Gunther Rall: A Memoir

Rating:
Summary: Günther Rall deserves better
Review: "Günther Rall: a memoir" by Jill Amadio is very disappointing because, contrary to Rall's introductory remarks that he will tell his own story, Rall seldom is allowed this opportunity.
Ms. Amadio is not familiar with the history of WW II in general or the Luftwaffe in particular. Most of the text is a simplistic and dull recitation and paraphrase from various sources about the war that took place around Rall and about his life after the war. Rall's comments are salt-and-peppered throughout, but many of his comments come across as trivial because answers to crucial and obvious follow-up questions never made it into the book.
A reader who does not already know the sequence of events during the battles of Stalingrad and Kursk (this latter never identified as Operation Citadel in English or German) will find more confusion than enlightenment here. There is no specific comment on Rall's wingmen other than Fritz Obleser, though photos of his logbook pages name several others (Wachowiak, Funcke, Hohenberg, Birkner, v. Treuberg, and Markhoff) who flew regularly with him when he achieved milestone victories. Little is said, and nothing new, about the other Luftwaffe aces who served in his and other Eastern Front units. Rall surprisingly names the Bf 109G as his favorite version of that fighter, but the reader is never told why except to be left with the misimpression that the "Gustav" was the first to use a drop tank to extend its range. The special markings and heraldry of Rall's units are totally ignored. Rall does explain some of his feelings about Hitler and the Nazi regime, and his remarks make a refreshing contrast to those of apologists, militarists, and those who have voiced total ignorance of the horror going on around them, but Rall's remarks are scattered about and far too cursory.
Ms. Amadio does not display familiarity with WW II Soviet aircraft and pilots, such as might come from the excellent "Black Cross - Red Star" books by Christer Bergström and Andrey Mikhailov, to augment Rall's experiences or correct memories dimmed by time. Nevertheless, almost every new mention of any aircraft or personality results in a halt in the narrative, often in mid paragraph, while the author provides vague, commonplace information that sounds like it came from the nearest encyclopedia. Several of these comments are repeated on later pages to no greater effect. Ms. Amadio switches back and forth randomly between a familiarity in which she writes of "Günther" and the more appropriate formality of "Rall."
Even though Rall has said elsewhere that he remembers every combat he took part in, this book's primary coverage of WW II events goes little beyond those combats previously discussed as long ago as Toliver and Constable's "Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe." The biggest addition is detailed coverage, including information from and about the American pilots involved, of Rall's combat on 12 May 1944. In this one discussion the reader realizes what "Günther Rall: a memoir" could have been.
Genre books like this are often poorly edited, and computer spellchecking almost always substitutes for proofreading. Organization throughout the book is poor. Neither the author nor her editors knew how to use commas correctly or consistently. Rall's wonderful essay on the making of a fighter pilot starts as a quotation with the appropriate punctuation mark, but no quotation mark precedes any of the following paragraphs, nor is there a closing mark. The space between lines of type is so exaggerated that the 400 pages of text could easily have fit on 300.
The editing problems are not limited to English. The German common nouns Rotte and Schwarm are italicized but not capitalized. Allgemeine is spelled "allgemagne." General Kuhlmey, with never a first name, has his family name twice misspelled. Gigant (giant), marked on the endpaper maps as a Luftwaffe air base SW of Stalingrad, is mentioned in the text but never translated or explained.
"Günther Rall: a memoir" will irritate readers with even basic prior knowledge of Eastern Front air combat. Its photos are useless to scale modelers. Collectors of Luftwaffe aces' books and WW II aviation lore will find its cover attractive. Historians interested in the post-1954 Luftwaffe (the relevant chapter never says clearly when the new Luftwaffe was established) might find those chapters worthwhile.
Rall seems to be a very competent writer. "Günther Rall: a memoir" is only alive when he speaks at length in his own words about what he has experienced, and there are far too few of his words in this book.

