Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #281572 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 144 pages

Synopsis
"Into the Abyss: The Last Years of the Waffen-SS, A Photographic History" presents a comprehensive record of the elite Waffen-SS divisions that fought both on the Eastern and Western Fronts during the last two years of the war. Drawing on previously unpublished photographs, many of which have come from the albums of SS veterans, it presents a unique visual account of these formations, some elite and some thrown together from barely-trained conscripts. With an accurate in-depth descriptive caption every photograph brings to life the tactics and components that made up a fully-fledged Waffen-SS division. With over 180 unpublished photographs accompanied by detailed captions and text, "Into the Abyss" presents a captivating glimpse of one of the most well-known and notorious military organisations of the Second World War, focusing on the final 18 months of the conflict.

Customer Reviews

Poor captioning lets down an interesting account
A good book let down by some very poor captioning. Two examples spring to mind: a photo' showing, inter alia, a T34/76 parked under some trees is captioned as being in the Ardennes! The second example is the very frequent misidentification of armour; Panzer III are often identified as Panzer IV and Stug assualt guns are named as Panzer III!
On the positive side, the photos are interesting even if mis-captioned. The danger is that someone without an in-depth knowledge of the subject might take the photo' captions at face value.

Interesting photos but some reservations
This book does deliver on its claim to provide many previously unpublished photographs. However, a number of indisputable errors in the captions may raise some disquiet. For example, on p.24 two Heer soldiers are erroneously described as Waffen SS; in a couple of photos on p. 42-43 SS NCOs are misdescribed as "officers". On their own these errors are not terribly important but they may lead the reader to wonder if there is other incorrect information included in the captions which is less easily detected.

Excellent overview with many new photographs
If you are looking for a good basic overview containing many photographs showing the Waffen SS in action during the final two years of the war then this book is for you.

It is incorrect to say that many of the photographs are early war images that have been recycled. The uniforms and equipment in use clearly indicate a late war setting. In addition, despite the very many books published on this subject, this title managed to come up with a number of images I have not seen before anywhere else.

Considering the price you can pick this up for on Amazon, it's well worth adding to your collection, is sturdily bound and nicely printed on glossy paper.