Waffen SS: The Asphalt Soldiers

Waffen SS: The Asphalt Soldiers by Keegan, John. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780345278982.

The subject matter is fascinating. The photos are outstanding. The author, John Keegan, has the credentials and the big reputation; he has done as much as any historian on earth to resurrect military history over the last 30 to 40 years. But I will say - and I realize this is a distinctly minority view - I dont find Keegan to be a particularly readable historian. His writing style seems at times to be like a thicket that one must hack through, labor through, to arrive at the destination. Theres a Victorian stiffness to his prose. The complexity of his sentences almost seems to have a cutesy aspect to it, a show-off aspect to it, an "I Am Erudite" quality to it. Well, he is erudite, but thats only half the battle when it comes to achieving excellence as a writer. (Amazon customer)