Hitler's Commanders: Officers of the Wehrmacht, the Luftwaffe, the Kriegmarine and the Waffen-SS, 2nd edition

Mitcham and Mueller, retired history professors who both taught at Henderson State University, have put together an encyclopedic collection of brief profiles of the careers of the lesser-known German military men%E2%80%94true Nazis, skeptics, and patriotic soldiers who tried to focus on the battlefield and ignore the horrors that Hitler unleashed on Europe. This new edition adds a chapter on the men who led the panzer (tank) troops. Every branch of the German military eventually confronted what one officer called the "unholy disorder of Hitler's leadership." The Fuehrer constantly micromanaged his commanders' tactics, leaving them hamstrung in pivotal confrontations, like the battle of Stalingrad, one of the most ignominious defeats in military history. Some men followed his dubious commands to the letter; others knew that defying Hitler could cost a man his career if not his life. A sterling introduction for anyone interested in how the men who fought for Hitler ticked. (Sept.)