Rating:
Summary: Author Fails To Identify The Target Audience
Review: After reading this book the reader is left with th question "is that it'? In places the book reads like a basic history lesson about World War 2 and this can only be attributed to the fact that the author has failed to identify the target audience. Most people picking this book to read already know the basic events of World War 2 but are wanting to know specfic details of Rall's fighter pilot exploits, his opinion on the performance on the Messerschmitt 109 and it's adversaries, his friendships, hardships, triumphs and tragedys etc. Instead the reader is left both frustrated and disappointed as the author only skims the surface of such details. Maybe it is because Gunther Rall has left it so late to have an authorised biography done that such details are now a distant memory. However, I prefer to think it is the authors lack of experience or interest with the topic at hand. The book does have some good points: it covers Rall's post war career and has many photos throughout. This is not enough though as a better job could and should have been acheived with the material at hand.

Rating:
Summary: Author Fails To Identify The Target Audience
Review: After reading this book the reader is left with th question "is that it'? In places the book reads like a basic history lesson about World War 2 and this can only be attributed to the fact that the author has failed to identify the target audience. Most people picking this book to read already know the basic events of World War 2 but are wanting to know specfic details of Rall's fighter pilot exploits, his opinion on the performance on the Messerschmitt 109 and it's adversaries, his friendships, hardships, triumphs and tragedys etc. Instead the reader is left both frustrated and disappointed as the author only skims the surface of such details. Maybe it is because Gunther Rall has left it so late to have an authorised biography done that such details are now a distant memory. However, I prefer to think it is the authors lack of experience or interest with the topic at hand. The book does have some good points: it covers Rall's post war career and has many photos throughout. This is not enough though as a better job could and should have been acheived with the material at hand.

Rating:
Summary: Gunther Rall: A Memoir
Review: I gave "Gunther Roll: A Memoir" five stars because it is a well-documented, evocatively written biography of a man who was an outstanding hero of World War II. Although Gen. Roll fought against the United States and its allies, Ms. Amadio has portrayed his life with such sensitivity and attention to detail, that readers can overcome their natural inclinations to feel hostile towards an "enemy" and (...) view him objectively as a human being with the heroic qualities of intelligence, spirituality, loyalty, and allegiance to his country that make his life exemplary. Although he fought for against the Allies, he was never sympathetic to the inhumane beliefs and horrific cruelty of(...) fanatical followers and he emerged from the war so well-respected that the postwar allied powers solicited his advice and expertise well in repairing the damage the war had inflicted.
I recommend this outstanding book to all open-minded readers who are interested in WWII, as it was lived and fought in the skies by a legendary pilot, general, and hero that rose, quite literally, above the limitations of his rulers.

Rating:
Summary: Gunther Rall: A Memoir
Review: I gave "Gunther Roll: A Memoir" five stars because it is a well-documented, evocatively written biography of a man who was an outstanding hero of World War II. Although Gen. Roll fought against the United States and its allies, Ms. Amadio has portrayed his life with such sensitivity and attention to detail, that readers can overcome their natural inclinations to feel hostile towards an "enemy" and (...) view him objectively as a human being with the heroic qualities of intelligence, spirituality, loyalty, and allegiance to his country that make his life exemplary. Although he fought for against the Allies, he was never sympathetic to the inhumane beliefs and horrific cruelty of(...) fanatical followers and he emerged from the war so well-respected that the postwar allied powers solicited his advice and expertise well in repairing the damage the war had inflicted.
I recommend this outstanding book to all open-minded readers who are interested in WWII, as it was lived and fought in the skies by a legendary pilot, general, and hero that rose, quite literally, above the limitations of his rulers.

Rating:
Summary: Gunther Rall:A Memoir Review
Review: I have just finished reading Jill Amadio's Biographical account of one of the greatest fighter pilots ever. Gunther Rall was the third highest scoring ace and flew for the Luftwaffe in WWII.

This book is so well written, it is almost impossible to put down without reading it cover-to-cover. I have been reading books about WWII Pilots for many years and have only found a few that are written as well. This certainly ranks among the top in my library.



Rating:
Summary: Could have been much better
Review: I was really looking forward to this book but I have to say that I was disappointed. As the third highest scoring ace of all time, I expected more details of Rall's combat experience on the Russian and home fronts. I think that the main problem with this book is that the author, Jill Amadio, has no feel for the military experience and it shows. In addition, some photos are mislabeled and the text has several factual errors, ie: page 160, talks about snow on the ground during the Kursk offensive in July! The long awaited biography of this top ace could have been much better.

