Regular marked price: $59.95Discount Price: $39.32
Cost Savings: $20.63 (34%)Price fluctuation possible.
How soon does it ship: Normal ship time within one day
Shipping? Absolutely FREE if you qualify for Super Saver Shipping.
Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 940
EAN num: 9781906033026
ISBN number: 1906033021
Label: Helion and Company
Manufacturer: Helion and Company
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 464
Printing Date: 2007-02
Publishing house: Helion and Company
Sale Popularity Level: 779051
Studio: Helion and Company
Other books you might be interested in perusing:
Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Most military historians are in agreement that Feldmarschall Erich von Manstein was the most outstanding German high commander of the Second World War. Many view him as the foremost exponent of large-scale mobile operations in any of the Second World War armies.
Surprisingly, no biography of him has yet been written. To this day, his family refuses to release the papers of his estate to the German military archives at Freiburg. Furthermore the contradictions in the personality of von Manstein make it difficult to generate a synthesis. On one side there is an extraordinary military talent, on the other many political and moral aspects. His military achievements stand in sharp contrast to his inhumane policy of occupation in Russia, his active participation in the slaughter of Jews in Southern Ukraine and the Crimea and his ambivalent attitude to the military resistance movement.
These contradictions have led the author to describe Manstein as 'the Janushead' - the term chosen for the title of the book. He has not written a traditional biography but a portrait.
A complete account of all phases of Manstein's career is given in one chapter, seven more chapters deal extensively with milestones in Manstein's career: his successful plan for the battle of France which led to the defeat of the French Army in less than one month, his dereliction of duty during the battle for Stalingrad, his hubris which led to the disaster of the battle for Kursk, his refusal to take part in the military resistance movement, his compliance with the Commissar order and his involvement in the Holocaust.
The author has widened the subject well beyond the personality of its central figure. It shows how the Nazi system, step by step, succeeded in perverting the centuries-old traditions of the Prussian and German officer corps. Thus, an additional number of German generals are treated in detail to illustrate how moral decrepitude progressively penetrated the highest levels of the armed forces.
This is a very important book, not just because of its up-to-date treatment of von Manstein, a personality who very much requires such an examination, but also due to its wide-ranging and original examination of the Second World War German officer corps at the highest levels.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
-
Although Field Marshal Erich von Manstein was among the very first of Germany's Second World War commanders to write his memoirs (Lost Victories), there has been no decent biography of this famous commander written to date. Marcel Stein's Field Marshal von Manstein, a Portrait: The Janus Head admits up front that it is a `portrait' not a bibliography, which proves to be quite true. Unfortunately, this book would be more accurately described as goulash, rather than coherent historical writing, since the author has a pronounced tendency to wander away from his subject and pursue other items that strike his fancy. Furthermore, the author cannot seem to put the fact that he is a French Jew aside for even one second (he mentions it more frequently than von Manstein's battlefield victories) and his bias is openly displayed when he constantly brings up how von Manstein's actions affected Jews (forget about all the other Soviet citizens his campaigns killed). Readers expecting an appreciation of von Manstein's military abilities will be sourly disappointed by the author's sloppy attention to military detail and haste to skip over military campaigning in order to get to the Holocaust. In short, this book is a platform to make von Manstein the poster boy for senior Wehrmacht officers who lacked the guts to stop Hitler or his Holocaust.
The book consists of eight chapters, beginning with a 52-page opening section that covers all of von Manstein's career from birth to death, although it is far from comprehensive. Somehow, the author manages to completely miss the combat death of von Manstein's son Gero, which had a significant effect on the field marshals mood after 1942. After providing the minimum elements of a standard biography, the author then uses the remaining 86 percent of the book to shift to the use of theme-based chapters. The very first three cover von Manstein's military contributions during the Battle for France in 1940, the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942 and the Battle for Kursk in 1943. In the fifth chapter, the author examines von Manstein's role in the anti-Hitler conspiracy that culminated in the July 20th Plot. However, the author's main focus is on chapters five and six, which examine von Manstein's complicity in the conduct of `the Commissar Order' and the Holocaust - all told, these two chapters comprise one-third of the entire book. A brief concluding chapter attempts to assess von Manstein's character. The book has three sketch maps, no appendices and a 13-page bibliography.
