Adolf Galland: The Authorized Biography

This is every school-boy's hero book. For those of you that don't know the name, the late Adolf Galland was the Luftwaffe's most famous World War II fighter pilot. Grining roguishley from the front cover, the story within however, is much more than an account of Spitfire and Messerschmitt air-to-air victories. Once into the fairly intense writing style, the chapters within give a fascinating insight into the Wehrmacht's grand battle plans for the conquest of Europe, Asia and Africa. The Luftwaffe was a higly trained and disciplined fighting force which commanded great loyalty amongst its personnel. Unfortunately this valuable asset was almost totally let down by the high command's basic misunderstanding of modern aerial warfare and its inability to adapt from 'Blitzkrieg' tactics to a war of attrition, strategic bombing and fighter defence. Galland often bashed his head against brick walls put up by dillentante members of his senior command, most notably Herman Goering.! This autobiography relates strategic thinking as well as the day-to-day reality of a front line fighter unit. Galland himself was a genuine flying fanatic who was always restless when away from aeroplanes. He was also a lady's man, i.e. a typical pilot. A great read.

This history is something that should never be lost. Men like Gen. Adolf Galland are far and few, many lessons on strife, integrity, character, can be learned from his life. Not only do you learn about the man, but you also learn about a time in history that is constantly under attack and threatened with revision. This books tells the story the way that it happened. A must have book for any serious collector or historian.

I found that the book described Adolf Galland's life exceptionally well, however early in the book, it tended to become bogged down with technical details of the air battles and unit formations that tended to drift from the main topic -being Adolf Galland. It was also interesting to see how he maintained his relationships with his fellow pilots during and after the war

This was a very excellent biography about a man who may well have been the greatest fighter pilot of the Second World War. The book tells the story of Adolf Galland's life from his birth in 1912 to his death in 1996. As would be expected the books focuses primarily on Galland's activities in WWII as a German pilot first in the Spanish Civil War and follows his amazing career through his promotion to Inspector General of German Fighter Forces and his work with the Jet "Squadron of Experts" JV-44. The book is well written and instead of focusing solely on Galland, does a good job of explaining what was going on during the war and how Galland fit in to the course of events. It was very interesting reading and is a must for any serious student of World War Two aviation history. I am convinced that Adolf Galland was probably one of the most principled and honorable men I have read about. Although he fought on the side of the side of the Nazi's, he fought for his homeland not Hilter and was a hero in the truest sense of the word