Getting started... (or what's in your library?)

[awp101]

Hello all,

Having been a lifelong wingnut, I've got a decent start on an aviation library but my primary focus has been WWII. *I do have some WWI stuff, but it's mainly Squadron/Signal titles, old Profiles that I find occasionally and older "general" aviation books (I'm a sucker for old books, especially military history, what can I say? ).

What titles do you keep as "standards" in your library and why? *I find the pilots as fascinating as the machines so suggestions on either subject are welcome.

I have a subscription to Wings/Airpower and I'm getting ready to start a membership in the "Over the Front" group. *I'm also debating a C&C subscription as well. *Any other suggestions in that area?

I'll ask about photo collecting later....

Thanks!

Hi awp101
Well I can only speak for myself , but for me the best way to start is with reference material books . Then as you discover interesting pilots , and crews, you can try to get stuff thats more focused on just them . The Grub Street series of books is great for references . The ones I would start with are: Above The Trenches ( also there is a suppliment ) it lists British and Commonwealth aces . Above the lines , for German aces . Above The WarFronts for 2-seater aces and also Austro-Hungarian , Italian , Russian and Belgium . Over The Front , gives you French and American aces .These books list their claims .
If you want to go deeper there is , The Jasta Pilots , lists as many claims as are known by German pilots from August 1916 to EOW .
And there are some more to go on with aswell ...Casualties , Chronocles , actually there are a number of them , but they ain't cheap , so it takes a while to accumulate them all .
These books aren't your romantic style novels , but they are a wonderful way to start learning about the aces of each side , and there claim system and such . Later on , you will find them a wonderful source of imformation as you get more indepth in the subject . Not to mention they are beautifully bound and presented books that look superb on any shelf .
Hope that is of some help . I've resisted the temptation to list the books about my favorite aces ...but only just !!..heh heh .
Good luck mate !.
Phil.

I was just pondering the question a bit more awp.
You could also start with the Osprey books , there soft cover and give some great imfo on the pilots and aircraft . And there a bit cheaper to start with also . And I also remembered about the CD rom that a guy here is developing especially for beginners ( but it looks to be full of great imfo ! ) . His name is Volker Nemish ( or something like that ?..apology's Volker ) . There's a thread on his new CD in " other aviation " I think ?.
Phil.

[MikeW]

awp

I'd agree with BlackSeptember on choice, you only need to get those books that cover your initial interest, and then perhaps grow out from there.

But please, please, please remember - these books (along with all others) have mistakes in them, some more than others. Contrary to popular belief, the authors of Grub street are not Gods, oh all right, Rick excluded, but they are normal blokes and fallible.

I would suggest a C&C subscription if your interests are general, my impression (which could be wrong)is that OTF tends to be more heavily biassed towards German operations. get both if you can afford it - back issues are remarkably good value as well.

What is your area of specific interest?



Mike

My Norman Franks . Not a god ! . Sacre le bleu !!!.
heh heh .
Phil.

[awp101]

Thanks guys! (I'm making an assumption there, I know...)

I don't have a specific interest yet, just looking for general research stuff. A few days around here have shown me how far out of date (or just flat wrong) some of my info is.

OTOH, I did get a surprise in the mail today. I won a copy of German Combat Planes by Ray Wagner and Heinz Nowarra copyright 1971 on ebay recently. Today it arrived and perhaps you could give me an idea as to it's accuracy?

I got a second surprise as I flipped through the book. Not to long ago I won some WWI photos on ebay. When they arrived they were stamped on the back with a copyright from Heinz Nowarra. So far I have found one pic (the Kondor D.6) used in the book.

Kinda neat, imo....

[wingstrutdotcom]

I would suggest a C&C subscription if your interests are general, my impression (which could be wrong)is that OTF tends to be more heavily biassed towards German operations. get both if you can afford it - back issues are remarkably good value as well.
Mike

Both OTF and CC current issues feature my German Aircraft Profiles on their back covers(Rumpler 6b1 on OTF, Albatros BII on CC). Germans have now taken over both Journals..LOL. OTF has a nice article on SPA 79 (French...not a German), Some great articles on the Wright Brothers!, also Rumpler 6b1 (thats German).

All kidding aside both Journals are well worth obtaining. And it is worth the effort to obtain as many back issues as you can. Some older C&C issues are really good for references too. It is interesting to see how journal publishing on WW1 has changed over the decades just from a technical print side of things.

[Rick]

Contrary to popular belief, the authors of Grub street are not Gods, oh all right, Rick excluded, but they are normal blokes and fallible.

* * * Aw * :-[ * * *R.

[retread]

Another opinion. Two books to give you a good basic knowledge would be "The Great War in the Air- Military Aviation from 1909 to 1921" published by the Smithsonian Institute and "The First Air War, 1914-1918" by Lee Kennett. Both take a wide overview of the air war and cover many areas usually largely or entirely ignored. Engine and aircraft production, training of aviators, development of recon, bombing and tactical support. You can get either at a fairly reasonable price.They supply a good base to build on.

[Cigogne]

If you want to read some classics but don't want to wait to find them, there are a few online already. They include Manfred von Richthofen's The Red Air Fighter, Rickenbacker's Fighting the Flying Circus, James Norman Hall's High Adventure, etc...

See:

http://www.richthofen.com/

http://www.richthofen.com/rickenbacker/

http://www.richthofen.com/hall/

Cigogne