| The First and the Last: The German Fighter Force in World War II - The German Fighter Force in World War II
(1987)
|
| Front Cover |
Book Details |
|
| Genre |
Non-Fiction |
| Subject |
Fighter pilots - Germany - Biography; Galland, Adolf, 1912-1996; Generals - Germany - Biography; Germany. Luftwaffe - Biography; World War, 1939-1945 - Aerial operations, German; World War, 1939-1945 - Personal narratives, German |
| Publication Date |
February 1987 |
| Format |
Hardcover (6.5
x
6.2
mm)
|
| Publisher |
Champlin Fighter Museum Pr |
| Language |
English |
| Extras |
Dust Jacket; Dust Jacket Cover |
|
| Personal Details |
| Acquire Date |
1/11/2017 |
| Condition |
Very Good/Very Good |
| Rating |
0 |
| Links |
Library of Congress
|
|
| Product Details |
| LoC Classification |
D787 .G313 1986 |
| Dewey |
940.544943 |
| ISBN |
9780912173108 |
| Cover Price |
$24.95 |
| No. of Pages |
370 |
| First Edition |
No |
| Rare |
No |
|
| Notes/Review |
Gift from Richard Cousins, dinner at Haus Murphy in old downtown Glendale
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Galland wrote this book almost ten years after the conclusion of the war. This means that, even if he wasn't aware of the atrocities of the regime he supported at the time, he certainly knew the story by the time this book was published. I'm used to German soldiers claiming in their memoirs that they knew nothing of the war crimes, that their units weren't involved. And I accept that the Luftwaffe (and particularly the fighter arm) were generally not directly involved, but I find Galland's attitude curious, to say the least. At one point, he says Hitler's decision (never actually implemented) to switch war production from fighters to anti-aircraft guns as "one of the most monstrous orders of the war." It amazes me that he can write these words even after knowing about the death camps, the march of the 2nd SS Panzer Division through France in June, 1944, and so on. Perhaps the head injuries Galland suffered early in his career affected his thinking.
Some of the reviews I've read talk about Galland's disdain for the Nazi leaders. However, early in the book Galland describes Hitler and Goering as lucid, calm, intelligent, and supportive. Galland seems to have liked his superiors when the war was going well. It wasn't until things got bad that his attitude seems to have changed. I'm somewhat amused at Galland's ego. Yes, he as an accomplished pilot with over 100 aerial combat victories. But several times he argues that if his leaders had listened to his suggestions the tide of war could have been changed. And he characterizes the failure to implement the jet fighter program earlier as "tragic". This is clearly not the verdict of history.
But this is a book review, not a critique of the man.
The book reads like two much different books combined into one. One book, the book about Galland -- what he did, where he went, what he thought -- was interesting. The other book, a general history of the air war in the west, is terribly slanted, ignores many hard facts, is not particularly well-written, and is certainly not a scholarly work. I would have enjoyed Galland's work much more if he'd stuck to the first and only had enough of the second to provide context.
Although the book includes photos from post-war Argentina, the text ends with the war. |
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