Black Cross / Red Star News

[busdriver]

BC/RS Volume 2 giveaway

[Freycinet]

My vol. 2 arrived just in time for Christmas and I am proud to say that my name is in the book too.

 

Genius to have all the Eastern front planes printed on the inside of the dust cover. Never saw that before. 

[LukeFF]

21 hours ago, Freycinet said:

Genius to have all the Eastern front planes printed on the inside of the dust cover. Never saw that before. 

 

That is a nice little touch. He started doing that with Volume 4.

[LuftManu]

Hey guys, I've bought the second revamped book the first week of January, but I was not given any kind of info or delivery.

 

Christer also doens't answer back so I am wondering if I should cancel and order again.

 

Do you have any estimation of how shipping works and the time?

 

Kind regards,

[LukeFF]

Just now, LuftManu said:

Hey guys, I've bought the second revamped book the first week of January, but I was not given any kind of info or delivery.

 

Christer also doens't answer back so I am wondering if I should cancel and order again.

 

Do you have any estimation of how shipping works and the time?

 

Kind regards,

 

Christer can sometimes be slow in responding to emails, and from what it sounds like he still doesn't provide tracking information. So, I would probably wait at least a week more before contacting him again.

[FlyingH]

I think you can sit back and relax for at least 2 weeks, then if you haven´t heard from him or recieved the book you contact him again. If you haven´t ordered special delivery he uses the cheapest mail service as possible so it will take time!

[ZachariasX]

3 hours ago, LuftManu said:

Hey guys, I've bought the second revamped book the first week of January, but I was not given any kind of info or delivery.

 

Christer also doens't answer back so I am wondering if I should cancel and order again.

 

Do you have any estimation of how shipping works and the time?

 

Kind regards,

Depends if you bought the more expensive shipping with tracking. If you didn‘t, there is no tracking.

Either way, I am certain you will get your book. I bought a couple of books directly from him and always got got them, even in case the delivery got screwed up and it took two tries to get the books to me.

[LuftManu]

Thanks guys! I have now the first, fourth and fifth volumes and I totally love them.

 

Kind regrads,

[LBG1943]

i just snagged vol 2 revised from ebay

[von_Tom]

 

From Christer

 

von Tom

 

 

Dear friend and supporter,

Good news: The manuscript of the new edition of ”Black Cross Red Star, Vol. 3, Air War over the Eastern Front” will soon be finished. See the attached excerpt.

 

With this, the gap is filled so that the new editions of Black Cross Red Star are completed from Volume 1 to Volume 5. (Then, volumes 6 and onward will follow).

What I need now is as many pre-orders as possible to finance the publication.

With 384 pages in A 4 size, hundreds of unique photos on high-quality gloss paper, many high-qualitative maps, and aircraft color profiles by Jim Laurier, the production of this book is quite expensive for me.

Since I am publishing this book by myself, in order to safeguard quality, I am depending on pre-orders. So please help out by pre-ordering it from me!

This new Black Cross/Red Star, Volume 3 exceeds the 2006 edition regarding the quality of the material to the point that the new edition actually is a completely new book. The first edition contained a maximum of 100,000 words. This second edition has much higher quality as far as the research is concerned and contains more than twice that word count – the highest word count in the Black Cross Red Star series (230,000) – plus a very large number of absolutely new photos (many of which are from pilot veterans’ photo albums and have never been published before).

 

There also are many clear maps by Samuel Svärd, who made the excellent maps for the other new volumes in this series, and aircraft color profiles by Jim Laurier.

 

See:

https://vaktelforlag.se/produkt/black-cross-red-star-air-war-over-the-eastern-front-volume-3-stalingrad-the-air-battle-june-november-1942/

It would be of an immense help if you could support it with a crowdfunding of USD$ 120? That will help to maintain the high graphic quality of the book series, the photos, etc. All crowdfunders will receive a signed and individually numbered copy. Or would you like to pre-order a copy at the ordinary price USD$ 85?  

Please email me at: vaktelforlag@gmail.com 

(NOTE! Only that email address is valid.)

I attach a sample of the raw and unedited manuscript of ”Black Cross Red Star, Vol. 3, Air War over the Eastern Front.”

