This is a volume that doesn't necessarily fit any particular category. It isn't a biography, it isn't a traditional historical monograph, nor is it a scholarly treatment of any one subject/topic/theme. Rather, this appears to be an author interested in the Second World War, Germany, aviation, and the Luftwaffe. Mix those topics together, insert some 'popular history,' and you get 'Black Tulip.' The author touches on subjects ranging from the Hitler Youth, the Luftwaffe, the place of aviation in 1930s society (mainly Germany and the Soviet Union), German POWs in the Soviet Union, reintegration into German society for POWs in the postwar period, and some of the myths that have developed over time when it comes to German victim-hood and the Wehrmacht. Placing Hartmann in the midst of all these events/developments, interspersed with the author's proclivity for relying on literary flair, leaves the reader with little in the way of contextual analysis or anything beyond a superficial reading of any of the aforementioned topics. Moreover, the bibliography is limited as is the space each of these rather significant topics have devoted to them, not to mention a total lack of original research and in a few instances references to works by John Moiser, an English professor with an inability to grasp how to research or write history. The bottom line is that if you're interested in any of the above mentioned topics, including Hartmann, there are numerous books devoted to each that will provide much more value for your time and money than this volume. If you want a limited and 'popular' look at something that has to do with the Second World War, German fighter pilots, and Germany, then this is the book for you.
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