Guenther Rall's reminiscences in English!

[Kurt Braatz]

This is just to inform the community about the launch of Guenther Rall's autobiography in English.

First published in German in 2004, his memoir ('Mein Flugbuch') enjoyed great success, being acclaimed by readers, reviewers, and researchers alike. Now we have completed an English-language edition in an excellent translation by John Weal, one of Britain’s leading authorities on the Luftwaffe. And every copy is personally signed by Guenther Rall himself.

See www.twentyninesix.com for details and extracts of 'My Logbook' and feel free to comment!

Kurt Braatz

[FalkeEins]

John Weal has had a fair few detractors on this forum in the past - I gave up trying to defend him and joined them for his last two Osprey aces titles - which were no doubt driven by the publisher.. That said, you absolutely cannot fault the quality of his writing generally and his translation work in particular......

all the best

[Dénes Bernád]

I placed an order for the book today.
I am looking forward to reading it soon.

[WEISNER]

Denes, Please give us a heads up on the book when you are through, also break down the percentage of the book as dealing with pre war, WWII and post war for us if you would. I have heard not much in this book about the WWII Years?
Kevin

[sveahk]

Kevin, to answer your question about the contents: In the German version, prewar is taken care of within 20 pages, 185 pages WWII and 112 pages postwar. To this comes an appendix, showing a.o. all the units Günther Rall served with, with all the where and when's. Also all the types of a/c he flew (no, sorry, no Werknr. or Markings) and of course all the "kills", all 275 of them. Few a/c photos, more of himself and fellow pilots.

This book is, IMO, a very humane and humble biography of one of the best pilots in WWII and after. Perhaps there could have been more tactics, more dog fight descriptions, I don't know. I think in the end it's not that very important - here we have the memoirs of Günther Rall, a document of the hard times he lived in and how he coped with them. That's it!

I, for my part enjoyed the book immensely!

Greetings
Hans

[leonventer]

Originally Posted by sveahk

Kevin, to answer your question about the contents: In the German version, prewar is taken care of within 20 pages, 185 pages WWII and 112 pages postwar. To this comes an appendix, showing a.o. all the units Günther Rall served with, with all the where and when's. Also all the types of a/c he flew (no, sorry, no Werknr. or Markings) and of course all the "kills", all 275 of them. Few a/c photos, more of himself and fellow pilots.

This book is, IMO, a very humane and humble biography of one of the best pilots in WWII and after. Perhaps there could have been more tactics, more dog fight descriptions, I don't know. I think in the end it's not that very important - here we have the memoirs of Günther Rall, a document of the hard times he lived in and how he coped with them. That's it!

I, for my part enjoyed the book immensely!

The English edition, "My Logbook", is practically identical to the German edition, "Mein Flugbuch". Remarkably, the chapters start on the exact same page numbers in both editions, and all photos appear on the same pages too.

The only differences are:

• The foreword in the German edition is by Jörg Kuebart. In the English edition, it's by Clarence "Bud" Anderson.
• The glossary in the German edition is two pages longer than the English one.
• Copies of the German edition are available with or without Rall's signature. All copies of the English edition are signed.

John Weal's translation is generally excellent -- there's an occasional sentence that seems a bit awkward, but that's a very minor criticism. Kudos to TwentynineSix for making this important book available to a wider audience.

Originally Posted by Jukka Juutinen

I was simply looking for a book that would have followed Lipfert´s style by concentrating on combat and life on the frontline.

Because Rall describes only his most memorable missions in detail, this book is definitely not a "shoot-'em-up" like those of Lipfert or Clostermann. Instead, it reflects his most important considerations as a Staffel, Gruppe and Geschwader commander. He was at least as concerned about his pilots and ground crews as he was about his own achievements.

Rall is widely respected for his intelligence, integrity and candor, and he has much to say about Hitler, Goering, the Russian campaign, and his fellow pilots (especially Hartmann, Krupinski, Graf, Obleser, Dickfeld, etc.) Rall says surprisingly little about Steinhoff, though -- there's just one telling remark about his role in the F-104 program. I had hoped to read more of Rall's opinon of Steinhoff, considering how much the latter was criticized by the Jagdflieger community for some of the statements and generalizations he made in his two books.

Compared to "Günther Rall: A Memoir", the 2002 biography by Jill Amadio, "My Logbook" is more detailed and satisfying. Although "Logbook" has fewer pages (373 vs. 423), it's more substantial because of its smaller font and larger format. Also, the Amadio book is less engaging because it's written in the third person, the combat descriptions are less coherent, and some details are incorrect. For example, in the encounter where Rall loses his thumb, he pulls out of a high-speed dive that causes his 109's wings to wrinkle. Amadio writes that the "color was blistering off the fabric", whereas Rall describes "individual flakes of camouflage paint detaching themselves from the tortured metal."

As sveahk said, "Logbook" is a great read and highly recommended.

Leon Venter

[Flavio]

Originally Posted by sveahk

... and of course all the "kills", all 275 of them...

Dear Hans,
in the german version "Mein Flugbuch" victory n°69 is missing : in the english version is it still missing?

Regards
Flavio

[Kurt Braatz]

No, Flavio - in the English version, the victory list is complete. Sorry we missed that in the German book... Will be corrected with the very next print run...

[sveahk]

Thanks Flavio for the correction!
Mr Braatz, for us with the German version could you possibly put Nr. 69 here in the Forum? Would be much obliged.

Greetings
Hans

[Kurt Braatz]

Oh - sure! There you go:

69 - LaGG-3, 07. 09. 42, 08:42 hrs, S Mosdok

Kind regards,
Kurt