You can see the other new editions (Vols. 1, 2, 4 & 5) of the book here:
https://vaktelforlag.se/produkt-kategori/english/

It would also be a great favor if you could help by spreading the word about these books. Since I publish them by myself to have full control over the printing quality, I don't really have any budget for marketing, so I am quite dependent on help from my readers.

If so, please forward this link to an excerpt from Black Cross Red Star Vol. 2:

https://vaktelforlag.se/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/bcrs2extract.pdf

I hope that you can support this new volume of the only detailed historical account of the air war on the Eastern Front, the greatest and most dramatic air war in history.

 

These are the chapters in the new Black Cross Red Star, Volume 3:

 

 

Chapter 1: The Harsh Enemy

Chapter 2: Fire over Sevastopol

Chapter 3: Air Battle over the Donets

Chapter 4: The Enemies

Chapter 5: The Build-Up

Chapter 6: Air Battle over Voronezh

Chapter 7: The Turn to the South

Chapter 8: Over the Lower Don, Into the Caucasus

Chapter 9: Sacrifice for Stalingrad

Chapter 10: Luftwaffenkommando Ost

Chapter 11: The Calm is Broken at Leningrad

Chapter 12: “I beg to report the destruction of Convoy PQ-17”

Chapter 13: Wearing Down the VVS

Chapter 14: Aces Over Stalingrad

Chapter 15: The Soviets Take the Initiative

Chapter 16: Lost Opportunities

Chapter 17: The Dominance of the Stukas

Chapter 18: Triumph and Decline

Chapter 19: Zenith

 

Plus:

* Forewords by Generalleutnant a.D. Günther Rall, Luftwaffe fighter pilot, and

Starshina Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kurayev, Soviet air gunner and radio operator

* Appendices

* Maps

* Aircraft color profiles by Jim Laurier
 

All the best,

 

Christer Bergström

[Freycinet]

(Just copying the email I received today)

 

Dear friend and supporter,

Good news: The manuscript of the new edition of ”Black Cross Red Star, Vol. 3, Air War over the Eastern Front” will soon be finished. See the attached excerpt.

 

With this, the gap is filled so that the new editions of Black Cross Red Star are completed from Volume 1 to Volume 5. (Then, volumes 6 and onward will follow).

What I need now is as many pre-orders as possible to finance the publication.

With 384 pages in A 4 size, hundreds of unique photos on high-quality gloss paper, many high-qualitative maps, and aircraft color profiles by Jim Laurier, the production of this book is quite expensive for me.

Since I am publishing this book by myself, in order to safeguard quality, I am depending on pre-orders. So please help out by pre-ordering it from me!


This new Black Cross/Red Star, Volume 3 exceeds the 2006 edition regarding the quality of the material to the point that the new edition actually is a completely new book. The first edition contained a maximum of 100,000 words. This second edition has much higher quality as far as the research is concerned and contains more than twice that word count – the highest word count in the Black Cross Red Star series (230,000) – plus a very large number of absolutely new photos (many of which are from pilot veterans’ photo albums and have never been published before).

 

There also are many clear maps by Samuel Svärd, who made the excellent maps for the other new volumes in this series, and aircraft color profiles by Jim Laurier.

 

See:


https://vaktelforlag.se/produkt/black-cross-red-star-air-war-over-the-eastern-front-volume-3-stalingrad-the-air-battle-june-november-1942/

It would be of an immense help if you could support it with a crowdfunding of USD$ 120? That will help to maintain the high graphic quality of the book series, the photos, etc. All crowdfunders will receive a signed and individually numbered copy. Or would you like to pre-order a copy at the ordinary price USD$ 85?  

Please email me at: vaktelforlag@gmail.com 

(NOTE! Only that email address is valid.)

I attach a sample of the raw and unedited manuscript of ”Black Cross Red Star, Vol. 3, Air War over the Eastern Front.”

You can see the other new editions (Vols. 1, 2, 4 & 5) of the book here:
https://vaktelforlag.se/produkt-kategori/english/

It would also be a great favor if you could help by spreading the word about these books. Since I publish them by myself to have full control over the printing quality, I don't really have any budget for marketing, so I am quite dependent on help from my readers.

If so, please forward this link to an excerpt from Black Cross Red Star Vol. 2:

https://vaktelforlag.se/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/bcrs2extract.pdf

I hope that you can support this new volume of the only detailed historical account of the air war on the Eastern Front, the greatest and most dramatic air war in history.

