Shocking new book references Feldgrau.com extensively...

[Jason Pipes]

In other news, I've had discussions with both the publisher and with at least one of the authors of this book. I will provide an update on both fronts shortly, as well as a lengthy rebuttal article that will hopefully be published in various sources.

[Tom Houlihan]

In other news, I've had discussions with both the publisher and with at least one of the authors of this book. I will provide an update on both fronts shortly, as well as a lengthy rebuttal article that will hopefully be published in various sources.

Oh, wouldn't I have loved to be a fly on the wall then!!!

[Jason Pipes]

Please keep posts in this thread related specifically to discussing reviews of this book and not to attacking or questioning other posters.

[Spiegelsaal]

This type of "scholarship" is rampant in American universities. It is clear that crimes of war took place on the Eastern Front, but there is no evidence to suggest that the average landser can be responsible for carrying them out, nor were those crimes as widespread as some claim.

The Vietnam War is handled in a similar fashion. In a Modern East Asia course I took, all that was taught about Vietnam was that American troops committed numerous atrocities. For a student to say that those incidents were isolated and truly out of character for American soldiers was scoffed at by the professor.

Academic fascism at its absolute worst.

Jason, I hope you pursue that matter legally and teach them a lesson.

[Uli]

This type of "scholarship" is rampant in American universities. It is clear that crimes of war took place on the Eastern Front, but there is no evidence to suggest that the average landser can be responsible for carrying them out, nor were those crimes as widespread as some claim.

The Vietnam War is handled in a similar fashion. In a Modern East Asia course I took, all that was taught about Vietnam was that American troops committed numerous atrocities. For a student to say that those incidents were isolated and truly out of character for American soldiers was scoffed at by the professor.

Academic fascism at its absolute worst.

Jason, I hope you pursue that matter legally and teach them a lesson.

I wholeheartedly agree. In the past I was frequently invited by professor-colleagues to explain my role as a U.S. Marine in the Vietnam War, and I received much the same treatment from them as that highlighted by you, Spiegelsaal: I'm increasingly of the notion that one day, given the astounding political divisions and historical revisionisms presently existing within the fading U.S., Marines of my era will openly be branded as war criminals within my own country, much as society over the course of the past 65 years has unfairly labeled German soldiers of WWII as such. However, it's not like I'll be wholly disappointed in being compared with people like Rall, Prien, or Witzig--or any or all of the millions who served in the same uniform.

Having spent 19 years teaching university history like Smelser, I've met a good many professors who'll happily condemn in a lump the German armed forces of the Second World War, even as they proclaim as "glorious heroes" the collective Soviet Red Army--an army that, among other dubious exploits, played a key role in the forced submission and partitioning of Poland and the cold-blooded murder of hundreds of her army's officer cadre.

[Bittrich]

Good luck Jason, Marc, and anyone else mentioned. From what I've read it is a book that I would not be interested in reading.

[John W. Howard]

Hello Gents:
I found a copy of this at my local bookstore and scanned the 18 or so pages relating to Jason and Feldgrau. The author basically cherry-picked a few select questions posted on Feldgrau like "What is your favorite Waffen SS Division?" to illustrate how out-of-touch we all are. There is really nothing in the 18 pages I saw which proved or attempted to prove that Feldgrau somehow distorts the historical record of the Ostfront, which is the main thrust of the book. What is there is a great and lofty disapproval of anyone who goes against the current academic orthodoxy that anyone interested in the German military of WWII is a deluded romancer, especially amateurs without academic credentials. The real heroes of the Ostfront were, of course, the Red Army who represented goodness and light. How supposedly intelligent academics can condemn the military of one totalitarian regime and worship the military of another is beyond me.
I predict the end result of this book will be to gain Feldgrau more members. There are people out there interested in the military aspects of WWII and the German military in particular, and they are going to come here to get it, because constipated academics will not touch the subject with a ten-foot pole. Quite frankly we do a better job here on Feldgrau covering this period of history than the authors of the book will ever do.

[Annelie]

Quite frankly we do a better job here on Feldgrau covering this period of history than the authors of the book will ever do

Ditto.

Couldn't agree more John.

[John P. Moore]

For those who have not checked Amazon lately, there are now a total of 8 reviews, only one of which is positive.

http://www.amazon.com/review/product/05 ... ewpoints=1


John

[phylo_roadking]

...and just look at who that "positive" is!

I do believe it's the same gentleman who also reviewed as a wholy inaccurate and prejudiced anti-Soviet HISTORY...

...George Orwell's "1984"!

That legend-in-his-own-lunchtime, Y.Mann, better know as....