Eyewitness Accounts of Hitler's Elite Troops - Waffen SS Soldier Stories

This book was likely never edited, at least not by a professional. Spelling and grammar mistakes are widespread. Even descriptions under photos are cut off. Much information is repeated unnecessarily and the histories of each individual are only covered superficially. The title is very misleading as the 'soldier stories' are never really told in their own words. I can only remember reading two or three quotes from the individuals themselves. I regret purchasing this and I find it a bit suspicious that so many of the reviews on this the store page are favorable.

If you want to learn about the Waffen SS there are dozens of books out there. Close your eyes and pick one, it will certainly be better than this one. If you want real soldiers stories read Guy Sajers The Forgotten Soldier, Knappes Soldat, Neitzel's Soldaten, or Blood Red Snow. You will not be disappointed.

Very inaccurate title. The term "Eyewitness Accounts" is a misrepresentation. I got about one third of the way through before realizing there were almost no personal eyewitness accounts from individual soldiers, only generalized third-person story telling by the author. There are many better books for one looking for personal stories told by former German SS soldiers. The series of books by Sprech Media chief among them. This book is also maddeningly in need of a editor. Grammatical errors abound and there is a lot of repetition. Did I say there is a lot of repetition? One of the funniest errors was Ryan's use of the word Calvary when describing an SS Cavalry unit. Calvary is the name of the hill of Jesus crucifixion in Jerusalem and has nothing to do with the Nazi Schutz Staffel. I have read a couple other titles by Jenkins and they were far better.

A good compilation of the more famous (or infamous) Waffen SS Soldiers of World War II. As a student of World War II myself, I found the stories to be factual and well presented. I would have given five stars but for the overuse of the word 'however' in many of sequential sentences and the additional editing the book needs. If you are interested in the Waffen SS's more heroic exploits, you too will find this a good book to read.

Another great and well-researched book that I have purchased and read. Reading books like this makes me turn back time and the writer Ryan did not fail me to feel that I was really on the time of this book. Such honor to read stories or even documentaries about the history. No matter which past or history it may come from. And I appreciate writers who give efforts for this kind of subject. Definitely will be reading this again. Most highly recommended!

A good compilation of the more famous (or infamous) Waffen SS Soldiers of World War II. As a student of World War II myself, I found the stories to be factual and well presented. I would have given five stars but for the overuse of the word 'however' in many of sequential sentences and the additional editing the book needs. If you are interested in the Waffen SS's more heroic exploits, you too will find this a good book to read.

Another great and well-researched book that I have purchased and read. Reading books like this makes me turn back time and the writer Ryan did not fail me to feel that I was really on the time of this book. Such honor to read stories or even documentaries about the history. No matter which past or history it may come from. And I appreciate writers who give efforts for this kind of subject. Definitely will be reading this again. Most highly recommended!

Why are people giving this "book" high marks. It is poorly written by a guy who just copied and pasted things he found on the web about people in the SS. There are no eyewitness acounts or actual stories. It's just a bunch of vague historical references. The title of the book is made to mislead people like me who are looking for actual firsthand soldier acounts of the war. If you have any prior knowledge of the second world war, this book will be a huge disapointment. Please take my advise and don't get this sham of a book.

Continued good reading of German SS stories that should be read by today's millenial age group and younger to know what can happen even today. I wish I had read the Ryan Jenkins before I visited France and Italy.

Absolutely terrible book. Badly written, horrific typographic errors, grammar use and structure. I easily could have written this book, and I am a piker. The author often goes off on tangents, like describing Hermann Fegelein's antics in location 698, and relates that the subject of the chapter had a hand in forming a combat unit, although there is no supporting information-- it is mere speculation. At location 716 and again at 795, the author makes a plug for another book he wrote.
The next chapter, "The Waffen-SS Major who never was, is amazing. Author Jenkins goes on about the historical inaccuries about the movie Enemy at the Gates and about the Battle of Stalingrad. He states that the villain was portrayed as a member of the SS, which is simply wrong. Additionally, the entire section about Stalingrad has nothing to do whatsoever with the subject matter of the book, as the Waffen SS were not at Stalingrad at all.
The chapter on Kurt Meyer is woefully short, and there is nothing at all on Joachim Peiper, Werner Ostendorff, 'Papa' Paul Hausser or anything about any other Knight's Cross winners, of which the 2nd SS Panzer Division had the third highest total of any unit in the Wehrmacht during the war.
By the way-- why is there no footnotes or bibliography? Where did Jenkins get his source information?
I could recommend several books which have mountains of information, no long-winded sidebars or tangential ramblings and don't have unabashed advertisements for their other books built in. the store should hire men to write a history-- I could do a far better job.