Rating:
Summary: Aviation Catastrophe
Review: This book is a catastrophe. It is simply a crying shame that Mr. Ralls story ended up in the hands of an author such as Jill Amadio. Throughout the book I had a nagging feeling I was reading a very long fourth grade book report. Jill Amadio pulls this story off about as well as if Hillary Clinton wrote what it was like to be a Marine Pointman Vietnam. I am a former Marine and a fanatical pilot, I live and breath aviation. I expect an author to put me in the cockpit to feel what it was like to be in combat as the pilot I was reading about. Ms. Amadio, not only does not attempt this but makes it obvious she has no knowledge of aviation at all. Here's a choice quote of hers "Thats why its so important to survive your initial missions, because you learn so much". Seems like surviving ALL missions would be fairly important. How is it that statements like this made it past an editor to get into print. The rest of the book was written on just about this level. My sympathys go out to Mr. Rall. And Ms. Amadio, please go back to writing whatever it is you write and leave the aviation community alone. You don't come within a million miles of "getting it". We don't need your help.

Rating:
Summary: Finally, Rall's story
Review: This book makes an excellent addition to any Luftwaffe library. Rall's characteristic humor and modesty comes through in the text, serving to shed light on the tremendous strength of character needed to survive so many hundreds of aerial combats.
All the statistics and unit data concerning Gunther Rall and his aircraft can be found in technical books, this memoir is a much more personal impression of the war and how it affected his life and decisions after it ended. It gives the reader an insight into why he went into the military before WW2 and his perceptions of the politics around him as the German government developed into a dark dictatorship. His descriptions of meetings with Hitler are fascinating, and his depiction of combat on the Eastern Front reveal a vast and difficult theater of operations to survive in.
Of great interest additionally are the revelations of his life after the end of the war, trying to eek out a living with his family in post-war Germany, and finally his work to build a new German Air Force during the fifties from the surviving Luftwaffe commanders. A very important book for aviation enthusiasts to have in their collection, from a truly amazing man.

Rating:
Summary: Decent Account but not Definitive
Review: This new `authorised' biography of Gunther Rall, the Luftwaffe's third highest scoring ace of WW2, offers the reader an interesting insight into the man who piloted a Bf 109 against Germany's enemies on the Eastern and Western Fronts of the Second World War.

The book provides the reader with details about Rall's wartime activities, the end of the war, his civilian life and his role in the re-emergence of a German Air Force during the Cold War. For those who may not be aware of Gunther Rall's tally of victories during the Second World War he amassed a total of 275 `kills', mostly on the Eastern Front.

I was immediately attracted to this book for two reasons, the eye catching cover and because it's the only biography that I am aware of covering this extraordinary ace. I have read a few accounts of German aces and Rall is mentioned in most but nothing in great detail.

I must admit that I was slightly disappointed in this book, I was hoping for much more in relation to Rall's aerial fighting over the Russian steppes. This book didn't offer much in-depth detail about his fighter combat against Russian aircraft or his role in the defence of the Reich in 1944-45.

The author does provide some insightful information about Rall the man, the pilot and the leader, although somewhat general in nature, with numerous first-hand accounts thrown in. The book is still quite interesting to read and held my attention throughout, especially the period of Rall learning to fly the F-104 during the Cold War.

I found that the narrative was sometimes a bit disjointed along with what appeared to be a few chronological errors. However the overall affect was an enjoyable read about a most courageous and decent pilot offering `the other side' of the story from his perspective. I enjoyed reading about Rall's encounters with Allied aces after the war and the stories they swapped around a dinner table.

In the end I would have liked more aerial combat detail, a bit more nitty-gritty about how he chalked up so many kills, and more stories about his experiences fighting on the Eastern Front. One good point is that the book does provide numerous black and white photographs from Rall's wartime years and onwards.

In spite of my criticisms I am still pleased that I purchased the book and had the chance to `meet' this most fascinating man. However, I think that the definitive `combat' account of Gunther Rall and his experiences flying and fighting with the Luftwaffe is yet to come.