Books On Soviet collectables

[historyguy]

Hello!

I need to quit buying Soviet militaria for a while and get some reference books before I make any costly mistakes. (The huge medal grouping I'm in love with will just have to wait .) I would appreciate your comments on these books.

1) McDaniel's "Comprehensive Guide" vs. Muzalevsky's & Shishkov's "Orders and Medals of the USSR." What is the primary difference? I can only afford to buy one or the other right now, which one should I get?

2) Bekesi & Torok's two books on Soviet & KGB Uniforms-- are these any good? Are they important enough to buy now or are they a lower priority?

3) Anyone have
Гонюхов, С.О. и В.И. Горобцов
МВД России: 200 лет на страже закона и правопорядка.
I'm wondering if there is anything in there about my beloved OVPO/Uniformed Fire Guards.

[Gene]

Paul McDaniel's book is a "must have". Collecting Soviet badges and medals without it is just too risky.

[Christophe]

Andy,

I can only answer your first question, as I don't have and know enough the other books.

If you have only one book to buy, please buy Paul Mc Daniel's one !!!
In my opinion (shared by most Soviet collectors), it still is the reference book (even if written in 1997).

I also have Muzalevsky's & Shishkov's "Orders and Medals of the USSR." It is a good book in 2 volumes (so, more expensive). But, as it is bilingual, it is in my view less detailed, specifically about variations. Moreover paul Mc Daniel's classification is THE reference shared by all collectors. But it is very interesting as a serial number database. So, also !!

Last point, please, have a look at the Mondvor site : it is a very good online reference (but in Russian).

Hope this helps.

Cheers.

Ch.

[DougD]

#1

The Com. Guide is the best book on Soviet medals and Orders, simple. The two volume set is ok, but has enough basic errors to be a better photo reference than anything else.

You will spend hours with the Guide; try to get a used one on ebay or amazon.com.

DougD

[dannybou]

Agreed. McD's book is a must. Along with the mondvor website, it is excellent references. Also if you are into badges as well, the Avers #2 and #5 are good references but in Russian.

There is presently a Paul McDaniel book on eBay for sale, for your info.

[Eric Gaumann]

Unquestionably the Schmitt/McDaniel book is a *must have*. I open it daily. Would that it was a bit lighter in weight....

The other Soviet reference I use is the small, light, paperback "Orders And Medals Of The USSR" by Putnikov. It's invalueable for identifying the basic medals you see on ebay (for example). Using that to crossrefernce Schmitt/McDaniel is fun and rewarding. In fact Putnikov and Nimmergut* are the two books that lay on top of my printer, well within reach of the comp as I sit "surfing for medals".

S/M can still be had for $75 +/-.
Putnikov, although I haven't looked for it lately, should still be available for $15 or less.
*Nimmergut is an Imperial German medal reference book.

[dannybou]

As Eric, I also use another quick looking book called Soviet Medals and Badges by Phil Bartel and Ivan Karnes. Black and white photos, but a handy quick reference. Complimented by McD's and Avers 5 and 6.

[NavyFCO]

Here's a webpage that I wrote with some short, basic book reviews of the more common books out there. I need to update it with a few more that I've gotten, but it hits the main books that you'd be interested in. In my opinion, you really shouldn't be collecting Soviet awards without a copy of the Comphensive Guide, as all (at least the majority) of those "T5V1" rankings and such come from the book as well as lots of other great info.

http://www.forvalor.com/Book.htm

--Dave

[Darrell]

I concour with McDaniels book ... a classic in every sense of the word:

http://www.historicalresearch.com/Books2.html

[TerryG]

I have been trying to get a book forum going so I have linked this thread to this other one so that others who may not visit this particular section too often, may benefit from it too:
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...006#post723006
Hope you don't mind.

[historyguy]

Thanks!

Thank you for the comments, guys! I'll definitely start with the McDaniel book!

[Ciaran Byrne]

As for the two uniform books I would leave them alone unless you can get them really cheap. They are full of errors.