 

These are the chapters in the new Black Cross Red Star, Volume 3:

 

 

Chapter 1: The Harsh Enemy

Chapter 2: Fire over Sevastopol

Chapter 3: Air Battle over the Donets

Chapter 4: The Enemies

Chapter 5: The Build-Up

Chapter 6: Air Battle over Voronezh

Chapter 7: The Turn to the South

Chapter 8: Over the Lower Don, Into the Caucasus

Chapter 9: Sacrifice for Stalingrad

Chapter 10: Luftwaffenkommando Ost

Chapter 11: The Calm is Broken at Leningrad

Chapter 12: “I beg to report the destruction of Convoy PQ-17”

Chapter 13: Wearing Down the VVS

Chapter 14: Aces Over Stalingrad

Chapter 15: The Soviets Take the Initiative

Chapter 16: Lost Opportunities

Chapter 17: The Dominance of the Stukas

Chapter 18: Triumph and Decline

Chapter 19: Zenith

 

Plus:

* Forewords by Generalleutnant a.D. Günther Rall, Luftwaffe fighter pilot, and

Starshina Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kurayev, Soviet air gunner and radio operator

* Appendices

* Maps

* Aircraft color profiles by Jim Laurier

All the best,
 

 

Christer Bergström

Vaktel Förlag

Strandgatan 2A

S-633 43 Eskilstuna

Sweden

vaktelforlag.se

+46 - 733 – 73 33 61

Paypal account: vaktelforlag@gmail.com

Text.excerpt.txt

[darthdooboss]

I have just paid for a crowfunding option

Edited June 8, 2024 by darthdooboss

[LuftManu]

Excellent books!

[sevenless]

1 hour ago, LuftManu said:

Excellent books!

 

Best books available on the subject. I really hope he will get to the point to enter the 1943-1945 territory with this series and planned vol. 6-7-8. Except his earlier short work Bagration to Berlin, there is not much available in literature.

 

Amazon.com: Bagration to Berlin: The Final Air Battles in the East 1944-1945: 9781903223918: Bergstrom, Christer: Bücher

 

[CzechTexan]

Bump reminder for all who would like to crowdfund or pre-order.

[ZachariasX]

Hello, dear friends and supporters,

Good news for everyone: The brand new edition of Black Cross Red Star, Vol. 3 is soon completed and will be ready for delivery next month.

See:

https://vaktelforlag.se/produkt-kategori/english/

This is nothing like the old, 2006 edition: It is a completely new book, with a 250 % larger wordcount, many, many new and previously unpublished photographs from the pilot veterans’ private photo albums, and, above all, an immense wealth of previously never published and hitherto completely unknown, quite dramatic facts directly from primary sources – of course from the official archives in both Germany and Russia, but also from many private holdings, such as veterans’ organizations’ collections of primary documents, etc.

I would appreciate if you would take the time to read this rather long, but important message.

Since I started working anew on this series with Volume 4 (published in 2019), each volume tends to surpass the previous one in the quality of the material, and that definitely is the case with this volume, which, among other things, covers the air war during the first stage of the Battle of Stalingrad. I have so many really thrilling facts that not everything could fit in the manuscript text (I have to limit the book to 384 pages to keep the weight below 2 kg, or otherwise the postage will be too much), but instead I have placed such material in photo captions, so that very many of the photos and photo captions in principle are small fact boxes. In that way, I can have more photographs in this volume than in any of the previous ones, which is a good thing because I have so many more excellent photos for this one than for the previous ones.

As in the previous volumes since 2019, this one also has aircraft color profile by the expert Jim Laurier, very clear professional maps by Samuel Svärd, and photos of all aircraft types mentioned in the book on the inside of the dustjacket. And, of course, it has the same paper and printing quality as in the previous volumes since 2019. And hardcover, large format (A4).

I do all of this because I know that with this book series, I am breaking absolutely new historical ground – this is the complete and detailed history of the world’s largest air war, the one on the Eastern Front, told for the very first time. Because of that, this series will be a reference work for many years to come, and if nothing else, I owe it to the men and women who sacrificed their lives in that huge air war to make the book about their fight and suffering a very nice book.

