"...At a moment in history when the nexus between extremist ideology, individual fanaticism, and highly motivated military elites once again dominates the security and military planning of the world’s democracies, the author provides a thoughtful, insightful, and highly readable account of how a seemingly ordinary, well-educated young man can be manipulated by the values of an absolutist, all-embracing belief system, allied with longstanding familial values, into willingly going out to do righteous battle against a particular concept of 'barbarism...'
"The author vividly describes the dangers, discomforts, camaraderie, and intense isolation, indeed myopia, of combat. He perfectly captures the reality of a situation where life and death are experienced at the level of the section or platoon; identification is with the company or battalion; and where interest and knowledge only rarely expand to embrace any wider setting...
"A fascinating and unique contribution to our knowledge of the motivations of the men who comprised not only the Waffen-SS, but much of the rest of the German armed forces in the Second World War...It is highly recommended."

The Journal of Military History, July 2003

"Highly recommended...complements The Good Soldier and Into the Mountains Dark."

Armchair General Magazine, September 2005

• 8 Maps
• 22 photos
• 224 pages
• Softcover, 6" x 9" format
• ISBN 10: 0-9666389-8-0
• ISBN 13: 978-0-9666389-8-1

Members of the 45th Infantry Division Association, 157th Infantry Regiment Associations, 70th Infantry Division Association, the Traditionsverband of the 6th SS-Mountain Division and their family members:
$17.50

All members of the Rhine and Danube Association are eligible for a 10% discount.