After spending several months In Germany in the Army on a Nato exercise.. I thoroughly loved Germany Minus the hell of the Army and this took me right back. Enjoying the story, characters - which are nicely developed and identifiable, and the history - love the history. Lund is meticulous in getting the history correct as far as he can, and explaining where and why he had to "fill in" or "adjust" something, always includes references.
This has also given me a clearer picture of the suffering heaped on the Germans, and why they were ripe to accept Hitler's fanaticism and rhetoric. Of course, the Germans did start the war (WWI), but the everyday people were not responsible for this (let me see, have we heard/seen this before?) and they were really, really heaped upon with horrible punishing conditions afterward.
Lund's description of the German Army he admits is based on his time in the US Army.I too spent time in US Army Combat support exercises.I saw soldiers snap mentally and the ugly realty of war. At the time the Berlin Wall was till up and there was much hostility. The Cold WAr did a lot of ugly things to soldiers.
This has also given me a clearer picture of the suffering heaped on the Germans, and why they were ripe to accept Hitler's fanaticism and rhetoric. Of course, the Germans did start the war (WWI), but the everyday people were not responsible for this (let me see, have we heard/seen this before?) and they were really, really heaped upon with horrible punishing conditions afterward.
Lund's description of the German Army he admits is based on his time in the US Army.I too spent time in US Army Combat support exercises.I saw soldiers snap mentally and the ugly realty of war. At the time the Berlin Wall was till up and there was much hostility. The Cold WAr did a lot of ugly things to soldiers.
