Books I'm thinking about in 2014

A European Anabasis: Western European Volunteers in the German Army and SS, 1940-45
by Kenneth Estes

Into Oblivion Kharkov To Stalingrad: The Story Of Pionier-Batail​lon 305
by Jason D. Mark

Hitler's Spanish Legion: The Blue Division in Russia in WWII (Stackpole Military History Series)
by Gerard R. Kleinfeld, Lewis Tambs

I heard something about an "Indian Legion" made up of volunteers from India who wanted to help Hitler fight the British. Have you got any titles on that subject?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indische_Legion

And see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Free_Corps

Here is another title: Sign of the Tiger: Subhas Chandra Bose and his Indian Legion in Germany by Rudolf Hartog.

I have not reviewed this title, but it is an inexpensive paperback book.

Hi dekesolomon,
Best book I've seen on the subject is For Free India: Indian Soldiers in Germany and Italy During the Second World War by Martin Bamber . Not cheap as it's from a small publisher, but well worth the price.

Hi A,
Estes' book looks interesting. Anything by Jason D. Mark is incredible. I have "Into Oblivion" and it's on my list to read this year. His first book Death of the Leaping Horseman : 24. Panzer-Division in Stalingrad, 12th August - 20th November 1942 is being reprinted this year.

I've got two or three books by Jason D. Mark on my wish list also.

I looked up Jason D. Mark's Death of the Leaping Horseman on Abebooks. They got ONE copy -- a first-edition hardcover -- for the low, low price of $2,700 some-odd dollars. Oh, and it's in "good" condition. I don't believe I can afford it, but maybe one of you fellers can. . . .

I enjoyed Mark's Besieged the Epic Battle For Cholm. Which was pricey. I quickly bought, read and sold. IN general a very good book but I thought the author went further into minutiae than I needed. Recommended for Ostfront aficionados though.

> 9 -- Ammianus wrote: "I thought the author went further into minutiae than I needed."

That's probably true and it's probably due at least in part to the fact that minutiae (trivia) are often impossible to avoid when an author decides to write a book-length account of any one particular battle, action, or unit. If the writer doesn't lard the thing with some trivia, (s)he may find him/herself without enough material to justify a book. THEN there's the fact (always assuming that the job is worth doing and well done) that larding such a book with trivia is one method of adding excitement to the tale and convincing readers that the writer has done his/her homework. Ill-chosen trivia, however, can put readers off as quick as sell them on the author and his/her works.

No presumption intended. I added all of that for the benefit of those who have never attempted to write such an account.

10: I concur but just want to emphasize that the level of detail was just more than I personally needed on the subject.
Fascinating snapshot of combat on the Eastern Front regardless.

Hi dekesolomon,
The hardcover new revised edition by Stackpole Books is available for preorder from Amazon for under $30. It's scheduled for release in June. The first edition hardcover sold out quickly when it was first released, so I got the paperback at that time. The book seller you found will learn in June that his copy has suddenly dropped in "value" by about $2,650. His copy is waaaay overpriced anyways.

I bought for my collection and read, Into Oblivion Kharkov To Stalingrad: The Story Of Pioneer Battalion 305 by Jason D. Mark. It was a very good book on par with Mr. Mark's previous books. However, this book was the first time Mr. Mark introduced stereotypical comments about the Wehrmacht that were unsupported by a source. One example of several comes to mind, members of the 305th Pioneer Battalion refused to live inside Russian hovels and preferred to live outside. As I recall, the reason given was that the soldiers of the Wehrmacht had been indoctrinated by the Nazis Party to believe that Russians were "untermenschen" which caused the Wehrmacht soldiers to remain segregated from the Russians. On numerous occasions within the book, soldiers commented about the high rate of fleas and lice they contracted in Russia and how they became extremely active and annoying in a warm Russian hovel. Several photographs are even included showing the Wehrmacht soldiers afflicted with and killing the fleas and lice. I can say that I personally interviewed numerous Wehrmacht soldiers who served on the Eastern Front and complained of the same thing. The Wehrmacht soldiers I interviewed indicated that they preferred to sleep outdoors because of the fleas and lice and no mention was made of the "untermenschen" explanation. In fact, they all expressed great respect for Russians including the Russian soldier and Russian civilian. As a result of several similar incidences in the book, I was a bit disappointed and plan to contact Mr. Mark regarding my concerns. Despite my concern, I still recommend this as a great book to read because it offers a level of research and Wehrmacht soldier's viewpoint that is extremely rare but valuable today for anyone interested in this area of military history.

> 12 -- Thanks for the tip. I will not preorder, but I will be watching.

FWIW -- I will never preorder from Amazon again. Last September I preordered a copy of Little Magazines and Small Presses, a reference for writers. It was supposed to be out in "in a few weeks". Well, it isn't out yet. My money is still in limbo.

I'm not worried about the money. Amazon doesn't bill the charge card until the item ships, so if I never get the book I'll never be charged. It's just an annoyance, but it DOES annoy me.

Taurus454 -- Your "handle" gave me an idea. Maybe I'll change my name to "Kimber45ACP"?

@dekesolomon Sounds great to me :D

Haven't been around in a while, but 2014 has a wide range of books that I'm interested in acquiring and reviewing, including (unfortunately not all have tentative publication dates; and my apologies that not all are purely military history):

"Fighters over Stalingrad Volume 1: Air Operations of the Soviet Union VVS and Luftwaffe"
by Nikita Egorov, Boris Nechkin

"Barbarossa Unleashed: The German Blitzkrieg Through Central Russia to the Gates of Moscow June-December 1941" by Craig W. H. Luther

"The Soviet Occupation of Germany: Hunger, Mass Violence and the Struggle for Peace, 1945-1947"
by Filip Slaveski

"Why the Germans? Why the Jews?: Envy, Race Hatred, and the Prehistory of the Holocaust " by Götz Aly

"Stemming the Blitzkrieg: Hitler's Failure on the Road to Moscow, 1941" by Victor Kamenir

"Marching into Darkness: The Wehrmacht and the Holocaust in Belarus" by Waitman Wade Beorn

"Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky: The Red Army's Gentleman Commander" by Boris Sokolov and Stuart Britton

"Marshal of Victory: The Autobiography of General Georgy Zhukov" by Georgy Zhukov and Geoffrey Roberts

"Stalin's Favorite: The Combat History of the 2nd Guards Tank Army from Kursk to Berlin: Volume 1" by Igor Nebolsin