I posted this in the Crosses Forum (here), but I thought I'd reproduce it here too. Brian Razkauskas is a forum member and I found his book really great and deserving of support.
I was given an advance copy of Brian Razkauskas' book Iron Cross Documents of World War II and asked to write a review. This was a bit of a bold request because the author didn't ask me to write a good review, just to be honest.
Of course the documents themselves are the centerpiece of the book, and there are a lot of them in this well-written and extremely well-illustrated volume. I didn't count but I would guess there are a few hundred examples illustrated. Brian has clearly differentiated the three principal types, as well as a few subcategories within those types. He's got beautifully illustrated sections on field-made documents, hand-written documents, replacement documents, variant documents, documents with award details on the reverse, and more. It is an extremely comprehensive survey of the subject.
To look at its cover, Iron Cross Documents seems to be a book only about the documents themselves. In truth it is much more. I'm not sure how common this is among EK collectors, but I myself have never really understood -- or even tried to understand -- the intricacies of the various documents related to the Iron Cross. I am fascinated by the crosses themselves -- the different materials and makers, the differences in design, etc. -- but the differences between a Soldbuch and a Wehrpaß, to say nothing of Vorläufiges Besitzurkunde, Wehrstammbücher, or Verleihungsliste, always eluded me. Brian's book has finally demystified this whirlwind of paperwork in an engaging, lucid way.
Brian has also included hundreds of original photos: award ceremonies, recipients, famous signers, studio portraits, and more. My favorite photos in the book are those in which the recipients of the Iron Cross stand immediately following the ceremony with their decorations pinned to their tunics and the documents in their hands. There are quite a number of these; one of the best is one the cover. These photos underline the importance of the documents themselves. They also provide welcome visual texture to the layout; a 300-page book with nothing but document scans would probably tire the eyes of even the hardest-core document enthusiast.
While all the information in this book is extremely valuable, I think Brian's most significant achievement is how successfully he has transmitted his own enthusiasm for the subject of Iron Cross documents. Frankly, the subject of documents had been of limited interest to me. This book has changed that. The overall impressions this book left on me are, first, just how important these documents were to their recipients, and second, just how fascinating they can be to collectors. Each document is like a piece of a puzzle when you know how to read it. It tells you something about the soldier whose name appears on it, the action in which he distinguished himself, the location, the unit, the commander. All these small details, when viewed in aggregate, provide a vehicle for understanding the war as a whole. It's clear, for example, that a great deal of Brian's impressive knowledge of the minutiae of World War II -- the movement of units, the names of commanders, the relevance of specific battles, whatever -- comes from his sophisticated understanding of award documents, and his ability to read them as an expert. One of his main purposes of the book seems to be to teach that ability to other collectors and enthusiasts, and in this goal he succeeds admirably.
No review is really complete without some criticism, so I'll just mention my one small complaint: it could have used a larger section on Spange documents, as the Spange to the Iron Cross was an important part of the Iron Cross family. But this is a pretty minor oversight in an impressive book.
As I've said, I'm no document expert. But I can't imagine this book being surpassed as a reference for an Iron Cross document collector any time soon -- perhaps ever. The book is clear, well-written with superb layout, and fascinating. In my reference library of Iron Cross books, there are only a handful I consider essential. Brian Razkauskas' Iron Cross Documents of World War II is now one of them, and I would recommend it to any Iron Cross collector or enthusiast. It will deepen your understanding of the Iron Cross itself, and open a whole new world to appreciate as well.
I was given an advance copy of Brian Razkauskas' book Iron Cross Documents of World War II and asked to write a review. This was a bit of a bold request because the author didn't ask me to write a good review, just to be honest.
Of course the documents themselves are the centerpiece of the book, and there are a lot of them in this well-written and extremely well-illustrated volume. I didn't count but I would guess there are a few hundred examples illustrated. Brian has clearly differentiated the three principal types, as well as a few subcategories within those types. He's got beautifully illustrated sections on field-made documents, hand-written documents, replacement documents, variant documents, documents with award details on the reverse, and more. It is an extremely comprehensive survey of the subject.
To look at its cover, Iron Cross Documents seems to be a book only about the documents themselves. In truth it is much more. I'm not sure how common this is among EK collectors, but I myself have never really understood -- or even tried to understand -- the intricacies of the various documents related to the Iron Cross. I am fascinated by the crosses themselves -- the different materials and makers, the differences in design, etc. -- but the differences between a Soldbuch and a Wehrpaß, to say nothing of Vorläufiges Besitzurkunde, Wehrstammbücher, or Verleihungsliste, always eluded me. Brian's book has finally demystified this whirlwind of paperwork in an engaging, lucid way.
Brian has also included hundreds of original photos: award ceremonies, recipients, famous signers, studio portraits, and more. My favorite photos in the book are those in which the recipients of the Iron Cross stand immediately following the ceremony with their decorations pinned to their tunics and the documents in their hands. There are quite a number of these; one of the best is one the cover. These photos underline the importance of the documents themselves. They also provide welcome visual texture to the layout; a 300-page book with nothing but document scans would probably tire the eyes of even the hardest-core document enthusiast.
While all the information in this book is extremely valuable, I think Brian's most significant achievement is how successfully he has transmitted his own enthusiasm for the subject of Iron Cross documents. Frankly, the subject of documents had been of limited interest to me. This book has changed that. The overall impressions this book left on me are, first, just how important these documents were to their recipients, and second, just how fascinating they can be to collectors. Each document is like a piece of a puzzle when you know how to read it. It tells you something about the soldier whose name appears on it, the action in which he distinguished himself, the location, the unit, the commander. All these small details, when viewed in aggregate, provide a vehicle for understanding the war as a whole. It's clear, for example, that a great deal of Brian's impressive knowledge of the minutiae of World War II -- the movement of units, the names of commanders, the relevance of specific battles, whatever -- comes from his sophisticated understanding of award documents, and his ability to read them as an expert. One of his main purposes of the book seems to be to teach that ability to other collectors and enthusiasts, and in this goal he succeeds admirably.
No review is really complete without some criticism, so I'll just mention my one small complaint: it could have used a larger section on Spange documents, as the Spange to the Iron Cross was an important part of the Iron Cross family. But this is a pretty minor oversight in an impressive book.
As I've said, I'm no document expert. But I can't imagine this book being surpassed as a reference for an Iron Cross document collector any time soon -- perhaps ever. The book is clear, well-written with superb layout, and fascinating. In my reference library of Iron Cross books, there are only a handful I consider essential. Brian Razkauskas' Iron Cross Documents of World War II is now one of them, and I would recommend it to any Iron Cross collector or enthusiast. It will deepen your understanding of the Iron Cross itself, and open a whole new world to appreciate as well.