The German Aces Speak II

World War II Through the Eyes of Four More of the Luftwaffe's Most Important Commanders

By: Colin D. Heaton, Anne-Marie Lewis, Dr. Dennis Showalter - foreword, Trevor J. Constable - foreword

Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan

The much-anticipated sequel to The German Aces Speak gives voice to four more of WWII's most noteworthy German pilots.

When The German Aces Speak was published in 2011, Air & Space/Smithsonian magazine welcomed Colin Heaton's and Anne-Marie Lewis' masterful command of interview-based narrative, writing, “[W]hat might have been numbing recitations of dogfights are instead vivid descriptions of life as a warrior during World War II.”

Indeed, it is this unexpected perspective, brought to life by the authors' neutrality and thoughtful research, that illuminates a side of war largely hidden from the American public: the experience of the German Luftwaffe pilot.

In The German Aces Speak II, Heaton and Lewis paint a picture of the war through the eyes of four more of Germany's most significant pilots - Johannes Steinhoff, Erich Alfred Hartmann, Guther Rall, and Dieter Hrabak - put together from numerous interviews personally conducted by Heaton from the 1980s through the 2000s. The four ex-Luftwaffe fighter aces bring the past to life as they tell their stories about the war, their battles, their off-duty lives, their lives after the war, and perhaps most importantly, how they felt about serving under the Nazi leadership of Hermann Göring and Adolf Hitler.

Together, the memories of the events captured in The German Aces Speak II continue one of today's most unique World War II series, unearthing a facet of the war that has gone widely overlooked for the American public.

©2014 Zenith Press (P)2018 Tantor

amazing

we have pre conceived notions of the germans who fought in WW2 this opens the door to the truth.

HOW IS THIS NOT A MOVIE?

Eric Hearts man story is the best I've ever read about a Pilot. I laughed, I cried, Then I realized how Great we have it nowadays. I high recommend this book to any one WW2 buff or not.

Gripping and fast paced with good narration.

My father was a Mariine fighter pilot in WWll but he didn’t like talking about killing people so I truly enjoyed these true stories about the German aces. They were actually nice guys who didn’t like the Nazis at all.

Ausgezeichnet!

was a good listen. fascinating to hear their side of the story and how the struggle really was. Too bad we didnt listen to Patton and end the Russians back then.

Excellent follow up

I really enjoy hearing from the veterans of WWII . The stories they tell give true insight into how it was . It’s great that we have saved some of these voices for future generations , but I hate that we are loosing these men !!!

Amazing

A historical gem that puts you in the pilot’s seat during WWII. Let’s hope there is a book number three.

Get this if you have any interest in WW2 aviation.

My favorite part of this and Volume One is, most of these guys know and served together. You will hear several of same stories repeated over, except from different points of view. In my opinion it gives the reader a better overview of what these guys were thinking.

A really extraordinary piece of history

The interview style of the series clearly shows what these Kampfflieger did and thought. A most compelling history. It benefits humanity to know what the price of war is.

Great insight on what they went through.

Incredible what they went through.... the horrors of the surrender... terrible man just terrible, the barbarity

Incredible Historical Testimony!

If you are a WWII history buff, this book is for you. There are very few books out that express the personal experience of the vanquished. Here in this book are gathered the personal experiences of World War Two's greatest air combat aces. Hearing the unique perspective of what life, and death, was like flying combat missions for the Luftwaffe was very enlightening. The accounts of Erich Hartmann, Johnnes Steinhoff, Deiter Hrabak, and Gunther Rall offered the similarities of a shared experience as Luftwaffe pilots but also unique perspectives on the Luftwaffe's greater command structure. The inclusion of their post war experience was fascinating, and harrowing especially in the case of Erich Hartmann. On the story content and overall, I give this 5 out of 5 stars. I give the performance by PJ Ochlan 3.5 to 4 stars. I believe this to be the fault of the publisher and or authors. P.J. is a gifted voice actor, capable of creating believable accents, dialects, and characters. Handcuffed as performer he wasn't given the opportunity to alter his delivery or intonation from pilot to pilot. Thus, if the listener misses the point of transition between individual pilot accounts, the neutral performance makes it all the more difficult to determine which pilot account is being expressed. That said, P.J. does and incredible job peppering these accounts with spoken German Luftwaffe terminology which greatly enhances the listeners experience.