In regard to the military chapters, the author displays an amazing disregard for facts and blatant ignorance. Commenting on von Manstein's role in the Battle of Lake Ladoga in September 1942, Stein writes that, "no operations took place in the North ...when the units of the 11th Army encountered the Red Army's Novgorod front under General Vatutin and suffered a setback. Manstein does not mention this in his memoirs and writes only about the annihilation of the Russian Army. Conceivably both events occurred." Ok. Aside from ignoring the fact that von Manstein stopped a major Soviet effort to relieve the siege of Leningrad, the author got the wrong Soviet Front (it was Volkhov) and commander (Meretskov, not Vatutin). Indeed, Vatutin never served in this area during the war. Furthermore, von Manstein's memoirs did not claim the annihilation of the entire Soviet 2nd Army - merely the part trapped inside a pocket. This type of error-plagued writing seriously undermines the writers' credibility - and this occurs on page 41.
Von Manstein's development of the Sichelschnitt plan that led to the spectacular German breakthrough at Sedan and the rapid defeat of France in 1940 is belittled as `superfluous.' The author argues that the Wehrmacht was destined to win in the West due to superior tactics and leadership, but this broad assertion is not well supported. Stein also begins an annoying tendency to go off on tangents, spending a great deal of time focusing on French General Gamelin's character. After skipping over von Manstein's successes in the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa and the capture of Sevastopol, the author spends a lengthy chapter condemning him for failing to order von Paulus to breakout of the Stalingrad pocket. In the Kursk chapter, the author slams von Manstein for advocated a hopeless offensive. Von Manstein's final successes - rescuing the survivors from the Korsun pocket and Hube's pocket - are also virtually ignored. Oddly, after criticizing von Manstein's military contributions throughout the book, Stein then concludes that he was the Wehrmacht's best commander.
The author also spends a great deal of effort condemning von Manstein for not joining the anti-Hitler conspiracy and cites his `defects of character' for not committing treason. I'm sick of modern writers who make it seem that joining a conspiracy against one of the most vicious dictators in history was ... Read More
Rated by buyers 
-
I was eager to receive this book, as Manstein has always been an enigmatic figure...probably Germany's outstanding general of World War II, yet evidently a man lacking in moral character and personal courage as his country fell into catastrophe. I have long searched for a scholarly biography or study of his role during the War. Yet this poorly written, appallingly edited and miserably translated book does little seriously to analyze and probe this complex man. After the very first 100 pages I skimmed through the rest so at least I could say I read it. But it was a chore.
Rated by buyers -
This book is not a good one, and that is a pity. Why is this the case. Well in the very first place there is very little objectivity. The opinion of the author is very clear and there is very little room for an open en fair balance. Facts are not used in the proper way. When writing a sort of a biography that balance is essential.
Second there are almost no new facts about Von Manstein. The most things you can read in other books about WWII, The german Army, Stalingrad etc. When writting a book about one person, you expect new things
Third, much information goes not about Von Manstein and has very little relevancy for the central person in this book.For Example the long story about Gamalin and other France generals.
It is certainly not a superb book and also not a complete biography. It is very much the unbalanced opinion of the writer. Don't buy it is my advise.
Rated by buyers 
-
Military libraries strong in World War II history, particularly in profiling German military personalities, probably already have casual coverage and mention of von Manstein, largely considered the most outstanding German high commander of the war - but no complete biography of him has appeared in print until now, making Field Marshal Von Manstein: The Janus Head/A Portrait an unparalleled 'must' for any serious military holding. From his political and military achievements to his inhumane policies in Russia and active participation in Jewish slaughters, this book outlines the contradictions in Manstein's psyche and analyzes both his military and philosophical might. A 'must' for any collection going beyond casual World War II analysis.
Rated by buyers -
This is comfortably one of the most important books published on the Second World War German armed forces in recent years. For decades, Manstein's reputation has rested on his self-serving autobiography, and similar hagiographical studies. This brand new work, based on deep research in German and Soviet archives, paints him in a different light.
The book is organised around central themes, which are broadly chronological. Some of the most interesting material relates to his involvement in the invasion of the Soviet Union, both in terms of his battlefield performance and his involvement in the Holocaust.
This is not light 'airport' reading, but it is filled with clarity and throws a huge amount of light on the German Second World War officer corps in general, as well as Manstein himself.
However, I cannot agree with one reviewer that this book has been sloppily done by the publisher. The book is very professionally laid out, with very clear footnotes and maps. There is a comprehensive list of sources and bibliography, and index.
In a word, Superb! If you have a real interest in the German Armed Forces in World War II, then this should be on your bookshelf.
Find other books like this one:
