Books lovers

[cpaige5@hotmail.com]

My wife is mentioning to me that I have too many books and we are running out of room for storing them. She doesn't believe that there people out there that have as many as me. I have just around 1000 books now. My first books I bought which I still have are Enemy at the Gates and Luftwaffe War Diaries bought in 1974. Almost all my books are from the WW1 AND WW2.

Give me some ammunition to tell my wife that its not just me.

[Frank Olynyk]

My collection of biographies of aces (any country, any war, any language (with some language restrictions)) is now approaching 1200 volumes. There are 8 more on order, four of which have been shipped; the other four have not been published yet, or are awaiting shipment. Some of these might be considered "associational".

I have other collections. And no shelf space.

Enjoy!

Frank.

Historian, American Fighter Aces Association.

[PhilippeDM]

Just to reassure you: I owe 1309 books covering the Luftwaffe subjects and still growing...
Our bookcollection extend to comics and novells. Perhaps your wife enjoys reading?

[Richard T. Eger]

As the tag line goes: "Space, The Final Frontier." I'm in a 2 bedroom apartment. My son has long gone off to school and work. Every nook and cranny is loaded down and I just keep improvising, but I'm reaching a limit even to that.

My specialty, as most know, is the Me 262, so I restrict my book and magazine purchases to material related to that. Still, the shelves groan. I began clipping magazines to consolidate articles with the hopes of freeing up shelf space, but that freeing up didn't pan out and I had to buy a bookcase to handle the clippings albums.

Add to all this 2 barrister cabinets added for photo albums, 25 legal size file cabinet drawers full of archival documentation, and massive amounts of correspondence in binders and your wife should consider herself lucky. And, oh, by the way, I'm single.

Regards,
Richard

[JTFlyer]

Not at all just you! I have around 500 books, so not so many as some folk here, but I can certainly imagine that doubling or trippling over the coming years...

[kaki3152]

I have over 2000 books,magazines and pamphlets, with the majority being on WWII air war. Still have my P-47D AIRCAM book from 1968.

Some of my "gems", Martin Drewes autobiography written in Portuguese, A first edition of "The Hunters" by James Salter, The first Black Cross/Red Star, a copy of "Mustang Ace", signed by the author Gobel and also Jim Brooks (both 31st FG),"Rendezvous with Fate" signed by Raymond Lallemont, a copy of "Un du Normandie-Niemen" by Roger Sauvage (very fragile), three WWII B-29 Group histories (40th, 500th and the 444th), Japanese history of the 9th, 85th, 25th and 48th Fighter Sentais, etc.

On my non-aviation side: "I joined the Russians" by von Eisendiel, "Moscow Tram Stop" by Haape, a German language "Mein Kampf" dated 1933, "24th Panzer Divison" by Senger und Etterlin, "Tigers in the Mud" by Carius, "Panzers in Italy" by Guglielmi,etc.

[Martin Gleeson]

I have about 750 aviation books and hundreds more naval, land warfare, general histories, etc. Probably several thousand magazines too. Space is always a problem but I manage. In the last 10 years I have cut back my purchases greatly due to family commitments and concentrating on several areas of research.
In my opinion it is books and first-hand research in archives that are the most important methods of acquiring information. The internet is third but invaluable for exchange of information.
Some of my books are 'milestones' in my life. They actually changed the direction I took. They are personal and very important to me. I will have to begin to dispose of some in the next few years - but not just yet !

You are not alone comrade !

Martin Gleeson.

[leonventer]

My Luftwaffe library (flying units only -- no ground units or Fallschirmjäger) now stands at just over 2800 books, occupying 63 shelves, each 2ft wide.

There's also 8 shelves of magazines with Luftwaffe content (Jägerblatt, Jet&Prop, Flugzeug, Aero Journal, Avions, Batailles Aeriennes, etc), plus roughly a thousand modeling magazines in boxes.

There's another 25 shelves devoted to the campaigns on the Eastern Front, and 6 on the Western Front.

The killer is that they keep publishing new titles...

Regards,
Leon Venter