I enjoyed about the book was the exhaustive bibliography and Marc's brief comments about each book.
To conclude their is a lot of rubbish out there to buy but if one sees the name Rikmenspoel or Yerger as the authors of a book I never hesitate to place a pre-order. As yet I have never been disappointed.
Impatiently waiting for their next books.

Peter :D

[Jason Pipes]

I couldn't agree more. What the world needs is a lot less books like "Hitler's Steel Soliders on the Bloody Fields of Death in WWII" ... There are a lot of books like that on the market, too many in fact, and not enough that take the time and energy to research and present factual information.

It's also great to have those few author who do the required research and proper presentation take part in discussion on this forum!!

[Tim Rossiter]

I received my copy yesterday. It was obtained through bookfinder.com. I agree with the other reviews-it is an excellent reference. It's handy to have so much information together in one book. The bibliography is interesting, and I enjoy reading critiques of books from notable experts like Marc, Mr. Yerger and others. Of course, one can tell it is a 'book club edition', by the quality of the paper and photo reproduction; but what the heck, it is a first edition, right? Overall, a great addition to my library.

[Bittrich]

it is well done and is a must have. I e-mailed Mark Rikmenspoel and he was kind enough to reply as he did here in the post about buying the book from the Military Book Club. It's a shame that the Book Club didn't furnish Mark with his own copy. That's a shame. Back to the point. I hope Mark has continued success and I appreciate his acknowledgement of my e-mail. Thank you Mark and I hope to own a copy of Waffen-SS:The Encyclopedia soon. I have a co-worker who is in the Military Book Club.