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Summary: The Red Baron of World War II - Adolf Galland
Review: Adolf Galland (1912-1996) describes hiself as a humble manthat just happends to have the ablility to overcomeobstacles to become the best fighter pilot on the Western Front and after the deaths of Udet and Moelders, became the General of the Fighter Arm of the Luftwaffe. He oversaw Operation Thunderbolt in which a strong German naval force passed through the English Channel in 1942. This was the only time, since the 1600s, that an enemy naval force had gone through the Channel. The Germans did not lose a major ship because of the air cover. Galland also kept the development of the first operational jet fighter, the ME-262, in development and became the first jet ace in the world. After the war, he went on to train the Argentine Air Force to fly the British Gloster Meteor and the most respected ace of World War II. He had 104 "official" kills. He admitted that he had aproxamately 50 more kills as a General and had been grounded by Hitler. This book should be read in conjuction with the biography of Adolf Galland, Fighter General by Raymond Toliver and Trevor Constable (AmPress Publishing, 1990). After reading both books, I am in awe that we actually won the war with leaders like Galland.
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Summary: Worth reading...
Review: Adolf Galland has an amazing and interesting story to tell. Literally the 'first' in the Luftwaffe in the Spanish Civil War, and the 'last' in the war flying an ME 262 jet fighter when the war was all but over, his story is a mixture of history, politics, and action sequences. He gives interesting insight into the workings of the 3rd Reich through personal conversations with Hitler and Georing. I also read his more tersely written "View from the Cockpit", at the same time as I read "First", and together these books produced a very rich and detailed view. Besides learning about Galland himself, I was interested in descriptions of the Luftwaffe, Battle of Britain, Miracle at Dunkirk, etc.. from the German perspective. I was suprised how closely Galland's story matched the history I am acquanted with from the U.S. perspective. There were a few subtle differences, such as who started terror bombing first....Read the book and see if you can discover the subtle differences in history from the German perspective!
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Summary: Essential reading for any W.W.II history junkie...
Review: Adolf Galland was one of the truly outstanding heroes of W.W.II. regardless of the side one which he served. As an individual he developed quite a large "cult" following in aviation circles and was a very popular speaker. His book was one of the first wartime memoirs published by a high ranking officer of the former enemy camp. General Galland does not go into alot of detail in regards to his "dogfights";not that he was too self-effacing,but that he was a pilot of consummate skill and many of his victories were fairly easy. (Galland held many prewar gliding records for time aloft!) When you are the best,you don't need to brag! What sets this volume apart from many of the later wartime histories is the unique position the author attained,and the descriptions derived from personal contact with many of the leaders of the Third Reich. Galland is analytical--not apologetic--in his comments on the reasons for Germany's loss to the Allies. If W.W.II history is your "thing" , then this is your book. Other reviewers have criticized the "wooden" writing style,but German is not the easiest language to translate into "literary" English. Put aside your quibble about style and read it for CONTENT and enjoy a view of recent history from one who actually made it. Five stars all the way.
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Summary: Essential reading for any W.W.II history junkie...
Review: Adolf Galland was one of the truly outstanding heroes of W.W.II. regardless of the side one which he served. As an individual he developed quite a large "cult" following in aviation circles and was a very popular speaker. His book was one of the first wartime memoirs published by a high ranking officer of the former enemy camp. General Galland does not go into alot of detail in regards to his "dogfights";not that he was too self-effacing,but that he was a pilot of consummate skill and many of his victories were fairly easy. (Galland held many prewar gliding records for time aloft!) When you are the best,you don't need to brag! What sets this volume apart from many of the later wartime histories is the unique position the author attained,and the descriptions derived from personal contact with many of the leaders of the Third Reich. Galland is analytical--not apologetic--in his comments on the reasons for Germany's loss to the Allies. If W.W.II history is your "thing" , then this is your book. Other reviewers have criticized the "wooden" writing style,but German is not the easiest language to translate into "literary" English. Put aside your quibble about style and read it for CONTENT and enjoy a view of recent history from one who actually made it. Five stars all the way.
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Summary: Average
Review: Despite what some have said this was a book that was quite easy to read. It was written reasonably soon after the war and is more a recounting of the writers experiances rather than being an in depth revelation about the war. Galland was involved in flying before the war and joined the German Air Force early. He served as a volunteer with the Nazi forces in Spain during the civil war and then served as a fighter pilot in the early part of the war. He was succesful and was promoted to a desk job in charge of fighter command. Towards the end of the war he returned to active flying duty this time in the new German jet fighters. Although a good deal of his time in the war was spent in a higher command role Galland does not have much insight into the German air defeat or the reasons why the Germans lost. He focuses on a number of factors including the delay in bringing jet aircraft into production and the failure to develop a strategic bombing force. However other books since have pointed out that the technical superiority of the jet fighter would have not saved Germany due to the enormous numerical superiority of allied forces and Germany in reality did not have the rescources to build up a strategic air fleet on top of its existing air force. Never the less although not very inciteful the book is easy to read and gives a feel of Germany in the war. The author however falls into the usual approach that most Germans in the military did in writing memoirs. That is it was all Hitlers fault and we were honourable men etc. Still not a bad read.
