The Comprehensive Guide to Soviet Orders and Medals

Rating:
Summary: NOT Comprehensive - but good!
Review: An excellent reference guide, but NOT comprehensive. The pictures are beautiful, detailed, in colour and comes in plenty - this is necessary for the serious collector. Their grading system (both concerning rarity and different variations) is usefull but NOT comprehensive. If you have travelled in Eastern Europe as a collector, you know much more about rarity and variations than they do. Furthermore, their variation-system is only really usefull if your counterpart has read the book. Say, does The Order of the Red Banner Variation 3, Type 2 means anything to you? Their rarity-system may be helpfull as a guideline - not as a fact. I'm not saying their information is incorrect, it's just that there is a difference between living in Europe and in the US. It's probably a matter of distance and therefore price and rarity. What is really good about this book is the information about the fakes. It's very usefull (and unfortunately VERY brief) but of course outdated the moment you get it. But again, use it as a guide - don't trust everything you read. Remember that your common sense is your most important tool. Conclusion: You will not find a lot of books on this subject in english so I recommend you buy it, while it's still in stock. At present it's the best buy on the market. If you consider buying it, remember to check their Newsletter with the latest updates (and it's allways about 2-3 months delayed) at Historicalresearch.com

Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive Guide to Soviet Orders and Medals
Review: Being a relative newcomer to collecting Soviet Militaria, but collecting German Militaria for years, I found the book to be the best all around book on medals that I have ever read. This book details in very clear color photographs the intricacies of the medals of the Soviet Union. I would recommend this book strongly for anyone who is interested in Soviet Militaria or even Militaria in general as it is an excellent resource book.

Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive Guide to Soviet Orders and Medals
Review: Being a relative newcomer to collecting Soviet Militaria, but collecting German Militaria for years, I found the book to be the best all around book on medals that I have ever read. This book details in very clear color photographs the intricacies of the medals of the Soviet Union. I would recommend this book strongly for anyone who is interested in Soviet Militaria or even Militaria in general as it is an excellent resource book.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding reference book on Soviet orders and medals
Review: Collectors of Soviet orders and medals have been in dire need of a reference book of this type. Usefull to both beginner and advanced collectors.

The book covers rarity, variations and fakes of all known Soviet orders and medals. If you are a serious collector this is the only book you'll need!

Rating:
Summary: An invaluable reference
Review: Having been a collector of Soviet militaria since 1993, I have yet to find a more complete, fact-filled book than this one. No other book, including Russian publications, even comes close. Close up photos, front and back, showing every variant of every Soviet order or medal make this "the" book for collectors. Photos and tips on how to spot fakes are provided throughout, as well.

It's expensive and can be difficult to find, but well worth it.

Rating:
Summary: The Comprehensive Guide to Soviet Orders and Medals.
Review: The best and indispensable reference for all Soviet Orders and Medals collectors. A great referece source for WWII history. Must for Libraries and Research institutions.

Rating:
Summary: Good - but not comprehensive
Review: The Comprehensive Guide to Soviet Orders and Medals is the bestbook on the market so far, and if you are a collector in this field, I strongly recommend you buy it. It's good - very good actually - but it's not comprehensive. McDaniel and Schmitt try to list all known different types and variations, and this is of course, almost impossible. But it's a start. And it's needed. Furthermore they illustrate their descriptions with very detailed pictures - that's excellent! The only problem with this kind of book is lack of information, but I'm sure they are working on it. Especially their information on fakes needs an update. In all case this is a book to buy...

Rating:
Summary: The "reference" on Soviet Faleristics
Review: The fall of the Iron Curtain allowed the collectors of orders and decorations to buy Soviet "signs of honour" at very reasonable prices (many of us remember what the price of a Red Banner order was in the '70s!). The main problem to collectors was where to obtain informations. Most books were (and still are) written in Russian and the linguistical barrier was another thick "curtain"; more, the defect of Soviet reference books was that any topic was "filtered" through ideology, and who wasn't provided with a big sense of humour wouldn't appreciate them fully. I am one of the lucky ones having no problems at all into reading russian but, when this book was published, I've looked for a copy immediately. All my expectations were fulfilled: this "guide" shows that the authors have a strong background, both historical and social, about the USSR, other than the enthusiasm of the true collectors. After having read it thoroughly, I can say that no "trade secret" was kept, and any useful details and informations were given. Each year, many books on orders and decorations are published, but most are just trying to fill gaps in this branch of the social studies (yes, I can honestly say that phaleristic could really be an aspect of sociology). This book actually fills a gap. It is interesting to know that some collectors from the former Soviet Union already appreciate this work highly. The details about fakes are very interesting, but like any reference about the "problem #1 of collecting", it is outdated in the same moment it comes out of the press. I think that "The Comprehensive Guide", in the future, will be a collection piece itself.

Rating:
Summary: The most detailed book to date on Soviet awards.
Review: The most comprehensive and best illustrated text to date on Soviet awards. A hefty price for a very hefty book. A collector's "must have".