I don't recommend this book. The author spends a lot effort telling us how he doesn't support the Nazi cause but sure does admire the solders.

Mr. Jenkins several times accuses the American and Russian armies of atrocities against the Waffen-SS without mention of British, French or allied troops. His bias is very obvious.

I was looking forward to reading this title, particularly since I have been acquainted with several World War II German veterans. The first chapter is so full of historical inaccuracies that it does not even bear reading. What passes for background information at best should have been more thoroughly fact checked. At worst it more resembles wartime Soviet propaganda than scholarly writing. Don't waste your $2.99.

This guy can barely write English! Is he a native speaker? This poorly edited mess must have been slapped together over a couple of weeks. The only time I enjoyed this book was when soldiers' words were directly quoted, because those accounts were clearly translated by a better writer. Just read a few sample pages, laugh at the grade school level spelling mistakes (yes!) and grammatical errors, but whatever you do, don't buy it. I'd try to get my money back, but honestly for 3 bucks or so, it's really not worth my time.

This collection of two bios and a short essay, tackle some rarified stories but offer nothing that can't be easily found on the web. No new research, no new findings and poorly restated prose created in lieu of first-hand accounts. Not worth even the low price of $2.99.

I can say with near certainty that this "book" was submitted to the "editor" written in crayon. This egregious assault on grammar is not only bereft of even the slightest hint of writing talent, but also completely devoid of content. This is a grievous besmirching of the writer's craft and is horrifying reflection on the (probably nonexistent) editor. The content is shallow wikiskimming without substance, the grammatical errors so jarring and lack of insight so revolting that this "book" is not suitable to level a wobbly coffee table efficiently. the store, why are you selling this crap!? I bought another volume on the eastern front, sampled it, and came to the same conclusion about it. I want my money, time and belief in humanity back. This is a steaming turdburger written by a third grader. I want negative stars! Where did the phony 5 star reviews come from? This is the cheapest sort of flim-flam, I am the victim of a con. This man does not have the dubious skills of the laziest hack writer. Jeez! I think I'm in shock. He's got at least 11 titles!

Though the stories are interesting , they are lacking in detail and chronology. The entire book has numerous spelling mistakes.
I would not recommend this book, based on the poor proofreading that was done before release. I would expect more.

Ryan Jenkins, an accomplished historian and gifted writer, is the author of an extensive series of concise historical texts regarding almost every major aspect of World War 2 (WW 2). Each book in the series is designed to educate the reader about specific critical battles, events, turing points and so forth that transpired during the course of the war and to encourage reader to conduct further research into aspects of the war that changed. Among Jenkins' books are a series of volumns that focuses on the exploits of individual fighting men and women from the US, our Allies, and Germany. This particular offering includes a collecton of accounts of members of the elite and infamous Waffen SS. Please note that the author, publisher, and myself do not advocate ideas or actions associated with Hitler, Nazism, racism, anti-semitism, or anything else associated with the Thrid Reich and are only interest is historical in nature. Those who are unfamilar with history are doomed to repeat it or something like that!

Jenkins' explains from the very beginning the SS holds prinariy responsibility for conduct of the Hollacaust and all manner of other war crimes and that all SS men and women hold varying degrees of guilt for the most gastly crimes commited by the Thrid Reich. Jenkins' also provides an excellent description of the SS organization, leadership, doctrine, responsibilites, duties, training, crimes, punishnents, etc. That being said, a very large portion of the SS were members of elite warfighting divisions called Waffen (German for Armed) SS. The author esplains that if there ever was a name that instilled fear and respect, it was the name Waffen-SS (“Armed SS”). During the Second World War, these elite troops saw action on every front except Africa. Its also noteworthy that these people wore the SS insigna with pride (to include all had SS tatoos on their arns), knowing full well that the Soviets, Americans, and others would execute them if they were taken prisoner. Based on documented evidence the author details the accounts of 25 Waffen SS members in combat that are nothing short of extraordinary. Their exploits under fire display heroism, courage, skill, and ferocity that deserve to be told and known.

As a combat veteran I appreciated this book very much. My experience is that a soldier has a tendency to denigrate and dehumanize their enemy. Killing another person is hard, mentally, morally, spiritualy, and physically. You live with it for the rest of your life. We need more books that put a human face, a person, on our enemies. Making war ought to be hard. People with an interest in history will enjoy this book.