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Summary: Average
Review: Galland passed away in 1996, so he deserves the best memories. But this book us a typical product of late-war Germany. The book is very widespread, seldom focusing clearly in any given subject. As for air combats, they are very few. Galland also shows that he wants no blame for himself, accusing Hitler abou the ME 262 productiond elay. The ME 262 was never in action in great numbers simply because his development was very difficult ( new technologies ) and the raw material to produce it were finished.
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Summary: Yawn...
Review: I cant remember a single episode from this book. nothing happened...no dog fights, hardly any action. So he hated Goering, big deal...let me reccomend "the blonde knight, erich hartman", for a much more intresting, german perspective fighter pilot story.
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Summary: Fascinating insight in the German mind
Review: I read the book in German and found it absolutely fascinating. Being Dutch and interested in our neighbours I had two questions. 1. Why the Germans actually did what Hitler ordered them to do, 2. Why they did it so devastatingly effective. Reading Galland gave me insight in the German mind. He isn't sympathetic, he is over ambitious and he never gives up. After being degraded as a General in 1945 and the war being totally lost, he just went back operational to shoot down some more B-17's. Wether he was a Nazi remains unclear to me. He had a good relationship with Hitler. His justifications for starting the wars are revealing. As a book about aircraft or the second world war there are better ones, but if you want to understand the Germans I can recommend this one
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Summary: High Altitude Self-justification
Review: I read this book in 1964 and reread it recently in 2001. This book was written shortly after the War with a German audience in mind. Most Germans still remembered the devastation wrought during the War on Germany's cities by the Allied bombing campaign and harbored deep resent toward arrogant, boastful Luftwaffe embodied by that fat braggart, Göring. Der Fette (The Fat One)'s boast, "If one Allied bomber appears over Germany, my name's Meyer" would have been the equivalent of Robert E. Lee saying "If one Yankee soldier shows his hide in Atlanta, call me a pickaninny." Whatever his merits as a fighter pilot and a leader, Galland throws precious little light on the experiences of a fighter pilot, the technical and historic aspects of the air war or the internal politics of the Third Reich, especially considering his unique perspective. The combat vignettes are thinly drawn and perhaps could have been improved with some assistance by a ghost writer. The political infighting seems to be retold with the intention of settling some scores ("See, I toldja so!"). Any recollections of the participants in a disaster like that visited on Germany by Hitler have to be taken with a few tons of salt. The translator spins the flax of Galland's (probably) wooden German prose into the lead of (indisputably) wooden English prose. Some statements seem to contradict others a page or so away. More footnotes for the non-German reader would have been helpful. How many non-Germans know the story of the Captain of Koepenick? Nits: My copy is silent on the war in Spain and Poland, except for a publisher's note and some oblique references. The German audience could not have been very proud of Germany's role in either. (Did the Time magazine reviewer have a different translation?) The Göring quote (in my translation) is rendered: "If one Allied bomber appears over Germany, my name's not Göring." (German reader's would have been all too familiar with the original.) The story of Operation Thunderbolt is far better described in Alfred Price's "Instruments of Darkness" and R. V. Jones' "The Wizard War". I enjoyed the portrayal of Albert Speer. Some insight into the man and how he accomplished (for good or for ill) as much as he did under the circumstances prevailing in the III-Reich can be gotten from the anecdote about Galland and Speer being dressed down by Hitler, who orders all fighter aircraft production cancelled and the material used for FLAK cannon production. As soon as Speer and Galland are alone, Speer turns to Galland and says {roughly), "Don't worry, you can't make cannon out of aluminum. When the Fürher calms down I will explain this to him and tell him to increase FLAK production out of Locomotive production." Strongest point is the description of how a benevolent fate kept the ME-262 from greatly lengthening the War and increasing its costs (for all concerned). Did it occur to Galland that this story illustrated how Hitler's greatest strengths, decisiveness and lack of caution were also his greatest weaknesses? Did it occur to Galland that lengthening the War would almost certainly have meant that Germany rather Japan would have been the recipient of the World's first atomic attack?
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Summary: Great Book
Review: If you want to know more about Galland and have a little knowledge of aircraft battles, this is a great book. I read Mike Spick's book on the Luftwaffe as well. Together they made a good combo. It is interesting to see the ideas behind the military movements of the Third Reich. Some people criticize this book because Galland blames so much on Hitler. So be it! Hitler was an idiot and this book shows it very well. The more you know about WWII aircraft and equipment the more interesting this book is. The Germans did have some of the best pilots, but their methods were so wasteful and Hitler was so incompetent they were doomed. I think the book fills in a lot of pieces.
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