A Book of a Different War

[fred]

I heard of a new book about "Operation Barbarossa," the German invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. If the Little Big Horn is awash in books and articles, the Second World War is positively flooded, so a new book really does not do much for me or pique my interest very much.

When I heard, however, this was a book mainly consisting of maps along with a facing page of explanation, troop movement, and description, I looked into it. I saw it on Amazon, listed I believe for around $66, but discounted already to about $39... + tax. I had seen one of the maps somewhere and figured for that money it was worth a shot, even for that one map alone. I ordered it and received it on Monday. It is gorgeous!!! Not only that, but the maps are some of the best and most descriptive and detailed of any I have ever seen.

My wife used to be the CEO of a publishing company and is seldom impressed by anything these publishers put out. Even she, however, couldn't believe the quality of this thing, especially when she found out it was an Osprey book, not always the best produced. The book even comes with a linen slip-cover and ribbon to make it easy to pull out the book. And the book has a similar ribbon to mark your page.

I do not always recommend books, but this baby is worth every nickel of its price and then some. Lisa said she would have thought this thing was a $100 or better book and that is what her company would have probably charged.

The title is Atlas of the Eastern Front 1941-1945, and it is a 2016 book, authored by a retired LTC and current professor at Purdue named Robert Kirchubel.

A fabulous book!

Best wishes,
Fred.

[Mike Powell]

Fred,

Thanks for the review. I'm very tempted. Maps are one of the joys of life, plus I'm very ignorant of events in the East after the summer of 1943 so this might be quite helpful.

Mike

[chardvc]

Feb 11, 2016 6:17:50 GMT -6 Mike Powell said:

....  I'm very ignorant of events in the East after the summer of 1943 so this might be quite helpful.

So was Adolf!!

[fred]

Feb 11, 2016 6:17:50 GMT -6 Mike Powell said:

I'm very tempted. Maps are one of the joys of life...

You would not regret buying this one, Mike. Not at all. He even gives maps of the initial planning of Barbarossa: the Marcks plan, Von Lossberg's, and how they differ in the army group objectives. I finished recently one of Paul Carell's books-- his maps are barely legible-- and then saw a detailed map of Stalingrad showing the various divisions and their objectives. It is remarkable. Plus, the quality of the book, the slip-cover, and the printing is first-rate. For that price, you simply cannot beat it.

Best wishes,
Fred.

[fred]

Feb 14, 2016 22:01:37 GMT -6 pequod said:

Fred,

Are you familiar with Lawrence Freedman's "Strategy: A History"? It was published in 2013, I believe. It's a huge tome.

Pequod,

No, I am not. Tell me about it here. He is the British professor, is he not? And thank you for asking.

Best wishes,
Fred.

[noggy]

Feb 11, 2016 6:17:50 GMT -6 Mike Powell said:

Maps are one of the joys of life, plus I'm very ignorant of events in the East after the summer of 1943 so this might be quite helpful.

Firstly; Fred is correct about this book, it is more than worth getting.

Secondly, regarding the Eastern Front post 43, I`ll for the first and last time brag a little about myself: A couple of years ago I got a mention in the largest national newspaper in a piece regarding literature with a "new take" on WW2, for en article I wrote about Operation Bagration (44). Think the article was used as a reference in the Wiki page about it, too.

The Eastern front often is seen as a slow and "un-eventful" war after Kursk, where the Wehrmacht slowly was destroyed in the Soviet millstone before the great showdown in Berlin. Not the case. Bagration, Narva, Cherkassy etc are battles and operations more people should try giving a second or first look.