Customer Reviews

RED PHOENIX PB (Smithsonian History of Aviation and Spaceflight Series)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Hardesty's Red Phoenix is a triumph of historical research and scholarship on the fascinating subject of Soviet Aviation. Long ignored, and typically derided deliberately in the West, the story of the Soviet Air Forces of the Second World War is examined here with superlative care and understanding. Hardesty draws extensively from Soviet-era sources, carefully discriminating the superior work from the lesser, and in total producing a critically important volume which is surely the first of its type to appear in the English language. Indeed, it is still to this day the most involved and informed work on the subject available genrally in the West, and despite having been published some 17 years ago, requires no major revision to the text in light of the tremendous progress made since that time in the field. The scope of the research involved in this work is indeed formidable (I seem to recall that the bibliography is some 25 pages). But, moreover, to have accomplished such an even-handed and objective volume during the height of the Cold War is quite extraordinary. The prevailing sentiment of the time is quite obviously represented by one of the reviewers of this book; that Hardesty could have crafted Red Phoenix under such social and political duress commands the highest praise and commendation.

This one of the only books I'm aware of in the English langauge that attempts to get beneath Cold War propoganda with respect to Soviet aviation history. Perhaps in conjunction with ever-increasing access to WWII Soviet archives, this book will stimulate scholars to do more work in a topic that has too long been distorted, misunderstood or ignored.

Red Phoenix is a very good book. It was first published in 1982 in hardback and reissued in 1993 in paperback. Author Von Hardesty mixes a blend of political, military, tactical and strategic history to show how the Soviet Air Force eventually overcame the German invaders.

The Great Patriotic War, as the Russians called WW2, was not very accessible to Western readers until recently. Furthermore, the Soviets authors were very reluctant to ever criticize any decision made or second guess events as they unfolded for Russia. This is due to the enormous sacrifices made to defeat the Germans and reflected here in the writing. That needs to be taken into consideration when reading this book, hence the four stars.

This is not a nuts and bolts book about Soviet Aircraft - look for Yefim Gordon's books for that information. There is technical data here, but this is serious, hard core reading - witnessed as an example that of the 17 pages of bibliography, all but two of them are strictly Soviet sources. There are maps, tables, data, statistics, and dates to help the reader understand the magnitude of the Soviet endeavors. It is remarkable what they achieved - and it was not just raw numbers. By 1945, many of the Soviet fighters could hold their own against the FW-190 and Me-109.

Highly recommended reading for those who want to see the war on the Eastern Front in the air, from those who fought and studied it. From the surprise attack of their Air Force in June 1942 to the rubble of Berlin, the reader is shown the disaster, defeat, equilibrium, and slow ascent of the Soviet Air Force over the Luftwaffe. It is not perfect, but I found it educational to read something from `the other side of the hill'.

David M. Glantz.

I have read Red Phoenix while impressive in its breadth and scope. The facts contained in it are a hot debate on one World War II newsgroup. This led me to ask one of the most respected historians on the Eastern Front, David Glantz on his opinion. Quite simply he states, Red Phoenix was excellent DURING ITS TIME, but considering the opening of the archives in recent years the information cited by Von Hardesty is "dated" and does not incorporate the new information.

From the purely historical viewpoint, I would not give this book any stars for the simply reason that the information is now obsolete.

This book is one of the worst aviation history books that I have read, the writing is outrageously bad, the perception is shallow and uncritical, and the author seems to be unable to reach below the surface of Soviet self-justificatory propaganda. Nobody should waste time on this book, which by the way contains no new (post-glasnost) information.