But, of course, it is expensive. And the Black Cross Red Star series probably is not the first book that “beginners” start with when they have started to get interested in World War II. It is a book of interest mainly to the experts, either those who have already read “everything” on the subject and are hungry for a book where every page contains something brand new, or those who have a special interest in the Eastern Front. I feel honored by that, but at the same time, it means that not very many copies of each volume are sold.

I am also publishing this by myself, paying for the production out of my own pocket; a “normal”, commercial publisher would be out of his mind to pay so much for the production of a book that would sell just as much even if it was only half as large, had no color profiles, and was in softcover. To publish it by myself is the only way to tell this hitherto unknown history in such a detailed way and with such a “luxurious” package.

But it is a big economic risk-taking.

I am completely depending on pre-orders and, not least, any crowdfunder that I can get, to make this project come true.

I know that the economic situation in the world has made it difficult for people to support this project, and the old generation which is most interested in this subject is slowly fading away. I have asked for pre-orders and crowdfundings, and I am most grateful to those of you who have pre-ordered or even crowdfunded this volume. However, although many of you are enthusiastic, I am afraid that I have not yet received pre-orders or crowdfundings to make me break even on this volume.

That, however, has been the case at this stage with every volume. After I have reminded people about this, I have – at the last minute – received new pre-orders and crowdfundings that have “saved” each new volume by making me break even. I have even earned a small profit for my work from each of the previous volumes.

But now I am in the situation again where I am getting nervous about the funding for the production of this new volume, and this is a plea for all of you who are interested in the subject that if you have not pre-ordered this new Volume 3, please do consider to do so, or, even better, to crowdfund it.

I am sending this email also to those of you who already have made a pre-order or even crowdfunded it. Please accept my sincere gratitude for your support. If you can help spread the word about this volume and the whole book series (only very few people know about the existence of the Black Cross Red Star series), I would be most grateful. If you know of someone who would be happy to receive it as a Christmas present or similar from you, it would be fantastic.

If I sound a bit desperate, it is because I am. 🙂

I would also like to apologize to those of you who have emailed me orders for the book or asked for a confirmation that I have received your pre-payment: I have not replied to any emails in the past few weeks, and that is because of two reasons: First of all, I lost someone very dear to me, and that took away my energy for some time. (It was, thank God, not my wife or children.) Secondly, I have to work very, very hard (to finish the work on the photos and photo caption for the book, so that it is published in time. So far, I have written the photo captions for 14 of the 18 chapters in the book, and they cover 52 pages in Word. I hope you can accept my apology for not having replied to your email yet; I will, but I take the liberty to prioritize getting Black Cross Red Star, Vol. 3 finished in time. I feel that I owe that to my supporters.

After Volume 3, I will immediately start working on Volume 6, which will cover the air war on the Eastern Front during the period August 1943 – February 1944. I have a wealth of very interesting information from that period, and I am just “dying” to put it in print.

Would you like to support the new Black Cross Red Star, Vol. 3 with a crowdfunding of USD$ 120? That will help to maintain the high graphic quality of the continued book series, the photos, etc. All crowdfunders will receive a signed and individually numbered copy. Or would you like to pre-order a copy at the ordinary price USD$ 85?

If so, please email me at vaktelforlag@gmail.com

…and please transfer the payment to my Paypal account:
vaktelforlag@gmail.com

Please select the alternative "To family and friends" to avoid the Paypal fee of 6 %, or add 6 % for Paypal fees.

I also need your postal address and phone number.

As for the postage for sending the book, I will return on that issue once the book has been sent to the printer (it takes about four weeks for the books to be printed and delivered to me).

Looking ahead at the future, I feel that the completion of the whole series, Volumes 1 – 8 after the year 2019, is looming ahead. So what shall I do after that? Any suggestions is welcome. I do think of maybe writing a full-blown chronicle in several volumes on JG 52, with as much information about its opponents in the air as I use to write.

Please don’t hesitate to forward this email to anyone you might think might be interested.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Black Cross Red Star series, I attach an excerpt from Volume 5.

