The 12th SS and Paul Hardcastle

[Gasbag]

I finished reading the Steel Inferno. General Reynold did a great job in giving an unbiased soldier's view of the hard fighting at Normandy. I quite enjoyed the book.

What I especially liked was the way he combined strategic, operational and at times even tactical analysis with quotes from the both sides. If it not would have been for the utterly useless maps in the book, and perhaps a rushed feeling towards the end, I actually would have considered giving it a five star ranking. As it is, it is a four star book IMHO.

To The Bitter End seems to be much more unfinished object of work. I have not really got into reading it, unlike the Steel Inferno, which I basically read non-stop over the weekend.

The problem that I have with Reynolds' writing is that in some of his books he lifts whole sections almost verbatim from his previous book(s). He did it with The Devil's Adjutant & Men of Steel. I know that there's no law against doing that but it seems to be a rather lazy (IMHO) way of writing a book. It also cheats the reader in a way; you pay for a book that's basically a rehash of the author's previous work.

On another note there used to be a really good website on the 12th SS but unfortunately it appears to be gone now. Last time I went I couldn't find it...:(