Wish all German books were translated to English (was: Jagdgeschwader 5 - Volume 3)

[Franek Grabowski]

John

I think it is due pure marketing. There is a wider market for eg. German unit histories in Germany than in another country for natural reasons. I think that having so many publishers on this board, they may release how many copies are they selling. I think there is just not enough market to sell everything written, so publishing in other languages may be too expensive to justify the cost.
Have in mind that perhaps Luftwaffe is a rather sellable subject but smaller air forces, like Finnish, Polish or Slovak, even British are not very profitable. I know that several books are sold in hundreds rather than in thousands and comparing it to the cost of research, obtaing copyrights etc. it makes publishing unfeasible. I may write articles on several stunning subjects, but really, who would be interested in a story of a Polish pilot fighting in the Western Desert, especially as there are almost no photos to illustrate it.
On the other hand I prefer to have accounts and documents to be published in their native tongue - there is much less room for any translating errors and misinterpretations. I know that very well, trying to translate into English original Polish reports written in 1939. They are rather chaotic in grammar and often not very clear - not a surprise having in mind they were filed by a rather excited and shaken airmen.