All the best and many thanks in advance,

Christer Bergström

 

 

EDIT:

Exerpt Vol. 5

Edited September 5, 2024 by ZachariasX

[sevenless]

"After Volume 3, I will immediately start working on Volume 6, which will cover the air war on the Eastern Front during the period August 1943 – February 1944. I have a wealth of very interesting information from that period, and I am just “dying” to put it in print."

 

Fantastic! A sure buy.

[kestrel79]

I have 3 ordered. Will probably get 4 and 5 next...unless those are getting redone too? I don't think so they are the newer ones right?

[1PL-Husar-1Esk]

22 hours ago, ZachariasX said:

I attach an excerpt from Volume 5.

Would like to get  that, maybe I would buy after reading some examples.

[Trooper117]

5 hours ago, kestrel79 said:

I have 3 ordered. Will probably get 4 and 5 next...unless those are getting redone too? I don't think so they are the newer ones right?

 

4 and 5 'are' the new ones, correct.

[ZachariasX]

9 hours ago, 1PL-Husar-1Esk said:

Would like to get  that, maybe I would buy after reading some examples.

 

On 9/4/2024 at 1:23 PM, ZachariasX said:

EDIT:

Exerpt Vol. 5

 

[busdriver]

Here we go. This is a screenshot beauty pageant of sorts. Anybody (including recipients of previous BC/RS giveaways) who might like a copy of Volume 3, post a screenshot from any flight sim you play.  This flight sim screenshot should be something you think would look good wallpaper on your monitor.

 

What's at stake? I'm giving away 3 copies of Black Cross Red Star Volume 3

Who can participate? Anybody that would like a copy of Black Cross Red Star Volume 3

What if you previously received another volume I gave away? Feel free to participate in this contest

How many screenshots can I post? Use your best judgment

When does this contest end? Soon...soonish depending on the participation

 

 

Where do I post my screenshot(s)? At this URL Screenshot contest thread

[von_Tom]

 

Copies being sorted for dispatch.

 

von Tom

[BOO]

Lucky enough to have won one courtesy of @busdriver over on CB forum and it arrived direct from the author today. Its a beautiful thing especially in hardback.

[SYN_Ricky]

Arrived here yesterday 🙂

[kestrel79]

Nice! Dang haven't got anything so far in Wisconsin. Still waiting.

[scarlander]

Still waiting here in Colorado.  I’m hoping I’m not the only one waiting.  I never heard anything about shipment from Christer.  Did other people get emails?

[von_Tom]

10 hours ago, scarlander said:

Still waiting here in Colorado.  I’m hoping I’m not the only one waiting.  I never heard anything about shipment from Christer.  Did other people get emails?

 

Orders are being processed and as he's doing them himself it may take some time.  I have no idea if Christmas post will delay things either.

 

Volume 6 work has, I think, started but it is at a very early stage so it'll be quite some time before any news comes of that.

 

von Tom

[scarlander]

Thank you for the update!

[von_Tom]

 

Mine arrived today.

 

von Tom

[MiGCap]

On 12/3/2024 at 11:49 PM, BOO said:

Lucky enough to have won one courtesy of @busdriver over on CB forum and it arrived direct from the author today. Its a beautiful thing especially in hardback.

 

Same here. And I can do nothing but completely agree with @BOO!

[scarlander]

Received today and it is terrific!

[michellecorneliu]

On 12/6/2024 at 12:26 PM, SYN_Ricky said:

Arrived here yesterday 🙂

I thought that politics and wars in the world are not important to me. Now I want to understand what is happening around. Who makes decisions, why life changes. I have been reading everything about this for more than 5 years. I also recently read about political science, found https://papersowl.com/blog/political-science-research-topics for this. Next, I want to find something similar about the Second World War. That is, about any warriors in general and how wars were stopped with the help of politics.

I ordered this book the day before yesterday, now I'm waiting for delivery. I've already read a lot of books about the Second World War and also about politics in those times. Can you recommend something similar from books?

Edited December 31, 2024 by michellecorneliu

[J37_Spyboy]

Christer Bergstrom , author of the above series wants some research help.

 

He wrote via email : 

'Dear friends, 

 

I am the author of around 40 books on WW II. I am looking for some help with research that I am doing, namely one question:

How did the men and other pilots of U.S. 4th Fighter Group feel when the ace Ralph "Kid" Hofer didn’t return from the mission on July 2, 1944?

