A. Stephen Hamilton

Though I can respect the effort that went into this work, I really can't recommend it as anything other than a resource you borrow from a library. The good is that Hamilton offers a concise explanation of how an umbrella organization of special-operation units was converted into a mechanized division, mostly as a means as keeping the bulk of the survivors out of the embrace of the Waffen-SS in the wake of "July 20th" assassination plot against Hitler. Also good is offering a case study of how the German personnel system worked in practice. Less good is that the bulk of the book consists of first-person accounts stitched together with a thin net of narrative, as though the words can speak for themselves, with little editorial comment by the author; and this is after Hamilton's explanation that this work grew out of an analysis of another published work relating to "Brandenburg" as a mechanized unit, which appears to be suspect. As close as Hamilton comes to offering analytic comment is to make some bland observations on personal combat motivation in the unit.

Also, there is enough sloppy grammar and citation in this work that it gives me some doubt about the whole enterprise, such as consistently referring to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration as the "National Archives Records Administration." As a long-time employee of the agency I'd just dryly note that all Hamilton had to do in regards to getting that citation right was to pull his researcher registration card out of his wallet. Considering how much of this work depends on examining organizational nuance that strikes me as a red flag.

Finally, while I can understand publishing the numerous maps cited in a companion booklet, you know that this subsidiary item is going to get lost over time, which will further minimize the value of this publication.… (más)