Authors and Readers of SS books

German SS and Waffen-SS 1923-1945.
heinz kling

Actually the Japenese were great fans of the Waffen SS

Post by heinz kling »

Just look at the number of scale models they churn out, the number of books on the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS. They even have anllustrated book series on Peiper in combat!
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baerchen
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Post by baerchen »

mark and all,

one should consider how much hard work has been put into a good "history" book _ it is quite alright if it has a high price. i am willing to pay if the book contains well researched and accurate information and good images !

mark, keep up the good work ! :wink:
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behblc
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Books , authors , readers.

Post by behblc »

I read with some interest Mark's comments .
I have a copy of P. Agate's Liebstandarte/Wittmann book , expensive but a wealth of information and photographs.
I have only had cause to write to a small number of authors and have always recieved a helpful reply from them.
Mr. Martin Middlebrook put me in touch with several ex-bomber crew members. For those not familiar with his works in a nut shell he set a benchmark in military history via his first book "The First Day on The Somme".
I think it only manners to include something to cover postage costs if you are seeking a reply or copies.
Research is a costly and time consuming process...
I have met people who hoard ...the "for my eyes only attitude" I find difficult to deal with as they in turn expect that others should share with them...for a negative return.
Keeping a photograph "under wraps" kills history and a wider appreciaton of the past.......a negative return for all.
Why keep history under lock and key to restrict access or think that someone else is stealing "your " cream....again a strange and rather paranoid attitude of mind.
As for shooting holes in the works of others ..its always easy to be critical ...harder to be constructive...to do that takes a wider understanding and depth of knowledge...as well as the ability to apply and interpret facts correctly.
I don't see myself as an expert...far from it...compared with many who use this and the"T.R.F" I visit them to learn , but as I have grown older like many I have become selective in what I buy , the publications MArk mentioned being those which are passed over.
Its sad that at all levels of collecting , research andwriting that this "squireling away" of information occurs no one has ownership over history , all this does is support and inhance an ego...petty one up manship !
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2311Marine
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Post by 2311Marine »

Thought I would inject some new live in this timeless post. First, Mark I have a few of your books and you are great author and have a great eye for detail. ( There is my first appriecative letter to an author.)

I as a reader and very ametuerish WW2 military reader and historian at that, have not the slitist idea what it takes to put a book together. While I have not commited a lot to memory, I wish there was an easier way to identify crap books from good ones. I personally hate taking time to read a book, then only to discover most of what I read was incorrect. I guess that is the nature of the beast.

I will take the idea of sending a note of thanks to my best authors, for me too it never dawned on me. As far as being critical about some book and info on such books. I agree, you should have some corrections at hand or ways to make it better or otherwise say nothing.

Best Regards and Best of luck to future endeavors.

George
"Devildogs and Leathernecks, Thank God for Ammo Techs!"
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pak40
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using SS books for my own purposes

Post by pak40 »

hi Mark,
I think that people should take all they read on the Waffen-SS with a grain of salt. Personally, I just use the refences for my own SS OOB's. I do greatly appreciate your opinions at the start of this thread and respect them. :D I am looking forward to see more materials on the Waffen-SS.

With much thanks,
Chris
If at first you don't succeed, forget it.-Murphy
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Re: using SS books for my own purposes

Post by Timo »

pak40 wrote:I think that people should take all they read on the Waffen-SS with a grain of salt.
That's quite an insult. There are people on this forum who invest valuable time, money and expertise to write very well researched books about the Waffen-SS.
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Tom Houlihan
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Post by Tom Houlihan »

Timo, I think I almost understood what his intent was, but I'll agree that he might want to go back and re-write that one!
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pak40
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hey all

Post by pak40 »

sorry about any misunderstanding. mostly i take materials written on the Waffen-SS and use them for my own purposes. i own some of this thread starters books and have found them to be invaluable in my machinations. i do a lot of 'what-if' projects and design them according to the research i do. nothing i say or do should ever be taken for anything bad or insulting. i own almost 25 volumes on the Waffen-SS(unit histories, weapons, commanders and personnel). i am not a flamer or do i ever insult people for their work, i enjoy discussions on all periods of military history and model building. sorry about the way i stated my previous post.

Chris
If at first you don't succeed, forget it.-Murphy
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Post by Timo »

That's okay, PaK40. No hard feelings here.
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pak40
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Waffen-SS

Post by pak40 »

To Timo: THANKS!

I do extensive research on SS units and sub-units, i like to re-arrainge their OOB's and make it stronger and cheat on the weaponry they had(StG-44 at an earlier date)

The books I also collect are basically OOB's and I like to tweek them to my own purposes.

Nafziger's OOB books have been invaluable in my endeavors, i have 6 soft and 1 hard cover.

Chris :D
If at first you don't succeed, forget it.-Murphy
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Post by Timo »

Keep in mind that Nafziger's OoB series contain a whole range of errors. Much info he didn't get from original documents but from bad xerox copies instead.
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pak40
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Nafziger

Post by pak40 »

who cares, still a decent reference. :evil:

an order of battle is a speculative thing.

as long as the Russians got there's, and i do not mean a share

who cares who won, the majority of modellers do GERMAN!

and Waffen-SS is my specialty.

oh well, that was fun.

Chris :wink: member in good standing of the loony bin
If at first you don't succeed, forget it.-Murphy
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Le Paradis
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Post by Le Paradis »

The only book of Mark's I have seen is

Waffen-SS Commanders
Augsberger to Kreutz
Mark C Yerger


I had a quick look at this instore- particularly at Theodore Eicke, and was surprised that Eicke's history read without any mention of his presence in northern France in 1940.

An uneducated reader would conclude from the way the section is written that Eicke was in Poland in 1939 and was there until 1941 at the invasion of the USSR.

Given what some of Eicke's command were involved in in May 1940, it is surprising that such a significant chapter in his military career was not mentioned.......... it certainly is well documented in many other texts.


I am unable to comment on any other parts of the book or on any of Mark's other books.


Mark, if I am mistaken please let me know; if I am correct you might be able to elaborate here??


Hope your health is better than it was recently.



..
Mark C Yerger
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Post by Mark C Yerger »

The books are the awards, movements, commands, etc of individuals, not a history of their divisions. Such is outside the scope of the books. The command is given, to include his successor. Other books cover the history of the various divisions.

Mark
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pak40
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Post by pak40 »

Mark,
Basically what i am looking for are unit histories and unit commanders. Not only divisional, but down to Battalion and Company level. I t would be nice to see them, but i will not die if i don't.

Also, i very much appreciate your works and works by Steve Zaloga and George Nafziger. Unlike some, i do not look for perfection, just good effort. I have created my own "what-if" scenario of my own, for both model building and personal pleasure.

Thank you so much for your great research and writings.

Chris
If at first you don't succeed, forget it.-Murphy
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