Maybe there is anyone here who has any of these books, where the answer might be found:

"1000 Destroyed: The Life and Times of the 4th Fighter Group" by Grover C. Hall, Jr.

"Escort To Berlin: The 4th Fighter Group in World War II" by Garry L. Fry and Jeffry L. Ethell  

"The Debden Warbirds: The 4th Fighter Group in World War II" by Frank E. Speer  

or any of these books by Troy L. White:

"Kidd Hofer: the Last of the Screwball Aces: The Story of Lt. Ralph K. Hofer and the 4th Fighter Group in WWII"

"Kidd Hofer: The Last of the Screwball Aces"

"Adventures of the 4th Fighter Group"

Please send your reply to me at vaktelforlag@gmail.com

 

Many thanks in advance!

All the best,

 

Christer Bergström'

 

Maybe you have one of the books he highlights, probably you will be based in USA.

Edited January 17 by J37_Spyboy

[CzechTexan]

I recently got this email from Christer Bergström.

I've been blessed to have the updated volumes 1-5 in my library and I'm now waiting for the newest - vol. 6.

These books are all excellent sources of information.  We should support great authors such as this.

If you'd like to get Vol.2 then you should contact Mr. Bergstrom.

-CT

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

A New Edition of Black Cross Red Star, Vol. 2?

 

Dear friends,

The very last of the 2,000 copies of the 2023 edition of Black Cross Red Star, Vol. 2—printed just over a year ago—has now been sold. This is the only book that provides a detailed and balanced account of the previously unknown air war on the Eastern Front between December 1941 and May 1942.

Due to high demand, I’m considering a second printing—but before moving forward, I need to gauge interest.

If you’d like to secure a copy, please let me know by pre-registering your interest. Your response will help determine whether this new edition becomes a reality!

Simply reply to this email to express your interest.

Thank you for your support!

 Read an excerpt from Volume 2:
https://vaktelforlag.se/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/bcrs2extract.pdf

 Learn more about the book:
https://vaktelforlag.se/produkt/black-cross-red-star-air-war-over-the-eastern-front-volume-2-two-turning-points-december-1941-may-1942/

 Discover my other WWII books in English:
https://vaktelforlag.se/produkt-kategori/english/

All the best,

Christer Bergström

Vaktel Förlag

Strandgatan 2A

S-633 43 Eskilstuna

Sweden

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Edited March 8 by CzechTexan

[Goldwrench]

Christer Bergström announced that Vol. 6 which covers July to November 1943 (i.e. the aftermath of Kursk) will be published later this year. 

Here is the link to his Vol. 6 page: Black Cross Red Star - Air War over the Eastern Front : Volume 6, From Kursk to Kiev July-November 1943 - Vaktel Förlag You can preorder your copy there. Note: the crowdfunding price is 1200 SEK not 120 SEK. Can't wait to see it!

[von_Tom]

 

 

From the author.

 

von Tom

 

 

Dear friend,

Great news: Yesterday I finished writing the very last chapter of Black Cross Red Star, Volume 6! It will be published within a couple of months. With a word count of about 250,000 words, it has the scope of 2-3 “ordinary” books on World War II. See:

https://vaktelforlag.se/produkt-kategori/english/

However, I am in a difficult situation: there are still too few preorders to cover the costs of production. 

If you have already preordered, you have my deepest thanks. 

If not, I kindly ask you to consider pre-ordering your copy now.

I personally pay for the entire production — layout, photographs, color profiles, maps, printing on fine glossy paper, hardcover binding, as well as research trips to archives — completely on my own. Because it breaks entirely new historical ground, it deserves detailed and careful treatment and a proper “packaging.”

I will of course publish it no matter what, but it would be nice if the orders would cover the cost. I would also like to print a number of copies so that it will not be sold out very quickly. 

As you might know, the Black Cross Red Star series is the first and only work that objectively tells the story of the hitherto undocumented air war on the Eastern Front, based on both sides’ primary sources and interviews with numerous veterans.

To give you an idea of the standard: the previous volume contained

·         389 photographs, many from pilot veterans’ photo albums and never published before.

·         Very clear maps – most of the places mentioned in the book are on the maps.

·         Aircraft color profiles by Jim Laurier.

·         384 pages.

·         Hardcover.

·         Large format (A4).

