A Collector's Guide to German World War 2 Medals & Political Awards by Christopher Ailsby (2003, Paperback)

This book provides an overview to 3rd Reich awards to countries other than Germany. You will need to be aware that the topic is much more detailed than presented in this book. For instance, an Iceland museum holds a 3rd Reich War Merit Cross (2nd Class without swords) awarded to an Icelander for service to the Germans in Iceland - very interesting story but it doesn't qualify for this book because it was a pure German award. Beginner medal collectors buy this book as an introduction but researchers and historians keep it around also. My copy is well-worn because it's used as a quick reference when a question about the 3rd Reich awards to countries other than Germany comes up and I need to ID a medal. The photos could really be better but for the price and contents, you can't really beat it. Variants are generally not illustrated and there's not the degree of detail needed by a specialist but it's still a good one-stop book. The political awards section is interesting because military and political awards are normally not grouped together in one book and it provides you with some additional info. When you get the book, you need to read it carefully a couple of times to get the maximum amount of knowledge from it. You will also need to note that within the 3rd Reich collector community, there are some contradictions to the information presented.

Please note that the review is based on the book and is written with no knowledge as to who the seller may be.