The Blond Knight of Germany

Rating:
Summary: Good book but details are missing
Review: Maybe because it was written soon after the War, in the fifties, this book is an anticlimax, since it's dealing with the life of the most sucessful fighter pilot of all times. The technical part is almost zero, and there's too much room for Erich in the hands of Soviet guards and prisons. Anyway, it gives a general portrait of Luftwaffe in the East.

Rating:
Summary: Would have enjoyed a more technical biography
Review: One excerpt concerns me, in the chapter, "Stalin Hawks", wherein the Polikarpov I-16 was described thusly: "The Rata was a single-seat, gull-wing biplane introduced to air combat in the Spanish Civil War." Since the I-16 was a monoplane...I felt that much of the rest of the book was probably sloppy technically. (I would have liked to have seen some in-depth technical air equipment comparisons done by Eric...but only the IL-2 Stormovik seemed to rate some honorable mentions). The air tactics and prison camp portions of the book were very good, but it got sidetracked into other areas which, I feel, were there to fill up space and make you think that you bought a large volume for your money. I am glad that I read it, but I hope that there is a better one, about this Teutonic Knight, out there in the market place. Some of the "wholesomeness" was applied with a trowel and the post war West German politics and criticisms discounted as being compl! ! etely anti-Eric and without any merit. Probably the real story lies somewhere in between. (I am thinking of purchasing the other volume about Eric Hartmann currently on the market, but wonder about its' objectivity and technical depth and accuracy since it is co-authored by his wife.) You know, I just never did feel like I was on an air mission with the same discriptive feeling that I obtained from the books of Adolph Galland, Hans Rudel, Saburo Sakai, etc. etc. I miss that personal touch and feel that more autobiographical tidbits are required in a book of this nature: Especially since Eric was still alive at the time of its' writing. I wonder how much he was involved in the compilation. (These touches tend to make your spirit soar in an aviation chronicle).

Rating:
Summary: When war is just another job
Review: The authors do a superb job describing who is the person behind the legend, which were his thoughts as a warrior and why someone who was neither a fanatic nor a nazi fought for his country with conviction and dedication. They also explain with entertaining detail the particulars of aerial warfare in the eastern front, and why historians have somehow neglected the air battles that took place there, eventhough, their dimension in terms of dedication, sacrifice and numbers of both sides surpass several times the Battle of Britain.

Rating:
Summary: The Definitive Story of the foremost German Ace in the East
Review: This biography of Erich Hartmann goes into a lot more that simply his military exploits. It charts his life from his boyhood, the strength and support provided by his family and his own growing strength of character. So by the time he had left Fighter Training School he was prepared for what lay ahead. In the vast expanses of Soviet airspace in the east this outgoing, extrovert pilot came into his own. Every great ace has his own distinct style. Hans-Joachim Marseille had his deflection shot at unbelievable angles, Erich Hartmann would have his 'close-range' shot. The strategy whereby you come so close to the enemy aircraft,' that your canopy glass fills with the enemy craft's mass,' and then you fire. Hartmann would become legendary for this tactic. Making him the highest scoring German Ace with 352 kills of all kinds of aircraft. The only other fighter pilot really worth mentioning with Hartmann would have to be Hans-Joachim Marseille, the 'Star of Africa'. The controversy comes into play because of those who consider 3 Russian fighter planes being equal to one western-flown fighterplane. That being so then one is tempted to name Marseille with his 158kills( all against British aircraft) as the premiere fighter pilot. Nevertheless, in the final analysis it must be said that Hartmann was really in a class of his own. He showed even more courage and resilience when he was under Soviet imprisonment, and his family's support at this time was also crucial. He held his head high and refused to give in under pressure. He came back a hero and readjusted to life in Germany again with his typical strength of character. The two authors have written an excellent biography on a man whose inner strength, truthfulness and courage are an example for all.

Rating:
Summary: he was just 23...
Review: this book tells you the story of a german pilot, who shook hitlers hand twice, (he got medals), and lived to tell the story. he shot off so many planes, he's got to be something special. i find it very intresting to have a first eye view of a german pilot, and to find out that he is as human as all of us, and that the german people are not monsters, they just followed one. anyway, this book is well written, thorough, and facinating.

Rating:
Summary: Master Pilot/ Caring kind person
Review: This Book was a great inspiration to me, although I am a big WWII aviation buff I think this book would appeal to almost anyone out there. The book doesnt just tell of him shooting down 352 aircraft but also of the kind person he was. For example he shot down a Russian saw he was alive went back to base jumped in a Fiesler "storch" and went back and picked the guy up. He even let him roam around the base for a couple days! So you really dont need to be a big WWII buff to read this and I recomend this book highly

Rating:
Summary: badly written
Review: THis could could have been much better. The authors, who interviewd Hartmann personally, failed to impress the readers with the authentic life in the Luftwaffe. they make us feel that should be so easy to take off and shoot down hundreds of ignorant Russian fighter pilots ...

Rating:
Summary: Great characters, bad writers...
Review: This could have been much better than it actually is!!!! The writers knew hartmann, yet the book sounds tired, lifeless. Written in the appice of the Cold War, the book is full of ideological comtempt for the Soviet. All in all, I think the greatest ace ever (even if we all know that German claims were tremendously overclaimed!!!) deserved a better book.

Rating:
Summary: One of the finest fighter pilots in history.
Review: This is a straight account of a man who amassed a huge and surely unrepeatable number of kills. A very important book that cuts through all the flim flam put up by an emabarresed allies in later years. With ten such men on you front mastery of the skies would have been mere wishful thinking for the allies.

Rating:
Summary: One of the finest fighter pilots in history.
Review: This is a straight account of a man who amassed a huge and surely unrepeatable number of kills. A very important book that cuts through all the flim flam put up by an emabarresed allies in later years. With ten such men on you front mastery of the skies would have been mere wishful thinking for the allies.