Waffen SS

This is one of those "coffee table" books that is HUGE! and concerns the men and equipment of the Waffen SS in photographs taken throughout the turbulent years of the Second World War. There are a great number of full page photos in clear detail and a great many I have not seen before,(over 350) and are well captioned. Intended as a photographic history in the same vein as "When all my Brothers are Silent" the book covers the Waffen SS from its birth to its surrender in 1945. The book is divided into sections covering the Eastern and Western fronts, the Foreign volunteers, Gotterdammerung and some of the atrocities committed by these men. Each new section has a brief overview which describes the particular theatre the divisions were involved in a very broad sense and is not specific. There are a large number of action shots, well known personalities eg Dietrich and many closeups of armour and other equipment. The book measures in size 36cm x 26cm so some of the full page photos are excellent and show fantastic detail. There are a number of maps of the various theatres that the Waffen SS fought in but these only show the particular fronts the SS were involved in and in a general area to them, they were a little disappointing. The one drawbck is the narrative which is not great but the photos are, which is a good enough reason to purchase this book alone. Just make sure your bookcase can take the size of this book though ! . .