Volume 6 will be of the same high quality — 384 pages, very detailed maps, hardcover, large A4 format, with color profiles, hundreds of photos, etc.

I attach an excerpt from the manuscript of Black Cross Volume 6. Please feel free to spread it as much as you wish – the more, the better.

How you can pre-order your copy:

– Crowdfunding contribution: 1,200 SEK — for a personally signed and individually numbered copy, and with your name printed in the book. This directly improves the quality of the book (design, photos, profiles, maps).
– Regular preorder book price: 849 SEK.

To preorder, you can simply email your order and shipping details to: vaktelforlag@gmail.com — I will confirm your reservation.

To complete your payment, please transfer to my PayPal account:
vaktelforlag@gmail.com
(To avoid the PayPal fee (6%), please send as “To family and friends”, or add 6%.)

Please include your postal address and phone number.

Thank you very much for your support — it means everything to me, and it is what keeps this history alive!

In the excerpt from the book that you will find attached to this email, you will find information that is completely unknown even to the foremost experts on World War II. Black Cross Red Star is characterized by exactly this — on every single page.

All the best,

Christer Bergström

Edited August 30 by von_Tom

[ZachariasX]

FYI:

 

Great news: Yesterday I finished writing the very last chapter of Black Cross Red Star, Volume 6! It will be published within a couple of months. With a word count of about 250,000 words, it has the scope of 2-3 “ordinary” books on World War II. See:

https://vaktelforlag.se/produkt-kategori/english/

However, I am in a difficult situation: there are still too few preorders to cover the costs of production. 

If you have already preordered, you have my deepest thanks. 

If not, I kindly ask you to consider pre-ordering your copy now.

I personally pay for the entire production — layout, photographs, color profiles, maps, printing on fine glossy paper, hardcover binding, as well as research trips to archives — completely on my own. Because it breaks entirely new historical ground, it deserves detailed and careful treatment and a proper “packaging.”

I will of course publish it no matter what, but it would be nice if the orders would cover the cost. I would also like to print a number of copies so that it will not be sold out very quickly. 

As you might know, the Black Cross Red Star series is the first and only work that objectively tells the story of the hitherto undocumented air war on the Eastern Front, based on both sides’ primary sources and interviews with numerous veterans.

To give you an idea of the standard: the previous volume contained

·         389 photographs, many from pilot veterans’ photo albums and never published before.

·         Very clear maps – most of the places mentioned in the book are on the maps.

·         Aircraft color profiles by Jim Laurier.

·         384 pages.

·         Hardcover.

·         Large format (A4).

Volume 6 will be of the same high quality — 384 pages, very detailed maps, hardcover, large A4 format, with color profiles, hundreds of photos, etc.

I attach an excerpt from the manuscript of Black Cross Volume 6. Please feel free to spread it as much as you wish – the more, the better.

How you can pre-order your copy:

– Crowdfunding contribution: 1,200 SEK — for a personally signed and individually numbered copy, and with your name printed in the book. This directly improves the quality of the book (design, photos, profiles, maps).
– Regular preorder book price: 849 SEK.

To preorder, you can simply email your order and shipping details to: vaktelforlag@gmail.com — I will confirm your reservation.

To complete your payment, please transfer to my PayPal account:
vaktelforlag@gmail.com
(To avoid the PayPal fee (6%), please send as “To family and friends”, or add 6%.)

Please include your postal address and phone number.

Thank you very much for your support — it means everything to me, and it is what keeps this history alive!

In the excerpt from the book that you will find attached to this email, you will find information that is completely unknown even to the foremost experts on World War II. Black Cross Red Star is characterized by exactly this — on every single page.

[sevenless]

1 hour ago, ZachariasX said:

Great news: Yesterday I finished writing the very last chapter of Black Cross Red Star, Volume 6! It will be published within a couple of months. With a word count of about 250,000 words, it has the scope of 2-3 “ordinary” books on World War II.

 

 

Fantastico! Best book series about airwar in the east you can find. Highly recommended!

[Vishnu]

I want to read the whole series, but because I've been off work for 9 months with a work injury, the costs of the books are prohibitive.    Plus I'm Canadian, it's hella expensive here.

 

I think I'll ask for Volume One for Christmas.

 

Keep up the great work documenting history!