German Knights of the Air

I just picked up a copy of German Knights of the Air 1914-1918, by Tery C. Treadwell and Alan C. Wood. Has anyone looked through this book? If so, what are your thoughts on the quality of the information within it? I snagged it from the bargain shelf at Barnes & Nobles and was wondering how good (or bad) it is. Thanks, Shawn

[totoroman]

dunno, I own a copy of it, and I've heard other people rag on it/disparage it here on this site... but since I don't have access to a lot of other source materials I guess I have no specific complaints, other than the binding, which I wasn't really impressed with. the glue-strip method, which I think is what they're using, doesn't do so well with hard-back books over the long run... in fact, I just don't like that binding method... of course, if I had MY way they'd be stitching comic book trade paper backs together! (because a staple works nicely for 48 pages, and glue is okay for 60 to 100, but for a book of 150 pgs or more, I think I prefer the stitch method, because my books get a lot of mileage when I buy them. artists and model makers like books that they can lay flat open and not have to worry about pages flying out... well, sorry about that rant there... but, you wanted to know if anybody had complaints about the book, right?

U say u found this @ B&N on a bargain shelf? Ifn u don't mind me asking, about how much did you pay for it and what are your own opinions of this book? I would like to find it myself.

I picked it up for $9.98. I couldn't pass it up for that small amount of money. I only bought it last night after work and have only flipped through it and looked at some of the pictures. So far, I like the pictures! hehe I have no idea how accurate the information is in the book. As WWI aviation knowledge goes, I'm toward the bottom of the ladder, especially considering the expertise and knowledge found in this forum. I have started building 1/72 WWI planes and want to expand my knowledge of the era. So, I hope this book helps in the long run, and I don't have to "unlearn" everything in the book if I find a better source. -Shawn

[totoroman]

as far as modeling is concerned, I though the Jane's reprint of "Fighting Aircraft of WWI" was pretty good, especially for some of the two-seaters. I found a used copy of it for about $20, I certainly couldn't have afforded a new copy... and I also found a rickety old copy of "despatchs from D.F Haig with a matching set of maps for 75$ at a local used book store... any advice on that?

[Amy]

Shawn:

The book German Knights of the Air is quoted as being "riddled with errors" by at least one well-known WWI Aviation historian, whom I probably shouldn't reveal without his permission. The inaccuracies of this book have popped up from time to time at the Forum. Seems like there were errors in Rudolf Berthold, Oswald Boelcke, and Ernst Udet's biographies. Can't recall off-hand what was the error in Berthold's or Udet's bios. In Boelcke's bio, Treadwell and Wood write, "...he never wore a helmet or seat belt". This passage was condensed from the English translation of Erwin Boehme's letter to his girlfriend who actually wrote, "...never wore a crash helmet and never strapped himself in tight in an Albatros". With the full translation of Boehme's words, what Treadwell and Wood wrote becomes a bit misleading.

The pictures are good but I never use this book as a source any longer. Reinout Hubbers, who posts here a the Forum, has noted many disagrements with this book so perhaps he can remember the remaining errors with this book.

Amy

[Immo_Frese]

Too much faults in it as Amy said! Some examples: Fritz Rumey wasn't a bavarian. Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia (S.157), Gontermann never received the bavarian Order of Max Josef (S.79), the photo on S.161 shows Georg v.Hantelmann after his 20.victory and not Karl Emil Schäfer, who was already KIA for over a year! The Pour le Merite was awarded to Berthold 1916 and not in 1917 (S.37) and so on ... Very poor research, you can find faults in hardly every biographical chapter.
But besides this, for $10 and a first survey it's OK I think. I've paid $30 for it and was really disappointed.

Kind regards, Immo

Shawn: Got the same deal at our local B&N. Excellent photos, but sad lack of documentation and original sources. IMHO, the book is a quick and dirty collection of fine flicks, prepared for the dilettante/novice, rather than for a serious student.

Yrs aye, Bill

also try Red Knight of Germany by Floyd Gibbons, great book about MvR but it is some what hard to find since original copy was printed in 1927. I was lucky enough to get one in excellent condition from Ebay for 20 bucks.

[Reinout]

I have found many problems with the book, many of which endorsed by a professional, no names given!

I was really disappointed with the book, I paid about $25 for it in Paris a couple of year back. I don't read it much anymore but here are some of the errors that were glaring.
-several birthplaces are incorrect or incorrectly placed, like a town in west-Germany placed in Bavaria.
-medal issues (note that the GOGS have made a few mistakes in that department, like that of Berthold)
-contradictions; the book contradicts itself in certain cases. Read the Berthold bio, than read the Buddecke bio and see what they write on the issue of leadership. It's totally unresolved there but I later found out what happened in other books.

Another criticism I have is that they only used 4 books for their own work, a bit scimpy at the least. In the end it's just not very reliable. I advise anybody to save a few bucks and spend it on Above the Lines which is far better of course.

Kind regards,

Reinout